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View Full Version : Revolt Maiden - Trials and Tribulations



mitchesx
07-19-2014, 09:27 PM
Okay - So I had my first chance to try fast electric boating today. I started with my Revolt 30, and I had a little bit of an issue. Any input would be greatly appreciated! I started out, increased throttle and began my turn downstream. As soon as I came out of the corner, the nose lifted and it blew over dramatically. There was a breeze at about 10-15 MPH, so I realize I did turn dead into it. She seemed to want to wheelie no matter what. The boat did land right side up, so I brought it in, and checked everything over. There was a little water in the boat, but not much. I dried it out, plugged everything back in, and proceeded to run a few more laps. It was still light, even though I had the battery as far forward as the stock tray would allow. After about 6 laps, it just went dead in the water. I sent my retrieval boat out, and brought it back in. There was quite a bit of water in it when I got it back. I dried it out. There was no rudder or throttle response. I unplugged and then plugged the battery back in, and it seemed to work again, then it quit. I tried one more time, and it seemed to be okay. Needless to say, I put it away for the day. Has anyone ever experienced this? Has anyone else had the boat want to blow over quite so easily? Is this boat known to be a leaker? I will bathtub test it soon. As far as setup, I have switched to a single 4S 5000 MAH with 5.5 connectors. The prop is an M445. Everything else is stock.

Fluid
07-19-2014, 09:39 PM
I don't own a Revolt, but some of my fellow club members do. I am not familiar with leaks, but the prop you used gives the boat much more speed than the stock prop does. That means you need to make some setup changes, the boat is set up for stock speeds from the factory so it is not a surprise it is unstable at the higher speed. You would need to move the battery forward and probably raise the strut a few millimeters. As a boat's speed increases trim changes are common. The folks on this board will be happy to help you.


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mitchesx
07-19-2014, 09:53 PM
Thanks Fluid! I moved the battery forward, but that strut looks very difficult to adjust - just by looking at the transom with the way the tube exits.

fwlbp
07-22-2014, 06:58 AM
Welcome to Revolt 30 ownership! It is a awesome boat! I maidened mine just a few months ago. You can read about the issues I encountered during my maiden here:

http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/showthread.php?46879-Another-successful-Revolt-maiden!-W-video

I have read that the Revolt tansom hardware is indeed leaky. Upon receiving the boat I immediately saw the issues everyone spoke of. I had a nitro boat back in the day so I knew what to look for. Two glaring issues are that the cooling lines running through the transom have zero sealing ability. You should immediately get through hull transom fittings for the cooling lines. Secondly, all hardware should be unbolted and plumber's putty smeared underneath, then retighten all hardware with blue loctite. After I did these two things, I didn't get a single drop of water in the hull while running, even after crashes. I did have one submarine maneuver that put water pressure on the hull and allowed maybe 3 ml of water in, not bad!

Good call on putting 5.5 mm bullets on this beast. If you read in my thread, I encountered poor solder joints on the wimpy bullets on the motor wires. As for the blowovers, I'm not sure why your boat is doing this. Mine hasn't had this issue, but I haven't ran a aggressive prop such as the M445. As suggested, adjust strut some, Ensure the strut is at least running parallel to the bottom of the hull. Maybe also tilt the bottom of the rudder forward towards the bow, this should help plant it more in turns if you find it to be loose.

fwlbp
07-22-2014, 09:10 AM
One more thing, kind of a newb question, but you never know. Have you sharpened and balanced the M445? If not, that could give some unwarranted characteristics I'm sure. Beware though, read up on how to properly S&B a prop before doing so as there can be health hazards from the dust. If you are uncomfortable doing this, I recommend the Graupner K48 prop. Not as fast as other props, but it is excellent for sport boating and doesn't require sharpening/balancing.

mitchesx
07-22-2014, 12:21 PM
Thanks for the replies. I havent done much with the transom hardware, but I will. I will also try moving the strut down, and play with negative angle if I need to. I think I checked the strut to see that it was flat initially, but I will check again. I questiond the lines running through the transom without fittings and know I'll have to get some fittings. I did find that the line was cut right at the nipple of the cooling jacket - I'm sure a lot of the water came from there. I have been working with R/C boats since 2003; I started balancing and sharpening my own props then, but when I switched to gas had them done for me. This particular prop was bought sharpened and balanced from Dasboata (Chris). He did some gas props for me and helped me with setup.

