First Rc Boat...First Run..whole 6 mins of it...LOL (PICS)

[DjFlipNautikz]

Well I started off with an PB Impulse 26 that i picked up at my LHS last sunday. Came home set it up ran a full two minutes and boxed it right back up. I needed more speed.

So i went back to my LHS this Saturday and exchanged it for an AQ Motley Crew. I had them chnage the ESC to TRX Connectors and parallel, because i had two 4s 5000mah batts.......and I am so happy with the boat its not even funny.
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I went to a pretty big lake and had a blast..for about 3 min until i managed to somehow flip it in the freaking middle of the lake, luckily i was ready and jumped in to retrieve it (nice and cold). I was so scared since this is actually my first RC Boat and it didn't have double lids like the Impulse 26 and doesn't even have a magnet but n e ways... But it was well taped up and nothing happend.

I heard you can't add trim tabs or fins to Cats, so what are my options in improving the handling? COG, Strut, & rudder adjustments only? to Prevent rollovers & just not turn too tight i guess

Well another 3 mins went by and the boat started acting funny and when i brought it in the propeller one of the propeller blades broke. Oh Well had a blast now time to upgrade the prop..0e474ab7.jpg

Here are some more pics...

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[Doby]

I like the second pic on the bottom...I'll assume he's your son....AND THE BEST REASON TO NEVER SWIM AFTER YOUR BOAT!

Moving you batteries forward a bit at a time will help keep it on the water, but will cause more drag, less speed, and warmer electronics...its all a trade off...

[DjFlipNautikz]

Thanks, yes he is my son. The lake was completely empty, and had people watching me...but what else was i suppose to do? how would i have retrieved the boat??

I was thinking of doing that with the batteries. Is there anything i can do with the strut or rudder??? with out losing speed of course....?

[Fluid]

We will bring up the subject of swimming after a dead boat often - because at least one person dies every year from doing this! Please indulge us. A toy boat is not worth your life. Even strong swimmers have drowned or come close to death, particularly in cold water. A year or so ago both a father and son drowned when one went after the other who got in trouble. Please, please never do that again.

Retrieving a dead boat can be pretty easy. If you are a fisherman, bring a fising pole with a casting plug having large treble hooks on it. Weight the plug so you can cast it half way across the pond. An alternate method is to use a tennis ball with a fishing line attached. A cheap $10 fishing rod/reel combo can reel in the boat. Both methods are commonly used and with a little practice work well. Now when the boat dies, you don't have to swim for it and risk your life. Really. We want you to be a part of the FE community for a long time!



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[egneg]

I use this method for retrieving boats and have even hauled in a scale sail boat with the sail in the water. The float has a grappling hook attached to an 8 foot cord.

Rescue-1.jpg

[Doby]

Not to nag....

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10121028/tm.htm

[Fluid]

A few more. We just want folks to understand the risks of swimming after a toy boat.

http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9569185/tm.htm


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[DjFlipNautikz]

Wow, i never realized that. I will never swim after my boat again. Please keep in mind this IS my FIRST r/c boat and that was my actual FIRST time driving it...and i did not know the danger...

those are some pretty sad stories, i could not imagine my wife and son on shoe watching me drown, or even worse my wife trying to help me and us both going down.

Thanks for the idea guys, i have a fishing pole and will look for some sort of grappling hook....

Thanks for the welcome and for the adivice, it was greatly appreciated!!

[Grimracer]

PLEASE

Read the manual to your Motley Crew...

EVERY AquaCraft manual states NEVER EVER swim for a dead boat.

Each and every manual also gives ideas on how to retreve your boat.

Please read your manual!

Grimracer

Do you have any idea how bad I feel when somebody "DIES" from playing toy boats.. Every time I hear it, I PRAY its not a boat I designed.. Bottom line.. BE SAFE!

[Doby]

Manual...whats that???

Isn't that some guy from Mexico

[Steven Vaccaro]

At the lake we run, we had a looooong time nitro boater swim for a boat, not really realizing how far it was, he almost didn't make it back. Due to the work of the fast acting fireman in the city, he's alive today.

[egneg]

One of the stories posted by Fluid (Virginia Beach, VA) was a guy that lived a few miles from me. His family was devastated. I remember the follow up stories in the newspaper - not something I ever want to read again.

