Seabiscuit

I finally made the jump from EP to Nitro after too many dissapointing runs.
Currenlty my fiberglass Super Hawaii has a .150 Fuller Offshore hardware kit spinning an Octura X435 and everything else is going(has gone).
For test purposes I have purchased a used Megatech .16/w pull start from E-bay before I spend money on a new motor.
I have also purchased an Associated flywheel, clutch and threaded endbell so I can idle and now I have to put it all together.
I intend to make a conversion from the endbell to flexshaft but have some questions.

1. Is a .150 flex shaft going to hold up to a nitro motor or do I need to convert to a solid shaft?
2. Am I going to cook that teflon liner?
3. Does the endbell just 'float' on the clutch pads or does it need to be mounted somehow?

All help is appreciated.

bill heacock

If you use the teflon make sure you put an S bend in the stuffing tube, or the teflon might start spinning in the stuffing tube, then all h--- will break loose, not to mention the cable. I wouldn't use a straight shaft on anything that you intent to race. if you want a boat to play with, do as you like.

Bill Heacock

Seabiscuit

Bill,
I will be putting that S bend in the line, in fact I don't think I have much choice due to motor placement and hardware.
I won't be racing it but I also don't want a slow boat either, thats one of the reasons I'm doing the conversion.
The second reason being I'm tired of waiting for batteries to charge and for the cost of one pack I can buy a pint of fuel.
It never occured to me that I might spin the teflon so I'm glad you mentioned it.
Thanks for the response Bill.

bill heacock

Hi,
Go to www.allcorp.com and buy batteries already tabbed and make your own packs, you will be very surprised how cheap you can make them, NMHD or NICADS make yourself a bunch of packs. Also Tower sell a very good fast field charger for your starter box fairly cheap. I have a hole in my radio box, so I can fish out the lead and charge if needed. Use switch with 3 leads, one of course is for charging. After charge use radio box tape to close up the hole. You can buy leads fro Gary Preusse 630279-2451 he uses no computer, will always answer, can also buy shrink wrap for the packs from him. If you use NMHD batteries do not leave them on trickle charge, they will start discharging, nicads you can leave on trickle charge all winter if you like.

Bill Heacock

TERBObob

My Feedback: (21)

Hey SEABISCUIT ...
Your gonna LOVE that Megatch M-16 ... that baby revs up to 30 g's . I put one in my sons WILDCAT ( GP 23 inch ABS cat ) ....
I did make one alteration to the motor though . I used one of those old DUBRO water cooling rings and removed the overly big cooling fin and put the water ring right below it ( and then of course , put the cooling fin back on ) .... had to bend the water nipples on the ring though , but no biggie . Fits REAL good too ! ( just a little added cooling safety )

ibuildstuff

my suggestion is to take the teflon liner out, and set it up to where you can easly remove the flex cable, and use alot of grease. those teflon liners can and most of the time will cause some pretty harsh issues. It tends to heat up, and cause a bind inside of the tube, and at 27-30k rpm, thats really not a good thing to happen. As for the .150 flex, i would see about beefing it up to a .185 (3/16ths) shaft just for the added strength. The .150 would work, but its just peace of mind. Make sure you ALWAYS grease that cable or you will run into problems, and besides it only takes a few minutes to do, so save yourself the headache and just do it, its part of maintaining a boat.

As for the clutch deal, im not really familer with nitro marine applications, but im sure one of these guys can answer.


Jesse

Seabiscuit

Guess I should update this.
Motor is in, drive line is in and last week I finally got it to spin up after some difficulty.
My first problem occured when I blew my glow plug after applying too much voltage.
With a new glow plug installed and driveline unconnected I primed the engine and pulled the cord a few times.
To my surprise it started fairly easily but didnt run for more than a few seconds at a time.
On the third attempt I thought I would try to adjust some settings and ensure my servos were all in the proper position.
However, when I took another look inside the hull something was missing, I'd lost the flywheel and retainer nut!!!!
They didn't go too far but I had run out of time for the night.
The next step was to remove the engine and ensure that I had everything on extra tight when I noticed some play in the crank shaft that wasn't there before.
Now I can slide the crank in and out about 1/8 in....but everything still turns, still has good compression, and theres no funny noises, so I don't know what's going on inside there.
As for the driveline, it's now a .150 cable with a 3/16 shaft, an Octura Flex Hex connector and plenty of marine grade grease.
For cooling I used a cooling coil from an electric motor which just happened to coil nicely around the original head, should work nicely.
I have a second water inlet which I'm using to cool the exhaust, it may be overkill but there's no sense in wasting what was already there.
I need to build a better stand as my current one is falling apart from the added stress of pull starting, not to mention all the jostling is SCRATCHING MY PAINT!!!
I mean, what good is a sport boat if it doesn't look sporty....
Now I'm waiting for pool noodles to come back into season so I can add some positve floatation and I'll hit the water.

