DieHarder

Hey guys,
I've been doing RC for about 8 years and I'm looking at purchasing my first catamaran. I've pretty much decided on the Blackjack 29 V3. I did a lot of research and have read many threads on this boat. It'll be running on a pretty decent sized lake (about 1/2mi x 1.5mi) and I really want to run 6S. The V3 is has the 120A ESC which is better than the previous V2's 80A, but I've heard from quite a few people that 6S really should have a 180A (hobbywing) ESC. I know the motor isn't the greatest either. I don't have unlimited $$$ to buy the boat and all new electronics AND batteries all at the same time. I'd like to stick with the stock electronics for the year, but I want it to be reliable on 6S. It sounds like either the Octura X440 or X442 props work the best. I don't want to overload the ESC, so I'm thinking the safer route would be the x440. Is this correct thinking?

As for batteries, I was considering the Venom 3S 5000mah 50Cs, but they come in three types. Regular, hardcase, and water-cooled. I don't want the hardcase, but the water-cooled sounds interesting. Is there a drawback to doing the water-cooled, other than the fact they don't remove while charging? Does it affect the water-cooling system's performance? They're the same price as the regulars.

I know as well to change the motor timing to 7.5 degrees in order to make it run cooler than at 15 degrees (the way it comes stock). I wouldn't mind upgrading the flex shaft right off the bat either, it sounds like the tend to snap on 6S. I also read that going in reverse ruins the flex shaft and that a lot people program their boats to go forward only to prevent accidental destruction. Is this just a rumor or what's the real concept?

I understand that tuning a high speed cat takes a lot of trial and error to get correct and I'm ready to pursue the task. Sorry about the excessively long first post, just trying to get everything up here on my thoughts. Thanks so much guys, I'm really excited to get some feedback in this forum of RCU!

DieHarder

Nobody? Any boat experts that can give me some general advice?

Hydro Junkie

I'll address the flex shaft.
A flex shaft is basically a cable of straight wire with an outer casing of tightly wrapped spiral wires. The inner wires allow for bending of the cable, the spiral outer wires basically carry the load. When running, the motor spins the cable, exerting a load through the prop's drag in the water. Spinning the prop one way will tighten the outer wires while going the other will make them loose. Once they are loose, the cable is junk as it can't be tightened to rewound

DieHarder

Hey, thanks for replying! And thanks for the explanation! I might buy the Dynamite programming card and disable reverse then. Assuming the stock flex shaft isn't strong enough, I've heard great things about the flex shafts from OSE. They sell an ' upgraded' one for the V3 but it's out of stock. What are your thoughts on their products?

OSE Flex Shaft - http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...-bj29-v3-cable

On another note, being totally new to boating I'm not familiar with sharpening and balancing a prop. I'm sure it takes a lot of skill and knowledge. Is there a place that sells S & B Octura props? Are there any S & B-ing services? Thanks again!

fr8cture

I saw OSE sells S & B props. I've been researching into this boat alot aswell as I'm gonna order one this week. The V3 has a 120a rebranded Hobby Wing ESC and the pro boat programming card will not work. (unless there is a updated one for the V3 I'm unaware of) but the hobbywing card will work.

DieHarder

I must have missed that. I'll go back and look...

I'm in the process of setting the $$$ aside. I've got about $250 put away and I'm hoping to order by the end of the month. What are planning to run for batteries, prop, etc?

Thanks for the info the programmer. I actually have a HW programmer, so that's great!

fr8cture

Currently I plan to run it stock before I try and get more performance. I'm still not sure on 4s or 6s. I would like to run 6s but if it might hurt the electronics I'd run 4s.

EDIT: S & B props http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...Balanced+Props

fr8cture

I've been looking around some more and I'm pretty much set on 4s now. Been Looking at SMC 7200mah 60c 2s lipos. Seems with the right prop and setup it will go over 50 and thats all I really want. I might change the motor down the road and try 6s though.

DieHarder

Thanks for the link. It sounds like the 120A ESC just isn't enough to keep the amp spikes contained on 6S. I know 4S runs really reliable in this boat, as that's all I've heard from reviewers. I really want to run 6S, but I keep hearing mixed reviews. Some guys say there's no problems, runs 6S reliably all day long. Then you get the dudes that say stick to 4S and tune it in, 6S kills it after a few runs. It's seems like a 50/50 chance that I'm gonna get a good boat. I hate that.

Since you're ordering this week, I'd be much obliged if you could keep up in this thread and let me know how your setup works out. I'd really appreciate it!

fr8cture

Will do.

