my new carbon fiber cheetah!

[kfxguy]

Just got it yesterday. I have to say this thing is beautiful. I almost don't want to drive it (yeah right!) It was partially finished. Really there's not alit to do to it but I have things I want to do to make it just right for my liking. I would like you guys to help me out by lending me your thoughtful ideas on what I should do. Here's a list of my ideas:

First and most important I need to add floatation. I was thinking about the crap you get in a can, the expanding foam but I read that was a bad idea and it was porous. Maybe there is a kind I can get other than walmart? Spray kind would be great. I have some white styrofoam but the hull is too thin to fit that.

Im still not sure on motor yet. I put a 4082 in it last night and ill try that first. Its bigger than my castle but I just can't help but think how beastly my 1515 2200kv castle is.

I have to finish the steering steering hookup. I took the beautiful all billet turnigy servo apart last night and found it wasn't waterproof. Not good as I sink em all the time. Bad driving skills I guess lol. So I filled the front gear section with grease to keep water out up there, then used hondabond (this badass silicon sealer we sell at my work. Hopefully that does the trick. I probably should have epoxied the circuit board as an extra precaution. If it fails, ill just buy a true waterproof one for it.

Battery trays. Gotta make some for it. Carbon fiber of course. Ill probably do that today.

Flex shaft. Well it has a wire drive shaft in it now. Im not sure if I care for it. Seems like it causes extra drag because how stiff it is and it wants to be straight and its in a curved stuffing tube. Thoughts?

It has a beautiful billet receiver box epoxied in. Well its absolutely beautiful, its right in the way of my steering, its not waterproof because it has a hole in the side for servo wires...I could seal it but having to take four screws out and dealing with silicon sealing the hole everytime I need to remove something just does not appeal to me. Maybe put some short extensions in the box permanently sealed to it. I tried to take the box out but the epoxy holding it is some mean stuff.

I need some decals or something. Looks funny without a windshield too. I think mono jeff is gonna take car of that part.

I need to seal the hatch. Im gonna hit of keith bradly for a hatch seal.

Follow along as I put this together and give me your input. Im gonna try to hit 70mph with it eventually.

Here's the pics

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[iridebikes247]

http://www.gbindustrialdirect.com/frost-king-vinyl-foam-tape-10-ft-roll.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=shopping&gclid=CPH_x8HQ2roCFSEV7AodcXoAtQ

I use that stuff for sealing the hatch works great. not sure if I linked you to the right size but that stuff is awesome

[srislash]

Well I have not heard good things about "wire" drives in the long term. They need to be kept clean from water as any spec of rust formation can lead to failure.
The extension leads thru the Rx box is good planning and don't forget dielectric grease in the extension plugs to keep corrosion out if you are getting them wet at all.

She looks good, I like the "Cheetah" down the flanks.

[kfxguy]

Well I have not heard good things about "wire" drives in the long term. They need to be kept clean from water as any spec of rust formation can lead to failure.
The extension leads thru the Rx box is good planning and don't forget dielectric grease in the extension plugs to keep corrosion out if you are getting them wet at all.

She looks good, I like the "Cheetah" down the flanks.

I don't even like the looks of the wire drive. Ill order a flex shaft for it. I don't want issues and I don't like the extra drag it creates. I guess you can say im a hairsplitter but extra drag equals more work for my electronics, less potential speed and less runtime. Byebye wire drive lol. I like the cheetah on the side too. I think its gonna stay. I already use die electric in the receiver plugs as it is now....because for some reason my boats don't stay right side up for long. Lol

[kfxguy]

http://www.gbindustrialdirect.com/fr...FSEV7AodcXoAtQ

I use that stuff for sealing the hatch works great. not sure if I linked you to the right size but that stuff is awesome

They have some awesome stuff at my local hobby shop but they only have it in 3ft sections. Im headed there now to pick up supplies for this build and ill see if they have a longer section or can get it. The stuff you posted in the link looks good too. I think they might have that at home depot. Ill have to check. Thanks!