My biggest mystery - why did it just quit on me? And then why did it work briefly after reconnection, stop again, and then work again? That could be the bigger issue to figure out.

fwlbp
07-22-2014, 12:39 PM
Well, you are definitely more experienced with props than me then, lol. As for why it stopped running, it could be many reasons. My boat stopped running after about 10 or 12 runs. I found that the crappy off brand batteries in my trasnmitter were dying. Once the receiver loses signal, it shuts the boat down. I doubt this is your issue though. My suspicion is that when your boat was flooded, it got the receiver wet. As for a solution I am not sure. There is a product called corrosionX that everyone loves for receivers. Its a water displacer. People take their receivers apart and basically submerge the receiver board in the stuff and let it sit, Then reassemble and run. I have a can of it myself, but haven't had the time to water proof my rx with it yet. I wonder if you can do this treatment to your receiver and displace any water that may linger in the receiver.

Another possibility is a intermittent broken wire. I found mine by wiggling various wires while giving it some power until I found the "one" that was giving me grief.

G-UNIT
07-22-2014, 01:33 PM
Try adjusting you trim tabs down alitte bit this will cause the bow to come down and run a bit wetter.

mitchesx
07-22-2014, 02:26 PM
I dont know about being that much more experienced with props... I could sharpen and balance a two blade pretty well, but never felt great about 3 blades. As far as cupping, etc.... Not me. I would rather work with the prop guys - they do it well. I thought about water in the receiver. Could be it. I have CorrosionX - I was gonna soak it anyway. Has anyone tried the stuff Carlo has from CC racing engines? I know they use it alot on the receivers in the gas boats. Supposedly with the tests they did, radios were working while under water. Wonder what that would do for us?


Well, you are definitely more experienced with props than me then, lol. As for why it stopped running, it could be many reasons. My boat stopped running after about 10 or 12 runs. I found that the crappy off brand batteries in my trasnmitter were dying. Once the receiver loses signal, it shuts the boat down. I doubt this is your issue though. My suspicion is that when your boat was flooded, it got the receiver wet. As for a solution I am not sure. There is a product called corrosionX that everyone loves for receivers. Its a water displacer. People take their receivers apart and basically submerge the receiver board in the stuff and let it sit, Then reassemble and run. I have a can of it myself, but haven't had the time to water proof my rx with it yet. I wonder if you can do this treatment to your receiver and displace any water that may linger in the receiver.

Another possibility is a intermittent broken wire. I found mine by wiggling various wires while giving it some power until I found the "one" that was giving me grief.

mitchesx
07-22-2014, 02:27 PM
Another good option. Think I'll start by moving the strut slightly down, then if not down more, a slight negative thrust, and then trim out with the tabs. I think I pretty much just repeated what Cheif said.... LOL

mitchesx
08-12-2014, 09:26 PM
Got some vid of my Revolt 30. It settles down with a tiny but of rudder input. I can then hold it wide open all the way around. If any one has any suggestions on how to get the setup so that I dont have to do that and still keep the throttle wide open I'd like to hear them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXVUECpYync

rickwess
08-12-2014, 10:25 PM
The m445 is a great prop for the Revolt and AQ 1800kv motor. The AQ 2200kv motor works well with a m445 also. You will need to move the battery forward as the speed increases. At 50mph, the front of my TP 4400mah battery was lined up with the front of the hatch. You pretty much need to run on glass at that speed as you are reaching the limits of the hull.

If it's still leaking after you've added fittings for the water lines and siliconed & tightened all the transom hardware, check the water jacket. When I changed over to the AQ2200kv motor using a AQ water jacket, I couldn't get it to seal properly until I used silicone on the can to fill any small gaps. Once I had the jacket on, I put the silicone on both sides of the can and worked the jacket back and forth while rotating it. When I was sure I had the coverage I wanted I just wiped off as much of the excess as I could see. That worked like a charm.

mitchesx
08-12-2014, 11:16 PM
Rick - barely any water in the hull this time! Was very happy about that! I'm thinking about a trim tab adjustment to maybe offset the chine walk, and help with the nose attitude. I did move the strut down, and also 1/2 deg of negative angle. My battery was all the way forward in the boat. Maybe I should bring it back slightly.

rickwess
08-13-2014, 07:56 AM
Good to here it wasn't a mystery leak.

I needed a small trim tab adjustment on the right side in order to counter the prop torque using the m445.