rblubaugh

My Feedback: (5)

Rich,

I couldn't help but to go back and quote (highlight added) this to remind you (you probably haven't forgotten) since you have finished the Dauntless cradle. It will be an interesting post. This is definitely something that can be done AFTER sea trials because I absolutely would not want to delay you and Bill getting together with two Dauntless sailing the seas and hopefully seeing some great videos afterward.

Bob

Rich404

Hi Bob,The cradle is done, I was going to add a few more pieces of wood to pronounce the I beam look but skipped it. Perhaps Imight finish that later when the boat is totally finished. At this point i'm happy with the cradle because it is extremely sturdy and it shows well.(And it's no longer messing with my hull..) Is there anything that you still need from the cradle? I don't remember if the measurements were previously posted. If there is anything needed to assist you in building it I will gladly help.

-Rich.

Rich404

Hi Captains,

Off to the enginerom I go....Today & tomorrow I should get some god work done...especially because there is a big rain storm headed our way...

-Rich.

Rich404

Some engineroom...

-Rich.

Rich404

foodstick

You never run out of energy on this project !

You may be the single most focused guy on RCU !

Its looking great to be sure,

WhiteWolf McBride

My Feedback: (3)

Guys...

Talk about catching up... *sigh* Got a lotta reading to do, don't I (think I slacked off about page 65...) but in short, YEA, I'm still alive. Things are finally looking up, 'cept Idjit nephew got the car, and then stiffed me on the payback! o I may not be able to get the 4 footers to the water, dammit!

But I'm still gonna finish renovating 'em, so I need some assistance. I've been given the source of Cornwall Model Boats over in the UK, but they don't carry a critical Robbe part I need: a rudder pushrod bellows-seal. And won't order it. Its for the Sea-Jet, and other bellows I've tried don't fit. I really don't want to have to kludge one up.

Most of the rest is Graupner and then I'm looking at metal metric props for the boats, so what brand, type (seems to be B/C/D types) and three or four blades? I had the Graupner/Robbe black ones, 50mm, but dear old Dad knocked a shaft on the floor when I was in hospital, and then proceeded to STEP on it. Kiss one blade g'bye.

I DO now have better options, as I recently got a MasterCard. No more limited options via PayPal or Mail-Order.

So... Who's a good reliable, decent-priced, and one-stop (if possible) retailer for the respective parts. Lemme know, hokay?

WhiteWolf (now with Teksavvy, for bandwidth out the wazzoo!)

Rich404

[*]Came up with a game plan for the shaft drain[*]Made waterproof containers for the drain and installed it. All it needs is a cover that lifts off and connects the drain and run it to the sump well.[*]I removed the old hardware from the shafts, screwed the new props to the shafts with a little epoxy on the threads, made up shaft sleeves to cover the excess shaft threading, greased shafts and installed them. The prop shafts are ready to go in the water![/list]
Here are those pictures.
-Rich.

rblubaugh

My Feedback: (5)

Rich,

That's the first time I've heard of using epoxy to attach the props to the drive shaft.  Sounds sort of permanent but there must be a way of reversing the process if you need to replace the prop?  Also like the sleeve to protect the excess shaft threading, it makes everything look . . . nice.

Bob

Sound Sailor

Rich, good to see some progress toward firing up those Krokers.

Bob, looks like Rich is committed to those 1.7s.

Rainy days and mondays........... Today is both so I cobbled this together. Not thrilled with the outcome but after some 600 sanding and some clear it'll go in Dauntless.

