WidowMaker 22 Upgrades

[shillingcl]

I've been into RC's for a few years now, but I'm just getting into RC Boating. I purchased the Widowmaker on a whim to take on a week long lake vacation, so I didn't do a lot of research into the pros / cons.

The boat is pretty fast, but as you have read, it can get pretty unstable at 3/4 throttle and above. I don't mind that part, it forces me to be controlled while driving, but I didn't sign up for swimming after sinking parts. It's funny that they sell this as a watertight, seems like both covers popped off whenever it hit a wave or did a "Death roll" in a corner. Also funny that they didn't put any floatation in either of the covers that can pop off, so after about 10 seconds they sink...

I have to say, despite the some of the known flaws, this boat does have potential to be a lot of fun. I have spent some time over the last few days making improvements, and I'm finally able to have some fun with it. Here's a list of the improvements I've made:

Flotation
**Added thin strips of foam to radio cover and hatch to ensure they float - (attached with Shoe Goo)
**Made larger styrofoam insert to fill the void between the radio cover and hatch
**Used 1/2" pipe insulation cut into peices to stuff the front of the hull.

Waterproofing
**Screw Down Hatch - Stainless steel 10/24 x 3/4" hex head bolts. Blind nuts on small pieces of 1/8" luan epoxied under the back. I just ordered some stainless thumb screws which should be easier. (Also, if you look close on the pictures you can see I'm using small pieces of vinyl tubing to keep the bolts from coming out of the hatch while it is off.)
**1/16th plywood piece epoxied to bottom of hatch to allow proper placement of weatherstripping.
**5/16" EPDM Weatherstripping is dual purpose to keep water out of the hatch and hold the radio lid tight. (Could probably use thinner weatherstripping in the back, it is a little tight.)
**Purchased the parts from Offshore to move the antenna to the back of the boat on the transom.
**Epoxied a piece of plastic to close the antenna hole in the hatch, also a drop of epoxy in the antenna holder on the radio cover to seal that.

Propellers
I purchased a few Grim Racer propellers, after trying a few of them, I think the 40x53. You need to buy or make an adapter to go from 1/8" shaft to 3/16", but that was pretty easy to find in the forums. The 40x53 seems to get the boat out of the water better than the other two I tried, and the top speed seems pretty good too. The three I tried are
GrimRacer 36x55 - Prop seemed to small, difficult to get the boat to on plane
GrimRacer 40x53 - Planes well, good top end, and motor / battery temps OK
GrimRacer 40x52/3 - Planed better than the 36x55, but still not great

Two notes - I'm running an SMC 5200mah 24C lipo. Also, adjustments to strut make a big difference in how well the boat runs and handles.

Tonight was my first run since the updates, and it is by far the most fun I've had with it. I did flip it in the middle of the pond once, but I just used my little zigzag boat with the catcher on it to push it in. Everything was completely in tact and the radio box was dry after floating upside down for a good 2 minutes.

Attached are some pictures, hope it helps a few of you out.