Looking at a Rio or a SuperVee... new to boats, need advice

[pavmentsurfer]

What servo should i put in it? I got a 50 amp ESC and 3600kv motor that says its max draw is 50 amps. Im ONLY going to run 2S lipo... not 3S so I hope this setup will be good enough. The ESC isnt watercooled but im not going to mount it under the radio tray like the stock one is. Im going to mount it beside the motor with double sided tape. I can get a water cooled 60 amp ESC for $20 shipped off ebay so if this one dies I may jsut do that. I also have a spare Traxxas VXL esc with the cooling fan I could try... and further to all THAT... I have a complete traxxas XL5 system (motor and ESC) I could put in there to try out. What would be the best route?
Im not looking for blistering speeds, just fast enough to be fun (a bit faster than stock would be nice) and RELIABLE is the key.
The Brushless motor I bought IS watercooled and my experience with BL systems is that the motor gets hot before the ESC does, is this true with boats also? Ive seen pics of external ESC watercooling kits you strap to the ESC against the heatsink... where can I get one of these? Maybe its better to just get the watercooled ESC. We'll see I guess.

[Diesel6401]

What servo should i put in it? I got a 50 amp ESC and 3600kv motor that says its max draw is 50 amps. Im ONLY going to run 2S lipo... not 3S so I hope this setup will be good enough. The ESC isnt watercooled but im not going to mount it under the radio tray like the stock one is. Im going to mount it beside the motor with double sided tape. I can get a water cooled 60 amp ESC for $20 shipped off ebay so if this one dies I may jsut do that. I also have a spare Traxxas VXL esc with the cooling fan I could try... and further to all THAT... I have a complete traxxas XL5 system (motor and ESC) I could put in there to try out. What would be the best route?
Im not looking for blistering speeds, just fast enough to be fun (a bit faster than stock would be nice) and RELIABLE is the key.
The Brushless motor I bought IS watercooled and my experience with BL systems is that the motor gets hot before the ESC does, is this true with boats also? Ive seen pics of external ESC watercooling kits you strap to the ESC against the heatsink... where can I get one of these? Maybe its better to just get the watercooled ESC. We'll see I guess.

I just ran to the lhs and picked up a micro servo for like $14 and made my own mounting bracket. I ran a xl-5 esc and titan 12t before on a 8.4v hump pack with the stock prop and got 18mph out of it. That's the fastest I got that boat brushed. As far as brushless on this boat don't no to many combo's. Running 2s though your gonna need a high kv motor.

[pavmentsurfer]

So I have received my brushless system and got a new JR servo installed. Ive removed everything from the boat, go the servo mounted up... this time with screws instead of glue and tape. I have the ESC plug switched from deans to traxxas.

NOW... what I need is to find a place to get an adapter for the motor/flex cable. Where do I get one of those. The flex cable is smaller, its 1/8. But the motor is bigger. Are there any places that make these? I tried drilling out the stock one but got it just SLIGHTLY crooked so now it wobbles. I wont run it like that. Itll just wreck stuff.
Thanks for any help guys

[pavmentsurfer]

I just bought a 4mm to .130 adapter. I think this is the right one. I used my digital calliper to measure the motor shaft and its 4mm exactly. The flex cable is .125 or 3.12 exactly. So I think I got the right part. I got it on e-bay for $10. It has single lock screws on the motor end and double lock screws on the shaft end. Its also very short. which is good as I could use a bit more room to move the motor back in the mount a bit.
Anyway, looks like im going to be without the boat for at least a week and a half until this arrives. But Ill have time to get everything else setup perfectly before hand. The actual liquid cooling line from the back of the boat to the motor is too short now so ill have to fix that. Ive got an idea to make my own liquid cooling addition to the heat sink of the ESC also. I think im going to just look some fuel tubing back and forth across the heat sink and tape it on its way to the motor. This should give a bit of a cooling action and the fuel tubing can easily handle the heat. if not, no big deal. I can just take it off. Anyway, ill get pics and vids when its all up and running

[Diesel6401]

I just bought a 4mm to .130 adapter. I think this is the right one. I used my digital calliper to measure the motor shaft and its 4mm exactly. The flex cable is .125 or 3.12 exactly. So I think I got the right part. I got it on e-bay for $10. It has single lock screws on the motor end and double lock screws on the shaft end. Its also very short. which is good as I could use a bit more room to move the motor back in the mount a bit.
Anyway, looks like im going to be without the boat for at least a week and a half until this arrives. But Ill have time to get everything else setup perfectly before hand. The actual liquid cooling line from the back of the boat to the motor is too short now so ill have to fix that. Ive got an idea to make my own liquid cooling addition to the heat sink of the ESC also. I think im going to just look some fuel tubing back and forth across the heat sink and tape it on its way to the motor. This should give a bit of a cooling action and the fuel tubing can easily handle the heat. if not, no big deal. I can just take it off. Anyway, ill get pics and vids when its all up and running

What motor is it? You also could have grapped a coupler here on OSE http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...Motor+Couplers

[Karfrik]

If you don`t find the coupler you need,try Jeff Wohlt.He`s here in the forum and he specializes in custom couplers.Great guy to deal with.
And after a long ordeal i finally got me a nice Rio Ep with bad esc.Just replaced the esc with a turnigy 30a, but definately looking forward to convert it to brushless.So i`m watching what you guys are doing!!!,.......Albert

