Another Venom 55" FE conversion. KOS this time!

[WhatRLaws4]

Heres my crack at doing a FE version of this model. Hasnt seen the water yet as a FE, please let me know of any changes that should be made prior to the maiden voyage.
First, it got gutted. Then I drilled holes for the rear motor mount, sealed up the hull with some plastic, epoxy and a lot of silicone. Then I added some custom through hull water lines. Also made a nice thick windshield out of lexan sheet thats bolted in and silicone sealed. Also repainted the interior.

[WhatRLaws4]

Heres the new power. Leopard 5698 910 KV, Castle Hydra Ice 2 200HV, FDM 5" rail mounts with ESC mount plate, Octura X452, and several 5.5mm bullet connectors.

[WhatRLaws4]

Made a new radiobox tray with an inline steering servo and throttle servo delete. Radio is a Futaba 2.4ghz FASST with high torque steering servo using dubro push/pull rods.

[WhatRLaws4]

Since I had already upgraded my drive system with 1/4" hardware from Warehouse Hobbies when it was gas, I had Tony @ WHH make me a new propshaft stub that fits his 1/4" strut, but has the tip milled down to 3/16th for the prop.

[WhatRLaws4]

And here it is 95% complete. Originally, I was planning on having the lipo packs in the sponsons, then I was told by a few people that I should run the lipos on the center tunnel in front of the motor. So I got some indsutrial strength Velcro to go on there and some straps I will fab in. Still waiting on lipos.

[Make-a-Wake]

Nice..............you gonna run 8s?

[Jersey Crewmax]

Looks good, how long did you work on it for?

[BILL OXIDEAN]

This is a nice project Chief..

[WhatRLaws4]

Thanks for the kinds words. I will be running 8s until the end of boating season(mid to late oct here in MN) just so I can fine tune and make sure everything is working as it should. Then I will invest in some good 5s packs and a few more props for next year...it should really cook on 10s. Does anyone have anything to comment on in relation to lipo placement in the hull?? I read a segad build on here last night that had them in the sponsons. This was my original plan, until a few RCU members told me to mount them in the center, but couldnt really explain the pro/cons of either. Anyone have some solid advice on that??

[WhatRLaws4]

Thanks for the kinds words. I will be running 8s until the end of boating season(mid to late oct here in MN) just so I can fine tune and make sure everything is working as it should. Then I will invest in some good 5s packs and a few more props for next year. Does anyone have anything to comment on in relation to lipo placement in the hull. I read a segad build on here last night that had them in the sponsons. This was my original plan, until a few RCU members told me to mount them in the center, but couldnt really explain the pro/cons of either. Anyone have some solid advice on that??

[Make-a-Wake]

I believe you're only going single motor right? If so, i dont see why you couldnt mount them there, it'll get your center of gravity down vertically.

[WhatRLaws4]

Thats exactly what I was thinking...low is best. But Chris at FDM and 2 RCU members said to mount them in the middle. Placement in this hull may just be trial and error.

[Make-a-Wake]

It could have something to do with cornering.............lets let a Cat pro chime in here.............I know Mono's mainly, and the only Cat i ever had was a Mystic that bounced like a Kangaroo til the day i sold it LOL.:doh:

I'll get Bill over here.........

[bill34207]

It could have something to do with cornering.............lets let a Cat pro chime in here.............I know Mono's mainly, and the only Cat i ever had was a Mystic that bounced like a Kangaroo til the day i sold it LOL.:doh:

I'll get Bill over here.........

Got your PM on RCG scorp. Looks like WhatRLaws4 pretty much under control to me though.

Battery placement should be wherever you get the best cg and balance at. Until you run it, you won't really know if center of the tunnel or in the sponsons will work better. With my old Expresscraft Thunderbolt I had the motors in the sponsons and ran the packs on the tunnel. With the Falcon cat I have a single 2028 in the center and running the packs in the sponsons. Even though the Falcon has the packs in the sponsons mine don't do a lot for lowering the CG since mine are wedged in with foam (level with the tunnel floor) to make life easier when changing them.

