Blackjack 26 Winter Project

[airman66285]

I have finally completed the rebuild of my Proboat Blackjack 26. I am a sport user and I wanted to realize more potential out of this hull so I scoured this site for information and with some help from Steven, my rebuild is complete. I upgraded the motor to a Feigao 10XL and decided to utilize an Etti Navy 150 esc w/o BEC. Power is supplied by (2) Turnigy 5800mAH 3s lipos wired in series for a total of 6s. The entire hull was wet sanded, repainted with automotive paint and 2K high gloss clear coat. Decals were purchased at edecals.com. I replaced the stock servo and radio system with a Hi-Tec high torque and Tactic 2.4GHz system respectively. The prop is an Octura x642 (balanced and sharpened) and the drive hardware is from Steven at Offshore Electrics. Offshore Electrics has been a one stop shop for me since I got into FE's and I HIGHLY recommend the services of Steven to anyone out there needing expert help and quality products. Now I just have to wait for my lake to melt and I will post video of my catamaran in action! Think Spring everyone!

UPDATE! 3.24.10 - I took her out for a maiden voyage last night and I have two words to report: Stupid FAST! I knew she was going to be fast on 6S, but not that fast...
I ran out of lake before I could go 100% throttle. The handling was fantastic and she corners exceptionally well (thanks, Steve V!) due to the new OSE driveline. I am, however, going to try her without the turn fins this weekend if the weather holds. I have no one to hold my Flip camera yet but I will eventually post some video. Oh yeah, I almost forgot - top speed via my Garmin 101 was 51.6 mph. Attached are the latest pics of the hardware and guts of the boat.

[wakeboardfusion]

Nice Boat!

[LiPo Power]

Superfantastic!!! Now we need to see the video of it on the water.....

[airman66285]

Thanks for the kind words! My ultimate design goal was not all-out speed but I will certainly get a healthy dose of it with the current set up. I wanted a quick, stable and reliable boat to eliminate the stress from my day job. Last fall I ran it stock but on 5s and it was rock solid after I made the neccesary changes to the turn fins. I also played around with the drive system - I removed the worthless u-joint and just used a flex shaft instead and it really worked great. I got the idea from someone on this forum and it improved things all around. I went with the new rudder set up from Offshore Electrics because I knew I was going to need all the control I could get running on 6s. If you notice the picture of the inside of the boat, I added the extra capacitor bank for insurance. All of the connections are 5.5mm bullets. I will start out slow and monitor my temps but again, I feel confident that the boat will be stable, solid and reliable.

[G-UNIT]

Very clean setup, I like the way you mounted the reciever.

[wakeboardfusion]

Hum, I wonder how it will be on 6s. Im trying to decide to run mine on 5 or 6s right now.

[airman66285]

I am confident that it will be fine on 6s. The speed control is rated for 7s (with the stock capacitor configuration) and I added the extra bank of capacitors for insurance. Before I added the extra cap bank, I would have been running the controller at 75% of its rated capability. I shortened the battery side wires to 3" in length and replaced the 10 gauge wiring with 8 gauge. The total length of wiring on the battery side of the controller is 7" so resistance is kept to a minimum. I went with 6s so that the amp draw will be lower. If you go with either 5s or 6s, I would opt for the Etti esc like I did just to be safe.

[airman66285]

The receiver mounting really works for me. It is far away from the esc and it freed up space on the servo deck for the esc and capacitor bank. Both the esc and capacitor bank are mounted on an aluminum plank for rigidity. The entire fron of the boat is filled with expanding foam (disclaimer: be careful not to split your hull when you do this) and then I capped the foam with a 3/4" piece of foam as seen in the picture. The foam in the picture is cut to match the profile of the boat so it is almost a friction fit. I added a lot of weight to the boat just by adding the upgrades but the water line is just about perfect when I tested it in the bathtub. I think the extra weight will be needed just to keep the thing on the water instead of becoming an airplane.

[jaybird]

nice looks like a beast.

[wakeboardfusion]

Hey do you have any close up pictures of the hardware, from either the left or right side? Also, did you use the stock stuffing tube?

[airman66285]

I will take close up photos of the hardware and post them tonight - please let me know if you need any other closeups as well. I did use the stock stuffing tube but I added a liberal amount of marine epoxy around it on the inside of the boat as well as other strength critical areas of the hull.

[wakeboardfusion]

Why i want the close up photos is to see if you can easially extend the rudder back a bit further using some alum. Thanks. Any thoughts on when you might be able to test the boat? Or do the ponds have to thaw.

[mari]

I´m new owner of BJ26 and I have the same hardware. Looks the same. You can see more fotos on my profile.