powering large boats with electric

[expresscraft]

send me 350.00 plus shipping and we are on it,lol. what would I learn if I did that?I have been building gas boats for a long time,so this is very good for me.I'm sure I will be doing some great builds.I have already gotten some good info,10s packs I think will give all the power I will ever need to offer.would still like some brand names put out there.so I dont spend a lot of money on batteries and find out I should have gotten something else.castle and swordfish esc's seam to be good options on the high voltage side of things,I know more about the kv ratings, and the castle and leopard motors seam to be good choices as well.I'm going to keep gathering info.but this is not bad for 1 day of asking.Ben from fightercat bought a mti from me a year or so ago.But I do not know how that project worked out.I hope to have a lot of good first hand info before long, but until then, im taking all the advice i can get, thanks again guys.

[madmikepags]

hey express i was only joking I don't have time to build the boats cars and planes I have but if you want to call me to talk about setups and stuff call me anytime at 917-417-0241, I have built a lot of FE boats (150+) and have built some big stuff, nothing quite as big as your 60" hulls but up to 55" so I have a lot of info.

[T.S.Davis]

Tom, Mikey is good people and his boats are stupid fast. Don't hesitate to call him to toss ideas around.

The gentleman you've been conversing with by the name of Fluid has written books on FE so he's a pretty good source of info too.

Not trying to discount the opinions of anyone else. Those are just a few guys whose expereience I can vouche for.

[graill]

For the most part folks here are giving you good advice, Terry, Madmike, egneg, Fluid aka Turner. I build giant scale FE, 70-93 inches, i have made 8 boats for folks overseas (saudi arabia) and in canada and have three myself, none have ever burned up, nor has any of my customers boats burned up but i no longer build for other folks as i do not have the time anymore and i have moved into Turbines.

I have outright refused to build for folks and have the hateful emails to prove this because i felt they could not handle nor were they competent to run the higher performance rigs after i asked a few questions. People want things just because they want them, the FE hobby is NOT the place for this type of want, as i mentioned, Turner and Terry and Steve and quite a few others can tell you this from a purely technical standpoint, something new FE users do not want to hear or see in type.

Folks asking about the bigger boats, 70 inches to 93 inches, most of the time have no clue as to the logistical side of transporting to the lake and back, battery maintenance, and maintenance in general, let alone setups for rigs of this size and weight, or COST, they simply try to copy known setups and still end up burning parts and wondering why instead of learning even the basics of electrical theory and its implementation in FE boating. Being the devils advocate on this board i suggest you ensure your customers KNOW at least some electrical theory and its implementation in FE sports. They also must know the consequence of transportation and maintaining the bigger rigs as i mentioned.

[nata2run]

I 100% agree with graill!! ....and 100% respect to you!! your fleet rocks :)
But, if you are building boats for people, it should be because they know the boat game already, and like the style you are building. Not because they see a nice powerfull boat and say...I WANT. I havent build many boats like some of you folks, but I have started from scratch with very low budgets, to now making boats....well not so cheap. I always take it easy and very slowly progress to get where I want to be. I'm stuck with a lot of power in my curent build, but try my way slowly to get the most out of it. My advice, just take it easy what ever you do.

There would be alot to recommend out there that can push a 60" hull... question is what do you want to spend?
on a side note.... I only want a size I can fit on the backseat and launch myself :) (curent build is 54") and it just fits LOL

[expresscraft]