I do think you might be able to spin a little more prop on this one, especially while running 8s. The 2028 in mine is only a 780 kv motor but it runs really well on 9s 2p with an Octura X460/3. In a 2 blade I'd go for at least a 457 or for 3 blade a 455. (3 bladers work well on cats) The trick is to raise your strut so that you have about 3/8" of clearance between the bottom of it and the bottom of the sponsons. I put mine on a flat table and slip a 3/8" drill bit under the bottom of the strut as a gauge when setting it up.
Do I have a clue as to what I'm talking about? Danged if I know. :confused2:
This is how mine runs though.

http://youtu.be/OQ3j-C6LiBw
OQ3j-C6LiBw

I kind of miss this one sometimes too.
http://youtu.be/-NJumIsc3Jg
-NJumIsc3Jg

[Make-a-Wake]

I miss ol' Goldie too..................what a nice running boat!! Hope that guy is giving her some TLC.

[WhatRLaws4]

I completely understand what your talk about. I only wish now I had upgraded my stuffing tube after I decided to FE. Originally, these venom boats come with a teflon tube for the stuffing tube, and an internal teflon tube for the flex shaft...the only metal was a 2" guide tube exiting the hull. Thanks a lot, Venom. With the recommendation of Tony @ WHH, I set the center of his aluminum stuffing tube to be even with the bottom of the sponsons, then I JB welded it into the existing 2" guide tube. This is when it was gas powered of course. I did leave roughly 2" of exposed cable and teflon tube for adjustments in the drive angle and height. Getting 3/8ths clearance however may not be do-able in its current state. I would have to somehow figure out how to rebend the aluminum stuff tube without removing it. Heres a photo of the original stuffing tubes it came with, then after the warehouse hobbies drive hardware was installed. (pics are when it was gas powered still)

[bill34207]

I used to shoot for the bottom of the sponsons with my drive lines, too. Worked well with my fisrt cat (hopped up Neu 1521 powered Genesis). I didn't start raising the strut until getting into my Aeromarine Sprintcat .40. (another sweet running hull). With it, 1/4" seemed to be the magic spot.
When I set up the Falcon I started it at the same 1/4" setting but was having some porpoise issues with it and raised it some more. Both the SC and Falcon are "wide ride" hulls so yours may work for you where it's at. Or, with it being 55" long you might have to go even higher. It's like the CG, you just have to play with it and see what works out best.

[WhatRLaws4]

So far, this boat has been nothing but trial and error. But atleast these adjustments are quick and easy. I do have 1 concern however, and I hope I already fixed it. When it was gas, I would always get quite a bit of water in the hull. All my water lines were tight. The only thing I could think of was water was coming up the flex shaft. The prop shaft that WHH hobbies supplied me is a "floating" set up. The end of my cable is square. When under load, the shaft I guess gets slightly shorter in size, and is able to slide in and out of the prop shaft. Less load on my parts is how Tony @ WHH put it. Anyways, in the pic I included, the gas set up is on the left. It has a blunt face. Not hydrodynamic by any means. Could this be the culprit? I figured water was somehow getting pushed back up the flex shaft in the teflon tube. The new one for me FE set up is on the right. I took the blank shaft, put it in my drill and went up against a grinding wheel. It did the trick. Its not the prettiest thing in the world, but Im hoping this will stop the water from coming in throught the shaft now. I also got some new teflon tubing, and made it a bit longer this time so theres hardly any exposed flex cable. Think this will work? Could I be missing something?

[bill34207]

Guess I'm a little slow coming back here. I really don't have any "working" information on whether what you did will help or not though. Every time I run into one of those square drives I replace it with conventional 1 piece flex. Even if it means replacing the strut to do it.

[WhatRLaws4]

Im gonna try the square drive for now and see if rounding that piece helped any. If im still taking on water, Ill purchase a new shaft and strut next season. For now, the boat is complete. I put down industrial strength velcro ahead of the motor for the lipos, and also added a velcro strap to go around them for added security. I also got my charger in. Got the Thunder T610, read good things about it. Now Im just waiting on my lipos and power supply....hope to see those within the week.

[WhatRLaws4]

Took it out for the first time today. 54 degrees out and windy as a mother. This thing was skippin like a school girl, but man is FE sweet!!! So much better than gas. Only got on full throttle once, its fast. 50ish for the speed by my guess. But was really just puttin around at half throttle due to the conditions. But half throttle speed was same as full speed when it was gas. Im thrilled with this boat finally. It was only me today, so no running pics, but I should have some next weekend, and hopefully a vid as well.

[WhatRLaws4]

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