Delta Force Vortex hydro build

[brazildesigns]

Jon,
Ok , I now have all my parts and ready to start. I already seem to have a problem, I temp. mounted the strut 3/16 from center to the starboard side and find that to place the rudder to the starboard side as you suggested the rudder arm extends almost to the edge of the hull. The steering servo would have to be buried under the deck to make it pull the rudder. With the strut offset like that it leaves little room. I read some other posts that say to locate the rudder to port which makes more room for the servo to mount to pull the rudder. If I mount the rudder to port it looks as if it would be 1.5" from the strut.
What do you think??
Brian

[Rumdog]

Mount it port side. It is a more common place to mount it on hydros, wheras riggers usually run it on the starboard. There will be very little to no handling difference.

[j.m.]

Yeah, port side is fine. The main thing is to make sure that the linkage pulls when you turn right.

[brazildesigns]

Thanks Guys,
Its the plan and pics will follow.
Rumdog, did you check the prop is there for your cavatation problem?? LOL
Brian

[Rumdog]

haha. I guess I should change my sig. My avatar used to be a pic of my Rico mono on a snowbank.

[j.m.]

You cut the rudder, right?

A tip for installing the hardware:

Put masking tape (preferably white) over the whole transom. It's a good idea to protect the bottom of the sponsons too while your building. Keep the tape in place while you drill; it will protect the gelcoat.

With this masking tape you can draw lines with a thin (.5mm) drafting pencil to mark the centerline and bolt holes to make sure everything is square. You need to make sure there are no mishaps because if the rudder isn't perfectly vertical, the back of the boat will either lift or sink on a turn, neither of which is fun.

Measure horizontal and vertical lines from a flat surface with the sponsons resting on the surface. The top of the transom is definitely not flat, and the bottom might not be either. What matters is the sponsons because that's what the boat will be riding on.

If you're good with CAD you could whip up a template with the bolt holes and centers to print out and put on the transom with spray adhesive to drill with. That would make a super idea...

Jon

[brazildesigns]

I have cut the rudder, it still seems long, its 4.5 below the bottom at the transom.
I am using double back tape the get locations and was planning to use Acad for a template. I am going to get some .150 drill bits to get location for the stuffing tube through the hull. The speed control is abit big but it will fit. The batts can go either long ways or sideways so all is good there.
I'll tell you I really like the ETTI rudder/strut setup that is a like a sinle mount setup, I am going to draw one up in CAD of my own design when this boat is completed.
Brian

[brazildesigns]

What kind of final weight should I be expecting with this hydro?? I should be able to get some pics up next day or two.
Brian

[brazildesigns]

OK, I am back , I now have all my parts ( except prop) . I had a friend do some wiring for me and I drew new strut and rudder mount brackets on ACAD and had them made.I remade the brackets to be .875 tall to better fit the transom. All this took 2.5 weeks and now I am ready to locate my rudder and strut, The motor, batts and esc are in their approx. locations so I will be taking some pics soon and posting them.
Brian

[brazildesigns]

Hey guys, Just wanted to say thanks for all the help and tips on my build. I ran my DF Vortex Mon. for the first time with the 7.4v setup and the boat did well with a x438 prop, I then switched to a 215 prop and the speed went up quite a bit. On Tue. I ran with the 11.1v setup with the 215 and wow!!!! Super fast!! I changed to a 220 and even faster yet, I havent hit full throttle yet since I feel the need to have a boat/canoe for a possible recovery.I haveyet to try my x640 prop which I can only guess what will happen there.
NOTE: My batts setup is 2 packs in parallel in both 7.4v and 11.1v. The handling of this boat is phenominal, as if its on rails.
Brian

[Fluid]

Brian, be careful using part-throttle, it will heat up your ESC and possibly damage it. Rather than use large props and part throttle, use smaller props and full throttle - same speeds. Lots of part-throttle running will cost you eventually.



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