Boats Noob Here, Want To Try A Basic Rc Boat Project

D.O.G.

D.O.G.

Goblin 380 Supporter
Well here's another silly suggestion. Go to your local Walmart and buy a rectangular kiddie pool, use it for a few days and return it. Just tell them it's not what you wanted. Just a thought.
 
PAUL E FOX

PAUL E FOX

New Member
That's a thought. Great-grands and their dawg might enjoy it as well. Wonder if they're out yet. Christmas stuff is out in October so Summer stuff should be out in March, right?:whistle:
 
tntpoof

tntpoof

Member
there is a vast number pf ways to get the 5.5 to 6 v dc. id just use a standard 9v battery with a bec on it to power rx and servo the eight will be much less than 4 aa. or even a small lipo pack. you can buy from amazon for cheap. 9v almost any store
 
PAUL E FOX

PAUL E FOX

New Member
tntpoof said:
there is a vast number pf ways to get the 5.5 to 6 v dc. id just use a standard 9v battery with a bec on it to power rx and servo the eight will be much less than 4 aa. or even a small lipo pack. you can buy from amazon for cheap. 9v almost any store
Click to expand...

Sweet! Wasn't aware of those. Thanks!

Boat ready to test drive, just waiting on wx conditions.
 
PAUL E FOX

PAUL E FOX

New Member
Nasty, cold, rainy day today. Desperate for something to do, I started pawing through my jun....uh...."spare parts" to see what I could come up with.

I do a bit of modeling in brass, mostly farm toys, so I have a good stash of brass.

I play around with Arduino projects and have bought 3 or 4 $5.00 Goodwill printers and stripped them for parts so I have a good stash of gears, shafts and motors.

I also have some benchtop machining equipment from Grizzly:

ms1.jpg

(Hey, I'm easily bored, I need lots of diversion...)

So after a little head scratching and playing with my toys, I came up with this:

prop.jpg

.125 brass rod for the main shaft, threaded 3mmx.50 on one end.

.125 ID brass tube inside both ends of a larger piece of brass tubing for bushings.

.375 brass rod bored .089 on the motor end and .125 on the prop shaft end for a coupler, with a 3mm x .50 set screw.

Now I just need to build a boat to put it in...
 
PAUL E FOX

PAUL E FOX

New Member
Just a quick update. Pulled the 4 AA battery pack out and replaced it with a UBEC and a 9V. Significant weight savings and should give better battery life.

Still waiting on decent weather to try it out.
 
PAUL E FOX

PAUL E FOX

New Member
Well, I got a free lesson in weight and balance today. Great grandkids are here, weather was nice, wind was iffy but I figured it was worth a shot.

Thanks to melting snow and more rain than we need, I have a LARGE puddle where the drainage ditch as backed up in the field. 6 feet or so at the widest, foot and a half or so at the deepest.

Set the boat in the water and immediately noticed that freeboard at the stern was minimal. The wind was pushing it pretty good so I steered it toward the opposite bank planning to beach it and re-think the weight distribution.

Didn't make it.

Fetched it out of about a foot of water and got it drying out. Not sure if the UBEC and receiver survived the dunking or not, guess I'll know in the morning.

First mod will be to move the battery pack all the way up to the bow.
 
Tony

Tony

Staff member
You can spray, drip or pour IPA (Isopropyl Alcohol) over the electronics. IPA is hydroscopic and will absorb the water and leave no residue behind.

How far was the bow out of the water? Enough to push weight forward and balance it out or are you thinking it's too heavy as is?
 
PAUL E FOX

PAUL E FOX

New Member
The bow was riding pretty high, I think there's enough displacement to deal with the weight, it just needs to be balanced better.

Thanks for the tip on the IPA. I'll let you know how things come out.
 
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