[pavmentsurfer]

I didnt even realize this forum included a store... or vice versa.
Karfrik, ill post some pics and specs of my setup once its done. I was trying to go as SIMPLE as possible. Just the bare minimum to get me on the water with a brushless system. Since i didnt need the radio the Rio EP was a better value to me than the Super Vee as the 2.4 radio is worth about $60. I bought the boat for about $125 new including shipping and after a small discount, then i sell the radio for $60. Im down to $65 for the boat and hardware. The stock esc and motor are junk so I dont count them as worth anything. ive now bought a $40 brushless system on e-bay that included the motor and ESC, $10 coupler and im hoping that will get me up and running. If thats all I need ill have a total of $105 into the boat (not including my radio... but I already had that) Which is a killer deal IMO.
If id bought a super Vee I would have had about $225 into the boat and radio and the stock ESC would still have needed to be changed. So I figure for a guy whos just looking to play around on a small pond, this was the cheapest way to go and still go fast enough to be fun. This is all assuming it works. hehe. It may not and I might be back to square one.

[Karfrik]

Keep me posted and save e-links to parts you are getting!!!......Al

[wizard122]

I think that this would have worked very well http://hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store...r_(WaterCooled)
And this http://hobbycity.com/hobbyking/store...hless_Boat_ESC
Found this too http://cgi.ebay.ca/Marine-3600Kv-Bru...item5639874807

[pavmentsurfer]

I actually looked at both of those. The motor wont work because the water input and output are on the side, which is where teh motor mount goes around. This boat needs a watercooled motor with the input and output on the back.
The ESC is only a 35amp. The one I got is a 50amp. Though mine is not watercooled and this one is. Ill get some pics or a link to mine once I get it hooked up. Ill do a link to all the parts I used if it works ok incase anyone wants to copy the setup. If it doesnt work, I wont bother until I get it set up right.
Pave

[Diesel6401]

I actually looked at both of those. The motor wont work because the water input and output are on the side, which is where teh motor mount goes around. This boat needs a watercooled motor with the input and output on the back.
The ESC is only a 35amp. The one I got is a 50amp. Though mine is not watercooled and this one is. Ill get some pics or a link to mine once I get it hooked up. Ill do a link to all the parts I used if it works ok incase anyone wants to copy the setup. If it doesnt work, I wont bother until I get it set up right.
Pave

You would prob benefit better to switch the motor mount to something more along the lines of a BJ26/Apache style mount. Their like $12 and could prob mount into the existing holes and would give you a lot more motor options to work with. Like the one the wizard mentioned. Of course you may have to mod something for the best all around fit (but that's whats fun about this hobby)

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PRB3307

http://www.amazon.com/Pro-Boat-Motor...0763764&sr=8-1

This could also get the job done as well, http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...od=ose-drmount.

[pavmentsurfer]

Those are great links. I like the first one as i could mod the stock mount to use that mount also perhaps. Im going to try the motor in the stock mount for now and see how it does. If its a problem ill definetly move to a more solid front mount like the ones you showed.

[Karfrik]

pavement...i`m watching,..........Fitted an ESC to the stock motor.Will be running it like this for now.But in 4-6 weeks will start deciding on all you guys setups and start shopping!!!,..........so keep it coming,....Albert

[pavmentsurfer]

O.K., so I got everything installed. Got the boat out on the water and have to say, im not really impressed. The boat hooks to the right really bad under power. Rolls is more accurate. If I adjust the trim tabs to stop it, the boat runs nose low... plowing. With this setup (60amp non watercooled ESC, 3600kv watercooled brushless on 2S lipo) the boat is SUPER fast. It gets out of the hole IMMEDIATELY and is very fast. But, the ESC gets incredibly hot. The motor stays cool, but the ESC is not going to last like this. I have it double sided taped to the hull beside and inline with the motor. Its just too hot under there without watercooling. I suggest not bothering with a non watercooled ESC no matter how cheap it is. Just get a watercooled version and be done with it. I would also suggest going to at least an 80 amp ESC. If this one at 60 amps gets this hot, even with no cooling, its obviously not enough and is being stressed too much.
I installed a new servo as the stock one stripped the first day i ran it. My new servo, a JR mini servo, works excellent. I had to re-do the wooden mounts so i could screw the servo to them instead of taping it in. Its solid as as a rock.
The boat seems to take on alot of water. Every time I stopped running (about every 5 minutes) it would have half a cup of water in it. There are no cracks or holes in the hull. I think the water is getting in around the hatch. Seems a little silly to me.
To mount the motor (540 size instead of 550 like the stocker) I used 2 thick rubber bands around the motor case (one on top of the other) and it worked perfect. Once the screws holding the stock motor cover are tightened down the motor is TIGHT. My shaft adapter worked excellent and arrived from hong kong in 4 days. Faster than any package I have ever had shipped from the US. Go figure. .130 is the right size for the flex cable on this boat.
Overall, I think this system is too much for a beginner with this boat. If I had enough experience to fiddle with trim tabs, weight and props it could probably be really good. But, I just want something simple, easy to use and no hassle. This isnt what I was looking for. Im gonna sell it and get a Super Vee 27 i think. It should be ready to go out of the box with no fiddling. And, even if i do have to upgrade the electronics the boat is already setup for brushless so it wont need anything extra. Just plug it in and go.