Bill

Rich404

[*]Removing the shaft[*]Set the other end of the shaft in a vice[*]Heat the prop and the shaft with a butane torch to get it nice and hot which will break down the epoxy and make unscrewing easy[*]Unscrew the prop with oven mitts[/list]
I used epoxy on the old Dumas shaft hardware 14 years ago and it was on their stubbornly good. Just yesterday I was able to remove the old prop shaft hardware with ease with a small butane torch, vice grips and a pair of pliers. I also used the torch to burn away some of the old paint and debris that was one the threads making it easy to screw on new props. My shafts were also filed flat on the end where it mates to the motors so that the hex screw doesn’t loosen and spin freely and I can use a vice to grip the end of the shaft for times of maintenance. I say this because almost all shafts come round where it mates to the motor.
Even though I used a dab of epoxy it is probably best to use Loctite.
In the above pictures with the sleeve going on the white stuff is just lithium grease to protect the threads and to get the end of the shafts to look more realistic. I didn’t like the fact of leaving the excess threads exposed. It looks sloppy to me.
Theshaft drain boxesare still not done. I used some mighty putty at the end of the box closest to thewall. I don’t like how the putty formed to the box so I am going to remove it, tape and use epoxy gel to get it ship-shape. I also decided to raise the height of the boxes slightly to include the oiler tube inside as well. This way water can’t flow up the tube after the greases wears away. Finally a lid goes on and the unit will be painted.
Thesedrains are already coated in epoxy but it’s hard to tell in these photos. They are expected to get a lot of action. The prop shafts on this boat are below the waterline and it will only be a matter of time when water slips past the grease and into the drain boxes. Theboxes are graded to that the water will naturally flow downward to the drains and the tubes will continue on a slight downward grade to the sump tank that is not installed yet. The Robbe boat saver pump is sitting in the spot where the sump tank and pump will be because it is the deepest part of the engine room.
On many boats rudder tubes can also be a source for leaks so I’m setting up a strategy so that if one or both leak at some point, they will also drain and the water will go all the way to the sump tank too. The sump tank is in a deep part of the boat and with the tube continuing on a light grade it can make it to the tanks. I’m hoping not to get too much action from these because they are newer MACK stuff and he guarantees that they won’t leak. It’s better to be prepared than to have a puddle in the boat.
I think that this will be a pretty effective way to deal with water coming in from the prop shafts and rudder tubes.
Without the boxes it is inevitable that there will be a puddle in the hull and water all over the walls because it is flying out of a spinning shaft at thousands of RPM’s. This is my solution tackle the issue straight on.I think it's better to let it rain in the boxes than all over my engine room!

The sump will bilge it out the port sidejust abovethe waterline.

-Rich.

Rich404

Very nice...Tell us your strategy!

-Rich.

deep sky

hi captians i have a question i bought a GRAUPNER SPEED 700 BB TURBO 12V MOTOR im wondering if the 12 volt is what is used i see the same motors in 8.4 and in 9.2 i still have to buy one more just wanted to make shure i got the right motors

Sound Sailor

Sky, since you already have a 12 go with the same or else they probably will not turn the same rpm. If running with a single throttle you want them turning the same rpm. Those motors will take more than their rated voltage with no problem and the rating is probably about the mid point of their voltage range. For instance my 700's are 9.2 and i am running them at 12v.

Rich, I just googled a pic of a vintage fighting chair and didaSWAG on measurements based on 1:16. Made the seat first and sort of eyeballed from there. I used scrappoplarI had around and stained it. Since I am not going to put that canopy over the cockpit I put the chair in the center figuring the flag would be stowed while fishing anyway.

I am contemplating trying 1 1/2 3 blades before doing major work to put in cooling. Conventional wisdom says when running bigger high speed motors to use smaller props to cut down on overheating. If nothing else it will be an interesting experiment.

Bill

Rich404

Hi Bill,

I'm thinking about fusing the ESC's and Power Distribution Panel. I know nothing about fusing but I know that you did it to your boat.

Can you tell me a little about the process and add some pictures to help me understand how to do it?

Thanks bud!

-Rich.

Sound Sailor

Rich, there are various types of fuses you can use. I.E. there are the glass cartridge fuses such as were used in autos in the past and there are the spade type that are used in todays cars. The spade type come in two sizes andI used inline holders from the shack in mine. I just used one fuse in each battery feed. In your case you are more concerned about hiding the wiring etc so you probably are better off going with the glass type with multiple ones on a fuse board or panel. The ones I used are quite bulky.
If you are using the Harbor distribution panel I thought that was fused.
In the photo you can see the spade in line holder to the left of the rudder servo. It is wired right off the + side of the battery lead which then goes to a terminal strip. You can see it is very bulky. The ESC is wired to that TS.
I'll look on my camera sinceI think I have a photo of a very neat wiring job from the E. S. show using small glass cartridge fuses. There are some wiring diagrams also online andI believe that is on Action's site.