[srislash]

I already use die electric in the receiver plugs as it is now....because for some reason my boats don't stay right side up for long. Lol

Perhaps don't run the boats quite so loose. LOL. I still run the Geico single loose, it is fast and fun as heck. Just needs more retrieval.
Check and make sure the propshaft is 3/16 and not 4mm before ordering stuff. Ben started all that wire drive stuff and was big on metric stuff for a bit there.

[tiqueman]

You shouldn't be flooding boats even if they flip. Do not rely just on hatch locks, tape it too. As for trays in the Cheetah, I just have a 3/16 foam pad on the floor of the sponsons and my front foam in the sponsons stops a inch and a half or so before the front of the batt for adjustment. (mines a twin so the motors w/ a small piece of foam in front are the rear stops) In your case use foam behind them along the sponson to the rear. I then put pieces of foam I cut (1 on each side) either in front or behind the battery depending on water conditions and cog. I use a strip of foam on top that gets sandwiched between the batt and the deck/ hatch. 2 years of abuse and never had anything go wrong.

My vote for any type of two part or spray in foam, ABSOLUTELY NOT causes more problems than its worth. Pool noodles. or the flat foam that comes in shipping boxes that you can cut to shape and or layer works really well (not the Styrofoam stuff that breaks and leaves little foam balls all over the place)

[srislash]

I agree with the foam mounting. This will be the way on the upcoming cat build.

[kfxguy]

Perhaps don't run the boats quite so loose. LOL. I still run the Geico single loose, it is fast and fun as heck. Just needs more retrieval.
Check and make sure the propshaft is 3/16 and not 4mm before ordering stuff. Ben started all that wire drive stuff and was big on metric stuff for a bit there.

The strut is 4mm but im sure I can ream it or hone it. Loose is fast. I like to go fast lol

[TheShaughnessy]

I always thought wire drives offered less drag then a flex cable. I'm not a fan of them by any means. It remains the only drive line I've ever broke. I had one in a Vegas that tony set up with ball bearings and it was silky smooth and sounded cool too but more maintenance then a more standard flex and bushing application. I prefer a 3/16 cable with 1/4" k&s tubing sans Teflon. I'm about to head out to the SAW event going on right now. Ill try to get a peek at what the trend is there.

[tiqueman]

Ive never been a big fan of wire either, but as Shaughnessy said, Ive heard theyre supposed to be a lot less drag when set up properly, but a lot more finicky from what Ive seen as well.

As I mentioned last night Travis, just swap it out. the strut mod is easy w/ a new 1/4" drill bit and some oil. Easiest way I found to get the bushings out is find a bit that goes into the 4mm bushings, then get the next size up. Give it a push and spin the drill up and while still spinning pull it out. The bearing will come out with it. Use a new or freshly sharpened bit or it wont work.

[kfxguy]

What about this for floatation ?

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[tiqueman]

ive seen people use the blue sheets and shape them to fit. Id imagine that stuff floats the same?

[Fella1340]

Hey there, cheetah looks awesome. I would have given the wire drive a shot. Lots of people
using it in high power drives. The ones I have seem are stainless steel though. I don't think it
Would create extra drag either. What do I know though. I am doing a similar reciever box, I will
machine a 1/16" ballnose around the top of it about 0.040" deep. Then use my oring kit
to make an oring to suit. It would look real nice. If you can machine it I would be happy to send
a couple of sized orings your way. Just a thought and it keeps messy sealants out of the equation. I.agree, spray foam bad. I can imagine what it would look like a few years down the road. I have a wire drive in my mini mono with a 3800kv motor and it works great. Easy and cleaner maintenance. You could always try a.stainless wire and see how that goes, I guess I just like them. Great looking boat, I hope to see video of you running it hard!

[rickwess]

What about this for floatation ?[ATTACH=CONFIG]107754[/ATTACH]

I don't like the chucky look. For my Insane 34, I'm going to pour 2 part foam in the larger cavities, then sand it down into a flat surface. I'll then laminate a layer of e-glass over the whole underside of the hatch to provide a nice clean look to it.