RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Use a tennis ball(s). Have fun.

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

I've been using a fishing lure to hook the cage, I don't see how a tennis ball would work?

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

The line to the tennis ball will get(hopefully) wrapped around something on the boat. I prefer a bobber and a treble hook. Dennis

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

I just take my r/c boats on my "fishing trips" in my bass boat. My poor fishing poles just gathering dust. :D I go out to this island off of the Amite River in Ascension Parrish, La. On the island you can swim, swing off of a rope swing and there is even a place to BBQ! It's about a 15min speed boat ride from the launch. It is also a great spot for r/c 'ing as the diversion canal has little to no big boat traffic and is very calm even on windy days. I use my trolling motor to fetch flipped r/c boats. Using my big boat is cool because it's a great platform on the water to r/c from. And, one of my favorite things to do is to use the big boat as a chase boat! Of couse you have to have another person to drive the big boat while you drive the r/c boats or vice versa.
To stop your Gator from flipping try a zeroing the thrust angle of the prop with the addition of 2 #4 flat washers on the rear motor mounts. After this slight mod my Gator hardly ever flips anymore. I almost have to try to flip it. [8D]

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Thanks guys,
I'll try the treble hook with a float or a lure. I'm not too sure about the tennis ball suggestion. It's not a big pond, maybe 3/4 acre, so I should be able to snag the boat even if it's inverted w/o too much problem. I think I'll also try the tennis ball idea just to see if I can make it work. I'll let you know what worked the best for me.
I'll try zeroing out or at least reducing the thrust angle using the washers also. I thought when I first looked at it that it might have a little too much positive incidence on the engine.
I have read the entire thread and I appreciate the helpful comments. I will try my best to get a video next time out and will post the link.

Bill

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Yes, definatly do the washers! It will help your "control" of the roll overs. I haven't rolled mine once since I did it, only thing I'm noticing now is that it seems to porpose "hop across the top" on the water. I can't figure out whay it does this, even on days when there is NO wind!? I was wondering if it had to do with the thrust angle?

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Donahue 85,
The front of my boat skips on the water at full speed also, even with the thrust angle at the factory setting, so apparently the thrust angle is not the cause. I would say that at a certain speed it starts to hydroplane. I would guess the only cure for that would be to slow down[&o]
I'm thinking about switching the reciever out to a Spectrum 2.4 Marine so I can use my DX3S car/marine transmitter. That way I will have steering exponential to smooth out the rudder response and will be able to tweak individual servos with the transmitter.

Bill

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

My receiver seems to be ok as far as tweeking my servos to the way I like, but one more thing you might want to have on hand just incase is a couple extra servos. I've had my boat for about a month or so now & I've had to replace both servos already due to moisture. The bad thing is that they seem to want to quit on you when your out in the middle of the pond. I found that even the cheapest servo is better & faster with a response than the tactics that come with it.

As for the skipping, I suppose I will have to deal with it. No biggie, I get a rush driving it like that anyways, makes me feel like it's gonna take off or something! LOL! Out at the pond where I've been taking my boat, there is a baby Alligator. Believe it or not, last Sunday when I ran my boat, that little guy literally came out of the water & chased my boat! He almost got it too. He was skiming the top of the water chasing it, it was unbelieveable! My Alligator Tours was almost eaten by an alligator! LOL!

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

That's pretty funny about the baby alligator chasing your boat. Maybe he thought your boat was a cute lil girly gator and was trying to make friends:D Luckily in the part of NC where I live there are no gators, so I really don't have any predators to worry about in the water here. There are some ducks on the pond but they got gone quick when I fired up the boat.

I'm tossing around some ideas about how to keep the servos dryer. If I come up with any workable solution I will certainly share it here. As for right now I reckon the best solution is to keep the boat upright (easier said than done).

Bill

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Living in South Louisiana we have alligators too. The difference is we Cajun's eat them before they eat us! :D Joke: This baby crawfish and momma crawfish are in the bottom of a pond swimming along. All of a sudden a shadow passes over them. The baby crawfish gets scared, but the momma crawfish says don't worry baby that's just a mullet and they don't eat crawfish. They then swam to the surface, another shadow appeared above them in the sky... The baby crawfish got scared again. The momma crawfish said don't worry baby that's just a sea gull and they don't eat crawfish either. They then swam to the shore line and then another shadow appeared above them... The momma crawfish screamed to her baby run quick..that's a Cajun and they eat anything!!!:D

I've never had a problem with my servos getting wet and before I zeroed the thrust angle my Gator flipped on a regular basis. I always did tape the box with electrical tape though.

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Made a 4 pronged grappling hook out large turtle hooks. I cut off the points and ground them flat. Tested it on the boat inverted and if the hooks touch the side of the boat anywhere it will snag it. If it gets the cage..even better. Hope I don't need it, but chances are I will.
Made some changes to the boat. I put a balloon over the battery pack and cut a piece of foam to fit in the reciever box. That will keep everything in place and hopefully will absorb any water that gets in. I didn't like the phillip head screws that holds the top plate on the reciever box so I tossed them out and put in socket head servo screws. Also I didn't like the seat platform being hard mounted to the reciever box so I didn't put the screws in it. It is now mounted to the top of the reciever box with velcro. I reduced the positive incidence on the engine to 2 degrees. I think it needs a little positive incidence. A test run will tell if I got it right.
Bill

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Also check your muffler bolts. Mine were loose.

