post rescue rigs here

[wrongway]

Hi,

Yes a tennis ball works good until my boat quits in the middle of a large lake.
When I ran Nitro that seemed to be all the time. Got tired of it and bought a
used paddle boat. Not as cool as you you guys building rescue boats, but is functional. Would be cool to build a tug for a project this next winter.

[yogi]

I think twin 550's might work.
But just not sure I can find an esc high enough rating so thats why I was wondering if I could run 2 escs.
How would I set up the escs with a Y splitter??

I have been told a 770 motor would be better.

Yeah I am still learning on the motor sizing also.

I run two titan 550's in my rig with a traxxas waterproof EVX-2 (stock emaxx setup) think I paid $40 for em, I've seen em go pretty cheap on flebay also. A very solid setup, just need lipo cutoff, plenty of power, could probly push a john boat lol

[Cope]

Here's the start of my Springer tug. 18" by 10"

She will be powered by 2 12V batteries and a 550 direct drive brushed inrunner.







Just waiting on some parts before I can finish.

Not to mention some warm weather so I can do the glassing....

[monojeff]

I run two titan 550's in my rig with a traxxas waterproof EVX-2 (stock emaxx setup) think I paid $40 for em, I've seen em go pretty cheap on flebay also. A very solid setup, just need lipo cutoff, plenty of power, could probly push a john boat lol

Funny you should mention that just bid on one last night hope it runs well when I get it. What props and batterie setup were you running?

[monojeff]

Also wondering what lipo are you running with the twin 550s?

[dana]

Here's the start of my Springer tug. 18" by 10"

She will be powered by 2 12V batteries and a 550 direct drive brushed inrunner.







Just waiting on some parts before I can finish.

Not to mention some warm weather so I can do the glassing....

is this a kit? or just plans..?

[dana]

The gaff (or "floating grappling hook" as I would describe it to others) comes with about 6' of fishing line. Simply attach one end of the line to the gaff and the other end to the ass-end to any boat ever made. Then drag the gaff around the downed boat once or twice and come back to shore. The gaff has hooked the downed boat on the first try for me every time so far. I added a special tow-hitch off of the end of my mini-c so the line doesn't get pulled into the propeller. I'll try to get some video of it in action this weekend. It's a faster setup for retrieving a downed boat than these huge, cumbersome water-plow-rescue-craft-monstrosities and like I said the whole setup fits in my boat tool bag. All you need is the $24 gaff and ANY boat.

I have a huge, rediculous PVC water-plow-rescue-craft-monstrosity that I made and I MUCH prefer my mini-c and baby duck gaff setup.

it just occured to me that fly fishing line would work well, it floats, so less change of tangling into the propeller

[Cope]

I'm going off a drawing but you can buy a kit or a fiberglass hull.
I just blew up the drawing to scale on my PC and traced right off the screen. The top deck is my own design. Loosely based off an Atlantic tug. I'm currently building a recovery crane for the rear deck.

Go to RC groups Dock talk, It's the first post on the page. It's a LONG thread...

EDIT-It is a GREAT EASY build. It's designed to be built with spare parts. even the rudder is just hammered sheet metal over brass tubing. One guy even made a sheet metal prop.

[monojeff]

OOps read the post wrong.

[Philmunsterman]

This is my Proboat Shockwave. It works great. I just clip the line to the Shockwave drive out and cricle around the dead boat and reel them back in. I have several hundred yards of 50lb Spyder Wire on the reel.

[dana]

[QUOTE=Philmunsterman;300171]This is my Proboat Shockwave. It works great. I just clip the line to the Shockwave drive out and cricle around the dead boat and reel them back in. I have several hundred yards of 50lb Spyder Wire on the reel.

ok but why the pool noodle on the shockwave?

[monojeff]

So when the back of the boat hits the rescued rig is has some padding I am going to assume?? Also helps it from swamping...

[yogi]

Funny you should mention that just bid on one last night hope it runs well when I get it. What props and batterie setup were you running?

I run 2 BJ 26 drives and stock BJ props, running 2 turnigy 2s 30c 5000mah lipos with a HK low voltage alarm, I also ordered 2 rio EP cooling coils from kintec racing ($5 for both) for the motors but they r on backorder...

[monojeff]

I run 2 BJ 26 drives and stock BJ props, running 2 turnigy 2s 30c 5000mah lipos with a HK low voltage alarm, I also ordered 2 rio EP cooling coils from kintec racing ($5 for both) for the motors but they r on backorder...

Awesome thanks for the info.
What kind of run times are you getting with that seems like it could last a while.

Do you guys think a gear reduction system would be worth while??

[yogi]

Awesome thanks for the info.
What kind of run times are you getting with that seems like it could last a while.

Do you guys think a gear reduction system would be worth while??

No problem man, I've not had it out that much yet, still pretty cold out here, I had these batts in my traxxas summit (same esc but with 770 motor) and would get 40min or so of run time, so I figure I could probably run at least 30 min or so, not sure on the gear reduction, I thought about trying some diff props

[Cope]

I figured you folks may find this useful. Here's a short video of my modified 360 Deg. rotation servo and deck winch drum. The drum will play in and out line of my rear deck recovery crane. The line will be hooked to a 3 prong grapple. This way I can raise and lower the grapple and pull large grappled boats up to the transom of my recovery tug.

