Jimi Findrix

Hi Crew,

I always seem to do this.
I decide to do something drastic just after i have painted a board.
Just a bit backwards.
God, I'm gonna need 3S just to push this thing around.
It is starting to weigh a ton.

It will probably go down tail first and sink to the bottom tomorrow morningwhenIput a 4600mah NiMh pack in it.

JIMI Findrix
on - Western Australia)

Lolocarrera

good job jimi !!

Lolocarrera

Jimi Findrix

Thankyou Lolo,
Coming from you, that is a real compliment.
Your models are mindblowing.
You modeling skills are probably unsurpassed in this field.
The modeling for me is only a means to an end.
I just want a good strong fast RC Surfer that can handle the surf I get here on a daily basis.
And I want it to really shred.
I am only new to RC and other than SURFERS I have absolutely no interest in RC Models.
But as you know to achieve what I want is not easy and I am learning fast.
Seb and John Curls are my mentors.
They have helped me heaps.
I see you send your boards out in some nice sized waves.
Do you have any pics or vids of them actually surfing on the waves? (Not jumping them?)

JIMI
(Gero - W. A.)

Jimi Findrix

RC Surf freaks,

Well it is 1:51am  and the wind is non existent.
There is about 1m swell on so there will be a few little waves for a test run at dawn.
Low tide is @ 6:30am.
I just cleaned up the mess that I made in my shed over the last couple of days and I am filthy.
I better get a shower and a quick nap.
Asked the wife to wake me @ 5:00am.
Can't miss the dawny.

Hope the board stays dry and works well????
Maybe Bob will show up and get us some pics.

JIMI
(Gero - West Oz)

Jimi Findrix

Wow Guys,I got to "Point Moore" @ 5:30 and it was perfect peeling and glassy.Despite, breaking two plastic X431's and a the coupler coming loose 3 times,THAT WAS EPIC.Best RC Surf I ever had.I added 28g of lead to the front wall of the motor bay to pull the nose down and stop the bounce.This board is seriously going off.Did heaps of really nice floaters and a couple came down backwards and kept going down the line.Did a heap of great rolls and one double roll that landed on the face and made it.Jumping high on the run outs was awsome too, all that extra mass just punches hard.Got some really sick slashes, carves under the lip and roundhouses as well.Absolutely charged!!!AND some insane wipeouts.The deck is sealing so well that when I undo the screws it still won't come off due to the vacuum create by the synthetic grease.I have to cup my hand flat on the deck between his feet and lift to break the seal.I did have some water getting in today (but it was managable) due to the fact that I took the silicone off the footbolts and tried some insertion rubber to seal them.The back one leaked so I need to clean everything and have a look at that today.Bob did not make it today but he has got a few waves on video from last weekend, reckons he will post it on Youtube later today.I still have not seen it as I don't have the codec to run it and I only have dial up at the moment so it will take forever to download, lol.Anyway when you get tp see it will also be when I do.I have been checking out video cameras a few times lately, I need to get one 'cause Bob's camera is really for photos but can do sequences and video.One other thing, my radio keeps cutting out when the board gets out the back, but I found that if I hold the Tx on my head it works fine, LOL.So I spent 2 1/2 hours standing on the shoreline with the transmitter on my head holding my arms up like Moses or something.By the last pack my arms were that tired I just sat it on my shoulder and operated it like that.This board is so balanced now, it is really shredding.Just gotta strip and clean it all again and see if I can fix that leaky footpeg before tomorrow.Bob is comin' down tomorrow too.So watch out for JIMI FINDRIX on Youtube comin' soon.We are just gettin' started crew.Here comes THE JIMI FINDRIX EXPERIENCE!!!Sea ya.JIMI(Geraldton W. A.).

MBSCsurfergirl

quick qusetion: adding weight inside the hull before  seal it..so far i have 28 grams i wanna put in it; should i go with more, or just add that then add some inside the motor bay??

