All Day Dan

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Hi Tom, thanks to your high recommendation, I switched the camouflaged boat over to 2.4. I had to move the receiver position forward and up to get the antennas as high as possible. The aft portion of the boats really gets low and with the upward spray coming off the chines, I want to avoid as much blockage to the RF as possible. I was able to get one of the antennas two inches above the deck and you can see the second one perpendicular to it a little below deck level. I’ll wait to see if I get the same range as I did on 74 before I convert the gray boat. If all goes well, I’ll use this setup for the Corvette. I finally got all the parts I need for the Corvette’s running gear so I’ll start up again in a couple of days. Dan.

Kmot

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Hi Dan,

You do not need to worry, I am pretty certain. All the fast electric guys create huge, 6' tall walls of water behind their boats and do not have a RF problem. And, the Tactic radio receivers (Futaba design) have no antenna at all and all the Aquacraft FE boats come with those Tactic receivers.

I would think you would be completely safe to hide the antennae under the deck all together, which is what I do. And also with 2.4Ghz radios, if it loses range the failsafe just shuts everything off. No powered run aways.

Kmot

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RCU software double post?

All Day Dan

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Thank you Tom for the great post. I should have spoken to you in more detail when we were talking about converting my boats to 2.4. It looks like I over killed my installation because I was so concerned about the blockage at that high frequency. I have a 32 ounce tank in my planes and I take great pains to keep the antennas well away from them. If I can get my usual range with this installation, I'll try to bring that vertical antenna inside and see what happens. I did talk to the attendants at the boat shack after you left and they said that someone is there from 8AM to late in the afternoon and that they would recover a marooned boat. That's nice of them. I'll probably go out again some time next week to give it a try. I'll bring the camouflaged boat only this time since I don't feel like changing transmitter modules while I'm there.

I'm grounded again with the Corvette. I got the MACK struts to replace the Dumas struts and was ready to go, but, I'm still missing a Dumas propeller and I did not want to commit to a strut position with only one prop in hand. They said it has been shipped to them and they will have it at the end of the month. What part of the world is the prop coming from to take two weeks in shipping? I don't know. At this point, I still need a matched pair of LH and RH three bladed props, 1 1/2 in diameter for a 3/16" shaft. Any recommendations? Dan.

Kmot

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Hey Dan, I think Dumas stopped making their own props a while ago and now what they sell are actually Raboesch props which are outstanding but they are made in the Netherlands. http://www.raboesch.com/

http://www.raboesch.com/CATALOGUS_2-2010_WEB.pdf

I have Raboesch props on several of my models and am quite happy with then.

Another good prop is Rivabo, sold locally by Harbor Models. Rivabo are also made in the Netherlands. http://www.rivabo.nl/page/product_info_page.htm

And then there is "Prop Shop" of England, also carried by Harbor Models. Supposed to be fantastic props. Expensive, and if out of stock can take months to get one made.

All Day Dan

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Ok. I'll check out these sources. Dan.

All Day Dan

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Frank, of Frank’s Mosquito Boat Hobbies, has saved the day. He had a nice set of counter rotating props that were the right size for the Corvette. As we have discussed before, Dumas no longer makes their bronze props but sell the Dutch made assembled ones. Although they use the same part number, they are significantly different. The prop marked 3119 is the original Dumas prop and the 3118 is the assembled one. The blade area is about 25% less. The two unmarked props are what Frank had. Thanks Frank.

For those of you who were just waiting to see what Frank looks like, here he his with his 48 inch Elco boat and a 60 inch version. He now makes them himself and they are beauties to see. The fiber glassing is absolutely top of the line. It is perfect. He even had a molded deck for them and laser cut parts for the rest. Dumas no longer makes their 48 inch PT boat so here’s you chance to get one that’s even better. Blow your budget and get the 60 inch one and power it with three motors just like the full size. Get in touch with Frank at his website.

