Got my Spartan in the water for the first time!

[Checkmateguy01]

Yup, this weekend i took the Spartan up to the lake with me, actually figured the lake would be too stirred up from all the boating traffic on the big weeekend but much to my supprise both saturday and sunday night the lake calmed down enough that i got to run both sets of batteries both nights! As i showed in another thread i did all the cooling mods., but i still have the stock motor/ESC. So here's my thoughts on how the boat ran, sorry no GPS this time, hopefully i'll remember it next time.

Run #1, maiden voyage. Charged up the stock "power cell" 3000mah batts and let her go. Hmmm...i was little dissapointed. Wasn't very fast and the run time was horrible, lasted maybe 1.5 to 2 minutes tops. Fresh batteries so they should get better. Motor/esc temps were nice and cool, motor was low 70's, but the batts were around 115*.

Run #2, put the DTX5000mah's in the boat, topped off, and it was considerably faster, that i was happy about and what i was looking for. But, the run time was even shorter than the first run with the "power cells". Motor ands ESC were still cold, the DTX's were just barely warm to the touch. The boat was quick for a minute then was at about 75%, then 50% shortly after. Again, they are fresh brand new batteries so i know they will need a few cycles to get the full potential out of them.

Run #3. Tried the stock power cells again, this time it ran quite a bit longer, several minutes and was quicker than the first run. Not to bad, i can live with that. Batteries were pretty hot tho, 120-130*.

Run #4. DTX's charged up and back in the boat...same result as the first run with the DTX's, didn't last very long and the boat slowed right up. No hot temps, i really don't think it's an electronics problem withe the boat, seems to be the batteries.

Ok, so all runs were made with the the batteries all the way back, tabs about even with the the bottom and the strut slightly positive. Also did not even try the stock prop, went straight to a X442 instead. I must say that i'm pleased with the performace with NIMH's, it does exactly what i wanted it to do. It runs nice and stable and handled some bumps really well. The boat flies nice and level and lands level, seem to cut thru waves very nicely. I have a ver hard time keeping my SV27 right side up in that kinda water, the Spartan is a great boat for anyone like me looking to play with R/C boats on large populated lakes. Yes, i would probably get pretty board with the Spartan on NIMH's if i were running on a smooth pond all the time, but i challenge any of you to bring up your 45-50+mph boats and run on a big lake, it never gets "glass" smooth like a pond. Overall, as long as the batteries come to life after a few more cycles, i'm gonna be very happy with the Spartan!

[roadrashracing]

Good to hear the great luck with it.

[dag-nabit]

Right on :thumbup1:

I agree that running on a big lake usually means running in some kind of chop. I also found the Spartans larger size was a bit of an advantage over our SV27's in rough water, but the SV's are pretty stable little boats for their size. Running the Spartan on 6S it was necessary to run the batteries at midpoint, or further forward, and run a bit wet to get the stability. Might be able to trim some of that out with some experimenting.

Have fun!

Kevin

[Checkmateguy01]

Yup, don't get me wrong i've run the snot out of my SV27 the last few years and it's a blast, but i've also had to take more than a few trips out to fetch it after it's gone belly up on me. I have to drive the SV27 like an offshore powerboat, constantly on and off the throttle. It's hard to describe the difference in water conditions between a 20 mile lake and small pond. A pond will get as smooth a glass, and even a little wind only makes for some really small wind whipped chop. The lake with boating traffic all day will get calm in the evening, but never gets pond smooth, there is always a widespread rolling affect goin on, which will upset any R/C boat quite easily. The Spartan handled like a champ, no chine walk and seemed to cut thru the waves real evenly. When it does come out of the water it stays pretty level and lands flat. I hope a few more cycles will bring the batteries up to par, i know it has a little more left and it will be a fun boat!

[dag-nabit]

Yup, don't get me wrong i've run the snot out of my SV27 the last few years and it's a blast, but i've also had to take more than a few trips out to fetch it after it's gone belly up on me. I have to drive the SV27 like an offshore powerboat, constantly on and off the throttle. It's hard to describe the difference in water conditions between a 20 mile lake and small pond. A pond will get as smooth a glass, and even a little wind only makes for some really small wind whipped chop. The lake with boating traffic all day will get calm in the evening, but never gets pond smooth, there is always a widespread rolling affect goin on, which will upset any R/C boat quite easily. The Spartan handled like a champ, no chine walk and seemed to cut thru the waves real evenly. When it does come out of the water it stays pretty level and lands flat. I hope a few more cycles will bring the batteries up to par, i know it has a little more left and it will be a fun boat!

That was my observation as well. Apart from nasty chine walk with the batteries near the rear, it was very stable with the batteries further forward.

We run on a larger lake, so I understand the conditions you describe very well. Our lake will occasionally get glass smooth, but that is a rarity, and most likely to occur early in the spring or later in the fall when the boat traffic tapers off. (keep in mind those that live near really big lakes would consider ours nothing more than a large puddle :laugh:)

I have often had to fetch an upside down SV27 myself, but I have also gone for a walk a couple times with the Spartan already.
Kevin

[Snafujg]

I'm on a 24,000 acre lake, so I can relate on the constant boat traffic. The only time I get glass is at 5:00 in the morning. I got my running for the first time this weekend past Saturday. Held up well with 2 sets of trim tabs and 3S lipos in the middle. I'm still running stock motor/esc/driveshaft/prop, but with 1/4" tubing. Well, it ran fine until I flipped it and the hatch came off. A wave came up over the back of it and sunk it, BUOY SYNDROME!

Dried everything out and went to try again Sunday night. No Joy. Receiver Box got wet and the receiver is toast. Traxxas is sending me a new one.

For those that have gotten Buoy Syndrome before, has anyone figured out a way to prevent it? Any way to completely seal off the hatch and keep it from flying off?

[Checkmateguy01]

I'm on a 24,000 acre lake, so I can relate on the constant boat traffic. The only time I get glass is at 5:00 in the morning. I got my running for the first time this weekend past Saturday. Held up well with 2 sets of trim tabs and 3S lipos in the middle. I'm still running stock motor/esc/driveshaft/prop, but with 1/4" tubing. Well, it ran fine until I flipped it and the hatch came off. A wave came up over the back of it and sunk it, BUOY SYNDROME!

Dried everything out and went to try again Sunday night. No Joy. Receiver Box got wet and the receiver is toast. Traxxas is sending me a new one.

For those that have gotten Buoy Syndrome before, has anyone figured out a way to prevent it? Any way to completely seal off the hatch and keep it from flying off?

Same here, 5 AM yeah the lake is like glass, but i don't have the will power to get up that early lol! And it will get glass smooth well after dark too, not a time when you can be running an R/C boat. All day daylight hours there is plenty of boat traffic, depending on the wing i can usually get a run or 2 in at dusk. Eventually i'd like to try a pair of 2S Lipo's, 3S is just too much for my lake.