New Ride Pads on the UL-1

I had suffered yet another episode of the "Bermuda" triangle , it happens with the Tactic and usually the boat stops, but it kept going and my poor depth perception was telling me that the boat was turning:o , my foot! So the first time it went into the reeds , no damage, the second time straight to the shore :frusty:.
I did not run the boat for a long time because the ride pad surface was terrible, the boat wobbles a lot, since I had to fix the hole on the sponson , I decided to put a simple ride pad made out of G 10 FG plate.
Sanded ride surface:Attachment 117501
Two strips of G 10 ride pads :Attachment 117502
Already filled hole, I used "finishing epoxy" mixed with West Marine 404 High_Density Adhesive Filler. I did not use Bondo or West Marine "MarineRX" because these materials don't work well on edges, they are great if you have vast expanse of territory, on corners and edges I found out they sometimes they will chip away a little:Attachment 117503
New "tips":Attachment 117504

More pictures:
Painted:Attachment 117505 Attachment 117506 Attachment 117507 Attachment 117508 Attachment 117512

I have finally gotten tired of the misalignment and the non-rigid nature of the stock mount, but I found the most popular TFL two ring motor mount is too wide for the tub, there will not be any space left for the batteries to rest on each side of the motor, and only batteries with measurement of 135mm lengthwise can be fitted laterally, so I want to have the option of placing the batteries longitudinally. I found this TFL simple mount in my parts bin.
I fashioned a wedge to angle it and the floor is rather thin so a plate made out of G10 is used to spread the load. This is a FG prototype board, it is lighter than a solid plate with all the holes .

Attachment 117583 Attachment 117584 Attachment 117585 Attachment 117586 Attachment 117587

more pics:Attachment 117588 Attachment 117589
Perfect alignment: Attachment 117590
Attachment 117592

Good Lord Tim, sell the junk radios and buy a REAL radio system. You will eventually thank me....



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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Fluid

Good Lord Tim, sell the junk radios and buy a REAL radio system. You will eventually thank me....



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I am thanking you already and everyday!!! :rockon2:
You will be happy to know that as of yesterday I put in a Spektrum, no more Tactic. I have grown fond of antennas which wasn't the case when I got the boat three years ago.

Some updates: this run today I had on with a X642 prop, this is a faster prop (compared to the Grim 40x52/3) , also liked the X440/3 a lot. I tried the Grim L42x66, while I liked the speed, the lifting characteristics introduces new issues that need to be dealt with. So I stayed with non-lifting props.
I will not run my UL-1 without the Air-Foil, this much I can tell you.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub1C...ature=youtu.be
The untold story here is that after the new pads were installed, the ride got much worse---I kind of expected that as the clean articulation on the pads exaggerates the inherent problem with the mushy lines of the FG hull. The port side is always jumping out of the water and this motion will amplify as the run continues at WOT until a barrel role is commenced. After careful reshaping and lessening the AOA on the port side, the ride is better and calmer, and the video shows the improvement. I raised the strut a bit because the Air-Foil is doing its job. I did not post this in the Product Review Section since this is my observation and is not solicitated from the maker of the Air-Foil.

Thanks for the info.

Is this a typo, "this run today I had on with a X462 prop,".

Was it a x642?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Steven Vaccaro

Thanks for the info.

Is this a typo, "this run today I had on with a X462 prop,".

Was it a x642?

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Indeed it is a typo, thanks for pointing it out. X642 it was.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tlandauer

Some updates: this run today I had on with a X642 prop, this is a faster prop (compared to the Grim 40x52/3) , also liked the X440/3 a lot. I tried the Grim L42x66, while I liked the speed, the lifting characteristics introduces new issues that need to be dealt with. So I stayed with non-lifting props.
I will not run my UL-1 without the Air-Foil, this much I can tell you.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub1CBE4cFkc&feature=youtu.be
The untold story here is that after the new pads were installed, the ride got much worse---I kind of expected that as the clean articulation on the pads exaggerates the inherent problem with the mushy lines of the FG hull. The port side is always jumping out of the water and this motion will amplify as the run continues at WOT until a barrel role is commenced. After careful reshaping and lessening the AOA on the port side, the ride is better and calmer, and the video shows the improvement. I raised the strut a bit because the Air-Foil is doing its job. I did not post this in the Product Review Section since this is my observation and is not solicitated from the maker of the Air-Foil.

