UL-1 newby

[finatic]

Thanks for adding me to your forum. My name is Mike and I live in Ormond Beach Florida. I'm fairly new to RC boating. I thought it would be fun to add a UL-1 hydroplane to the fleet. My first attempt today was a full on fail. It submarined bad and when it didn't I couldn't get it going over 10mph. I bought the boat used and in great shape. The previous owner installed a brass L40x57 Grim Racer prop on it. I understand they can be a challenge. It came without batteries so I ordered a pair of 2s 6200 50c lipos that are big. I'm wondering if these batteries are making the boat to nose heavy to get up on a plane. I also have a pair of 3s 2000 50c batteries that are much smaller. I can use those but was hesitant to apply too much power vs my skill level. The boat came with the stock prop. Would it be a good idea to start there? Any help would be appreciated.

Mike

[Shooter]

Oh my gosh, Mike. It has been a long time since any of us here ran the UL-1, but if my memory serves me right, that prop tended to cavitate and required a running start. It is the 3 blade version, right? 40x57? I would suggest getting a 3 blade X-440 prop. It should pop you out of the water a lot easier and get you up on plane. Also, make sure you are giving it full throttle initially to plane it, then you can back off. Have fun!

[finatic]

Thanks for answering my question. Yes the 40x57 is a three blade brass prop. I had an opportunity to buy a pristine AquaCraft UL-1 for a good price and jumped on it. Figuring out props sizes has been a challenge for sure. The stock nylon prop disintegrated in my hands when I attempted to install it so that's no longer an option and they are unavailable. Not knowing any better I went ahead and purchased the 38mm 1.4 pitch aluminum prop from Amazon and I should get that today. I had the stock 2 blade prop off my SonicWake v2 so I said lets give it a try. I also had a single 4s 3300mah 80c battery that sits sideways in the battery area back towards the rear of the motor. I put it in the water, nailed the throttle and it jumped up on a plane and ran great. Top speed was 40mph per GPS which, for a maiden run, was quite enough and very exciting for a first ever run with a hydro. I'm not sure where my original problem was. It was either the uncut, unbalanced 40x57 grim racer brass prop or the (2) 6200 2s batteries. The more a read the more I believe, with everything tuned, it should be able to carry those two batteries. Is the x-440 prop you refer to a particular brand? Will it run right out of the package or will it require work. At this point I don't have the skills needed to alter a prop.

[Shooter]

Yes, the prop would need to be sharpened and balanced. We used Octura brand.