1/16 hydro power choice
 

Hi Everyone,

I am building the Finlay 1/16 roundnose hydro and would like advice on a good motor prop choice. For reference this is 23" hull. It will be a playboat and my goal is to have 5 minute run times with respectable speed. I would like to use a brushed motor and batteries under 3000mAh. I have an Astro 207 speed controller. Looking forward to any and all advice or opinions. Thanks.

RE: 1/16 hydro power choice
 

6-8 cells, 19T. Have at it! We have the same hull almost finished here, too. Be sure you waterproof the interior wood before putting the deck on.

Andy

RE: 1/16 hydro power choice
 

Solid advice from Andy Kunz as usual :D

RE: 1/16 hydro power choice
 

Any,
You waterproofing comment. I struggled with this on the cat I'm building. I didwaterproof the inside. Then I sanded the top edges and I didn't urathane the decking beforegluing it down. It still bugs me.How do you handle that?

RE: 1/16 hydro power choice
 

I paint the interior with multiple heavily-thinned coats of nitrate dope. This allows it to get deep into the wood. Then several less-thinned coats, until it looks shiny (shiny & fuzzy, actually, because it can't be sanded easily). A drop of water will just sit on top of the wood. Try it to make sure you're done.

You CAN finish the deck the same way before adding it to the hull, but ONLY the interior side! Sand the areas a little where you'll be gluing it (use epoxy or Gorilla). When you went the exterior to help it bend, the inside edge won't take any water, and will cause it to bend nicely.

After it's all dried, finish the outside deck the same way.

Forgot to mention, we do the exterior hull bottom at the same time as the interior bottom.

Building a boat with balsa is definitely a second choice. Ply is much nicer because it's so much easier to waterproof. Just a few coats.

Andy

RE: 1/16 hydro power choice
 

Thanks for the reply Andy. Is there a 19 turn motor you recommend? Do you think the 207 Astro is a good controller or is there a better choice? Something else that has me puzzled is the lack of waterproofing of the electronics, per the plans there is no radio box in this boat. You do anything to protect the speed controller? Sorry for all the noob questions, I am a nitro guy and this is my first electric build. If you have a favorite setup, please share. Thanks

RE: 1/16 hydro power choice
 

Just a quick update on my hydro project. I have the decks down, the cowl is shaped and the hardware is next.

RE: 1/16 hydro power choice
 

The Chameleon is a favorite. It really doesn't matter much.

The 207 is a fine control.

For waterproofing ESCs (I used to be a manufacturer, the RC-Hydros.com products) I used 3M product DP270. You can get it at OffshoreElectrics.com. I use it for coating ESCs and receivers. The Astro 212D was coated from the factory also.

Andy

RE: 1/16 hydro power choice
 

Been a while since I've posted on my Finlay hydro build, thought I would share some pics. Just a couple more things to do and she's gonna get wet.