I agree as well with what you guys are saying, I have gotten some pm's as well letting me know im in good hands with the guys that are posting. and I thank everyone for that.i spent 4 years in the Marines and after that have been selling and building models my whole life,I had a hobby shop here in Cocoa fla. for 22 years,I use to tell guys that if I could talk them out of a heli,(all nitro 20 years ago) that it was probably not a good hobby for them,But if I could tell them all the bad things about helicopters and they still wanted to play,then I would be glad to help them,I still feel this way.I can only make so many boats, so I do choose to build for guys that realize there is more to building good working model then running a credit card,plus I am not a rich person because of the money I have or do not have, I'm a rich person because i have been able to do the things I want to in life.choosing guys i will build for,is as important as choosing who customers will have do there builds,most of the times when i have had a bad feeling about someone.And i build for them anyways,It's a nightmare.I make my living making bare hulls, Building RTR's at this point is as much for me as it is for my customers,I do not pay any bills when building RTR's. but it sure is cool to order parts for a great build on someone else's dime.I look forward to learning more about the large electric side of things, And bringing in some new people that might not get involved without my help.That said I'm not really the type to sell to guys that I think will hurt the hobby.But how can I know who will do what?I have seen recovering drug addicts come in my shop to get into the hobby to see if a model airplane could help them get with a better class of people and clean themselves up. And be awesome modelers.And I have seen engineers from N.A.S.A (10 miles up the street) do some really stupid things.So there really is no way of knowing what people will do. But I will take all the advice I can get.And pass it on, once I'm qualified.This is a gas MTI i just built,It will be going for paint this week end.The fuel tanks are not in a permanate spot in these pics, this was just to get it water tested, I will be finishing lose ends after its painted, 60+ mph on stock k-600.1st time out.3000.00 as tested no paint.

[wade7575]

expresscraft by the way when are going to start making a few 30 inch Cat's that are made for Electric's,I know I'd be one of the first to buy if you started making them as you have some really nice Hull's forsale.

[wade7575]

I just got 6 ThunderPower 5000Mah 130C Burst 65C Constant 7.4 Volt Pack's and I also just got 6 Turnigy NanoTech 14.8 Volt 5000Mah 130C Burst 65C Constant,the Turnigy NanoTech's were'nt my first choice but as the ThunderPower pack's were 289.99 each I said no Friggin way,I don't think the Turnigy's are as bad as what alot say they are I think some of it is they sell many Pack's compared to other Company's you are going to here more bad stuff about them.

Just after getting my Turnigy NanoTech Pack's I seen a Thread about MarkF from this Forum and his Dinogy pack's that out perform ThunderPower pack's a bit and are 6000Mah and not 5000 and have the same 130C Burst 65C Constant C Rating's as the ThunderPower and NanoTech pack's,I'm pretty sure propperchopper said he was running them and liked them,also Mark's price for a 14.8 6000Mah Lipo Pack is 120.00 and I'm pretty sure he said to me the more you buy the better the deal and Mark also stands behind his pack's for 6 month's incase something wrong.I think the Turnigy's will do alright for me but I know they can hit or miss and I know they are going to be more then miss but I'd still rather spend the little extra and the extra 6000Mah and a pack that I know is better made and does not cost 289.99

Give MarkF a PM and ask him who is running his pack's on the forum I think his pack's sound really promissing.

Hey Fluid, i posted at the same time you did,and before i saw your post,if you where building the boat what would you get?batteries type and brand, i have a dealer set up with great planes and horizon and can get castle products through them pretty easy.have not checked with O.S.E and will support him and his great site as much as i can.castle will work for me if they have the items to do a big boat, they have been very good in cars.not bad service either.

[T.S.Davis]

The Turnigy cells are priced right but they're hit and miss. I've been beat by them racing. We've had guys running them in our club with no problems at all. We've also seen some with issues. Maybe one cell with low voltage. Just this past Wednesday night we had 10s go thermal nuclear and burn themselves completely out. On the water fortunately. I'm not saying they aren't a viable solution. You just need to use quality charging equipment and you need to recognize when the information they are giving you dictates that the cells should not be run.

Tom, it sounds like you have the right attitude about these builds. You can't possibly know exactly what every potential client is going to do with a hull you sell them. For a build it sounds like they need to sell you on the notion that you should build it for them before you do. Heck small boats are dangerous. Big boats in the hands of someone ignorant are just......well more so. Not everybody gets it.

Some small boats might be a good idea if you're up to it. 30" might be a tough market with the Proboat and Aquacraft cats out there. Even a 40" or so cat would sell. There's kind of a void from about 36" to 40" as far as actual "race" boats. Aeromarine Sprintcat or maybe a Team Believer are the only hulls I can think of that you could actually race on 6s and those are both 36" I think.