[siberianhusky]

Tried it this summer on a very hot day, had a throw ring ready and a full size boat we were running from ready to go with the anchor up, I was wearing a life jacket as well. The swim was refreshing but pushing a boat back took a lot out of me and I'm in pretty good shape.
I would never do it again even in a very safe controlled environment, if it wasn't over 100 out I wouldn't have even thought about it but the swim sounded nice.
I doubt the boat was even 100' away. An I know I can easily swim a half mile after riding a bike 10 miles! Then running......
Set you cg to about 30% run the strut level and start out with it even with the bottom of the sponsons.
They are not really set up from the factory, just assembled.
I have more tips for you, but first you have to get it running more or less right before you will be able to see any benefit from some of the advanced tuning you can do.
Raising the strut will make it run nose high, lower will stick the boat to the water.
Doesn't take much 1/16" is a good amount to try for each adjustment.
First you have to have the CG right, mine varies between 28 and 30% depending on water and the prop I'm using.
Make small adjustments and keep a record of what you do, that way it's easy to get it tuned right for when the wind and water conditions change.

[DjFlipNautikz]

Sorry Grim for not Reading the manual completely.....i really did not think about it. It was very impulsive seeing my boat flip over and think "Will the tape hold up? Did i just ruin my brand new first boat?".....

when i got to it i flipped her over and pushed it out in front of me and had my wife drive it back to shore so i didn't push it back. but trust me i will never do it again, i was super winded when i got back to shore.

When i opened my hatch and saw there was almost NO water WHATSOEVER, i think i will be more calm next time i see my boat flip over and use one of the mentioned methods to retrieve my boat. I think that will be an excellent reason to buy my son a small boat... :-D

Tried it this summer on a very hot day, had a throw ring ready and a full size boat we were running from ready to go with the anchor up, I was wearing a life jacket as well. The swim was refreshing but pushing a boat back took a lot out of me and I'm in pretty good shape.
I would never do it again even in a very safe controlled environment, if it wasn't over 100 out I wouldn't have even thought about it but the swim sounded nice.
I doubt the boat was even 100' away. An I know I can easily swim a half mile after riding a bike 10 miles! Then running......
Set you cg to about 30% run the strut level and start out with it even with the bottom of the sponsons.
They are not really set up from the factory, just assembled.
I have more tips for you, but first you have to get it running more or less right before you will be able to see any benefit from some of the advanced tuning you can do.
Raising the strut will make it run nose high, lower will stick the boat to the water.
Doesn't take much 1/16" is a good amount to try for each adjustment.
First you have to have the CG right, mine varies between 28 and 30% depending on water and the prop I'm using.
Make small adjustments and keep a record of what you do, that way it's easy to get it tuned right for when the wind and water conditions change.

Thanks for the tips but what do you mean about CG? do you mean Center of Gravity? how can you measure 28% to 30%?

I just bought a GR 42x55 Prop because the stock prop broke as you can see above. and i just bought a top flight balancer to balance it. i couldn't find any LHS around me that S&B the blades so i will have to do it my self. Guess its good for me to learn anyways...

This is a great board, i really appreciate all the help and advice i have received even in spite of my stupidity...Thanks again

[siberianhusky]

Yep Centre of gravity
take 30% of the total length of the boat, measure this far forwards from the transom, don't include the hardware, just the hull. The boat should balance on a dowel under the sponsons at this point.
Move the batteries back or forwards to get the boat the balance on the stick.
I can't remember the number anymore, I have a pair of marks that show the range of cg I'll run. Just black sharpie spots.
Not to hard to balance a prop just take your time and wear a mask, the berrilium in the prop is hazardous.
With the CG and strut depth right the boat will be nice and light on the sponsons down the straights but hook up nice and solid in the turn.

[DjFlipNautikz]

Well guys thanks for the tips and a great day out today. Had bout 3 lil flip over and with my new rod I brought it in, in about 5 min:


THANKS FOR EVERYTHING!!!!!!

Siberian I did some of ur tip, lowered strut to be level with bottom of boat, but it has like 2* incline to the bottom and couldn't level it. Does the rudder also look bent backwards?





