AquaCraft Wildcat Off-Shore Catamaran Brushless 2.4GHz

[POWERS]

Got to test out the wildcat ep out last night, and this morning I was back at my LHS returning it and picking up an Impulse 26.

To say the quality was bad is an understatement. Hobbyking would have been embarrassed to sale the electronics inside of it. After 2-3 minutes of running the motor was extremely hot, the hull was full of water thanks to a leaky hose. Half the outdated looking stickers on the outside where pealing off. The dual rudder set-up was touchy at best, any attempt to turn at speed was met with complete 180. The only points it gets is for going in a straight line, it would straight up scoot, until it got too full of water.

In general the look and feel was just not up to par with what I've gotten from ProBoat models. It's almost as if as an after thought they glued plastic sheeting on the ride pads, which in theory is a good idea, however their execution was half assed and hideous. I should have gone with my gut when comparing it to the impulse 26 at the LHS, but figured a cat would make a decently stable learning platform for the wifey to play with, like a smaller version of my miss geico.

This was my first Aquacraft purchase, and probably my last, is this type of quality typical? Or was I just lucky?

[Brushless55]

Got to test out the wildcat ep out last night, and this morning I was back at my LHS returning it and picking up an Impulse 26.

To say the quality was bad is an understatement. Hobbyking would have been embarrassed to sale the electronics inside of it. After 2-3 minutes of running the motor was extremely hot, the hull was full of water thanks to a leaky hose. Half the outdated looking stickers on the outside where pealing off. The dual rudder set-up was touchy at best, any attempt to turn at speed was met with complete 180. The only points it gets is for going in a straight line, it would straight up scoot, until it got too full of water.

In general the look and feel was just not up to par with what I've gotten from ProBoat models. It's almost as if as an after thought they glued plastic sheeting on the ride pads, which in theory is a good idea, however their execution was half assed and hideous. I should have gone with my gut when comparing it to the impulse 26 at the LHS, but figured a cat would make a decently stable learning platform for the wifey to play with, like a smaller version of my miss geico.

This was my first Aquacraft purchase, and probably my last, is this type of quality typical? Or was I just lucky?

sounds like you should check over the boat and for a fact check any boat out before running it in the water.. and that goes for all users of FE boats
having a leak can be common as these are mass produced and can have a leak.. something you as the user should always check first..
and use EPA on the rudder... you won't have the 180 spin outs when you set up the rudder correctly in the radio
and the comment of a extremely hot motor?? temps bro, not just "I think its hot?" outrunners can take more heat than inrunners...

AQ made a low price point Cat to get new people into the hobby for a few hundred bucks
I would never buy from HK before AQ.. AQ has amazing service and back up there products 100%

and again this is not a $350+ boat
only about $190 through Tower with a coupon

[POWERS]

sounds like you should check over the boat and for a fact check any boat out before running it in the water.. and that goes for all users of FE boats
having a leak can be common as these are mass produced and can have a leak.. something you as the user should always check first..
and use EPA on the rudder... you won't have the 180 spin outs when you set up the rudder correctly in the radio
and the comment of a extremely hot motor?? temps bro, not just "I think its hot?" outrunners can take more heat than inrunners...

AQ made a low price point Cat to get new people into the hobby for a few hundred bucks
I would never buy from HK before AQ.. AQ has amazing service and back up there products 100%

and again this is not a $350+ boat
only about $190 through Tower with a coupon

Lets do a little thinking here brushless55. In one sentence you say I should have checked out the boat before I ran it, then you say this boat is a low price point Cat to get new people into the sport.... you really think newbies are gonna pressure test the cooling lines? And of course your going to invoke the old "these are mass produced and mistakes happen argument" way to dig deep and come up with something original. The truth is the hoses AQ used where laughable in quality.

As far as the boats control issues, let me clarify, this is not my first rodeo. I experimented, as much has one can with the stock radio, to get control in line. It either gave me little to no steering or it would become a "drift machine".

I apologize if my lack of use of my temp gun on my entry level cheap boat offended you (I'm sure all the newbies out there will share that info with you when they buy this as their first boat), but it doesn't take a genius to know that if the motor burns my finger tip...its too hot. I run 4s in the impulse brushless all day long and it comes back barely warm to the touch.

Next up lets analyze the "this is not a $350 boat" . Wow thanks for clearing that up for me, I just thought I got a great discount when I bought it for $210 at my LHS. In truth this isn't even a $210 boat id say $99 at toys 'r us clearance rack is the realm this thing lives in.

In the end you really need to relax bro. I wasn't bashing AQ in general. Just my first experience with their product, which they should be ashamed of. I did ask for input into other products they produce, which if you look at Billy Barnacles response you will see a great response in defense of AQ not just the whining bitchiness which you so graciously provided me with.

