POS df 26 wont turn nicely… bout to run this thing over with my car

[dana]

ive about had enough with this stupid thing. no matter what i do the transom hops in and out of the water when i turn it. its been 4 months of tinkering and ive tried everything i can think of and nothing changes. is my rudder too long? should i bring the strut in? batteries in the wrong place? someone please help before i destroy this *!***!***!***!**ing thing in a rage. im not new to boats…. and have plenty of nicely running boats. this thing just fellates cattle. heres some pics please help!!!! 8183181832

[dana]

motor is 4074 2200kv, prop x640 and x440 (no difference in turning) seaking 180 esc

[dana]

does someone have a nice running df26 that can post pics?

[egneg]

The rudder is set wrong - it should be neutral at a minimum.

[dana]

The rudder is set wrong - it should be neutral at a minimum.
ive adjusted the rudder every which way. doesnt make a difference

[dana]

i figured kicking it back would reduce some of the lift

[dana]

should i lower my strut?

[martin]

Where is the cg, looks like you have a lot of weight foward. It needs to be around 8" from the transome as a starting point.

[lenny]

:iagree: I think your cells should be back at the transom,
And the rudder at neutral or a little forward to help with the turning some.
Have any video of it running ?


Where is the cg, looks like you have a lot of weight foward. It needs to be around 8" from the transome as a starting point.

[Serpents811]

:iagree:
Where is the cg, looks like you have a lot of weight foward. It needs to be around 8" from the transome as a starting point.

[keithbradley]

i figured kicking it back would reduce some of the lift

It's the other way around.
I put one together and it cornered at 45mph+ as tightly as I wanted.

Set CG at around 30% and put some longer turn fins on it. Those are mounted too high for their size. If you go up in size (or mount them lower) you can angle them back a bit, so when you turn a larger area carves into the water, instead of a small tip of the blade. Give it a shot and I bet you love it. This boat should corner like it's on rails.

[Basstronics]

I had a copy that ran awesome and was on rails!

I dont have a side shot, but here it is from the back:
http://i38.photobucket.com/albums/e136/basstronics/RC%20Boats/100_7277.jpg

My rudder had a radius on the bottom as well.

Dont laugh, but I ran this thing at 50% COG without a hiccup. Motor was a 2868 2989kv and 3s29 4400 total, 42x1.4 plastic prop:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YY5m8BphFU&feature=g-upl

[Make-a-Wake]

Where is the cg, looks like you have a lot of weight foward. It needs to be around 8" from the transome as a starting point.

I think we are all wondering where the COG is, i bet its the culprit

[RaceMechaniX]

CG does look awfully far forward. Here are pics of my DF26 N2 heat race boat. It's also the current 2-lap record holder at 27.3 seconds so I can safely say it turns pretty damn good.
My batteries are mounted about mid way relative to the motor coupler.

818448184581846

Tyler

[dana]

no tabs or fins huh? looks good tho.
my batteries were at 8 1/2. i moved them back to 7 3/4 and buried the strut, and it was actually better.
i think im done screwing with it tho. prolly just gonna sell it

[dana]

i appreciate all the input guys… but sometimes its just time to move on. im sure it can be made rite, but im tired of tinkering

[dana]

heres some before video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4aHeM-kj6c

[Make-a-Wake]

Doesnt look that bad................

Can you try raising your strut and maybe run a larger diameter prop to get the butt to set in more?

[Nosbig]

I was going to say that but didn't want to risk getting flamed about it. It seems to run pretty well in the straights and if you're only sport boating I don't think it's that big of an issue.

[Fluid]

Can't see the video, but one easy fix is to add a larger turn fin. One symptom of a too small fin is hopping in the turns. Several club members had this issue, all solved it by increasing the fin size - sometimes dramatically. Turn fin size depends on the water (rougher needs bigger) the weight of the boat, the speed of the boat in the turns, and the radius of the turns. As others have stated, the CG can be a player as can strut depth. The DF26 is an awesome-handling model, you should be able to get it to run great....if the turns are not too tight. It is a race boat after all.

Off topic, but your water inlet is configured wrong - it should enter the motor jacket at the lowest point and exit on top. The way it is configured in the first post the jacket may not be full. Most of us run the cooling water to the ESC first too....



.

[Make-a-Wake]

I notice in post one, second picture that the strut is all the way down, try it about 3/4 of the way up and give it a tad of negative.............you need to get the Butt to plant.

