.062" Wire Drive

[Tamelesstgr]

What power can this piano wire handle? Looking for somewhere in the neighborhood of 1500-2000kv Leopard and 4-6s Lipo. I have an inline rudder and stringer from Octura. I think the next option would be replace my stuffing tube and run a 3/16" prop shaft and .150 flex cable. Very similar to this setup except mine does not have the bottom skeg: http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...ct-oc6str-130a

32" DEEP-V HULL

[grsboats]

I've been using this one with a 36 motor(2200kv) in a rigger with zero issues.Gill

[Jeff Wohlt]

Mainly 4s with around 2200 KV motors...and a good balanced prop. I am amazed at what some of the 062 drives have been thru and handles. I have some out there that have had for years and never and issue.

[Meniscus]

I have had no issues with the ones that Jeff makes. Several of them have been through hundreds of runs. For most applications, I use the .078 wire on 2s or 4s.

It does matter how and what bend you put in them. If at all possible, you want the last 3" of the stuffing tube to be relatively straight to the strut. At the same time, you want the bend to be very smooth. One of the easiest ways to ensure a smooth bend is to run double-wall brass tubing (one inside of another). It makes the tube bend much more even when it is cold as-opposed-to when it is heated for other methods of bending. Regardless, stay away from any 'Z' bends. You want a long, continuous curve. Hopefully this is helpful.

Jeff's comment about a well-balanced prop is essential. Also, motor alignment and installing the coupler so that it turns true is equally important.

[Tamelesstgr]

I will be doing a completely new motor mount and rails for this hull. 5mm to .062 coupler. As it sits the stuffing tube is/was all ready installed (bought it in this state) with a pretty gradual bend, total length is 6-7"

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So would you say that running a carbon prop is an absolute no-no?

[lt130th]

So would you say that running a carbon prop is an absolute no-no?

The reason for suggesting a well balanced prop is to reduce vibration & runout caused by the rotating mass of a heavy prop, like brass. Carbon props are often advertised as not requiring any balancing due to their light weight. Like spinning a baseball bat vs spinning a tennis racquet, about the lateral axis.

[lt130th]

I would recommend a collet style coupler rather than set screws, if you run .062 wire. A 1600kv 4082 on 4s will twist a .062 wire at any point that is scored/flat-spotted. Also remember to leave a gap between drive-dog & strut/stinger to prevent any binding or extra torsion on the wire.

[Tamelesstgr]

I just ordered my 5mm to .062 wire drive coupler. I will be running the 1500kv motor I have on 4s as a starting point. I don't have the $ to invest in my true wish list at this point. I would just like to get her together and see how she runs. Should something break, or it's not fast enough (I have to lol at this statement all ready) then I will have something to work on/upgrade over the winter.

[Meniscus]

Best wishes and certainly contact us if you run into any questions or issues.

[Tamelesstgr]

Ok guys, in getting my strut / rudder assembly set up I noticed a few things. With the stock drilled holes I was only able to fit about a 41mm prop before the blades would be hitting the aluminum strut. I can move the strut up on the hull and have ample room to run larger props. The next issue I need to solve is the strut angle. It tends to want to settle at a negative angle (and would be pushing the bow down) I can get the angle to neutral (which I would prefer) but then when I install the wire drive, I can feel a noticeable difference in the smoothness when rotating the wire drive assembly. Obviously I want a smooth operating shaft, so do I give up the strut adjustability and run it at the negative angle? Could I compensate with battery location based on the hull behavior once I get it on the water?

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[Meniscus]

It appears that the issue resides with the strut hitting the hardware at the top. Simply pull out the strut, grind off some of the material towards the transom (on the strut itself) and reinstall. This is best done with gloves and safety glasses. I know it seems silly to say, but you know how things go sometimes.

Also, the center of the strut should align with the center of your stuffing tube in order to limit binding. Best practice is to maintain a straight stuffing tube going to the strut for at least a couple inches. For most applications, 3 to 4 inches is best. However, it may be limited by the length of the wire, motor position and the amount of bend. The bend should be gradual, but bent more towards the motor than the strut side. That being said, gradual is the key here. any sharp or uneven bends can be detrimental to wire drive setups and it puts uneven load on the wire itself.

[Tamelesstgr]

I think I am going to set it where it spin smoothly and see what I end up with performance wise. I really want to give this wire drive a try, my gut is telling me it's going to break and I should just bite the bullet and go with a new stuffing tube and flex cable. Enjoying the learning process though.

[lt130th]

To run larger props, cut the rudder extension after the strut bolt & add a separate rudder:

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Your stuffing tube needs a bend, but only enough to keep the wire from flopping around inside the tube. I ran a .062" wire through a Miss Geico 29 stuffing tube so that wire should be fine with the small amount of bend it will have in your setup. In that KOS P1 I rebuilt, the motor is 1/16" off the hull floor to keep from having too much bend in the wire, since the wire length is only around 6 inches. Once you grease the wire, most of the friction & bending resistance will be relaxed. Just make sure the stuffing tube is in-line with the strut for a few inches from the transom (from top view & side view) like Meniscus said, so the wire is not bent/binding where it meets the stub-shaft. Does your stuffing tube and/or Teflon liner go up inside that strut? Make sure they are not rubbing on the stub-shaft as the strut angle changes, also.

If the strut angle is negative to a point that the hull is running too wet, & you try to raise the bow by shifting battery weight & transitioning the CG rearward, the boat will not perform at its peak & the electronics & wire drive will be doing extra work to compensate for those forces.

[Tamelesstgr]

I considered running the offset rudder, but the costs quickly escalated to where the boat wouldn't see water this year. I am able to increase the distance bewteen the bottom of the mounting bracket and drive strut. That's a 42mm prop in the picture, I can go bigger as well, I only have to drill new mounting holes in the transom and fill the old ones. I still have 2" of wedge rudder under the lowest point of the boat, so I hope that is adequate. I will be adding turn fins as well, probably 66mm in size. I will be able to nearly set the motor and mount on the bottom of the hull as well in the installation. I need to stop finding things to worry about.