Bill

Rich404

Hi Bill,

Thanks for the info! The Harbor PWR Dist pnl does not come fused. The box is locked up with no way inside and there are no fuses on the wires.

So thefuse holder only gets installedon the positive wire between the battery and the accessory?

Is this it?

If so I will need 3 fuse holders plus fuses.

-Rich.

Sound Sailor

OKRich, I just checked and the lower voltage ouputs are thermal protected (circuit breaker) on the distr. panel but not the 12 in or out.
When fusing any circuit either ac or dc only the hot lead or + is fused. I only used the one fuse on each battery feed since I am not running anything else but the motor/esc off the battery. If running other things they might require different amp fuses than the main. Think of your house wiring. Some appliances may need only a 15 amp breaker but some may need a 20. A fuse is the same as a breaker only not resettable. Before breaker panels we used screw in glass fuses in the house. Hopefully all your gadgets came with a reccomended fuse use.

Bill

Rich404

Hi Bill,

Thank you for the info. I have to check the accessories to see if there is a recommendation for fusing. I think the PWR dist pnl will be fine because there will be very little bit of amps drawn from it. The pwr dst pnl will run the Robbe decoders for a bunch of wheat lights, the radar motor, the receiver and 2 12V fans for the engine room. I think that is it but it is still too much to tie together with my motors using one or two batteries. I think I will put a 25-30 AMP fuse on that and be done with it. None of those items will ever draw much...knock on wood....

The motors on the other hand will be on their own seperate line. This will be the ESC's with deactivated BEC on each one, the sound module and a motor. The Sound module comes with seperate cables to attach to each ESC. This gives a few detailed wiring diagrams so I will follow that to my proposed set up of individually powered motors. I think a 30AMP fuse will be chosen for each one because the ESC is rated at 30 AMPS.

To bootthe ESC'swill be water AND fan cooled to help keep them cool and happy. This should hopefully minimize glitches.

-Rich.

Apismelifera

Have a look here for more information on where to put the fuses, and why.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=783582

Rich404

Thanks John! I saw this post a long time ago but forgot about it. You are right this is useful for fuse placementand is consistent with what I described earlier except he describes putting a fuse on both sides of the ESC which is good to know.. It's good to cross reference great posts like that one.

Thanks again!

-Rich.

Sound Sailor

Having the 2 fuses is a very safe way to go and protects the Esc from the motor going bad. If you are running a very high amp rated Esc itcould be considered overkill, IMHO. The rating on the ESC is not what it draws but what it can withstand. A 35 amp Esc will tolerate at least 30 amps draw from a motor and that is quite high although it could happen with say a fouled prop. This is my only boat with ANYfusing since all the others are ARTR and they did not come with fuses. I have had a fouled prop on my tug that has a15 amp Esc, no fuses at all,with no damageto anything. Fusing is basically a protection for the electronics but if it blows there is obviously a problem already. Of course with lipos there is a bigger danger of fire.
Again it is sort of like your house. You have a main breaker which is like the fuse I have on the battery side, and you have distribution breakers which is like fuses on your individual electronic devices
I'd say go with you are most comfortable with.

Bill

Rich404

Hi Bill thanks for the additional details. The ESC's that I am using are the Astroflight HarborMaster 208D which is rated at 30 AMPS. Should I go with 25 or 30 Amps?

-Rich.

Sound Sailor

Rich, it is usually reccommended to go 5 amp under the rating of the ESC. Gives a cushion so as not to blow the ESC up.

Bill

Sound Sailor

Well Dauntless has been sharing the shipyards attention lately with Whim the lobster boat. I made some details and also added a couple of dollhouse items since she is 1 :12 scale.
I made an engine box since it never looked correct without one. Then took the free standing bait/banding station ,cut the legs and added it to the top of the motor box. Two small items every lobsterman has are the length guage and the claw banding tool so I fashioned them out of scrap brass. You can see them on the station. Also added a hose for washing down after a day of fishing and a pair of work gloves. Not visable is the fire exstinguisher and a cup of Dunkin Donuts coffeee for the skipper since the day starts so early for a boatman. Just visable hanging from the port handrail is a set of 4 ball fenders. She should fit right in whenI take her to Maine in June.

Bill