New ShockWave 26 Brushless

[tunnelvision]

Will definitely report back with my experience and some vids of the Apache 24 vs the Shockwave. Lets see how many props I can break this weekend!

[Visual Perfection]

Guys a question on ESC's.

With the problems this ESC is having in the shockwave with prop changes etc.. I am thinking about upgrading.

Does anyone think the 45a ESC that is in the blackjack and Fastech would be a good option? Reason I ask is because I am getting a Fastech in the next couple weeks for my B-day and thought I could swap that ESC into the shockwave to safely run 2s or later 3s lipo with my props, and then upgrade the Fastech ESC to a Hobbywing Seeking 90a ESC so I can safely run up to 5s or 6s lipos in the Fastech. (probably 5s would be most I am gonna go)

Can the Fastech ESC be easily made to use just one Lipo in the shockwave, instead of 2 like it uses in that boat?

Any thoughts or opinions on this?

[Darin Jordan]

Can the Fastech ESC be easily made to use just one Lipo in the shockwave, instead of 2 like it uses in that boat?

Any thoughts or opinions on this?

The 45-A FasTECH ESC has a lower input voltage limit of 10V... Too low to operate properly on 2S... it's made 3S to 4S.

[Visual Perfection]

Hmm.. Okay I guess that won't work then. Bummer.

Thanks Darin!

[Darin Jordan]

Hmm.. Okay I guess that won't work then. Bummer.

Thanks Darin!

You COULD use it with 3S packs... Motor is 2900 KV, which would give you around 32,000 RPM... would wake that boat right up!

On these factory Y-harnesses, you can convert them to a single pack by making a jumper to jump together one of the contacts, completing the circuit to the other. Which one you jump is critical. You have to do the contact with the two red wires, completing the positive side of the ESC circuit.

This works fine for sport running...

[Visual Perfection]

Ya, I bet the boat would be great on 3s! Still would want the option to run 2s and even NiMh however, since I already have those packs and depending on where I am running higher speed can become an issue.

The 45a ESC's I am guessing are fairly desirable, so maybe I could pull it and sell it, same with my shockwave one (prob less desirable..although it does offer reverse which is a nice feature) and purchase a 60a seaking for the shockwave and a 90a for the fastech... think that would be a wise choice? or should I go bigger?

[tunnelvision]

Got my new Shockwave today!! Have to say this is a great boat for the price. Tested it at the pond on my street with my nimh pack and it was real quick. This weekend I will be testing it with my lipo as there is more room at the lake to open it up. Will be shooting some vids and will post them when I get back in a week or two.

On a side note, about 2 months ago I bought a Rio Ep out of curiosity because I am obsessed with boats and it just looked like fun on a small scale. Now 2 months later I have 4 rc boats and sickness. I love speed and the water so it seemed like a perfect match. Youtube and my passion for boats got me into this hobby somehow, so if you want check it out where it all started click the link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7zjwaBIeMEw

Happy Fourth everyone!

Rob

[SweetZ28]

Hi was thinking of buying one of these boats anyone what size props fit the boat? 4mm , 3/16 or 1/8th?
I ran my super V27 like only 3 times and kind of hate the fact you always have to use 2 batteries I converted my apache 24 with a brushless 3300kv set up on 3S and i just have more fun with it.
Hopping this boat will be the same.....wonder if aqua craft will start making some boats like the shockwave 26 brushless that use one battery pack?

Thanks

[Visual Perfection]

It uses a 1/8th inch shaft.

Probably could change that though with tubing, etc..

Guys have fried the stock ESC on to much prop, however I have been having very good success with the octura x435 2 blade prop. It's about the only one nobody has had problems with.

It is a great boat, especially since it can run on one battery, which is what made me purchase it. Can run twice as long as a boat with 2 packs..and she will do around 30mph on a 2s Lipo with the x435 prop.

Fun boat!

[SweetZ28]

You can probably use 3s lipo and run a much smaller prop and you should gain even more speed.

[Visual Perfection]

You volunteering to be the first to try and report back

[GeoVW72]

I may try it.
spec on the speedo says it'll take 12.5v
although I just heard of a widow maker locally that burned up,
seems like a lot of problems with that speedo.
I have a new castle waiting, so we'll see if it blows

[Visual Perfection]

Will have to use a very small prop...these things can't handle 2s with a prop that creates too much load...as you can see by this thread where it has been said a few times that ESC's have been fried.

Good luck and let us know what happens!

[GeoVW72]

Yea, I've had good luck with the prop I have though.
has not really gotten warm or hot yet, just got to running it on 2s and the universal came loose on the second run.
must've forgotten the lock-tight
battery will be in next week and I hope to start using my eagle tree system soon
hooray for real numbers

[forescott]

I'd be a little worried about those u-joints in the out-drive spinning that much rpm.

[roadrashracing]

I had an esc go up also, has anyone done any mods to thse yet?

[SweetZ28]

Hi I think this may solve the drives breaking on the shockwave?? www.hobby-lobby.com sells a bunch of sizes?
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/ujoint.htm

[ALD]

Yes, I turned my Shockwave 26 into a rescue boat. Works great as a rescue with reverse. If I were you, I would not spend any money on your boat. Save the money and buy a FE boat without u-joints. U-jointed boats can not handle speed.

[mickvk]

Yes, I turned my Shockwave 26 into a rescue boat. Works great as a rescue with reverse. If I were you, I would not spend any money on your boat. Save the money and buy a FE boat without u-joints. U-jointed boats can not handle speed.

