CadillacDTS2001

then you have a less chance of getting water to encase the whole motor.

ISIRC10

Well, went out to the lake, had some fun. The rigger certainly is very responsive to adjustments, and after adjusting the strut angle, things looked good.
I guess that my weak link must be my batteries now, as they died fairly quickly (maybe a bad charge?) At first the hull was easily aired out but later on, it seemed to drag allong the water's surface, and the prop started cavitating pretty badly in turns. It was a bit choppy and windy, but I am overall pleased with the boat's performance.
[link=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc-K1rXvbr0]watch the high-quality version[/link]
The water cooling worked well and the temps were all between 90-110 range - I may have to try an X432 prop on there to see if speeds can increase, but I think I may just stick with the prop I have on there now. the only thing that is worrying me is that my rear outrigger tubes are snagging quite a lot of water, but I guess that the reson for that is my fairly low speed... which all ties into batteries... now I will have an excuse to get some - still have to ask for them!

j.m.

I think a good 2s lipo pack should be good.

My rigger looked just about the same when I was running it, The front sponsons make tons of lift, but the rear sags.

I think with the predator, the CG needs to be a touch in front of the rear of the sponsons.

See if you can remove some weight from the rear of your hull or move some forward.

If mine doesn't come out right with 8 cells, I'm going to try a little led slug in the nose to get it just right.

ryan_t888

On a rigger CofG should be near the turn fin. I personally set mine at the very rear of the front sponsons. If the rear of the tub is still sagging use more of a lifter style prop or play with strut angle. I would not add dead weight unless it serves a function to the strength or power of the hull to correct an issue.

Another possible issue is the speed that I saw in the video. A hydro hull really requires high power to air out the hull. Increasing speed will get the hull out of the water.

Also, get in to the habbit of turning right only. When you do get your rigger up to higher speeds, turning left will require the use of a retrieval boat.

Ryan

ryan_t888

How did you guys attach your sponsons to the booms? Did you make them removeable or permanent?

Ryan

ISIRC10

well, anything is removable, it just depends on how hard you have to try in order to remove it... if you can see where I am going with this...

j.m.

I filled the hole in my sponsons w/ thickened epoxy, and painted some on the outside on my booms, then slipped them on, measured to make sure they were straight, and used tape to hold them while drying.

j.m.

I'm back!

Predator revisited>

-Making new hardware, using a flex shaft this time and the octura lead teflon bearings.

-Getting a 3s 5Ah lipo

-Spending more time on finishing this round, doing it right

So, the question. What prop with my 540L 3000Kv motor and this said 3s lipo? Will my Graupner K40 work? Or do Ineed to make it smaller/buy a new one, etc... (3/16" shaft) (But Icould still make that 1/8" if need be)

ryan_t888

I would start at 32mm. You should be able to swing a 35mm prop.

Ryan

ISIRC10

Well, I'm back.

Had a lot of fun in the other corners of this hobby but have always come back to boating in the summer. Since the last time I messed around with the Predator Outrigger, I have made a jetboat, rebuilt an airboat, made a hovercraft, a tricopter, and am in the process of finishing an aluminum quadcopter using the Mikrokopter flight system. So yeah, I have been busy. Oh, and this is the last summer before I head off to college (Penn State Main campus) to study aerospace engineering.

Anyways, I took the outrigger out a few days ago and had some fun but it was definitely underpropped running a x432 on 2s and a 4436kV Feigao 540s can. Then I decided to try a 4s pack (I know what you are thinking). The problem was that within a few seconds of me plugging the battery in, the Hydra 120 ESC stopped responding and became warm. I immediately unplugged it and from that point on it has stopped working. I have contacted Castle about this (the ESC says 2-6 cells) and am waiting for a reply. However, to fix it would probably cost me $100 as it is over a year that I have it so the warranty has ended. At this point, I am not sure if I want to repair it or just get a cheap ESC - I have had much better luck with them and they seem more forgiving.
I am currently looking to get this:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=8946
and another battery:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbycity/s...dProduct=11934
This should set me back about $90 with shipping, so it would be cheaper than getting the Hydra 120 repaired plus I would be getting a new pack for the boat. I know how a lot of you guys feel about the Chinese stuff, but its not like I am running a Lehner on TP lipos. I will also be redoing the stuffing tube and the motor mount, as well as the top deck and hatches on the Predator. In terms of props, I will look to buy the x435 and x438 to see if they liven the boat up - The x432 was nice but the temperatures I was getting only topped 100 F on any of my components once, and that was when my thrust bearing blew apart halfway through a run. I will be relocating the thrust bearing to between the coupler and the new motor mount I am making. I would like to reach speeds in the mid 40s with the setup... What do you think?

ryan_t888

You should be able to spin a 35mm prop. Similar to a Y535 or the 435 you mentioned.

Not sure what happened with the Hydra. Seems strange. I'd imagine with 2s it does not work? I would not recommend even trying to run 4s on that setup. That's far too hot.

I'm having similar problems with the thrust bearings. I've blown 3 of them within about 2 minutes of run time. It's was for the 8mm shaft used in my recent build which has been posted in this forum. I've used tight and not so tight clearances and still it explodes.

Ryan

ISIRC10

Yeah, the Hydra was really weird... I just plugged it in and the light went on for about a second and dimmed off, and that's when I knew something was wrong. I mean, just plugging in a 4s pack shouldn't have caused any isses, right? And yeah, the ESC has not turned on with 2s or 3s (I tried it as a last resort) after that occurence. The rigger has not been run on anything other than a 2s pack and temps were all negligible so I will just have to wait and see what Castle says.