I'm sorry if my piss poor experience with an AQ product causes you loss of sleep, or heartache. It is what it is.

[Brushless55]

Man the Trolls are thick!
some just have to bash on a good company.. AQ makes great items!
and some have not a clue as to a real review...
what a joke!

[BLACKJACK_101]

I have a AQ Wildcat EP, a AQ Rio EP and a PB Impulse 26, my obsevations: Aqucraft really need to improve the water cooling system on the motor mount of the Wildcat EP, more aluminium to aluminium contact rather than the two small round tubes.

PB have the benefit of the inner sealed "tupperware" lid which the WC and RIO does not, this inner lid is a great idea and keeps 99% of water out, even so I think taping up the outer hatch is a must; inner lid or not, you have to assume the boat is going to flip and the inner lid could become displaced during a flip.

I have found every mass produced FE boat I own needs checking over before I hit the water, you can not trust the assembly line people in the factory to get every hull right.

These entry level plastic boats are what they are and for a serious FE boater I think modications are necessary, the sloppy rudder pivots on the Rio EP and the WC really need addressing by AQ as does the motor cooling on the WC.

I find the WC and Rio EP run great with no water leaks as long as the hatch's are taped up, I have had to modify the WC motor mount to improve cooling.

Generally I find all three boats out of the box are great fun, but with a bit of modification they are better still, the Impulse 26 does seem to have the edge on hull quality and hardware over the AQ models but even so the motor was misaligned on the Impulse and the stub shaft was too tight a fit in the drive line.

I think AQ need to play catchup with PB on these entry level plastic boats and improve there quality, even so I will continue to purchase AQ products and do the necessary minor modications to give the result that I personally want.

[BLACKJACK_101]

Can we please not have another thread ruined by confrontational posts, I was hoping this thread would come online with Wildcat owners sharing there experiences with the model in a helpful way. Please calm down gents, there is nowhere to go with these kind of agressive posts, it does not help our hobby or the forum at all. Can posters please agree to disagree and call it a day.

Now down to business: I can't keep this outrunner motor in the Wildcat cool enough even with the water cooling modications I have done to the oringinal mount, I am now going to install a Leopard 2845 or Leopard 2860 inrunner 2100KV ish on 3s with a water jacket and HOR water cooled mount, I think it's a good idea but I could be wrong, what to you think.

[BLACKJACK_101]

I found the handling good but I had to turn down the travel on the rudder, my decals stayed on fine and with the hatch taped down and there was no water ingress at all. I did what you suggested, 8mm square aluminim bar with a 4mm drilled through the centre for the cooling tubes then bonded to the vertical and horizontal parts of the mount, but it still runs very hot, (too hot to touch).

...AquaCraft really need to improve the water cooling system on the motor mount of the Wildcat EP, more aluminum to aluminum contact rather than the two small round tubes...
That was my impression when I first saw pics of it. Couple things I thought of were to replace the round tubes with square ones (K&S Engineering) so there will be more surface contact between the cooling tube and the motor mount. Or enlarge a cooling coil like those found on 550 brushed motors and carefully sliding it onto the silver area of the motor.

...the sloppy rudder pivots on the Rio EP ...
Guess I got lucky, only issue I've had with my rudders is the break-away bolts came loose, couldn't get them tight because there made of plastic(tried loctite), so I replaced them with standard stainless hardware, problem solved.

...Generally I find all three boats out of the box are great fun, but with a bit of modification they are better still,...
AGREED!! – My biggest complaint about the Rio is the El Cheapo motor mount that prevents the motor from dissipating heat. I started with R/C trucks, so I tried doing things that work with them to make the Rio faster, including using the Trax Titan 12-turn motor with XL-5 ESC. I’ve fried several motors because of that lame ass mount.

Most Proboats use a CNC'ed aluminum mount that attaches to the front of the motor, so heat can dissipate properly - also makes upgrading to brushless FAR easier. It was those mounts that inspired me to replace the stock Rio EP mount with one that would attach to the front of the motor (see attached). It’s very strong & provides room for cooling coils. I modified the stock Rio coil to work with my BL motor.

My plans for the WC were to replace both the ESC (I don’t do LiPo’s) and the motor. I got this ESC… http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXZGW7&P=SM on the way. Motor would be a standard 540 size, so I could use the standard cooling coils / sleeves – thus neither of those items would have been an issue with me.

Regarding the WC… Do me a huge favor and share your experiences with it – skip the motor & ESC, as I said, those are non-issues for me. I’m interested to know if your experiences were similar to powers’ regarding handling, the decal issue, taking on water and so on.

I’m not trying to start a debate or pit you against him. It’s just that different people see things differently, and of course there’s the manufacturing variables you pointed out.