Enjoy.



EDIT-Line is 80LB. Braided fishing line, More than enough to pull a swamped 40-50" gas boat.
Double Edit-The servo is a OLD Futaba FP-S130. The 360 Deg. rotation mod is VERY EASY on an old servo like this. No soldering required. Just open the servo remove final drive gear, Remove pot locator tab on bottom of gear and remove Pot locater ring(Throw locater ring at doubting friend). Twist pot to desired max speed. Resemble. That's it. I looked on line and was afraid to try to mod a servo. Then I decided to just take this one apart. Low and behold it did have the pot locater ring. If you have some very old servos open one up and take a look.
Triple Edit-You will need to use a bunch of trim or preferably a radio with Sub trim. The servo has a hard time knowing center with the pot disconnected but you can see I got it to stay with trim or sub trim.

[mickvk]

Rescue boats are EASY!! Not :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZW7WgHCUaPY

[pmx]

One tip I have learned from experience is that you want thrust vectoring or a steerable outdrive. A fixed prop with a rudder makes very poor maneuverability.

Not sure if this would work on boats this size, but sailboats with a prop in front of the rudder are more maneuverable. (Inboard vs. Outboard)

[pmx]

Here's my rescue barge in action. all scratch built, running a 60T crawler motor direct drive to stearable outdrive and a 40A proboat ESC. It is the boat that has the most wet time of the whole fleet. It also fits right behind my driver's seat with the forks on the floor and leaning against the back seat, wedging it up in the air - very convenient and goes every trip. Construction foam and styrene tub - unsinkable, and pvc with pool noodle for booms. The lid keeps water out. I am still thinking on how to upgrade it, but it keeps working and saving FE pilots' lives.

That looks like a winner. Do you have any more suggestions for someone trying to build one like it?

[mickvk]

Not sure if this would work on boats this size, but sailboats with a prop in front of the rudder are more maneuverable. (Inboard vs. Outboard)

Yeah, that type was used in boats and ferries but has been largely replaced by the VSP/cycloidal drives which can direct the thrust when maximum maneuverability is required. The image you show in the previous post are definitely the way to go - steerable out drive. Keep in mind, testing may go pretty good with a fixed prop, but once you tow a load, the deficiency will be apparent.

[Jesse J]

That looks like a winner. Do you have any more suggestions for someone trying to build one like it?

yep definitely a winner! I have it up to 98% reliable (just gotta make sure the battery has a good charge!).

key points that make it success:

wide flat bottom = super stable AND maneuverable
steerable outdrive = it can pivot
wide LONG booms = it can rescue up to 12" wide 4' boats
60 turn brushed motor/ESC (e.g., XL5 with LVC) = lots of torque and no need of gear reduction (caused main reliability issues early on)
solid strait shaft = no fuss with flex cables - wire drive is another good option.

you can pick up unwanted new/used crawler motors for $10-15 on RCCrawler.com swapshop. The Traxxas esc goes for about $40-45.

General construction material is nearly free: go to lumber yard and ask for damaged insulation board - they cut you a big chunk and send you on your way. This can be glassed or even left rough. I used PVC with pool noodles for the booms - gives flotation and cushion for the pushin. The white tub is styrene.

[pmx]

yep definitely a winner! I have it up to 98% reliable (just gotta make sure the battery has a good charge!).

key points that make it success:

wide flat bottom = super stable AND maneuverable
steerable outdrive = it can pivot
wide LONG booms = it can rescue up to 12" wide 4' boats
60 turn brushed motor/ESC (e.g., XL5 with LVC) = lots of torque and no need of gear reduction (caused main reliability issues early on)
solid strait shaft = no fuss with flex cables - wire drive is another good option.

you can pick up unwanted new/used crawler motors for $10-15 on RCCrawler.com swapshop. The Traxxas esc goes for about $40-45.

General construction material is nearly free: go to lumber yard and ask for damaged insulation board - they cut you a big chunk and send you on your way. This can be glassed or even left rough. I used PVC with pool noodles for the booms - gives flotation and cushion for the pushin. The white tub is styrene.

That is great. Thank you.

Got the foam (old boogie board), pvc, and noodles. Found a motor on ebay for $14 http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...m=360356844742

What esc do you recommend? Will this work? (traxxas xl1 esc 75amp w/ rev) http://www.amazon.com/XL1-Speed-Cont.../dp/B0006O5JAG

Last dumb question, what outdrive, and shaft do you suggest? (not familiar with that set up at all)

Thanks again!

[Jesse J]

I don't know that ESC. Here is probably better one esc

here is outdrive set up: outdrive housing, outdrive bracket, shaft housing, plastic U-Joint (or metal), and prop. you will need steering linkages.

[pmx]

You're awesome. Thank you for all of the info.

I'll post a pic when it's done.

[Jesse J]

[pescador]

Don't forget lights for night ops

[pmx]

Where did you get that siren? That is awesome.

[785boats]

Here's the rig we use at our club.
Even works in the rain.

[mickvk]

Where did you get that siren? That is awesome.

Looks like my Trek light... Search for "bike safety light" on ebay... you can find them for $5 and up .

[pescador]

Looks like my Trek light... Search for "bike safety light" on ebay... you can find them for $5 and up .

Exactly

The waterproof LED's are from HK one of those things that pops up when it shows how much weight you can still put in your package.