New Guy Here Looking For 29 MG Upgrades...

[Z7What]

I just got this 29 MG and although ive watched tons and tons of videos online im still finding it hard to find upgrades that are listed for the MG.

So here we go...

How do i tell what version i have? Im guessing V1 or V2. How do i tell?

Does anyone make a dual water pick up direct replacement rudder?

What size is the stock water outlet port? Would like to add a second one on the other side of the boat after upgrading the rudder.

What prop do yall recommend for this boat? I plan to keep all the electronics stock for now, unless something breaks. I wont be racing it, just playing in the back yard pond.

The boat came with two Traxxas 5000MAH 3S ID batteries. The ESC is labeled 4S! Correct me if im wrong but wouldnt running both of this batteries put me at 6S? Is that going to burn the electronics up?


Although it came with the batteries i didn get a charger. Im being told i need to use a Traxxas ID charger as these batteries have the balancing plug build into the main plug. I was told this charger would work with the Traxxas batteries i have and that it would also charger normal Lipo batteries with the balancing plug. Is that correct?

https://www.amazon.com/Traxxas-2972-...s%2C224&sr=8-2

If i wanted to get an additional set of Lipo batteries which would you recommend?

Once i get it on the water and get a feel for the boat i plan to blueprint the hull and adjust the strut, anything else yall can think of?

Now for the pictures!

MG Side.jpg
MG Inside.jpg
MG ESC.jpg
MG Motor.jpg
MG Batteries.jpg

Wayne

[koen]

if you run this boat on 6s you get magic smoke 4s is max, turn the waterjacket outlet to the highest point on the motor for props i think for this boat prather 215 and or 220 work perfect
the best you can do order 2s batteries at hobby king (nanotec or graphene)they are very good batteries and not break the bank

[eehess81]

If you run to 3s batteries in series you get 6s..if you run them parallel you keep the 3s voltage but double the capacity. Not sure on upgrades for your boat..can order non specific similar size rudder..may have to drill new holes though.

[Z7What]

if you run this boat on 6s you get magic smoke 4s is max, turn the waterjacket outlet to the highest point on the motor for props i think for this boat prather 215 and or 220 work perfect
the best you can do order 2s batteries at hobby king (nanotec or graphene)they are very good batteries and not break the bank

These?

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...ucts_analytics

Would the Traxxas 2972 charger I listed above charge these?

Could I also get these and run them in parallel for longer run times?

https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-...ucts_analytics

Thanks Wayne

[eehess81]

Yes you can..need to buy or make a parallel connector with the xt90 connection. Not sure about the charger..needs to have the 3s balance plug and xt90 port or some adapter.

[Z7What]

So I ended up ordering 2 Turnigy nano-tech 5000mah 2S 45~90C Lipo Pack w/XT-90 batteries along with a pack of XT-90 connectors to make a new series adaptor and a ESC program card. Changed the ESC program so it actually goes to 100% throttle and wow the speed really picked up. But now on 4S the bow starts bouncing once I go anything more than about 75% throttle. I finally was able to find a sharpened and balanced X642 prop in stock and ordered it today. Do you think the bow will stop bouncing once I install the X642 or do I need to adjust something else like battery placement or spindle?

Right now I have the batteries towards the rear but could go 2-3" back more. The spindle is flat and about 1/16" about the bottom of the hull.

Would someone please post a link for a pointy prop nut for me please.

Thanks Wayne

[eehess81]

Since the batteries are in the rear you may need some counter weights in the front to keep the bow down. I use 1/4 steel bar cut into small (maybe 1-2") pieces and hold them down with double sided tape..that way you can change them around if needed.
What size prop shaft do you have for the bullet nut?

[Z7What]

Ive read many times that moving the batteries more forward or adding weight to the front doesn't fix the bouncing. I guess its worth a shot to see for myself. I did lay down Velcro entire length of the battery trays so I would have the ability to move the batteries forward or backwards. Ill give that a try.

As far as the prop shaft.... its the factory shaft which I assume is a 3/16 shaft due to the X642 prop I ordered has a 3/16 bore. Im just not sure what the thread pitch is. Ive seen some listed as 10-32 and some listed as 4mm.

