First run... success... very pleased with the boat.

[pavmentsurfer]

I bought a used UL-1 from a guy on RCtech, it came in today and had all the hardware removed so it would fit in the shipping box. At first I was worried about getting it all installed right. But I got it all in, soldered on new TRX connectors and waited for the water to calm down. I had to wait all day before the water was calm enough and I probably jumped the gun just a bit... there was about 3 inch chop in most places.

But, once I figured out how to turn it on and get the throttle to work it ran amazing. Did about a 3 foot submarine then jumped out of the water and took off. I cant believe how good the boat runs on lightly choppy water. It LOOKS like it going to loose it but it just stays straight and as soon as it finds flat water it levels right out.

I was using 2 SPC 6000mah 30C 2S hardcase lipos and got about 9 minutes... which blew my mind. I think these packs may be a bit weak for this boat. Tomorrow im going to run my SPC 5200mah 40C packs and see how they do. The boat is COMPLETELY stock right now... stock prop even. But its fast enough for me now. Ill probably upgrade to a better prop at some point but the ESC seemed to stay completley cool. I was a little worried about the motor though... it was HOT when I was done the run. I blew through the water cooling line (took it off the rudder) and it seemed to have alot of resistance. It was next to impossible to SEE if water was coming out the back of the boat as I was running... but should the motor stay cool or is having it get hot (forgot my temp gun) normal and is there any cooling upgrades I can do?

Anyway, just wanted to post my experience with this boat. At first I wasnt convinced it was the boat for me but after I got the hang of driving it and started pulling full throttle, full lock turns around the rafts in front of our house Im now convinced this is a keeper.

[jamie]

I would be bringing the boat in to check temps in half that time, as 9 minutes is way too long a run time for a standard ul1. I try not to let the motor get over about 140 F. Higher C Lipos will help a bit, but i have never run a boat continuously for that long, i know others might have thou. Its good to let things cool down and to check on your battery voltage while your at it, dont run them down to the stutter bump and you will get long life out of them.
You should be able to blow water thru with a small amount of resistance, check it at each fitting by taking off the hose and blowing till you know where the resistance is , then check to see if the fittings are clear, i use a piece of wire just be careful.
Good luck and dont fry that motor these boats are a blast, but you have to be mindfull of run time.

[pavmentsurfer]

Im so used to brushless trucks... I had planned on bringing it in right when it started to stutter... I had no idea these things would run my packs flat is such a short time. I can get 40 minutes out oof these packs in my trucks no problem... even at WOT the whole time I get 25-30 minutes. But in the boat I get about 1/3 that. Now I know anyway. I hate the way you have to tape the hatch... that sucks. Makes checking temps a pain. Im going to try and run it again today if the wind calms a bit... I brought my temp gun this time to keep a closer eye on things. I also have my 2S 40C packs... perhaps they will help boost run times by a few minutes.

IF I did overheat the motor... what would be a good replacement? Does the water jacket on the motor have an inlet and an outlet or does it matter? I have a hard time believing that TINY hole in the rudder could possibly allow enough water in to cool the system but im a newb... so what do I know.

Thanks for the tips... ill look into things now.

Quick question... the strut that holds the flex cable at the prop... when I sit the boat flat on the table with the turn fin and rudder hanging off the table (so just sponsons and strut touching) the front of the strut is off the table (bow end) and the rear of the strut (prop end) is the only part touching. I assume this means the prop is "trimmed up" just a hair. It rides good in the water and im happy with it, but is this correct? Also, the turn fin can be adjusted forward or back (rotated)... what effect does this have and where is the best place to set it?

Thanks again

[sailr]

The motor may have been hot but a simple test to determine if it's too hot is to grab hold of it. If you can hold on to it without jerking your hand away it's probably within reason.

[jamie]

If the back of the strut is touching the set up board ( or table) its in a negative position meaning that the nose will run a little lower and it can be a little harder to get on plane. If you do change it for testing make a note of the original position so you can go back to it if needed, also measure the height of the strut before you change anything, that is the bottom of the boat to the bottom of the strut, it will be around 7/8 to 1 inch deep on a standard Ul1. About cooling i would go do a 5 minute run then check temps with gun. I dont know that anything that you can do will give you any more run time safely, boats are Amp hogs LOL. Oh and yeah tapeing sucks but it sucks more replacing water damaged parts believe me

[johnf]

As others have said, cutting back run times to about half of what you are doing would be beneficial to your power system. Glad to hear you are enjoying the boat. I haven't seen a ul1 run in person, but they sure are cool looking little rigs.

[pavmentsurfer]

Went out at lunch today... the lake started smooth enough but a guy decided it would be great to go tubing right in front of my house... so I got in about 7 sold minutes of full throttle passes with slowing up a bit in the corners. I was running my 40C packs and stopped as I said after about 7 minutes when the waves rolled in... the motor was only 100 degrees... so nothing to worry about there. The packs were only warm, not hot like last time. I still didnt see as much water in the cooling lines as I would like but im guessing due to the light chop on the water the boat is bouncing out of the water alot so the water probably isnt getting forced through the lines consisentely enough... I need flatter water I guess.

Either way, another great run with the boat stock. The day is pretty calm here so hopefully by tonight ill have a chance to run it on smooth water. I cant believe I can hold this boat WOT and turn full lock without it skipping or flipping over. Its like the turn fin sucks the boat down when I turn... it looks cool.

I also think my 40C packs were producing higher top speeds than my 30C packs... just an observation.

[pavmentsurfer]

Put a few more packs through the boat yesterday. Ran great. Im finding after 7-9 minutes the motor isnt over 130-135 so I think things are good. Im happy with how fast it is and how it handles. I notice a HUGE difference in my 30C and 40C packs after running them back to back and wouldnt mind hearing some reccomendations on good packs for this boat. I dont want to spend alot... but these are my car packs im running now and I get the impression boats are hard on lipos so I dont want to wear them out sooner than they should because im pushing them too hard. Id get a coupld pairs of packs just for the boat if I could find some that would work and were decently priced.

I did install the traxxas waterproof RX box and it fits perfect where I put it. Next will be a traxxas waterproof servo... then everything under the hood will be waterproof, which makes me feel more comfortable. I find not alot of water gets under there anyway.

How often should I grease the flex shaft? I got some grim grease but is it something I do every day, or every few days? Not really sure.

[ilovethis]

why does the esc run hot?