Need help with DF explorer

[de-pro]

DF explorer, Castle Ice 240 ESC, Leopard 4092 1480kv motor, 6S1P Turnigy Nano-tech 5000 65-130C lipo batteries., Octura m545 and m447 props.
I have some tuning issues running this boat. I initially had the Leopard 4092 1480kv motor running with an Octura 545 prop and also tried the m447 prop. The max speed I could reach with this setup was 45mph. Trying a bigger prop only caused more heat and very minimal increase in performance. I checked through the motor specs and noticed this motor has the maximum 23 volts rating. That only puts it in 5s territory and I was running 6s setup.
So I replaced the motor with a Leopard 4082 1600kv motor. It seemed to have helped reduce the temps however the performance wasn't good at all. Bigger props caused excessive heat and current draws.
One thing I have to mention is the fact I have installed two sponson mounted water pickups feeding the waterline to the motor. The ESC cooling lines are fed by the rudder.
I have tried raising the strut to help improve the performance but it just made the backend of the boat too loose under hard accelaration. Also the boat pulls rapidly to the right when a fair amount of throttle is applied. Once on the plain, then she runs flat. Could the sponson mounted pickup's cause the performance issue and too much dragging on this boat?
I feel I am running out of options to get an optimal speed and performance out of this boat. Any help you can provide to put me on the right path will be appreciated.
I have included a couple of photos of how the boat is setup.

P1010065 (1280x720).jpgP1010066 (1280x720).jpg

[kevinpratt823]

Can you show a side view of the strut? I had the same 1600kv/Hydra 240 setup in mine with a M645 and (2) 6s 5000mah running between 65-67mph, but getting hot if run more than a couple minutes. I doubt it's drag from the pickups. Pretty sure my strut is a touch lower than the ride pads...

[de-pro]

Ah, that was your boat on youtube. Amazing :)
Here is the photo

IMG-20130623-00004.jpg

[properchopper]

Often coming up with a helpful answer involves pursuing somone's "hunch". My hunch tells me that your boat is running too wet. Several indicators : Looking at the photo, it looks like your CG may be too far forward given the motor/esc position and battery location(s). Also, with the strut too low and too much lift in the prop the rear raises up, lowering the nose and also causes wet running. These conditions all can cause the symptoms you describe - not getting right up on plane, pulling to the right (propwalk), and stressing the electronics from pushing a too-wet hull - also you shold be achieving higher speeds. I like to set my cats up with an almost precarious CG, strut up from the sponson bottom a tad, some positive strut angle and go from there (until it blows over & then back down these settings).

My Cheetah gets up & out quickly, runs nice and loose, and the electronics barely get warm :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLyOFdekT7M

[lenny]

The motor water lines are backwards to,
Water should come in at the lowest point and out a the highest point.
You will get more water in the jacket that way for better cooling.

[de-pro]

It certainly makes senses what you mentioning. My CG based on the battery location is set at 13.5" for the 36" hull. I have pulled my batteries all the way back to where the tray starts. I certainly can try to pull back some more and leave only half the battery seated on the tray. The strut is pulled up further since that picture was taken to the point where there is only a few mm between the tip of the prop and the bottom of the bracket. Do you feel the 13.5" CG is too far forward, or perhaps the weight of the ESC is pushing the nose down too much. Here is the picture of the boat at full throttle

969601_606153772729873_795927480_n.jpg

[de-pro]

Edit, Thanks Lenny I will look into it

The motor water lines are backwards to,
Water should come in at the lowest point and out a the highest point.
You will get more water in the jacket that way for better cooling.

[properchopper]

It certainly makes senses what you mentioning. My CG based on the battery location is set at 13.5" for the 36" hull. I have pulled my batteries all the way back to where the tray starts. I certainly can try to pull back some more and leave only half the battery seated on the tray. The strut is pulled up further since that picture was taken to the point where there is only a few mm between the tip of the prop and the bottom of the bracket. Do you feel the 13.5" CG is too far forward, or perhaps the weight of the ESC is pushing the nose down too much. Here is the picture of the boat at full throttle

[ATTACH=CONFIG]101507[/ATTACH]

A little hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like there's too much wake coming out midships (too wet). If you're calculating your CG from the very back of the hull : 13.5"/36" = 37.5%. CG too far forward. If you're measuring from the rear of the sponsons (I'm assuming 2" back) 13.5"/36"-2"=34"= 39.7% (too wet) or even 11.5" / 34" = 34% (still fairly wet)

[lenny]

Can you see much water coming out the exit port for the motor ?
The T may be a problem in the water cooling flow to.

[de-pro]

Measuring from the inside part of the transom. I agree, she could certainly use pulling back 2-3"

A little hard to tell from the picture, but it looks like there's too much wake coming out midships (too wet). If you're calculating your CG from the very back of the hull : 13.5"/36" = 37.5%. CG too far forward. If you're measuring from the rear of the sponsons (I'm assuming 2" back) 13.5"/36"-2"=34"= 39.7% (too wet) or even 11.5" / 34" = 34% (still fairly wet)

[de-pro]

Its hard to say Lenny. I dont like Y connectors myself but till I get a dual pickup rudder, thats all the option I have

Can you see much water coming out the exit port for the motor ?
The T may be a problem in the water cooling flow to.

[siberianhusky]

A buddyy of mine bought a used boat with the water pickups done the same way, hanging below the hull just like that.
Ran really wet, couldn't loosen it up at all no matter what. Filed off the water pickups and it ran like a different boat.
Positive they were acting like trim tabs pushing the nose down.

[lenny]

I was talking about the motor water lines on the jacket being backwards not the esc lines.
You may be better off just using the one line from the rudder,
Too cool the esc and the motor and get rid of the pickups in the sponson's.

[de-pro]

A buddyy of mine bought a used boat with the water pickups done the same way, hanging below the hull just like that.
Ran really wet, couldn't loosen it up at all no matter what. Filed off the water pickups and it ran like a different boat.
Positive they were acting like trim tabs pushing the nose down.

Thats interesting, I didn't realize they can have that much of an impact on the performance of the boat. Thanks for the feed back

I was talking about the motor water lines on the jacket being backwards not the esc lines.
You may be better off just using the one line from the rudder,
Too cool the esc and the motor and get rid of the pickups in the sponson's.

Sorry Lenny, I misread you first. I did however correct my response and the way the lines were fed to the cooling can. Do you think a single feed to the ESC and the motor will suffice or should I wait for the dual pickup rudder.

[Fluid]

Most all my race boats run a single rudder pickup with no issues,
even with 90 degree water. Note that I don't often run longer than two minutes on these high amp draw set ups. Change to a single and remove/file off the other pickups and see if that (along with moving the CG) helps. If heat becomes an issue try recessed sponson pickups, those work well.





.