The thrust bearing I blew was a 1/8" one - This probably had about 20 minutes on it. It seems the retaining rings are not made to their usual specs anymore, or it was a bad batch.
Oh, BTW, it was your post of your recent build that made me want to refurbish my Pred. Hopefully I can get it set up half as good as your rigger (considering the differences in hardware).

ryan_t888

No, it should not. I would try re-calibrating the ESC as a last resort. I don't think this will help, however I'd try it anyway.

I bought 1 bearing at OSE and the other 2 local. All of them blew. Not sure what's going on.

Glad the build was encouraging somewhat to at least one person. I don't think there's any replies on the build forum or here yet.

Ryan

ISIRC10

Well, my guess is that it is so cool that people are intimidated?
But yeah, I thoroughly enjoyed the build thread - It even got the crazy thought of building a 4s rigger into my head (I already have 2 4s 5000mAh lipos) but then I totaled up the costs of hardware+motor+ESC+building materials and I sent that thought back to the backburner. I might have to make that an "aerodynamics project" in college (it falls into aerospace, doesn't it?) Might get a few more people behind it in the department and could get some nice results... Oh well, I have to survive freshman year first.

Just a question - have you tried any heli thrust bearings? I heard that the aviation components are made better? (it is true when it comes to control linkages and clevises!)

ryan_t888

You don't need to use the equipment I used. Leopard motors are apparently quite good. Although I haven't touched them. Many FE racers are now using Hobby King ESC's. I've blow up the ones that I ordered in my planes. So I'm not even going to bother with them any more. Others had great success.

I'm sure you could build a nice 4s Rigger for around $250-300 using some of the components others use. It can be a 4s1p hull around 32" or so. You should be able to exceed 55mph and approach the 60mph range. I've dropped all my hulls that are under 34" or 4s. I only run hulls larger or equal to 34" and 4s now.

No, I have not tried Heli bearings. I may run without it and see if the motor can hold the load. Sent an email to the manufacture to see if their motors were designed to hold thrust in a pusher prop style plane as this exerts the same axial force as our hulls.

Ryan

ISIRC10

I tore the top deck off of the rigger and also took out the stuffing tube - it was cut too short. Now here's a question: Why don't people use aluminum tubing for the stuffing tube? I am using the teflon liner so the material shouldn't matter that much, right? The reason I am asking this is that I have a few lengths of aluminum tubing the perfect size, and they are easier to bend then brass.

ryan_t888

Brass is used for its hardness/strength. I don't use teflon in any of my hulls, so strength would be more important in my application. For your build, aluminum would work fine.

Ryan

ISIRC10

That's what I was thinking - Now about the general maintenance of the flex drive... with the liner, should I do anything other than taking out the flex shaft at the end of each day I run and wiping it down with a lightweight oil?

As always, thank you for your replies - they are helpful not only for me, but for others who care to read the thread (I know I am learning a lot by reading others' threads)

ryan_t888

I grease my cable after every 2-4 runs depending on the hull.

Ryan

so54i88

hi guys, thoroughly enjoyed reading up the predator threads. and great build guys!!!! i've downloaded a copy of the plan and planning building one myself. i would be standard as plan, around 20-22". before starting on anything i've been ironing out some questions i had as i read through the forum but i can't seem to find information on the length of the booms. what's the distance between the tub and sponsons? I saw some riggers have adjustable booms but unsure how it's secured on both ends? can someone enlighten me on this?

ryan_t888

This is the way I prefer to do it. [link=http://radiocontrolinfo.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=11]Rigger Build[/link]

There's plenty of methods used which all work. The linked rigger is 34" and weighed 8 pounds ready to run. Much larger than yours will be but still gives you the idea I prefer. I may try it differently next time.

Ryan

so54i88

Thanks Ryan, i know you'd chirp in, you've been giving lots of great info in the forum. it's a very nice build indeed. i want to keep to strict budget and this will be my first rigger build and i'd be very happy to achieve 40mph. i'm on a quite small budget on running gear etc. i have a sheet (1'x4') of 2mm (slightly thinner than 1/16) ply left from previous mono build, which i will use for the rigger. i know it's thinner than the plan suggests for the tub and thicker than the sponsons, since i'm not aiming to break any record so i'll use what i have. i may even go a little smaller say 19" to save a few dollars on ESC, battery and motor. the goal is to enjoy the build and have a bit fun when finished. i'll no doubt need lots of valuable advice in the future from experienced boaters like yourself. i think it's better if i started a new thread instead of hijacking others'.

KJGCT1

The Predator is a great boat! As for getting the project done, I run into the same problem you mentioned, just getting into the shop to work on it. I am presently building a giant scale 88" wingspan Edge 540 aerobatic plane which people say is a 400 or so hour project. I often would not get in the shop for days. So when I began my Edge 540 I made up my mind to get in at least 20 hours a week on the plane. Every day I work on the plane, yesterday I began at 10:00 am and finished at 6:00 for dinner. Then I went back to it for three more hours! The amount of work I got done has encouraged me to keep at it! Today I worked on it for almost six hours. So just keep at it, give it some time every day and you will be on the water in no time!
Oh by the way, I find small boats to be unimpressive in size and so I built my Outrigger from a plan for a 18" long boat. I took the plan to staples and had it doubled! With a 6cell 7000 mah lipo it goes 76 mph!