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Thread: Voracity rebuild project

  1. #1
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    Default Voracity rebuild project

    Picked up a Voracity 36 from eBay that had a small flex shaft issue. I wasn't looking for another boat, but I couldn't pass it up for the price. My CSI investigation leads me to believe the boat was driven once, maybe twice, with no additional grease in the stuffing tube. The flex shaft broke, catastrophically, broke the stuffing tube, and continued to spin at high RPM while ripping the stuffing tube apart, slapping the bottom of the hull, and tore through the servo wire. I've already ordered a new 9/32" K&S brass tube, .187 teflon liner, OSE flex shaft, prop, and some fiberglass supplies. Hope to have it seaworthy before the cold weather hits.

    On to the carnage... (the white spots in the 4th picture are sunlight shining through from the underside of the hull in the weak spots)
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    Last edited by fweasel; 09-14-2016 at 10:15 PM.
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  2. #2
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    And the evidence left behind. At first I was confused with the piece of wire, but after I pulled the servo, it appears the control wire had been severed and someone spliced and heat shrinked it back together. All of the electronics test out fine. Can't be certain if the motor took on any water. The bearings seem to spin smoothly, but I'll oil them and we'll find out on the first trip back to the lake.

    Any suggestions on the fiberglass repair? Would it be sufficient to use resin and fiberglass cloth over the affected areas or should I use something more rigid? The transom looks great, with no cracks in the usual weak location.
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    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  3. #3
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    Tried to disassemble the motor, took all of the screws out, but can't get either, what I assume are end caps, to separate from the can. I'd like to replace the bearings (16x5x5, ABEC5) while the hull is apart for repair, but unless I'm missing something, the caps and can could be corroded together.
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    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  4. #4
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    Started in on the hull repair tonight. I did a light sanding to free up any loose chips on the bottom and then wiped it down with alcohol. I filled each of the holes with JB Weld and scraped off the excess with a putty knife. I'll sand it smooth tomorrow after it cures.
    2016-09-20 17.39.47.jpg
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  5. #5
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    Fiberglass work is done! Two layers of fiberglass cloth and resin. Can't really see much, some silhouettes of the JB Weld chip repair from the bottom, but the floor is solid again. Did some sanding to the bottom of the hull with 400 grit to smooth things out. I also reinforced the hatch where the two pins are located at the front.

    2016-09-24 13.52.25.jpg2016-09-24 13.54.23.jpg

    I realized only today that the 9/32" brass tube was smaller than the original stuffing tube. Found a 5/16, annealed it, put a small bend, and we're good. Now to figure out what size teflon liner I need. The OSE flexshaft is 3/16", so normally a .187 liner would work, but its a little loose in the 5/16" tube. OSE store says .250 liner for 5/16" tube, so I'll try that, despite the flexshaft being undersized for that size liner. The original liner had a really thick wall, but is only sold as a pair with the flexshaft. Now that everything is cut, bent, and aligned, I can epoxy the replacement stuffing tube into the transom and figure out some type of support just before the motor.

    2016-09-24 13.55.54.jpg2016-09-24 16.32.01.jpg

    Also noticed the OSE cable is about 3-4mm too long. I'll cut a little bit off and it should give me the proper gap at the strut. I suppose I could try moving the drive dog too.

    2016-09-24 16.33.20.jpg

    Picked up a set of Turnigy graphene 3S packs, and my abc 1914 prop was just delivered from Dasboata. I hope to have it in the water next weekend, but that might be optimistic.
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  6. #6
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    It was brought to my attention that a .250 teflon liner would be too big for my 3/16 flexshaft. Rather than set out on a search for the thick walled liner Proboat used originally, I slid a 9/32 brass tube into the 5/16 tube. Now my .187 liner fits perfectly, and the stuffing tube still fits the strut. I suppose if there were ever a catastrophic flexshaft failure again, a double walled stuffing tube should keep the collateral damage to a minimum. As of tonight, everything is aligned and epoxied in place. Time to start putting it all back together. I'd still like to replace the bearings in the motor and might try to pull it apart one more time to try a little heat to pop the end caps free.
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    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  7. #7
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    It's all in one piece again and it still looks like a boat. Have a new set of Revo and Turnigy graphene 3S packs charged up and ready to try out. Just need a break in the rain, but I might breakout the rain gear anyways.
    2016-10-01 08.28.56.jpg2016-10-01 09.05.32.jpg2016-10-01 08.28.33.jpg
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  8. #8
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    Looks Great! Curious to hear how it runs and your thoughts on the graphene batteries.

    I recently picked a used voracity, added a Seaking 180 and ran 48 with the stock x645 prop.
    The OSE cable has arrived and I have a few dasboata props(M645 and 1915) to try out.

  9. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by pistol18 View Post
    The OSE cable has arrived and I have a few dasboata props(M645 and 1915) to try out.
    The 1915 seems to do really well based on the reports of others. I wanted to dial it back one notch, so I went with the 1914. The rain is slowing...
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  10. #10
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    Victory! The boat floats, both right side up, and... upside down. Did 56.1mph on the first run in the rain, but it was running pretty loose and blew over backwards. I thought I might be able to push it along towards shore with my Shockwave, but it turns out a v-bottom boat will just jump a capsized v-bottom boat. It also turns out, a knife edge rudder will leave a few good scars on said capsized boat. Oh well. Swam out and got it, in the rain, and the water was extremely nippy. Did I mention it rained all day? I ran the second set of packs about 2" further forwards in the trays to try and bring the bow down some. Boat still ran dry, but I lost nearly 6mph. Not sure if it was a Revo vs. Turnigy battery difference, the weight shift, or if the driver was running a little more timid. I'm guessing the latter. Too wet to get any video, but it looked like the boat was riding on the last inch of the hull and trim tabs only. It was AWESOME.

    Very happy with the prop choice. Temps all were pretty good. Next run I'll trim the prop level. Today it was set slightly positive, the stock strut doesn't allow for much movement either direction.
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

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