Thanks,
Regards

[POWERS]

Powers,
IGNORE brushless55 - this forum is full of "experts" like him. When I posted negative comments about a bad experience I had with a PB product - nit picking bashers like him came out of the woodwork and jumped my a$$ the same way he did you. Be grateful that only one person jumped you.

They told me I had no business being involved in R/C boats, I should take up underwater basket weaving (with a link to a website explaining it), the list goes on and on. BUT, when I finished my AQ Rio EP BL upgrade and posted a thread about it, NOBODY said ANYTHING!! Nothing, nodda, what’s that tell you??

God forbid if we should say something positive about a project somebody put a lot of time & effort into. Who cares if it’s a plastic entry level boat, that’s not the point. And if Rio’s are such a “worthless entry level plastic boat”, than how come so many people on this forum have upgraded them to brushless?? Check the “AquaCraft Rio EP Offshore Superboat Q & A” section. Again, what’s that tell you?? Hypocrisy is a good word.

BTW: like the WC you tried, a lot of water does get inside the hull, at least with mine it does. If I tape it, then I'll have to peel off a foot of tape everytime I change batteries; gee, that sounds like fun.

Currently in the process of rebuilding the Rio – replaced the Tacon 2700Kv motor with a HW 3000Kv + Seaking 60-amp ESC. Had to fabricate a platform for the ESC to sit on, in the process of putting the finishing touches on it, then will epoxy it to the hull, ESC will attach to it with Velcro.

Also had to make a wiring harness to connect the motor to the ESC. ESC has 4mm female bullets, motor has 3.5mm males, finally received the multicolor heatshrink I needed in the mail today so I can finish that part.

I started in R/C trucks - had a DuraTrax Evader EXT2 - sold it and got a Trax Stampede which I have hopped up & blinged to the hilt (including a 3900Kv HW BL motor + 70-amp ESC) - now at $555. Added a Bandit last fall, didn't care for it, so I turned it into a hybrid Rustler using mostly RPM parts + Proline Dirt Hawgs on Desperado wheels. Added the Tacon BL motor I initially used in my Rio with a HobbyWing BL car ESC, so obviously I know what I'm doing.

Ignore the nit picking bashers, their bored idiots, your review was spot on and I for one, thank you for it.

Regards,

It's all good Billy, I'm not that worried about Brushless55's contrived attempt at intelligence. From his reply about trolls one can conjure up a pretty good image of the guy behind the avatar of car he will never own, and in truth you kinda have to laugh at people like that. There will always be an over abundance of online know it alls, just something you have to learn to live with and from time to time address them as such and clarify issues for those seeking true experiences and reviews and not just useless dribble from the bottom dwelling (insert company name here) ball swingers.

I am glad my short review of the WC helped you out. Contrary to brushless55s short sited ramblings it was not a review of AQ as a whole, simply an experience with one of their products. In the end I'm happy I returned it and picked up the PB Impulse 26, the wifey got a couple good runs in with it last night in stock form (with no issues) now it's time to paint it pink and throw a brushes system in it.

[Diesel6401]

Any and all 1st run/batch boats (and other rcs for that matter) have issues. I personally like to order the first batchs and try to figure out what is the issue and if their is one how to quickly fix. The Ul1, MG, MC all had numerous issues in the first versions I think we are at like the version 4 on the UL1 already. The MC and MG also had issues that keep the boats grounded, it's nothing against PB or AQ theses things just happen in the production versions. The prototype MC and the production MC had a few major differences.

When it comes to taping a boat, their is NO sub for that. It sucks but needs to done. Take the time and do these small things and it will save you a headache in the end, its the nature of the beast and pretty much all experiened boaters will tell you that!

Any mass produced rc product (land, air or sea) should be looked over with a fine tooth comb prior to operation. That something that you will figure out with experience. A new person to rc wouldn't know that, but like I said with experience they will.

As far as the poster about his brushless Rio, I personally don't believe it was anything against you or I think its because boat has brushlessed converted many times and the Rio section has kinda died off with all the new products on the market. I don't think anyone was personally trying to ignore you though, just maybe nothing to really add to. Just my 2 pennies. happy boating and happy easter everyone!

[rc2266]

Wow

[BLACKJACK_101]

...I am now going to install a Leopard 2845 or Leopard 2860 inrunner 2100KV ish on 3s with a water jacket and HOR water cooled mount, I think it's a good idea but I could be wrong, what to you think...
Hey Blackjack how about one of these… http://www.leopardhobby.com/product/...ionID=01020807 - the 2600Kv model with a HW Seaking 60a ESC?? – On 3S you should get about 28860 RPM’s.