On the way back, I stopped off to get a shot of the Iowa. What a sight! It’s just what we need to make more friends around the world. I would sure hate to be one of the bad guys with some of these floating around.

I’ll be starting up again on the Corvette soon. Dan.

Kmot

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Thanks for the info and photos, Dan!

All Day Dan

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I made up a 1/16 plywood spacer for the Mack strut to help spread the pressure over a larger area. The strut, nylon thrust washer, drive dog and prop were located 3/8 inch from the forward edge of the rudder to the rear of the prop at its closest position. A line was drawn on the hull at the rear of the strut. Another line was drawn from the center of the rudder post along the hull. The strut assembly was put on the hull with one of the shafts in it. Using a short piece of 3/16 tubing in the rudder opening, the shaft was lined up from the end of the tubing to the intersection of the line on the hull. Pilot holes were marked through the strut base. These were drilled for #4 screws. I turned the hull over and saw where a frame had to be cut for a 1/8 plywood base. After some cutting and sanding, the plywood was epoxied to the inside of the hull with a mixture of micro-balloons to take in to account the slight convex surface. A #4 sheet metal screw held them in place. When cured, the screw was removed and the hull turned over. The original holes were redrilled, this time, through the plywood inside the hull. The 1/16 plywood spacer was epoxied to the bottom of the hull in a similar manner and held in place with #4 sheet metal screws. When cured, the screws were removed, and once again the holes were redrilled. The struts were then glued in place with Gorilla glue and held on with #4 screws and bolts. The alignment remained perfect and the glue left to cure. It took longer to describe this than do it. One day, two struts. Next, installing the stuffing boxes. Dan.

rblubaugh

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Dan,

Vunderbar!  Wonderful  Fantastic!  Neat. Very interesting.  A better mouse trap?  Any way, a great way of doing things! 

Thanks for sharing.  Honestly , I've picked up several neat little building tricks from your build so far that will make my next one easier; keep showing more.

Bob

Kmot

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Awesome stuff Dan! [sm=thumbup.gif]

All Day Dan

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Thank you Tom and Bob for the compliments. I’ve been building models for the past 65 years so it's about time that I did things right. I never would have got this far if it wasn't somebody there helping me so I don't mind helping out myself.

I inserted the shafts into the struts after everything dried and located the position of the stuffing box. An assortment of tools was used to cut through the two layers of 1/16 basswood strips and five ounce epoxy soaked cloth. The combination was very hard to get through. Three more frames had to be cut for the stuffing box. It looks like another one will have to be almost totally removed for the motors and motor mounts.

Tom, I'll be at the lake tomorrow around ten to give the 2.4 setup a test run. I'll be there for a short time just to get two runs in. I may have a yellow 79 Oldsmobile with me this time. Dan.

All Day Dan

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With the slots cut, it was time to install the stuffing boxes. They got scuffed up with 100 grit sandpaper and a cleaning with acetone. The shaft was pushed through the strut and the box was slid on to the shaft. The box was moved in to position. With my left hand holding the box and my right hand twisting the shaft back and forth, I located the position of the box that gave me the least resistance while I was rotating the shaft. I carefully grabbed the bottle of Zap-a-gap with my right and tacked the box in place. I then grabbed the accelerator and gave the CA a couple of squirts. When this cured I added another tack spot. A double check of the shaft indicated no movement. This was repeated for the other side. With the hull upside down, I applied 30 minute epoxy to the forward opening where the box exited the hull. This ran through, as I wanted it to do, and then I put a loose micro-balloon mixture over that. As that oozed down, I added more until the curing process stopped it. The hull was placed right side up and the process repeated.

I put the motor and motor mount in place to check the line up. It's not good. The coupler is offset a lot. It's the Dumas dog bone universal. Is this too much? I can reduce it a little by increasing the angle of the motor mount. I can also reduce it by leaving about an inch of the shaft unsupported. I can also reduce it by using a longer stuffing box. Any comment? Dan.

