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Thread: Proboat Stealthwake 23 brushless conversion

  1. #1
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    Default Proboat Stealthwake 23 brushless conversion

    I decided to make a dedicated thread for this project since it's been progressing so quickly.

    Converting my Stealthwake to brushless so I can run it at an indoor pool racing event. I borrowed a Leopard 2850 3580kV motor from my Offshore Infinity and modified the existing motor mount to accept a 25mm hole spacing. While modifying the mount, I realized it was the same mount used in my Zelos 36, funny, but it makes sense that they reuse as many parts as possible. The stock boat uses a 3mm solid shaft so I ordered a 4mm to 3mm brass coupler from Amazon and it spins surprisingly true. The holes are bored dead on to the advertised diameters. The only downside, it shipped with the wrong size grub screws so I had to order some M4 x 3mm stainless flat bottom grub screws from McMaster Carr. They'll be here Monday.

    The stock boat uses 1/8" (3.175mm) bore props, but as I mentioned, the solid shaft is actually 3mm. I shimmed the prop shaft behind the drive dog with three wraps of scotch tape. The 1/8" to 3/16" prop adapter not fits snugly with no wobble. Luckily my 3/16" plastic 38mm prop slides right over the adapter with no slop either. I have no idea if 38mm is the right prop as this boat has never been run in this configuration and all the water outside is frozen solid. I've got 32mm, 35mm, 40mm, and 42mm plastic props to use as well if needed. Heats are 3min long, so who knows. Arrover did most of his 2S runs on 45mm sized props, but at a much slower RPM using an 1800kV motor. I'll be spinning faster than he was on 3S, so it seems obvious I need to be smaller than 45mm in diameter.

    Finally, the stock rudder was a sloppy mess. I had an unused Speedmaster mini rudder from a Delta Force 26 project that hasn't been started, and it was the perfect size. I centered the mount directly over the existing pushrod hole, marked up the transom, and drilled four new holes. It bolted up easily and I used silicone caulk to seal up the old mounting holes for now. The stock boat has a through hull water pickup under the hull that I'm using for cooling, so the water inlet in the Speedmaster rudder won't be connected to anything for now. I had considered capping it off, but decided to leave it open in the hopes it squirts water straight up like a Yamaha jetski.

    It's been covered before that the stock driveline angle is less than optimal for speed, but I'm choosing to do nothing with it for this quick build. The races are not all that serious, so I'm more concerned about making it the full 3min without sinking vs. ride attitude. I had considered raising the stuffing tube exit hole in the transom, but because its a solid shaft, I would have to redo the motor mount inside the hull to match the angle. Too much work. There's another pool event in February, and maybe I'll redo the drive line with a flex cable then.

    2018-01-05 16.10.58.jpg 2018-01-05 16.11.16.jpg 2018-01-05 16.11.34.jpg
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  2. #2
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    So it turns out I had all of the parts on hand that I needed to convert the solid 3mm shaft to a .150 flex shaft, and I couldn't stand the thought of them sitting in the drawer with a free Saturday on my hands. I decided to rip out the stock driveline and convert it to the flex cable setup before the first pool race next weekend. As mentioned in several other Stealthwake upgrade threads, the stock brass stuffing tube pulls right out from the rear of the hull with just a little twisting and a pliers. No reason I can't reuse that in some project down the road so into the parts bin it goes.

    I pieced together a spare .150 flex cable from another RTR Proboat, a pair of lead teflon bushings, 1/4" KnS brass tubing w/ teflon liner, OSE SV27 3/16 stinger, and an Octura 4mm to .150 motor collet. I masked off the transom and filled the old stuffing tube hole with 30min epoxy. The original hole was too close to the keel and I wanted to raise it about 4mm. Once the epoxy dried, I drilled a new 1/4" hole and mounted the stinger. I installed the new 1/4" brass stuffing tube and cut it flush at the transom and at the front support near the motor. It only required a small bend to go from A to B so I didn't bother annealing it with heat. I cut about a 1" piece of 1/4" brass tube to be installed at the rear of the stinger to support the teflon liner. The teflon liner extends past the transom by approximately 1" and continues into the stinger to keep water out of the stuffing tube. I spaced the two lead teflon bushings inside the stinger body with a 5mm gap between them. Amazingly enough, the flex cable I pulled out of the parts bin was just about the perfect length and I only had to cut 3mm off and bevel a new edge.

    2018-01-06 11.47.41.jpg 2018-01-06 11.48.06.jpg 2018-01-06 11.57.29.jpg 2018-01-06 13.31.56.jpg 2018-01-06 14.10.27.jpg
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  3. #3
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    It's all back together and now the prop shaft can be positioned perfectly level with the bottom of the hull instead of the ridiculous negative angle of the stock setup. The flex cable allows me a fair amount of both positive and negative trim adjustment if necessary. My only concern is how thin and weak the ABS transom is. The new stinger exerts quite a bit of force on the transom and I suppose it will probably deflect some under power. A traditional strut setup might have been more stable, but I didn't have one on hand. A severe crash could also cause some havoc back there. I would like to install a transom doubler or possibly just use some carbon cloth and resin to strengthen things up back there. Wish I had carbon plate handy. I'll have to make a trip to the LHS and see of they carry it.