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X642 - Have you GPS'd it yet? Thanks,

Sorry... not yet! :o

:( Very slow, GPS'd at 48mph. Yours on your signature is alot faster than mine, obviously I am doing something wrong, but summer is over, work is piling up.:frusty:
Attachment 121785 Attachment 121786
Moving on....

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tlandauer

:( Very slow, GPS'd at 48mph. Yours on your signature is alot faster than mine, obviously I am doing something wrong, but summer is over, work is piling up.:frusty:
Attachment 121785 Attachment 121786
Moving on....

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From here, 48mph and stable looks Great! Especially when you consider it's starting point.

When you have some free time, may I see a picture of your strut / prop angle settings. ...no rush.

Using your detailed information - got New Ride Pads. :smile:

Thanks,

Here you go, sorry for the delay!Attachment 122191 Attachment 122192 Attachment 122193Attachment 122194Attachment 122195

looks like she runs beautifully smooth and flat. I have a couple questions, first is about the GPS you are using, I have been trying to source one out so I can compare what each mod does but have not been able to find one. would you happen to know where I could find one ? second question is which air foil are you using? the air dam that goes between the sponsons under the boat or the one that gets taped on the front between the sponsons? thanks John

Thanks! I have only used the Air Foil that is developed by http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...1-foil&cat=123
To be honest with you, I never obtained speeds greater than 50 mph and so I didn't think that it was necessary to use an air dam between the sponsons. As i said earlier, there was some abnormalities with my sponsons and doing the ride pad helped in some ways but over all I think if people have a hull without these issues they could ( and have) achieve(d) greater speeds. I can use a X642 and it will probably be closer to 50mph but my GPS speed was done on a Grim racer 3 blade 40x52/3 prop. The boat is happier with this prop.
I have a Garmin Etrex but it is too big and heavy for some of the boats i play with, so i have this little unit:http://www.helipal.com/skyrc-gps-log...th.html---keep in mind that while this is an accurate unit, it has a far slower refreshing rate with the satellites and therefore it requires that the boat be driven a longer distance before it will actually record the peak speed.
Recommending this unit is like recommending the FlySky 2.4Ghz radio, one gets alot of flak for doing that. And not without reason, I might add. This unit is light and i bag it in a medicine Ziploc bag ( 4''x3'' size) and just tape it outside the boat if there is no internal space for it, so far it has worked for me. Just don't expect every run you do would yield a recorded max speed for the above mentioned reason.

I have a AQ Lucas Oil and I am thinking about getting the UL-1 also, I read an article regarding hydroplanes able to turn in one direction only. Why is that?

So does it only turn starboard or port?

I have seen a Bu Fatima YouTube video of a yellow AQ UL-1 where the UL-1 could turn left and right without any problem. Has he modified his boat in anyway to allow this?

These boats are set up to turn right on the race course (starboard), where as some scale hydro race such as the ERCU turn CCW. On those boats the turn fin is on the port side and also the prop is turning CW as opposed to the conventional CCW prop rotation.
Normally a hydro will turn left but it is more of a slide and yaw motion than a turn without the turn fin on the port side. On certain hull you can turn left below a certain speed threshold as well even with the turn fin on the starboard. My Popeye is one such hull.
If you are racing and turning on full throttle, then a turn fin is needed to aid the turn.
Some rudder is set on the port side to gain leverage ( triangular distance to the turn fin) to further facilitate the starboard turn, but there are hulls with the rudder mounted on the starboard side and they turn right ( star board) just as well. Again, Popeye and a few others come to mind.