So to all, thanks for all the help, I'm only a few steps away now and will be posting some pictures.

bill heacock

I have a coyote rigger set up with teflon, been running it for 5yrs, pulled the teflon out last fall to see if it needed to be replaced. I put it back in the stuffing box, it is still in good shape. Make sure you use an S bend or you will have trouble. I use OCF lower unit outboard grease (won't wash out) I mix powdered graphite with it, I can race the boat and finish all the heats without having to grease it again.

pro27

I've run numerous hulls with .12 to .18 engines using .130 and .150 cables over the years and have not had one break. I also use teflon liners with no problems either. As long as you keep it clean and greased, it should last a long time.
I agree with the 's' bend. This may be why the tubes last, they don't spin to wear the outside.

Seabiscuit

Everyone,
Thanks for all the help and replies.
I believe that I've put most of your suggestions into practice and now I owe you some pictures.
I won't say that it's done yet, but it's complete and the motor runs and I don't seem to be having any problems.
There is an S bend in the tube and I'm greasing with some marine trailer grease which is not supposed to wash out.
Bill, where can I get some of that powdered graphite? (besides shaving down a whole bunch of pencils....)
My crank will still move about a 1/8" but it doesn't seem to have affected the motor in any way, we'll see I guess.
So here are the pictures of the completed Nitro Conversion.
Let me know what you think.

Seabiscuit

A few more.
And note that I finally built a new stand.
Amazing what you can do with $5 worth of PVC and foam insulation.
Not to mention that the new stand is rock solid and nicer to look at.

bill heacock

There is an S bend in the tube and I'm greasing with some marine trailer grease which is not supposed to wash out.
Bill, where can I get some of that powdered graphite? (besides shaving down a whole bunch of pencils....)



Go to Ace Hardware, they sell powdered graphite lubricant. Most hardware stores will carry it in the locks and keys section.

bill heacock

Pro27, After throwing a couple of cables because the teflon spun, overheated and bound the cale to the point of breaking, I called a friend of mine Gary Preusse, and told him what happened, the first thing he asked me was if I had an S bend in the stuffing box. When I told him no, he said that is your problem. The S bend stops the teflon from spinning and as there is no lubrication between the teflon and the tube, it overheats to the point of melting, then all heck breaks loose. It's been at least five years and still running the same teflon after I put the S bend, in my 67 Coyote rigger.

Seabuiscuit,

Nice boat! I like your paint job. Glad to see that you put the prop way out there. That gets the prop out of the turbulance caused by the bottom of the hull, gives the prop a better grab of the water. My gas and nitro boats are all pushed out. may I suggest you put a spin fin on the right rear of the transom, Will help your cornering a lot. Actually I run two of them on my monos, one on the left and one on the right. I don't always get the props as sharp as they should be and the fin on the left stops the boat from propwalking on me when I have to make a left turn.

Bill Heacock

Seabiscuit

Thanks Bill,
The paint took a while since I initially used two incompatible paint types and it orange peeled really bad.
I sanded most of it out but it's still noticeable in some areas, and there are other places the paint needs to be fixed too.
I'll look for that graphite, I'm sure I'll be at the depot soon.
I chose the Fuller offshore hardware which has a longer than normal strut, but changed out the cable for a bigger one for added security.
Read somewhere that using offshore setups are easier for sport boats because the rudder is centered.
It hasn't been on the water yet so I don't know how much prop walking to expect, my EP boats have hardly any.
I have a pair of fins drawn out on some angle aluminum, just need to cut and sharpen them up.
This thing makes a heck of a racket when I start it, which I attributed to the motor.
But now I'm wondering if it's not because my prop is unbalanced, it still needs a little work.
If all goes well it will be on the water this weekend, maybe even tomorrow.
Then I can see how well my water cooler works and if I forgot anything else.