    I ordered some longer turn fins to help with the rough water turning. Not sure if I'll reinstall the modified stock trim tabs or if I'll pull some small adjustable ones off another boat. I need to source some additional plastic props as my previous stash was mostly 1/8" bore and now I need 3/16". I've got a 38mm to start with, but nothing to prop up or down with in the next size. A lot of guessing going on for a setup that's never seen water!

    2018-01-06 17.13.02.jpg 2018-01-06 17.25.39.jpg 2018-01-06 17.26.03.jpg 2018-01-06 17.32.21.jpg
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  4. #4
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    Nice work.
    Go easy on the other competitors won't you.
    What are the rules in a swimming pool? Do you loose points for hitting the side of the pool?

  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by 785boats View Post
    Nice work.
    Go easy on the other competitors won't you.
    What are the rules in a swimming pool? Do you loose points for hitting the side of the pool?
    Very laid back event. You don't loose points (or gain them for that matter) but you do loose time. But, not as much time as you loose when your boat leaves the pool and runs up on the deck!

    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  6. #6
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    Dang, that could be an Allstate Mayhem commercial! That’s wild stuff there! Love it...

  7. #7
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    Man. How much fun is that?
    Great stuff.

  8. #8
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    Don't forget the offshore event is 2S and the mini boats are 3S. I've seen that hull run before in the pool. its size helps.

  9. #9
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    Great build and that looks like a ton of winter fun!!

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by trigger View Post
    Don't forget the offshore event is 2S and the mini boats are 3S. I've seen that hull run before in the pool. its size helps.
    Good to hear. Yes, I'll be running a 2S 5000mAh lipo.

  11. #11
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    I ordered 2mm carbon plate to make a transom doubler and a set of Revolt adjustable trim tabs. Assuming they get delivered in time and I get the opportunity to install them before next weekend, I should be in good shape. Wish I had a bandsaw...
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  12. #12
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    Drilled holes for the new turn fins and trim tabs. Then pulled all the hardware and made a template for the carbon doubler. I traced it on on 2mm carbon, cut it out with a dremel cut-off wheel and contoured as needed with a sanding drum. Once I got the piece to fit, I sanded the inside of the transom to get rid of all the high spots along the seam, cleaned with acetone, and covered the carbon with a thin layer of JB weld. Pressed it into place and clamped with with some Thomas the Tank Engine wood tracks thanks to the kids. Tomorrow I'll redrill all of my hardware holes and reinstall all of the hardware for hopefully the last time.

    2018-01-11 18.29.17.jpg 2018-01-11 18.29.35.jpg 2018-01-11 20.42.14.jpg 2018-01-11 20.42.06.jpg 2018-01-11 20.57.22.jpg
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  13. #13
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    okay, carbon plate is in and the rear end of the hull is significantly stronger than before. I can hold the boat up by the rudder or stinger with minimal deflection. Should keep me out of trouble if the boat leaves the pool! All the new hardware is bolted on and the flex cable is greased and ready to go. Ready for the pool!

    2018-01-12 18.24.54.jpg 2018-01-12 18.25.02.jpg 2018-01-12 18.25.51.jpg
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  14. #14
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    It looks too nice to put in the pool, our boats have several years worth of battle scars. My son removed the entire nose of his new revolt on the pool wall one year....... I hope you don't come away with too many bumps and bruises. Its very close quarters, and just trying to ensure you're fully aware accidents will happen.

    Now that is said, looking forward to some fun with toy boats. See you tomorrow.

  15. #15
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    Built it because I didn't want to crash any of the good boats. If I don't have an incident with this one, I might actually be disappointed!

  16. #16
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    If I don't have an incident with this one, I might actually be disappointed!
    Now that cracked me up.
    But I know exactly what you mean.

  17. #17
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    If you don't have an accident then your not driving hard enough.

  18. #18
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    Enjoy the vids.....Great meeting you. Just noticed in this first video I gave you a little nudge, oops, LOL.......


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  21. #21
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    Quote Originally Posted by trigger View Post
    Enjoy the vids.....Great meeting you. Just noticed in this first video I gave you a little nudge, oops, LOL.......
    I took it as well as I gave it out! What a great time. Just walked in the door. I need to get the snow blower prepped for a storm on the way and will post pics and videos tomorrow.
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  22. #22
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    Yeah you're sure welcome anytime.

    We have snow coming too, shouldn't be more than a few inches. I'll give the kids breakfast before I hand em a shovel.......LOL

  23. #23

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    Thank you for sharing your conversion to brushless on your Pro Boat Stealthwake. My son received one for Christmas 2018 and this summer we already burned up 2 brushed motors. I joined this forum to get tips on how to go brushless without going crazy. I love this boat and how it handles rough water and just want to get it to run a little faster, but mostly, just want to keep from burning up motors! We run our boats pretty much every weekend a few times between May and Oct.
    I also have to say, the races at the indoor pool look spectacular! I wish we had one in northern IL.
    Info and pictures about our Invincible Razor build, Lindberg PT Boats; Racing Runabout; Pro Boat Stealthwake and more! Plus videos of our boats including upgrades, repairs, etc.