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

I used some RVT sealant on my receivers box to keep the water out & it seems to work rather well! It is like rubber glue, so it forms a good seal around the box & when you need to take it off, it comes apart relatively easy.

I was trying to think of ways to keep the servos dry too. I thought of maybe a balloon, but you would have to cut it to get it to fit over the arm & that would just defeat the whole purpose. Unless you take the arm off, place the balloon over the servo, then screw the arm back on over the balloon. Maybe I will try this & I will let you all know how it works out! I have to replace my steering servo anyways, so it's worth a shot!

As for your muffler bolts, you can use a little bit of BLUE loctite on them. DO NOT use the red kind, it is too strong & you probably won't be able to get them out again once you put it on. Mine did the same thing, my whole muffler actually keeps coming loose. Thats a whole nother story!

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

http://www.corrosionx.com/marine.html

Do a search here for waterproofing servos etc. This will solve your issues and will save you money.

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Thanks for the link Asmithnc. That stuff sounds like just the trick for servos.

Donahue 85, thanks for the advise on the sealant. Great idea! Also I know what you mean about the loctite. After years of messing with rc planes I learned my lesson about the red stuff. Only use the blue now. I haven't had much luck with loctite in a high heat area, such as mufflers, anyway. The best thing I've found is to tighten the bolts while the muffler is hot.
Another place I have found where water can enter the Rx box is through the end of the rubber boot on the rudder push rod. I thought about using a zip tie on it. Keep an eye on that boot. If it ever dry rots and cracks water will flood in if you flip the boat. Some Armorall Protectant on the boot might help keep it from dry rotting, but since it flexes it will eventually get a hole in it.

Deslok113, That was a funny story:D Thanks! I used to love to watch the Justin Wilson cajun cooking show on TV. He was a hoot...."I Gaa...rawn..tee." I also love that cajun music with fiddles and accordion and that crawfish etouffe....MMMMMM[8D]

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Well tomorrow I'm heading out on the Amite river to run my boats (full size and r/c). I'm running my 2 nitro airboats and a couple of FE's. I might do some crabbing too, I hear they are running good and are pretty fat; boiled crabs in Zatarans crab boil with some cayenne pepper and corn and red taters; C'est si bon!!!!
I can't wait to run my Gator again on water, grass is just not the same. I also have a Dumas Windy that I put an OS .25fp on. She's not too fast on the front lawn but on the water....;) Since I'm going by myself I won't be doing any chasing r/c's with my big boat it will just be used as a platform and a fetcher...woooo hooo I'm excited, it'as been awhile.
The only r/c'ing I've been doing lately is at my mom and dad's pond. I don't really push the boats there because if they stall or flip I have to go swimming or use a tube or something to fetch them. Man, I need to get a Pirogue. I've been wanting one for awhile. They are the best boats for fetching. In case your wondering a Pirogue (pronounced peerow or peerow' G ) is a Cajun flatbottomed canoe like boat built for shallow water (like the swamps in South La.). Since the bottom is flat they don't flip as easily as a canoe or kayak. We Cajuns often stand up in them and use a push pole or paddle for propulsion. There's a dude on e-bay that sells them (fiberglass pirogues for about $300-$400) and will ship, just query "pirogue" in the ebay search.

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZt7BuiNtc0

Here is a nice video I found that seems like it would be easy to do & really cheap! It takes a minute to load, but it is worth it to watch!

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Well now I've got to have a new carb and prop. Was running my boat on the pond today and the carb came off. I guess the throttle pushrod shoved it right into the prop. Destroyed the prop and the carb is a mess. Badly bent the HS needle valve and I think the housing is broken, broke the throttle arm off, ripped out the end of the throttle pushrod and shoved the idle screw into the venturi warping the venturi. Luckily somehow the carb landed on the boat and didn't get thrown in the water. I checked the throttle servo and it doesn't seem to be stripped. Since I've had the boat less than a month hopefully it is under warranty. I sent Tower Hobbies an email.

Bill

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

WHAT, The carb came OFF. Shame on them.

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

It shouldn't happen, but its one of those things that you should check regularly.....along with the prop nut, cage mount bolts, engine mount bolts....etc, etc, etc. Safety is YOUR responsibility. LOL

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Also when checking the carb, Do Not over tighten, it will crack the base of the carb, letting the carb fall off.

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

I always have to check my bolts. These boats do nothing but vibrate. You should always check all your bolts after each use!! Sorry to hear that happen to you though.

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

What do you guys think of the video I posted for water proofing servos?

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

I see some good points but I see......... Someone putting rtv in the wrong places "standard" servo and jamming up the gears. I found this funny. After filling with mineral oil he said to smear the leftover rtv all around the seams. One... a layer of oil then rtv HA HA it will never stay. Second the bond between rtv and slick plastic will never last.
The orings...... the extra friction will cause the motor to over work or die early. I don't really see the reasoning I thought thats why he added oil!

Corrision X takes less time and the insurance to me is better.

RE: AquaCraft Alligator RTR
 

Yall are right. I've been messing with glo engines long enough to know to check ALL the bolts. My mistake. It's still worth filing a warranty claim. What have I got to lose?