Insane FE30 build

[v-spec]

The picture does not do the red justice.

Your right, the red looks REALLY good! What are you going to run in it?

[MarkF]

I usually mount the turn fin bracket then the hardware on the transom, then the servo bracket and install linkege to rudder, then glue the motor mount. Once the motor mount drys I do the stuffing tube then its smooth sailing from there.

Mark

[johnf]

The red defintely looks great in person. I'll try and snap a pic of mine soon to show you guys the great cf work Jeff did for me.

[electric]

Your right, the red looks REALLY good! What are you going to run in it?

I have a neu 1515 1y, turnigy 180. I have a lot of props, but I have one from Mark Sholund ABC h-6 that I might try somewhere along the way.

I do have a swordfish 120 and a ul1 motor that might be fun also, but I figure the neu will run cooler and I can prop it up.

[properchopper]

The picture does not do the red justice. Really a nice looking boat. Propper, could you send me a copy of the build instructions that you did? jim.stephens@comcast.net. Are you all putting any plywood on the transom or where the turn fin is for extra strength? Doesn't look like it needs it.

E-mail sent

[properchopper]

One of the guys in our club has a vinyl cutter, soooo....

Came out really nice !

[johnf]

+1. Looks great. I've got a friend that does vinyl work professionally. Need to call him up and get something like that done!

[electric]

Thanks Andy. I got some building done tonight, and my new hatch arrived! The new hatch is definitely a better fit, so I'm quite happy about that.

Tonight I cut and bent the pushrod, and epoxied the brass sleeve in place. I use the same diameter rod for my DF33, which also pushes to turn right. It works great, so I have no doubts this rod with the sleeve for extra stiffness will also work well. It's a poor photo, but you'll see what I mean. A standard clevis threads on the left side and the 90 degree bend goes through the rudder arm.

Next up I glued in the motor mount & carbon rails. I lined the motor up by putting a drill bit in the coupler and setting a piece of aluminium angle against the strut (that angle will be used to build my JAE one day....) I lined the drill bit up with the angle to get the right alignment.

The whole lot was epoxied to the floor. I layed some strips of glass under the rails where they didn't quite match the hull shape to fill any gaps. I also put some glass near where the battery strap will go for extra security. On went some weights and the whole thing has been set aside to dry until tomorrow night.

Did you just glass/epoxy the servo mount in place?

[Scott T]

Did you just glass/epoxy the servo mount in place?

Yes, I just roughed the mount and hull up with coarse sandpaper and epoxied the mount in place.

[Scott T]

Progress has been slow since I've been sick for a couple of weeks, and work is quite busy (always the way!).

Anyway, I've now epoxied the stuffing tube and small support bracket in. The Hydra 120 has been soldered up, and I've started setting up the plugs for the safety loop (external loop we must run to cut the power if necessary). I've also installed foam flotation into both sponsons and will add more inside the hull as the build progresses.

[Scott T]

The build is coming along a bit now. RX switch has been mounted, RX location sorted out and aerial tube mount installed. Lots of foam has been placed under the decks and across to the sponsons (I filled the sponsons a few weeks ago).

The ESC location has been sorted, so I drilled the holes for my safety loop sockets (female 5.5 plugs). Small holes were drilled to start with and a 1/8" plywood doubler glued under the deck. Once cured, the holes were drilled out to full size (slightly loose) and the sockets tacked in with a drop of CA. I covered the top of the sockets and deck with masking tape, then flipped the boat over and dripped epoxy in where they meet the deck. The epoxy flowed nicely around the sockets and the boat is now sitting upside curing.

You can also see the double-sided velcro strap epoxied into place to hold the cells snugly. The strap went through slots in the carbon doublers, so should be nice and secure.

[andym]

A very nice build as always Scott, you may still need some velcro on the floor to stop slipping

[Scott T]

Thanks Andy. I'll be putting velcro between the carbon rails, but not until the end so I don't accidentally get any epoxy in it as I go. Same with the ESC velcro.

Hope to have it on the water this weekend

[electric]

Well, I finally got my hydro put together and took her out for the first run last weekend at the HOTMBC (Heart of Texas Model Boat Club) get together. Nothing like dropping a brand new boat in the water for the first time in front of a group of RC boaters whom you just met minutes ago for the first time!

Pulled the trigger and away she went. I had to dial in the rudder(almost hit the cement lined bank). After that it ran great!! Thanks to everyone for their help and Tony thanks for your pics on the drive shaft.

I actually lost the rudder later that day and ran the boat onto the shore (cement), but there was no damage(slight scuff), partially because at the last moment I threw it in reverse and burned off some speed before tapping the bank. Turns out my servo failed(absolutely no response). First time I have ever had that fail before. See, reverse on an ESC does have it's good side.

You will see in the pics I have hooked up my Eagle Tree Datalogger. Next time out I am going to try two or three props. I am running a Neu1515, with a Turnigy180.

Oh yeah, and I will be cleaning up the wiring......

[properchopper]

Looks great, Jim. Let us know how it does - I have a 15151Y & HK 180 just waiting to put in mine !!