If it is a 10-32 im guessing this is the one that I should go with?
https://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pr...od=oct-oc6pnmm

Wayne

[eehess81]

https://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pr...prod=ose-83281
This might fit. You can ask someone from OSE from the page if it will fit. As to the bouncing I guess I haven't used weight for that only to balance the weight distribution but I don't see why it wouldn't work.

[koen]

If it's a 3/16 shaft the thread is M5 ,and for the ride did you change the hight of the propshaft(bit higher bit lower)makes a diverence

[ACKopter]

This might help with the bouncing. https://forums.offshoreelectrics.com...-to-dial-it-in Not a ton of info but should be able to move your batteries around for better CG and fine tune from there. No need to add weight to the boat if a simple battery adjustment will do the trick

[eehess81]

If you adjust your prop angle down it should bring the bow down.

[Z7What]

So yesterday i finally received the balanced and sharpened X642 prop i ordered from OSE. I changed the prop, greased the flex shaft and loaded up the batteries. I noticed two things, first is that it appears that the rudder may need to be raised some because it looks like some prop wash is hitting the arm that the steering rod attaches too and splashing back onto the boat. The second thing is what i thought originally was the front of the boat bouncing appears to be more of the back of the boat bouncing which is lifting the front. Basically i cant keep the back of the boat in the water at WOT. Should i try adjusting the strut angled down some?

Wayne

[koen]

set the propshaft 3mm above the bottom of the hull and straight (no up or down in the propshaft)and you can adjust the battery

[eehess81]

If you angle the prop down the back will lift more..if you angle it more up it will push the back down. Straight is best though

[Z7What]

So ive tried just about every combination of battery location and strut angle and height and its still wanting to bounce out the water at WOT when going in a straight light.

Yesterday i did find that some of the water splashing up on the back side the boat is actually come from the strut, so when i get time im going to sharpen that. I also have been told that installing a offset rudder will help alot of my issues. Any chance someone can point me into the right direction to find a offset rudder that will work on my boat which i believe to be a V2. I dont see anything listed in the OSE Store. If the offset rudder doesnt fix the bouncing ill just have to spend the time and blueprint the hull. The problem is i think ill have to remove to much material to get it flat which would make the hull paper then in areas if not a hole.

I picked up a X442 prop that im going to try but i need to sharpen and balance it first.

@eehess81 I understand that angling the prop down with lift the back more but it would also lower the front, my thought process was thinking if i can keep the front down by adjusting the prop angle i could move the batteries all the way back to help keep the back down.

When i first got the boat i only ran it on 3S(2 3S Traxxas ID batteries in parallel) with the stock prop and it ran flat! I think it ran flat because of two reason. One being that the batteries i got with the boat are much heavier than the batteries i have now and it was slower on 3S. Id bet that both of my new batteries combine weigh less than one of the Traxxas batteries.

Wayne

[Z7What]

Yesterday i tried a few more strut adjustments to try and get the bounce out of it and i think im moving in the right direction. I have the bottom of the strut level with the bottom of the hull. It still bounces some but if i stay in it through the bouncing it flattens out. I was going to make a few more adjustments to try and get the bounce out of it completely but i didnt up hitting what i believe to be a turtle. It bent the knife edge of the rudder and put a hair line crack in the gel coat on the transom. I was able to bend the rudder back and make it perfectly straight again and today i will be filling the transom area with epoxy. I planned to use an industrial grade 5 min Devcon epoxy to strengthen the transom. But im wondering if just epoxy is enough or should i use some sort of angel hair/fiber glass or carbon fiber and resin?