Jimi Findrix

Surfergirl,
Everyone just experiments with ballast.
It really depends on your entire set up, rider type, battery weight are the main two factors.
You will need to install your main ballast as low as possible to help self righting especially in strong wind.
Your female riders need more ballast because she is taller and tends to fall over on her side more.
That is not fun, if she can't get up you will have to swim out and rescue her.
I use the Dudes and they are only 9 inches tall they are also lighter and foam filled, although mine is quite heavy because he has carbon fibre stuck all over him and a coat of resin.
But he is not very tall and so I do not need as much ballast as you will need.
I just put 100g on the very bottom of my board and tested.
It self rights perfectly but tended to bounce when planning on flat glass.
So I added a 28g spoon sinker to the front wall of the motor bay and that keeps the nose nice and level which eliminates the bouncing and also results in much more speed, due to the perfect planning under speed.
I am not sure what battery type you will be using or how heavy they are but my ballast is set up for 3800mAh - 4600mAh  NiMh at the moment.
When I use 2S LiPo's I might have to adjust how much lead I have in the front of the motor bay because the LiPo's are quite a bit lighter.
I would suggest try adding say 125g - 130g to the very bottom of your board along the keel thingy (In the centre)
I used super epoxy to glue it on and then covered it all over and around with some "Aqua Knead it" epoxy putty.
Sanded smooth and painted.
This came out so well you can hardly notice that it has been done.
One you have added the main ballast , take your board for a test run on some perfectly flat water (No Waves!).
It will probably tend to bounce along as you test under speed.
Now all you need to do is stick some lead on the front wall of the motor bay with strong double sided tape.
That way you can try lighter or heavier weights to balance the trim..
I have tried several different weights but I always come back to a 28g spoon sinker as it is just right and does not cause the rail to bog in on the fast turns that I am doing in the critical section of the waves.

Experiment and keep track off how much weight you add because it really makes a big difference to the performance of the models ability to surf.
If you get ithe balance just right your board will never get stuck on its side (even in a strong offshore wind) and it will actually be able surf to a much higher performance level and with more speed,, just like a miniature pro surfer

I am sure everyone else has their own theory about all this but that is just what I do.
But, I am getting results on a daily basis that back up exactly what I am saying.

Have fun experimenting.

JIMI
(R C Surf Heaven - Gero - W. A.)

MBSCsurfergirl

thanks for the info!  Im adding the weight and sealing the hull seams now.  if all goes well she'll be waterproof, then i can experiment with weights on the inside battery areas...I have 1, ugh yes 1, 5000mah nimh battery so far, more to come soon.  will post some pix shortly cuz paint is dry and the board looks kinda sweet

Jimi Findrix

Surfergirl,
The first 5 pics show how I added my 100g of lead to the keel.
See how I have moulded it in for minimum drag and maximum speed?
The last 2 pics show my trim ballast, I have it on the front wall of the motor bay so it is forward far enough to exert down force on the nose and this stops the bouncing and ncrease speeb through level planning and it also helps the board to hang into the pocket better, but it is not so heavy that it causes nosedive or bogging of the rails..
You will also notice that my 28g trim ballast is set with the heavy side of the sinker to the right hand side of the front of the motor bay.
That is because my board tends to lean to the left side when it is floating stationary.
I think it is because of the weight of the ESC making one side of the board heavier slightly than the other.
It may also have something to do with the Dude rider, I am not 100% certain.
But by having it set to the opposite side it counterbalances although not totally.

The last 2 pictures also show my board after this mornings surf and after I cleaned it out.
I recommend that you strip and clean every last little bolt after each surf session.

If you want to have more success than failure.

Your 5000 NiMh packs will just squeeze into the stockboardand soon you willprobably consider doing the same thing I just did by lowering and resealing the battery tray.
The bigger packs can cause problems with pushing against the deck and although it seems to be fine it might leak.

Also, soon you probably won't be gettingmuch sleep either especially if you get as addicted to this crazy hobby as I have.

Hope all this is helping.

JIMI
(Geraldton Western Australia)

Jimi Findrix

Surfergirl,

Here are the other 2 pics showing the 28g trim ballast in the front of the board. (Spoon sinker).
Honestly, this makes a hell of a lot of difference to the surfing performance of my board.
The difference is night and day.

Your rider and board weight are a little different than mine, so that is why I said try 125g - 130g on the bottom.
You may even need more than that.
I'm just not sure because I don't use the female riders.
I recommend tacking on your main ballast and testing for self righting before you mold it in or fibreglass over and paint.
That way you can take it off and add a bigger weight if you need to.
If you don't add enough you board will probably self right in light wind but in strong wind it could get held over on its side.


Sea ya.

JIMI
(Gero - W. A.)