  24. #24

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    We got the Pro Boat Stealthwake running well now with a brushless setup. Our goal was go get it running with only changes to the ESC and motor. We found a working combination with a Turnigy 90 amp marine ESC and a 3660 2600KV brushless motor. Everything else on the boat is stock at this point. With a 2S LiPo, it runs about 15 minutes without the motor and ESC getting more than slightly warm. We used a GPS speedometer to clock it at 25mph, which is almost 10mph faster than the brushed motor stock setup. The next upgrade will be a metal rudder since the stock plastic one is pretty "sloppy" and no amount of work I did to it helped much. But it works well enough for now.
    Here's the video of the final upgrade: https://youtu.be/YzZffRRFp10 (I updated the video and this link after I originally posted here).
    Last edited by sciesielka; 10-15-2019 at 07:39 PM.
    Info and pictures about our Invincible Razor build, Lindberg PT Boats; Racing Runabout; Pro Boat Stealthwake and more! Plus videos of our boats including upgrades, repairs, etc.

  25. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by sciesielka View Post
    We got the Pro Boat Stealthwake running well now with a brushless setup. Our goal was go get it running with only changes to the ESC and motor. We found a working combination with a Turnigy 90 amp marine ESC and a 3660 2600KV brushless motor. Everything else on the boat is stock at this point. With a 2S LiPo, it runs about 15 minutes without the motor and ESC getting more than slightly warm. We used a GPS speedometer to clock it at 25mph, which is almost 10mph faster than the brushed motor stock setup. The next upgrade will be a metal rudder since the stock plastic one is pretty "sloppy" and no amount of work I did to it helped much. But it works well enough for now.
    Here's the video of the final upgrade: https://youtu.be/YzZffRRFp10 (I updated the video and this link after I originally posted here).

    I'm looking to upgrade my Stealthwake to a brushless motor (just burned up the stock motor after running for 15 min on 2s lipo) and just found this forum. Great job on this! I'm kind of a newbie, so I'll spell out what I want to do and let you all give me pros and cons.

    I want to replace the motor and esc, but not ready to tackle anything with the driveshaft yet. It looks like this upgrade achieved great results with a 2s battery and a 2600kv motor, so that's rpm of around 19,000 (2600 x 3.7 x 2). Since I know that gives good results without changing the prop, that's what I'm kind of using as my benchmark.

    I'd like to go with a motor that has a built in water cooled sleeve, rather than use the stock water cooling winding around the motor. Only problem is, I can't find one that's 2600kv. I did find a Turingy 1700kv model (here: https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...en_us_products). I can achieve close to the same rpm with this by stepping up to a 3s battery.

    So, is my logic right here? Would a 2600kv motor w/ 2s power and a 1700kv motor with 3s power achieve roughly the same performance with the same prop? Or am I missing something? I don't want to overpower the boat and make it uncontrollable.

  26. #26
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    You can get a Leopard 3650 motor in 2290 or 2750 kv with a water jacket and 1/8" shaft here from OSE. Pair that with the OSE Raider esc for an economic upgrade. You are correct about running 3s. There are a couple of kv options for that as well.
    NZMPBA 2013, 2016 Open Electric Champion. NZMPBA 2016 P Offshore Champion.
    2016 SUHA Q Sport Hydro Hi Points Champion.
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  27. #27
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    Ok, so I took your advice and went with the Leopard 3650 2750kv paired with the OSE Raider esc. It was attractive because the Raider esc and the Lepoard motor both come with the 6mm bullet connectors so they go right together. I knew the esc was overkill for this setup, but that's fine, I can use it on another build at some point if I want to.

    However, I overlooked the esc to battery connection. Since the esc is rated for 150 amps, it comes with some heavy duty connectors on the battery side. They're OSE-qs6p, which I think is just a 6mm bullet male/female bullet pair. All of my batteries are the yellow XT60 double female connectors. I also have some XT60 to EC3 adapters, so I need to get the OSE connector to either an XT60 or EC3. Can anyone suggest a good way to mate these two?

    I could change the connector on the battery, but then I'd have to change my charger as well, since it has XT60 and EC3 connectors. I'd like to find an adapter, although not sure if one exists.

  28. #28
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    Why not just make up an adaptor XT60 to OSE?
    NZMPBA 2013, 2016 Open Electric Champion. NZMPBA 2016 P Offshore Champion.
    2016 SUHA Q Sport Hydro Hi Points Champion.
    BOPMPBC Open Mono, Open Electric Champion.

  29. #29
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter A View Post
    Why not just make up an adaptor XT60 to OSE?
    I'm a newbie at this stuff....I'll need some more explanation to be able to do that.

    Was hoping maybe there was an off the shelf adapter.

  30. #30
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    Question - is the OSE 6mm connector basically the same as an XT150?

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