Me too. Two good reasons why: The steerable outdrive to me seems to push the boat over a lot if you're doing anything fast. I prefer the straight drive, steerable rudder. Second, for a rescue boat, the steerable outdrive gives you excellent low speed maneuverability - and the same when you have a boat in tow. I tried to use a zig zag racer - it had enough power but was totally uncontrollable as a rescue because of the "payload" at the end of the line...

[yellowbird]

I have recently upgraded my Shockwave 26RS to brushless using the ProBoat 2900kv motor and switched to LiPo; I'm using a Hobbywing 60A marine ESC and an Eagle Tree logger to see how it all works together with some different plastic props.

On 2S (5000Ah 20C) Lipo the boat ran 28.1mph using a plastic Octura Y534 (basically same as stock prop but more durable - blades don't keep breaking off). Peak current was 59A and average under load was 52-55A (takes about 5 seconds to get down my local pond now!)

On 3S (3000Ah 20-30C) Lipo the boat hit 36.1 mph using a plastic Octura X431 (put on a smaller prop to reduce motor load). Peak current was 70A and average under load was 62-66A.

After about 1/3 of the pack I switched to a plastic Octura Y531 (same size but a bit more pitch). Speed was about the same (35.7mph max) but current went up to 75A peak and 64-70A under load. These would probably all be a bit higher with a fully charged battery.

Temperatures were all OK at <100F for motor, ESC and battery. Next time will try the Octura Y534 to see what the "worst case" is for current drain.

On this basis I would suggest looking for a 90A+ capable ESC if you want to run 3S long term. I think I will stick with 2S Lipo and go for a metal prop and the Shockwave BL turn fins to "finish it off", as the boat is pretty unstable at top speed on 3S and spins out in corners; the flat bottom center section means there is little directional stability from the hull, and the rudder can spin out if you catch a wave when turning.

[yellowbird]

More testing today with Octura Y535 metal prop on 2S lipo on my Shockwave 26. Max speed increased from 28.1mph (using plastic Octura Y534) to 31.4mph with same set-up of ProBoat 2900kv motor and Flightmax 2S 5000Ah lipo battery.

Current drain increased to 65A max and 55-60A at full power, so about 10% more speed for 10% more power drain vs plastic prop.

Thanks for the prop ALD!

[SweetZ28]

More testing today with Octura Y535 metal prop on 2S lipo on my Shockwave 26. Max speed increased from 28.1mph (using plastic Octura Y534) to 31.4mph with same set-up of ProBoat 2900kv motor and Flightmax 2S 5000Ah lipo battery.

Current drain increased to 65A max and 55-60A at full power, so about 10% more speed for 10% more power drain vs plastic prop.

Try a X435 that seems to work very good.

[ALD]

Glad to hear you didn't smoke anything. Looks like the perfect setup. 31mph is really good for that boat.

ALD

[yellowbird]

.... and tested finally with 3S lipo and the Octura Y535 to see how fast it could go.

Boat hit 40mph (actually 39.93mph according to the Eagle Tree logger), but peak current was 110A (probably the logger limit) and 95-105A over a few seconds - see chart. It then flipped off a wave and rolled while travelling in a straight line.

Therefore I think I'll stick with 2S lipo on this boat and the Y535 prop. 30mph is fast enough for this hull design - without a proper deep V rear section (it's actually a flat bottom in the center section) there isn't enough directional stability for high speeds, and 3S and a big prop is beyond the limits of my 3S lipo (60A continuous, 90A burst), ESC, the logger and probably the motor.

Time to think about a new project .......!

[rc2266]

Here is a video of mine, the 2nd time in water, nephew driving, at the end you see why we say ALWAYS tape the hatch...haha
http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/g...AT2CRASH-1.mp4

[mickvk]

Here is a video of mine, the 2nd time in water, nephew driving, at the end you see why we say ALWAYS tape the hatch...haha
http://s244.photobucket.com/albums/g...AT2CRASH-1.mp4

Hey, what size rubberband do you use to keep the throttle on like that :)

Kidding of course. Man am I glad spring is here!

[rc2266]

Yea since then he has learned throttle response, of course it might have been that he had to swim to get it
All in all fun boat to toy with

[rc2266]

Made some homemade trim tabs, got rid of the slight bounce, very smooth now.

[Racer944]

Hi Guys;

Just ran my Shockwave for the first time today... ran very nice and I did tweak it a bit by setting the drive up as much as possible.

I do have a question for you guys though... what kind of run time are you getting? Mine is stock setup with the updated metal prop from Proboat and running DTX 5000 mah NiMh pack. I think I am getting about 5 mins or so but only putting back in about 3000Mah to the pack... Does this seem normal? I expected a bit longer run times frankly...

Basically the boat ran great until hitting (what I presume is) a low voltage cut off. I then was able to get it into the dock at slow speed. I put in the next pack and ran it again until the same thing occurred. I double checked that my ESC switch is set to NiMH and not LiPo. I kind of expected on NiMH that the boat would simply slow down gradually and that there was no real voltage cut off...

Any thougths are appreciated!

Cheers;
Eric

[mickvk]

That sounds pretty normal. To explain it a little, cars and planes do a lot of work during acceleration, but then they "unload" as they cary momentum. So you'll see spikes in current draw with an average being fairly low, say 15A. But with boats they are working hard practically the whole time. If you graphed yours it would be spikes at a higher average like 40-50A I bet.