[T.S.Davis]

double post......doh!

[stumblinh]

ok you guys are going to lose me, what i posted has not been bought yet,this is just the info my customer has given me,so when i respond to his request, i need to tell him why his parts that he is asking for will not work, and what i would recommend.and of course why i would recommend it.please do not take for granted that i know anything....I really do not, out side of setting his boat up. i will be fine there, but im looking for very specific answers, i may have just been giving one and not know it.lol, a hobby wing seaking 180/360a is that a motor? mambaxl2 is from castle correct? but i thought there mamba stuff was for cars?what would work with the 10s batteries he is willing to go with?for me i just want to make our hull look and perform great, so bigger is better to a point.(I guess)I would like to recommend him the most bang for the buck, without buying something he will pay for every time he uses it.

I mentioned the hobbywing seaking 180a esc because if you were doing a dual motor, dual esc setup you could run two 6s systems side x side with a couple larger 6s packs in parallel to the esc's or one 6s on each. If this was setup properly and had an appropriate prop (have to watch temps to determine best mix) this would be a stable and inexpensive system but it depends on how fast and hard it is pushed like anything. If you were looking for the simplicity of a single motor setup and just want crazyness then the castle motor i mentioned is the only way to go iMO. The castle ICE controllers are again the best choice for the most stable fun setup iMO, I'd stick w/ 8s and parallel up a two 8s packs. The cheaper esc's save a few bucks but are not worth it iMO.

In most high demand applications you will find lipo's last longer and hold voltage better when you take two equal packs (even if smaller mah) and parallel them together to make a single larger pack (two 3300mah packs in parallel = 6600mah and double the "c" rating as well) vs two lower voltage packs and series them. Even if the math based on each pack is 50c, when reality hits and you are in the real world sharing the load between the two packs it almost always results in better performance. Keep in mind most if not all lipo's are over rated, or using their own custom rating system.. so 50c may only be 30c in reality. 90c would dump a lipo in seconds and it would be destroyed.. so any pack claiming 90c it's a burst figure not sustained..

Again I don't own a large boat of this size, but have dealt with higher demand applications so listen to the guys who have had actual experience :)

[T.S.Davis]

6s might be a cool experiment. An expensive experiment but cool.

6s2p Dinogy 3700's
Castle ICE240 LV
Neu 2217/1y
Octura X455.....ish

Times two of course. Just not sure that's enough power to push a big boat. That would be sick in a bit smaller boat. hmmmmmm I'm such a race monkey I can't bring myself to build anything I can't race.

[Steven Vaccaro]

6s might be a cool experiment. An expensive experiment but cool.

6s2p Dinogy 3700's
Castle ICE240 LV
Neu 2217/1y
Octura X455.....ish

Times two of course. Just not sure that's enough power to push a big boat. That would be sick in a bit smaller boat. hmmmmmm I'm such a race monkey I can't bring myself to build anything I can't race.

I think of setups in watts or estimates of what watts I would like to see.

A 6s hobbywing setup twin
At full esc ratings 22.2 x 180 = 4000(approx) watts. x twins 8000 watts. Doable but on the line of easy burn-up.

a 10s system with 240 amp esc.
you can prop for 150 amps x 37 volts = 5500 watts(approx) x twins 11000 watts. Since this is much below the esc rating, less esc trouble. Less battery issues.

High volts, lower amps is the way to go.

[roadrashracing]

There a guy on rctech that has a 92" cat he wants setup for electric and go 100 mph

[Steven Vaccaro]

There a guy on rctech that has a 92" cat he wants setup for electric and go 100 mph

I get emails like this everyday. First I say something like you will need x packs in parallel and series. Then I get responses saying whats that.

If someone has to ask me how to go 100mph with a 20-30 pound boat and doesn't know the basics. I hate to sound rude, but maybe they really shouldn't be building one.