Wayne

[Z7What]

Transom.jpg
Rudder.jpg

Wayne

[koen]

use West system epoxy and carbon fiber

[Z7What]

use West system epoxy and carbon fiber

Is this the stuff you would recommend?

https://www.amazon.com/System-Epoxy-...3017493&sr=8-7

https://www.amazon.com/Carbon-Fabric...%2C198&sr=8-17

Wayne

[koen]

ya absolute it's the best you can get

[fweasel]

I would reinforce the transom on that hull with a piece of 2mm carbon fiber plate cut to fit. Remove the rudder and all mounting hardware, sand and clean the inside surface, then mock up a template made from paper. Transfer to the carbon plate and cut it out. Sand the glassy surfaces of the CF plate with coarse sand paper to improve adhesion. Tape off the holes on the outside of the hull with painters tape, then glue the plate to the inside of the hull with a generous amount of epoxy. Do not use fast curing epoxy, it's brittle. I prefer West System G-Flex or standard JB Weld would work here as well. Press it into place and clamp if you have the tools to do so. Once it sets, I would run an additional bead of epoxy around the perimeter of the plate to fill in the rest of the rudder mount standoff on the inside of the hull, that is, if there wasn't enough epoxy poured in the first place and there are still exposed edges. Once it's all cured, re drill all necessary holes, starting with a smaller pilot bit, and file to the correct size to limit the water leak potential. Remount the hardware, use a small amount of clear bathroom silicone caulk to seal the holes, and torque down the hardware accordingly.

An alternative method would be to cover the holes on the outside of the hull with painters tape, and fill in the rudder standoff area on the inside of the hull with a mix of slow cure epoxy and chopped fiber, carbon or glass, until its flush with the sides of the transom. Once cured, redrill your holes, install longer mounting bolts, and reinstall the rudder assembly. If it were my hull, I would use the CF plate method.

[Z7What]

I would reinforce the transom on that hull with a piece of 2mm carbon fiber plate cut to fit. Remove the rudder and all mounting hardware, sand and clean the inside surface, then mock up a template made from paper. Transfer to the carbon plate and cut it out. Sand the glassy surfaces of the CF plate with coarse sand paper to improve adhesion. Tape off the holes on the outside of the hull with painters tape, then glue the plate to the inside of the hull with a generous amount of epoxy. Do not use fast curing epoxy, it's brittle. I prefer West System G-Flex or standard JB Weld would work here as well. Press it into place and clamp if you have the tools to do so. Once it sets, I would run an additional bead of epoxy around the perimeter of the plate to fill in the rest of the rudder mount standoff on the inside of the hull, that is, if there wasn't enough epoxy poured in the first place and there are still exposed edges. Once it's all cured, re drill all necessary holes, starting with a smaller pilot bit, and file to the correct size to limit the water leak potential. Remount the hardware, use a small amount of clear bathroom silicone caulk to seal the holes, and torque down the hardware accordingly.

An alternative method would be to cover the holes on the outside of the hull with painters tape, and fill in the rudder standoff area on the inside of the hull with a mix of slow cure epoxy and chopped fiber, carbon or glass, until its flush with the sides of the transom. Once cured, redrill your holes, install longer mounting bolts, and reinstall the rudder assembly. If it were my hull, I would use the CF plate method.

Thanks, that is a great idea. The transom has T-Nuts on the inside, would you suggest removing them and just using washers and lock nuts once everything is cured?

Are these two links the correct items to get?

https://www.amazon.com/WEST-SYSTEM-f...02IZFPQE&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Genmitsu-Mate...%2C211&sr=8-10

Wayne

[fweasel]

Yes, that's the correct epoxy. I buy my 2mm plates from OSE, so I don't know about the quality of the ones you linked to. However, for this project, I don't think it matters much.

As for the mounting hardware, I prefer to use blind or T-nuts on the inside, especially on shallow deck hulls that are hard to work in, which makes installing the bolts easier. However, it can be a tricky addition, which is why I left it out for a beginner project. Drilling straight through and using longer bolts with washers and lock-nuts would be the easiest. Getting the captures blind nuts embedded in the epoxy and keeping the threads clean can be tricky. I usually install bolts, with a generous amount of antiseize on them, into the blind nuts before epoxy is poured. Dab a small dot of silicone caulk into the last bit of exposed threads on the blind nut, then pour the epoxy over it all. The tension helps compress everything into place. I unscrew the bolts before the epoxy has fully cured, but will after it has set pretty solid.