For a motor mount, go here… http://kintecracing.com/Motor_Mounts.html and scroll down a ways, he's got a couple of really nice water cooled aluminum “cat” mounts with fiberglass bases.

And here he has an awesome coupler… http://kintecracing.com/RIO_EP.html - I put one in my Rio when I went brushless, major improvement over the stock coupler, soooo much smoother.

Just some food for thought...

Hi Billy, thanks for info, I run these boats in the middle east (high ambient and high ocean temps) so water cooling is a must rather than just air cooling, the water cooled motor mount is the orange anodised 540 mount on the OSE webpage, I fabricate aluminium side plates for the mount to dissipate more heat, I have tried the coupler but I find the Octura single screw seems to work better for me, I try to keep these small plastic hull boats below 25,000RPM if I can for a more sedate uneventful drive; hence the 2100KV on 3S, as you say I run a Turnigy 60amp marine ESC, we race these plastic boats round a marked circuit in the sea (Arabian Gulf), I am looking forward to see how the Wildcat performs on an inrunner.

[BLACKJACK_101]

My Turnigy Marine 60A fits in to the mount perfectly, I believe the Turnigy 60A and Seaking 60A are the same dimensions, the width of slot in the mount is 17mm wide which can be easily opened up anyway (made of plastic), there is loads of room in the hull to mount the ESC wherever you want with whatever mount you want or just velcro the ESC to the flat bottomed hull or to the flat vertical sides of the hull.

The hole spacing on the aluminium motor mount is 19mm but this can be easily opened up to 25mm with a small round file or Dremmel.

[BLACKJACK_101]

My 60A marine ESC is the http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s..._Boat_ESC.html your HW ESC should fit in there no problem, My ESC mounting is plastic not wood, looks like they changed to plastic on the production boats.

I have the Turnigy 60A and 120A marine ESC's from Hobbyking as the web links, they are both identical in physical dimensions to each other.

[BLACKJACK_101]

Hi Billy, here's some pics of the ESC's and the mount, I think the Turnigy ESC,s are much the same design and size of your HW unit, both of these Turnigy marine ESC's fit in the mount like a glove, it's as though they were made for each other.

I am now swaying towards the new Turnigy DLUX series of ESC's with data logging onboard, I like the idea of the large heatsink and data logging without having to have the added hardware and associated wiring, these new Dlux ESC's have a large flat bottomed heatsink which is ideal for attaching a water cooled plate or attaching to a large aluminium heatsink, I think I am going to go for the 100A dlux unit for my WC which seems to be the same size as the 55A and 70A anyway, I know 100A is a bit over the top for the WC but they are the size anyway and the price seems very reasonable from Hobbyking, my reckoning is that at 100A the ESC should run pretty cool supplying my 50A Leopard inrunner motor even without water cooling, as I have said before I run these boats in very warm climes so motor and ESC temps are my top priority.

I have gone for a very large aluminium motor mount with flat sides so I can mount the DLUX ESC straight on to the motor mount probably with a water cooled plate between the ESC and the mount, not sure how this new DLUX ESC is going to perform in a marine environment though, and I am a bit concerned if the data logging will be reliable and accurate in such a small package.

I hope the images are of some help to you.001.jpg002.jpg003.jpg007.jpg005.jpg

[Brushless55]

I have a AQ Wildcat EP, a AQ Rio EP and a PB Impulse 26, my obsevations: Aqucraft really need to improve the water cooling system on the motor mount of the Wildcat EP, more aluminium to aluminium contact rather than the two small round tubes.

PB have the benefit of the inner sealed "tupperware" lid which the WC and RIO does not, this inner lid is a great idea and keeps 99% of water out, even so I think taping up the outer hatch is a must; inner lid or not, you have to assume the boat is going to flip and the inner lid could become displaced during a flip.

I have found every mass produced FE boat I own needs checking over before I hit the water, you can not trust the assembly line people in the factory to get every hull right.

These entry level plastic boats are what they are and for a serious FE boater I think modications are necessary, the sloppy rudder pivots on the Rio EP and the WC really need addressing by AQ as does the motor cooling on the WC.

I find the WC and Rio EP run great with no water leaks as long as the hatch's are taped up, I have had to modify the WC motor mount to improve cooling.

Generally I find all three boats out of the box are great fun, but with a bit of modification they are better still, the Impulse 26 does seem to have the edge on hull quality and hardware over the AQ models but even so the motor was misaligned on the Impulse and the stub shaft was too tight a fit in the drive line.

I think AQ need to play catchup with PB on these entry level plastic boats and improve there quality, even so I will continue to purchase AQ products and do the necessary minor modications to give the result that I personally want.

and great quick review

have you modded a Wildcat yet

and does anyone have any gps numbers on the stock setup
curious as to how fast this is out of the box