From what I read the issue with 6s is the 2000kv motor. Sounds like if I switch to 1500kv motor it would be fine but what I'm wondering if I will get more speed with 6s on 1500kv vs 2000kv 4s.

DieHarder

Awesome!

I read a little about going to 1500kv for 6S. I know from general RC knowledge that 2000kv at 6S is really pushing it. For me, I just don't think 4S can completely top the advantages of 6S. I mean, 4S can be faster if setup correctly and the same for 4S having more torque. But I don't think you can ever more torque AND higher top speed than 6S at the same time. It sorta comes down to what your/my priorities are. I want to see my boat do some wicked speed runs but if it's slow off the line, that part is not very impressive.

It kinda sounds like the 180A HW ESC, a 1500kv motor, an upgraded OSE flex shaft, and an Octura S & B X440/X442 prop all put in one boat running 6S is the real ticket. But who can afford it? :P

fr8cture

Exactly. I plan on eventually upgrading to a 6s setup but 4s should be fun for now since this is all new to me. Gonna be ordering it later tonight...probably run it this weekend if it isn't raining.

DieHarder

Cool! Definitely looking forward to hearing how it goes!

fr8cture

tracking says it will be here friday.

fr8cture

Disappointing to say the least but this is what I saw when I opened the box. Good thing is Horizon got me all setup quick and I was able to ship it back same day.

DieHarder

Damn. That's right outta the box? Some quality control... Did the boat seem sturdy and decent?

fr8cture

Yeah right out of the box. Besides the damage the Hull seemed to be of great quality. I know previous versions of the canopy were breaking in flips but this one seemed quite thick. I'm guessing the square shape of it helps aswell.

DieHarder

That's good to hear. Probably this weekend before you receive a new boat?

With the canopy being square it seems like it would be easier to tape vs the oval shaped canopy on the V1. The other issue I read that the V3 when it first came out was that the canopy didn't fit right. I was bowed, leaving a gap on the front and back canopy seals. But I believed they fixed that soon after the problem was reported.

fr8cture

I didn't see any fitment issues on mine. They will have my boat tomorrow. Hoping its something that just needs to be replaced so they ship one out right away. I would hope they would do a fast shipping method but that might be wishful thinking. I also sent the batterys I ordered back. Decided to just risk it with 6s.

DieHarder

Yeah, I sure hope they get your boat out to ya quick. For me, I'm glad you're going with 6S. Because that's the setup I want to run and I'm really interested in hearing how it goes. There have been so many changes to this boat since it came out, I have no idea if they fixed everything or not. Are you gonna run it stock?

fr8cture

Yeah I'm gonna run it stock. When I get a S & B Prop I'm gonna get a different motor for sure. I also talked to a guy on youtube and he said he would make me a dual water pickup that runs on the mount that holds the rudder. Also stock the watercooling goes to the motor first. I'm gonna switch that. I'm much more concerned about the esc. ESC can damage the boat alot more than a motor can.

EDIT: I mean I'm gonna run water cooling to the esc then the motor until I get that dual water pickup.

DieHarder

Gotcha. With the dual water pickup then you run one line to the ESC and one to the motor? Dual water pickup would be sweet!

Another thing I've read is to turn the motor timing down to 7.5 degrees. Supposedly it comes stock set at 15 degrees and makes it run really hot, from I've read/heard on reviews and forums. All this talk is really getting me excited. I've got about $400 put away now. Hoping to hit $600 before the end of the month and order it along with a couple 3S lipos. Which batteries are you going use to pair 6S? I was looking at Venom or maybe the recommend Dynamite ones. I'd like to modify the harness to have deans connectors for the batteries, but I'm not sure if they can take the current. I mean they probably put big EC5s in there for a reason. It's kind of rare to find batteries that already have EC5s on them, I may have to solder some.

fr8cture

Yes one line to each then it they go into a Y connector before going to the water outlet. I'm looking at these batterys once I get my refund for the 2s batterys. http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?...product_id=253 I ordered some EC5 connectors. Gonna solder some onto the batteries. I heard the deans will melt.

DieHarder

Those are a steal! Some guys on the car/truck forums use those SMC batteries and have a lot of good things to say about them. Two of those comes to $120, a lot better than the Venom 11.1v 5000mah 50Cs I was looking at coming to $200. Plus those are 7200mah for longer run times and 60C.

I believe it on the Deans, 6S through those could be disastrous.

fr8cture

Yeah never had problems with deans on 6s with monster trucks but boats take alot more power than a monster truck. I almost thought about getting the 6mm castle plugs but I can get 2 pairs of ec5s for a fraction of the price. Yeah these seem like a great deal. The main battery brands are ridiculous with pricing.