RC HAWAIIAN STYLE

locob

Ilike your tuperwere set up , how did you fit that thing in there . you must have been rc surfing for years you have the same mods as all the rc surf crew plus more , i like that .keep them coming



john maui rc surfer


ps I made a 4 cell board like yours but my KVwas 2600, to high the thing had to much power the thing jumps out of the water , maybe lower kv , what do you think?

Lolocarrera

I usemotors with1500KV,like thatof theESC45 or65Ais sufficient.but tocompensateI use4s.

Theenginerunsslower(1500KV)soless powerbutwiththe4Sandit worksverygood battery life...

fewerKVthereforemore torqueandlargerpropelleralso

Jimi Findrix

[youtube][/youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWl3yqEGOlg

Jimi Findrix

Well that failed.
How do I get a youtube video on here?

Jimi Findrix

Try again.

Lolocarrera

superbe vidéo greats

Jimi Findrix

<iframe title="YouTube video player" class="youtube-player" type="text/html" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/wWl3yqEGOlg" frameborder="0" allowFullScreen></iframe>

Maybe this will work.

Jimi Findrix

[youtube][/youtubehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWl3yqEGOlg]

Jimi Findrix

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWl3yqEGOlg[/youtube]

Jimi Findrix

Hi Crew,
Does anybody know where I can get a .130 wire drive linked to 3/16th propshaft stub turned down to 1/8 propend?

Here is a pic from yesterday, the whole session was plagued with coupler problems.
Sometimes I am amazed what Bob has at the end of the day, even when I hated every minute of the session because it was not really happening he comes up with something like this.

JIMI

RC HAWAIIAN STYLE

jimi


your videolooks great the best part is when the dog is watcht ing you rip , i wonder if he would eat it if he could , now you can see your man works very well , now you just need big waves and you will win the vid contest. john maui

Jimi Findrix

Thanks John,
I like the dog part too.
That was the first waves I tested the new rudder in.
Well, the new rudder is great.
That video was shot before I added the 100g to the bottom, the board seems to handle the soup a lot better now without getting knocked over so easily.
For instance, the little floater where he falls over, I think he would have just floated up and alongor come down tail first now.
Itis summer here so it isonly tiny surf most of the time, some size would be nice.
There are a few bigger waves around at "Greenough: but I am making so many new changes to my boatd right now so "Point Moore" is a good place to test them out.
I don't know about winning any video comps but at least Imight be able to join in the fun.
That was Bob's first go at taking video with his camera, it is not a real video camera though.
I am having major dramas with my couplers all thetime.
I need toget a flexdrive ASAP.
Barrels is gonna help me whenhe gets back from holidays.
I have one of Seb'spropshafts anda Hex Flex coupler that works great but the props I got are too slow, I think the pitch is too small.
I ordered a few more differentpropsto try but there are not many options for M4 threaded props so I am gonna change to a real flexdrivethat can run the 1/8 props I like asthey run nice and fast.
So at the moment, I am churning through Kyosho solid couplers faster than Cookie Monster empties the cookie jar.
In the vid the board waspowered by NiMh packs but I do have a heap of 2S LiPo's to use.
Now that I finally seem to have sorted out the water intrusion probs (thanks toSeb) I am having the leads fitted with deans at the moment.
One I have the flexdrive and the Lipo's up and running I will be looking for a good HD camcorder for Bob to use.
Thenwe will be looking for some decent sized waves and hopefully get something really impressive on youtube.
Then we will have a real chance atracking up some points.

Seaya.

JIMI
(Geraldton - W. A.)

Jimi Findrix

Alright Crew!!!!

I am finally gonna get past the coupler problems.
Just ordered parts from OE for the new flex drives.

Octura 1/8 to .130 cable, Hex Flex Couplers
Octura .130 to 1/8 cables to 3/16 propshaft with 1/8 propends,  teflon liners and brass drive dogs and bullet nuts.
7/32 brass stuffing tubes
Grim reaper cable grease
Octura X431 and Y531 props 

My 2S packs are fitted with deans and shortened leads, RTR.
Once this stuff is all installed I should be able to get some decent videos in some bigger waves.

Sea ya on Youtube.

JIMI Findrix
(Geraldton Western Australia)

Jimi Findrix

Apparently, to build my new snug watertight stuffing boxes I will also be needing these;
3/16 Tubes
9/32 Tubes
1/4 Tubes
and Octura 3/16 ID - 1/4 ODLead Teflon Sleeve Bearings

JIMI