[dana]

thanks everybody for the help and words of encouragement. im feeling a bit better today about this thing. in the pics, the strut was actually up a bit, i tuned it down yesterday and got a run in, and actually it ran a bit betterr. but i also moved the packs back. i have a larger set of turn fins on my titan i will take off and try them on the df. if thats the solution i will be a happy man, or at least fix the problem before i sell to someone. we'll see….
i def see the front plowing in when i turn… i will try an x444 today. one thing i do love about this boat is that there is so much motor… it doesnt even break a sweat after a solid run…. i know the potential is here.

[785boats]

A couple of things.
As previously stated, get the rudder vertical.
Round off the front bottom corner of the rudder to about a 1/4" radius. This helps to reduce lift.
Put an X440/3 blade prop on it. I find that 3 blade props result in a much more settled boat in the corners.
Although your fins look large enough a larger one will help, as Fluid suggests.
The COG may need to come back a bit. If that then tends to lift the nose too much down the straights you can put a slight bit of negative in the strut. That can also help stop the hopping in the corners.
Here's a couple of pics of mine if it helps.

[Fluid]

Now that I can actually see the video, Make-a-Wake is right - that isn't bad. The model airs out nicely on the straights so the CG is probably not bad, particularly since it does not bow-steer. This is a race boat designed for 35-foot radius turns, the OP is trying to turn twice as tight...and even then the boat does not behave badly...he is able to drive through it without problems other than a little bounce when he tries to turn really tight. Put it on a race course and it would be a winner. As I stated in my post above: "you should be able to get it to run great....if the turns are not too tight".

Problem solved. :rockon2:



.

[Make-a-Wake]

Yeah, it does look good Jay, i think he could still raise the strut a bit and give it a 'tad' of negative..................try that Dana!!:Peace_Sign:

[dana]

Guys, I can't thank you all enough.
I got a run in with the larger turn fins and the x444. Also I put the rudder all the way in and WHOA! It ran like a CHAMP!!! I'm so friggin ecstatic I'm glowing! That sucker turned on a dime without hopping at all -).
Soooo much better it's like night and day
Now the video posted wasn't terrible, but that run wasn't a great representation of how bad the hopping can be.
I turned the endpoint down a bit on my steering channel so it wouldn't carve as tight, but I assure you it carved turns like it never had before. I also moved the batteries back a full inch from where they were before.
I'll get some vid tomorrow for sure.
I'm so happy... If I only knew that larger turn fins would help that much I could've saved myself lots of aggravation.
I will be ordering several new props as I've lost 5 this summer due to my mistakes and sticks in the water.
I think another x640-x440/3-maybe x642? Any other suggestions? Thanks again boys

[Basstronics]

I tried a X438 in mine and didnt care for it. I had decent results with the K42 glass filled props. If you got them to try, go for it.

I never did get to try the X440/3. I got a real nice one that Blackcat26 did, and man it is NICE. I hope to put it on something sooner or alter.

[dana]

K42, gotcha. Worth a try for the price

[Nosbig]

X638/3? or do they make those?
I can toss you a free k40/3 if you pay to ship it (same as the SV27 stock prop)

[dana]

Here's video from today running strong finally
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n39gmcl6-Fk&feature=youtube_gdata_player
Nos, thanks I'll take it -)

[Make-a-Wake]

That looks very nice........................the wider course you're running is more of a race type one as well.

[dana]

Thanks dood, I'm very pleased with it. I think the biggest improvement was those larger turn fins for sure. Man... It was hot out today. X444 might be a bit much in these 90+ days.

[Make-a-Wake]

Is the 444 simply a cut down 445?

[lenny]

:tongue_smilie:
So how much for the POS NOW ?:lol:

[dana]

Wake, no, it's a tfl prop I grabbed from kintec.
Lenny,lol! I thinking might actually keep it now thanks to everyone here for their help -)

[lenny]

Yep,:tiphat:
Just, Just one more potato chip.:beerchug:

[prenna2537]

[QUOTE=Fluid;441421]Can't see the video, but one easy fix is to add a larger turn fin. One symptom of a too small fin is hopping in the turns. Several club members had this issue, all solved it by increasing the fin size - sometimes dramatically. Turn fin size depends on the water (rougher needs bigger) the weight of the boat, the speed of the boat in the turns, and the radius of the turns. As others have stated, the CG can be a player as can strut depth.

Jay

Could you please tell me, when you say larger turn fin.. Do you mean longer or more area??