***INTRODUCING*** The AquaCraft UL-1 Superior Fe Hydro RTR 2.4

[eboat]

I think I will wait to buy mine second hand just like the super vee
everybody has to have one now but watch a year from now they will be selling for less than 1/2 from all the people that thought they knew what they were doing (first timers) and it just did not work out

[Meniscus]

Was that an antenna? I thought......never mind.

[tylerm]

Was that an antenna? I thought......never mind.

Look at the transmitter in brians hand, not the tactic is it?
As long as the join on the hull is better than the supervees its a step in the right direction.
Tyler.

[FE Wannabe]

Hey Tony,

Did Mark Grim let Brian run it through the lights? If so what was time/speed?

[JimClark]

Of course not he is part of the Futaba Team

Jim

Look at the transmitter in brians hand, not the tactic is it?
As long as the join on the hull is better than the supervees its a step in the right direction.
Tyler.

[properchopper]

...But I still think this boat is too aggresive for a newbie. They will try to run it in bad conditions, as I have stated before
Douggie

I had to think about this comment for a moment, and while my first instinct was to disagree,I now beleive there's a good deal of truth to it [if not somewhat painful to the "first-timer" as mentioned in a previous post].
I beleive it's a matter of perspective ; today the general consensus among the SAW guys was that the boat is very good and can spawn some really good racing. But understand that this crowd is made up of national record holders who know how to fine tune things, and well comprehend the dynamics of running in racewater. But here's the good news to the newbie : this boat was designed by the best FE racers around; the layout is simple and appears bulletproof. I'm of the opinion that much of the tweaking was done before the final design was set in cement. I've personally held off building a hydro because of my lack of "hydro tuning " skill, but I'm lining up for one of these knowing it'll be as close to "plug-and-play" as it gets.
There, I've said it. Im going to bed because tomorrow the records are under attack & I'm gonna go & get my @ss kicked by the best !

[properchopper]

Hey Tony,

Did Mark Grim let Brian run it through the lights? If so what was time/speed?

Brian was pretty focused on his riggers, and the lights were being triggered a lot by the Legg ducklings [ would you believe a 230 mph pass by a p-mono ? Calm down Joerg, it was the ducks screwing with the lights]. Tomorrow's another day. !

[FE Wannabe]

Brian was pretty focused on his riggers, and the lights were being triggered a lot by the Legg ducklings [ would you believe a 230 mph pass by a p-mono ? Calm down Joerg, it was the ducks screwing with the lights]. Tomorrow's another day. !

I hope to get out there tomorrow and maybe Sunday to check it out first hand. It looks like I should maybe bring my semi-auto 12 gauge, to improve the accuracy of the SAW times!
LOL- Just Kidding for those PETA freaks out there.

[Bill-SOCAL]

For the record Brian got the boat without the radio. He installed his Futaba 3PK 2.4 FASST radio in it. The 3PK retains the 75 MHz antenna on it, so hence his transmitter has an antenna.

BTW - I am curious why anyone would think that Mark Grim decides who can run what boats. The only restriction at this event is that it must be a FE boat. If you paid your entry fee and are a NAMBA member (required to run on this lake) then you can run whatever you want to run. ANd besides, this boat qualifies as a P Sport Hydro and fits perfectly into the SAWS event.

As far as the ducks go, I have been authorized to bring a nasty noisy gas boat out for the sole purpose of making that part of the pond inhospitable for the ducks. I guess that makes me the scarecrow of sorts!!

[Meniscus]

Thanks for the clarification on the radio. Curiosity got the best of me and figured I'd ask.

[FE Wannabe]

For the record Brian got the boat without the radio. He installed his Futaba 3PK 2.4 FASST radio in it. The 3PK retains the 75 MHz antenna on it, so hence his transmitter has an antenna.

BTW - I am curious why anyone would think that Mark Grim decides who can run what boats. The only restriction at this event is that it must be a FE boat. If you paid your entry fee and are a NAMBA member (required to run on this lake) then you can run whatever you want to run. ANd besides, this boat qualifies as a P Sport Hydro and fits perfectly into the SAWS event.

As far as the ducks go, I have been authorized to bring a nasty noisy gas boat out for the sole purpose of making that part of the pond inhospitable for the ducks. I guess that makes me the scarecrow of sorts!!

I guess I chose the wrong wording regarding my questioning if Brian had run this boat in a top speed run or not. I did not mean to imply that Mark Grim says who can and can't make a SAW attempt. I just assumed he was the person timing it.

[AndyKunz]

I was at I-Hobby and got to hold and look at the boats. I like the concept - a race-able hydro that has the availability of the Blackjack and SV27. The conceptual design of the boat is great (fantastically open hatch area, sealed tub design) and it will work well for third parties (Randy, are you listening) to make more scale-like and better-looking hatch covers/cockpits for it.

OTOH, I was not especially impressed by the quality of the glass work. The fit of the rear wings into the deck left a lot to be desired, as did the overall quality of the glass. The hatch area, while great for racing, makes for a crappy appearance. They did do a great job at filling the hull/deck seam, but there were voids that I would want to fill before painting it. Why paint? The color did not have the "depth" that I like to see in a boat. If you compare it to a Proboat hydro side by side, you will definitely see a MAJOR difference. The boats will probably race well, but they'll not hold their own at the Concours judging (just as important to me, personally, for Sport hulls).

Another good thing coming out of this entry is the spare parts. I spoke with Mike about availability of the aluminum hardware and he assured me all these black cold anodized items will be available separately (probably Parts Express due to small size!). That in itself should be a big plus for electric racers everywhere.