Thanks for the help!

[DjFlipNautikz]

Well here is a video from today doing a few passes, after everything no flips. finished scuffing the bottom with some 600 grit and lowered and leveled the strut as much as possible. Also adjusted the COG so she takes out from a dead stop a lot better...

Sorry for the poor quality it was my 5yr old sone recording...

[alvinm]

Will the stock setup handle two 3s lipo's, or a 3s and a 2s with the same mah?

[Jeff Wohlt]

Buy that cute little son of yours one of these to play with and it works great as a retrival boat if you flip! Great little rig and works great to push a boat in.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...r-blue-HBZ3710

[siberianhusky]

I run the strut at 0 degrees angle, checked with a digital angle gauge, You'll probably have to bend the stuffing tube a bit to get it all lined up, if you don't it will effect the motor alignment as the bottom of the hull will flex with the pressure from the stuffing tube angle.
I did a pile of work inside mine trying to stop the flexing, added wood rails, swapped out the motor mount and moved the motor back. Then added 3 cross braces that span the bottom on the tub, one of these supports the stuffing tube.
Now nothing moves inside the boat.
Plus the stock motor mount bent in a roll over.

[DjFlipNautikz]

would you be able to send me a few pictures of what you did?? i am having problems with my stuffing tube not being aligned with the motor. The teflon line is spinning inside the stuffing tube...

[DjFlipNautikz]

...EVERY AquaCraft manual states NEVER EVER swim for a dead boat...
Not to take anything away from AQ / Hobbico - but it's also in some of the Proboat manuals I've read.

...Each and every manual also gives ideas on how to retreve your boat...
Sure does...
1.) stand there like a bump on a log and hope the wind causes the currents to shift and thus blow your boat closer to shore - yes I'm serious - check out newer AQ manuals.

2.) Fishing pole with a tennis ball - hope you've got a lot of experience casting fishing lines - I couldn't catch a freaking fish if the bloody thing jumped on the ^&%#) hook - he'd probably figure out a way to spit the darn thing out.

Ok, so after following the links and reading the news stories about this matter (that father / son one still has me shook up), I really do get it - this NOT a joke!! I must confess I have read those warnings in the manual and thought that it was a bunch of BS that manufacturers put in there to cover they're butt's from sue happy lawyers; well, obviously it's not, this is serious stuff here.

With that said, I am starting a thread in the Scale Rc Boating Questions & Answers section dedicated to saving the lives of ALL R/C boaters. The time HAS COME for us to set aside our differences and WORK TOGETHER to share ideas on the construction of or modifying of any RTR boat that can/will be used for the sole purpose of a "rescue boat" in the hopes that we can save lives.

PLEASE contribute for the common good of all - thank you.

As you can see i took the advice from everyone and have ever since been using my trusty Rod to retrieve my boat. and i can do it in under 5 min, with no hitch. I attached a tennis ball and below the tennis ball a weight and it works miracles.

[siberianhusky]

I never seem to be able to upload pictures to this site.
With my boat on a glass table and the water pickup raised up I can slide a 1/16 plywood shim between the bottom of the strut and the table top. The bottom of the strut is parallel to the table top.
You'll have to bend the tube to get everything lined up, don't be surprised if it breaks loose from the hull, just re-epoxy it.
About the only original MC left in mine is the servo, strut and hull.
I have a love hate relationship with this boat, runs great but I always seem to be repairing or upgrading components, my old SV27 I don't think you could kill that thing, still all original with the exception of paint and I decided to polish the hardware. It's my favorite boat as it just keeps going and going year after year. I'll paint it again soon as it's starting to show some wear from the couple years since it was last done.
I also really like my VS-1 tunnel hull from AQ, in a few ways I think they dropped the ball a bit with the Crew, hope they addressed them in the new version if it ever appears. I'd like to see a bigger mono from them in the near future.
BTW
Attach a plastic "cup hook" on the bow with 2 sided tape, gives the line something to catch at the bow, only take half as many casts if it can hook either end!

[sid8]

Hi friends
I think moving you batteries forward a bit at a time will help keep it on the water, but will cause more drag, less speed, and warmer electronics of your RC Boats.

Regards
Nitrotek