Newbie - want to put some spare parts to use
 

Hello all. Last year, I bought an E-Gull RC airplane (entry level electric) to try my hand at flying but didn't particularly care for it. It was probably a combination of a cheap plane, bad location, and no previous experience on my part. Anyway, I've been cleaning out some junk, and rather than just throw away perfectly good mechanoguts, I'd like to try building an RC boat. The problem is that I don't really know what sort of watercraft the parts might be suitable for (small and fast, big and slow, or heavy and at the bottom of the lake) and have never built or used any sort of RC boat. This is what I have:

PC-2DR 2-channel controller @27.045MHz
Matching receiver (has an extra, unused header so maybe 3-channel?)
Speed controller (proportional I think, if that means anything)
Small electric motor (200 maybe?)
Servo (labeled P&C PC-09)
Two 6.0V 600mA NiMH battery packs (about the size of 5 AAAs)

I also have two large 12V 3A gel pack batteries that weigh 2.2lbs each; I suppose I could put those to use with an appropriate transformer or something to get them down to 6V. Would that even be safe?

I believe I could get everything sealed in a water-tight container and use some sort of indirect drive for the propellor. I would then just need to build/buy a hull I guess. I suppose my questions would be 1) Is the equipment beefy enough to drive anything bigger than a rubber duck, and, if so, 2) what sort of watercraft might they be appropriate for? I'm very much open to suggestions. Thanks!

RE: Newbie - want to put some spare parts to use
 

Dumas still makes several small boat kits that would be an OK size for your airplane scraps. They also provide running hardware for the kits (under separate wrap and price!). I would start there. You are fortunate that the radio frequency band you ended up with is dual use. That is, it is for ground as well as air use.
As for the batteries, stay with the 6v packs. You cannot "transform" 12 vdc into 6vdc, ya need AC for that. Check out the array of larger capacity( more miliamps) 6v packs available for longer run times.

RE: Newbie - want to put some spare parts to use
 

Thanks for your input! I've decided to try and build the hull and all from scratch. It may sink straight to the bottom, but it will certainly be a learning experience and should make it easier once I'm ready to invest some more significant money in the hobby. I'll look through the Dumas kits for some ideas and will probably splurge on a propeller.

I think "transformer" was the wrong word for me to use. A step-down DC-to-DC converter would do it, but I don't know how efficiently. That will wait for another project. I'm sure the batteries are too heavy in this case anyway.

RE: Newbie - want to put some spare parts to use
 

Apart from scratch building, which is fun, electrifying a plastic kit is also an option.

There are a number of plastic kits on the market that would run very nice on the parts you've got available.

Just a thought...

Regards, Jan.