All said, I praise Mark and AC for getting this to market. I hope it spurs some great competitive boats from other companies. Ready to race hydros for the LSH class is a great selling point. I hope they can grow electric boat racing as a result.

Andy

[Meniscus]

OK, I see the sealed tub. Does anyone know if there is float foam in there?

Thank you in advance for input.

[Bill-SOCAL]

No idea, but I saw the boat blow over at least three times yesterday and it floated fine all 3 times. It is a sealed up hull so I doubt there is any foam in there or any way to put foam in unless you made a hole and sprayed in expanding foam (which I do not think is either required or a good idea).

As far as Andy's comments, come on, it is $330 out the door ready to run with a 2.4 radio. Does it have the fit and finish of a boat whose hull cost that much alone? No. But for the price point the boat looks great, especially if it will be beat up racing or being banged around for sport running.

[Bill-SOCAL]

Thanks for the clarification on the radio. Curiosity got the best of me and figured I'd ask.

No worries. The stock radio is very interesting. I don't know anything about it beyond that it does not use the Futaba FASST which is patented. But it is a FHSS system like FASST and has been tested extensively by Mike Z and others at AQ.

[Rex R]

heh, unlike the sv it would appear that one could leave the turkey baster at home(the hydro has a drain plug ).

[Darin Jordan]

Hey Gang,

Just a little news from the LA SAW today...

Brian called today and says he got his UL1 to 65/64mph 2-way pass... Stock, with the exception of a prop and some tuning...

[Meniscus]

That is impressive (looking around wondering what I'm doing trying to scrape 2 or 3 mph out of this or that).

Do we have any video yet? I think I speak for a lot of us to say "We want a video!"

Thanks!

[AndyKunz]

As far as Andy's comments, come on, it is $330 out the door ready to run with a 2.4 radio. Does it have the fit and finish of a boat whose hull cost that much alone? No. But for the price point the boat looks great, especially if it will be beat up racing or being banged around for sport running.

I thought my comments were generally positive, Bill. I told Mike that I want one (saving pennies for a turbine right now, so it will take a while), but I'll replace the radio with a Spektrum - something I have experience with and can count on.

About the getting beat up - it seemed to me to be plenty rugged to take the abuse of racing. He said it weighed 4 1/2 pounds with LiPo packs that looked to be about 4S 4000's, making it about right for P Sport or LSH.

The most impressive part was the open, neatly-arranged layout inside.

I asked Mike about foam between the inner and outer hull parts and yes, he assured me it does. It also has a really cool drain plug in the transom that will let any water out that manages to get it. If it DOES get in, about the only place it could be is around the stuffing box.

BTW, the angle on the flex driveline (it's .150 flex with standard 3/16" stub) is going to be fine to make an easy upgrade to piano wire. I forgot to check the coupler to see if it uses grub screws or a collet to grab the cable.

Andy

[Jeff Wohlt]

That is smokin fast. I would like to know if he used the stock ESC. 60-70 amp seems low to be turning a prop that would allow that kind of speed. If so he got almost 20 mph mor from a prop and a little strut adjustment.

Brian can do it but if that speedo can handle that then it is a winner for sure.

[Darin Jordan]

That is smokin fast. I would like to know if he used the stock ESC. 60-70 amp seems low to be turning a prop that would allow that kind of speed. If so he got almost 20 mph mor from a prop and a little strut adjustment.

Brian can do it but if that speedo can handle that then it is a winner for sure.

Something tells me it's NOT something you'd want to attempt on a normal raceday basis... But it's nice to know it has some headroom...

I've put some props on my SV27 setup that make many people scratch their heads... but I think I'm sure they ESC is living on borrowed time with those setups...

[properchopper]

Yes it was the stock speed control. Yes, the prop was not the stock plastic one. The finish on this boat was perfect, shiny and unblemished, as good as it gets. The layout is super sano; the motor mount, cooling jacket & servo mount are exquisite. I drove the boat around for about 5 laps after Mark F drove it around after Brian drove it around & it had more to go. What a blast ; easier to drive than the spastic SV 27. After Brian did a 59 mph pass [ before his 64 & 65 mph pass] he said he was really pissed ! I asked why & he said that in the past he " had to work & build REALLY HARD to get this performance ". Check out this short really bad vid.
[ if it loads] [ sorry; it was an "invalid file"]

[MarkF]

Brian used a 2047 prop for the speed run. Nothing else was done to the boat.

Mark

[Steven Vaccaro]

Crazy fast. If Aqua is using the same carbon prop as the sv27 the 2047 has about 70% more pitch! WOW

[U.L. HYDRO DRIVER ICE]

How many lipos were you using for 64mph speed

[JimClark]

my guess is either 2 2s packs or 1 4s pack as there isn't room for anything bigger

[lrm50]

nice hydro!! motor looks likes an ammo. not so exslusive

[Doozie870]

The boat looks really good to me, with a 2.4 radio included, its seems very affordable for what you get.

[Raydee]

What a lot of people don't understand in this hobby is that prop tuning is the key to make a boat run fast. From what I hear Brian is a master at that and that is why his boats go faster than the average Joe's. Detounging and backcutting a prop will only get you so far, cupping and tweaking will get you the rest of the way.

I am sure when Mike did his testing with the hydro it was in a oval format. I highly doubt he put a 47mm prop with a ton of pitch and most likely cupping on the boat to test it oval. I have seen boats that ran like duds wake up with just a prop change, ask me how I know.....been there, done that.

[Diegoboy]

Maybe Brian could cast a mold of that prop, and mass produce it. He'd make a LOT of boaters happy and a small fortune to boot!