Kmot

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Dan, if the mis-alignment is only in the vertical plane, I would make a wedge to fit under the motor mount to re-align it. This is actually a common procedure.

All Day Dan

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Tom, the displacement is in the vertical plane only. I Increased the angle of the motor mount from 5 degrees to ten. It took care of a lot of the offset. I may try another couple of degrees. I made up a four cell AA battery box with the Astro Flight connector that I use for testing. All four cells are for testing with the speed control. I made a short circuit using a piece of aluminum tubing to run the motor only. It's very convenient.

Tom I may not make it to the lake today. Dan.

All Day Dan

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Tom, I did get to go to the lake yesterday and put in two good runs with the 2.4 setup in the camouflaged boat with no issues. The range is just as good as when I was on 74. I did feel comfortable seeing that the vertical antenna sticking out there above the water. I’ll leave it there and lose some scale points. The weeds had broken loose from the bottom and wrapped around the props on a regular basis. It won’t be worth it to go there for a while until they clean it up.

I drilled a ¼ inch diameter hole in the mounting surface of the motor mounts to act like an “epoxy nail�. The entire bottom and top around the holes was scuffed up with 100 grit sandpaper and cleaned with acetone. After getting a decent alignment, it was epoxied in place with a thin mixture of micro-balloons and plenty of it since it was going on a very convex surface. As you can see, the epoxied oozed up through the holes and out over the edges. Since the epoxy has cured, the alignment is “good enough�. Can’t do anything about it now. The area where the stuffing boxes pass through the hull was reinforced with 5 ounce fine cloth on the top and bottom. Some more of the epoxy/balloon mixture was applied at the leading edges of the strut support and the strut. The bottom was sanded thoroughly to reduce as many drag inducing discontinuities as possible.

Kmot

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Welcome to the world of 2.4Ghz Dan.

All Day Dan

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Tom, while we're on the subject, have you been removing the bypass capacitors that Astro Flight has on their brushed motors from the brush terminals to the case? They really don't act like capacitors at 2.4gigaHertz. Dan.

Kmot

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Sure have Dan. If it's in one of my boats, they are gone!

All Day Dan

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OK. I'm hooked. Nice image. I see you're using a water jacket and a muffin fan on the brushes. Are both necessary? All I use is the brush fan. Bob Boucher said that was adequate. Maybe he wanted to sell more motors. Dan.

Kmot

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In my opinion, the so called fan that comes on the motor is as useless as **** on a bull. It does not move air, at all, that I could ever feel.

I have burned up enough motors already. I now consider added cooling as cheap insurance. I like water cooling, because I like the added plumbing and stuff and I love seeing the stream of water flow overboard. On this boat, I decided a muffin fan would be beneficial in addition to the water cooling, and because I have a box of fans, and because this tug had plenty of room inside.

All Day Dan

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The stuffing boxes extended a few inches forward of where they entered the hull. I made up two 1/8 inch plywood supports and secured them to the hull with some 1/4 inch spruce. The holes for the stuffing boxes were a little oversized. A mixture of epoxy and micro-balloons was put around the opening and gravity was used to get the mixture around the tubes and through the holes. Dan.

rblubaugh

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I think that is a real good idea. I did that myself when I rebuilt the insides of a Midwest Liberty Tug; had to have some way to support the stuffing tube drive assenbly. I was a little short sighted and did my support in two pieces but learned from the experience so future supports are one piece, like yours.

Bob

All Day Dan

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Bob, it just goes to show yah, that great minds think in the same vain.

I'm continuing with the layout to get everything installed. So far I have the fore and aft battery boxes in and the speed control container. They are all screwed in to hard points CA'ed to the frames for easy removal. I want to have access to the hull and keel for cleaning and maintenance. Dan.

rblubaugh

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Dan,

I guess I missed it but what size/type batteries do you plan on using on this boat?

Bob