Falcon Cat Build

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  • Patty B
    Junior Member
    • Dec 2010
    • 6

    #1

    Falcon Cat Build

    Hello Guys, new member here located in Nor Cal. Really interested in FE , why should the guys in Europe have all the fun.I have a Falcon Cat 41" x 16" wide and hatch is pretty wide that I would like to build electric. I know it is not going to be cheap, going fast never is. I would like some help on rigging this boat,not a whole lot of experienced knowledge with big electrics where I am at and would wondering who is the go to guy here on the forum, that has first hand knowledge on bigger boats and motors.I have a few gasser's now ,but have never ventured into FE's very far and info on the big stuff is kinda scarce, plus I can't read German. Hope some chimes in so I do not let too much smoke out of things,,BBQ"ED spped controls are really smelly
  • Fluid
    Fast and Furious
    • Apr 2007
    • 8012

    #2
    Welcome! I don't know of many Falcon FE builds, but the gas guys have positive things to say about that hull. There are a lot of large FE cats running in the US, and there are a lot of different ways to go about building one. First off you need to decide what you want out of the boat.

    - How much are you willing to spend on the boat?
    - How will you run it - racing, sport use, top speed runs?
    - How fast do you want it to be?
    - How much run time will you accept?

    To rig the boat well you will need to budget around $1000 minimum. This includes motor, ESC, packs, hardware and radio parts. Depending on your goal for the boat that may be too little. Large FE boats are not cheap and many builders end up spending over twice that amount for a top-notch build. My Stryker F-41 runs a Lehner 3060 motor, Schulze 40-160 ESC, 10S2P/9000mAh ThunderPower packs and SpeedMaster hardware. It runs 65 mph in race heats and has been 100% reliable for almost three years. It did cost more than $1000 to rig.

    If this is your first FE boat, I STRONGLY recommend that you begin with a less ambitious boat to learn about FE. From experience helping other gas and nitro boaters transition to FE, it is far better to learn basic rules on a $300 boat than on a $3000 one. The Miss Geico cat from ProBoat would be an excellent platform to learn about rigging an FE, battery management, water management, etc. Then you can begin the Falcon build. I have seen far too many gas boaters fail with their first FE boat due to simple (to FE boaters) mistakes that cost a lot of $$$.

    I'm not trying to discourage you at all, just trying to impart the experiences I have with other boaters. Let us know your goals and plans and we can help you with different levels of building. In the mean time you can do a Search on this forum to see what others have done with big FE cats.



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    • Doby
      KANADA RULES!
      • Apr 2007
      • 7280

      #3
      Hi Patty;

      I've got one set up for FE, PM me for some pics and details.
      Grand River Marine Modellers
      https://www.facebook.com/search/top/...ne%20modellers

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      • jac4412
        FE Addict
        • Jun 2010
        • 425

        #4
        Pat, I'd like to agree with Fluid on this one... I'm not trying to discourage you AT ALL.... but from experience I know what it's like.

        I started from scratch looking to make a large over 30 inch FE boat that would hit 50-60... I did this by myself with no experience.... badddd mistake. I spent more money on that boat and in the end I just sold it, I never got it to run correctly. If I would have started with a smaller build I would have been much better off. And lets be real here, you'll have more than one boat soon anyways... might as well get a jump on it. But in all seriousness I would really consider trying out a smaller boat build, at the very least you'll have a retriever boat.

        But welcome to the forums! I'll watch your build closely, you'll get a lot of valuable input here. Oh and I hope you got some deep pockets... A fast 26-36 inch boat normally runs around 300-700 bucks... Anything above 40 is normally well into a grand.

        Merry Christmas!
        JAC4412 RC

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        • Patty B
          Junior Member
          • Dec 2010
          • 6

          #5
          Thanks guys, I will definitely look in the 's Miss Gieco, just haven't heard a whole lot of praise for the off the shelf RTR's and some say they wind up spending money any way to get them up to speed I have not seen one up close, might just be better than I think . I should know by now, preconceived ideas will kick your butt every time, any way thanks for the advice, hopefully someone will have an after Chrissy Sale and I can scoop up a deal.

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          • Fluid
            Fast and Furious
            • Apr 2007
            • 8012

            #6
            Up until a few years ago, most RTRs were - well, junk. But starting with the SuperVee27 and going to the BJ26, UL-1 and Miss Geico the bar has raised a lot. Yes, they all need minor tweaks but without much investment you can get into the 40s and even 50s. At the moment the Miss Geico is the closest RTR to what you will be building, and you should be able to find decent prices on new or lightly used models. You can learn just as much with the SV27, but it is a mono. The UL-1 hydro is fastest, but perhaps the least versatile.


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            • jac4412
              FE Addict
              • Jun 2010
              • 425

              #7
              Originally posted by Patty B
              Thanks guys, I will definitely look in the 's Miss Gieco, just haven't heard a whole lot of praise for the off the shelf RTR's and some say they wind up spending money any way to get them up to speed I have not seen one up close, might just be better than I think . I should know by now, preconceived ideas will kick your butt every time, any way thanks for the advice, hopefully someone will have an after Chrissy Sale and I can scoop up a deal.

              Believe me I know what you mean... Like I said.. I ended up spending wayyyyy more than my boat (my first one ever) was worth or should have ever put into it... Best thing I did was come here, ask questions, buy a couple boats and started to fiddle with them myself. I mean when it comes down to it... even drilling the holes in the right spot is critical... especially in a boat that you want to scream.

              And agreeing with Fluid again, he is absolutely right... my father and I have been into rcs for awhile, but never boats because they were expensive and you really needed to know what you were doing to get a good one going... the rtr kits were crap.. some of them not even really "rtr". Proboat and aquacraft have really stepped their game up to put out some really good models for users.

              I'd encourage you to buy a MG hull or the rtr MG, good hatch space and to get it going well it should be relatively easy and not that expensive.

              Cheers!
              JAC4412 RC

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              • Patty B
                Junior Member
                • Dec 2010
                • 6

                #8
                Miss Gieco

                Thanks guys , after mulling things over and looking over the MG specs, think I will take the advice of those that know way better than me. Gota walk before you can run, so it make sense, do it right , get on top of the learning curve. What do you call a frist time FE boater Skippy , Stuffy or Smokey,bounce:

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