Fast, Cheap and Out of Control

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Dr. Jet

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 18, 2007
Messages
62
Our pond at Santee Lakes is FE friendly; but, as some of you know from "the Red Board", I complain a lot about the size of the pond. With a three-ton rock sticking out of the easterly third and four bridge piers running through the middle, it does not leave a whole lot of room for bigger, faster boats. Now that we have 2,000-watt N-2 boats, this pond seems even smaller than before. My LSH boat is able to negotiate the waters, but I sold my faster 24” H&M Viper P-Sport hydro (round cell) to SoCal Bill because of the size limitations.

So what are a few avid FE boaters and E-power pioneers to do? Dream up something that works in the space available of course! To that end, the Santee Lakes Old Boater's Society (hereinafter referred to as the SLOBS), came up with the answer: Santee Sport Scale Hydro (SSSH). I have taken our motto from the old days of flying Speed 400 pylon racers, and applied it to this new class of micro FE boats: Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control.

There are a number of micro hydro hulls available and a wide choice of motor/battery combinations. We developed a "spec" class, and an "unlimited" class. We are working on coming up with an easy course for offshore, and it will basically follow the hydro rules with a modified course that has a left turn in it somewhere. Both classes will be limited to 6 round cells or 2S LiPos. By the very nature of micros, the batteries will be small (cheap). The spec class will be using an amazingly cheap, 3000 rpm/V Chinese brushless outrunner motor/ESC combo, whereas the unlimited class can use any motor you care to stick in your hull. Plastic props will be required (cheap and easy to balance/rework). The goal is to create FE boating that is fast enough to keep things fun, really, REALLY, cheap so that anyone can afford to race, and out of the nasty rules arguments that seem to be plaguing the controlling sanctioning bodies (NAMBA and IMPBA).

Santee Sport Scale Hydro class will also have hull length restrictions of 400 mm. Unlimited classes will allow hulls of up to 450 mm and any motor. This will allow some of the bigger micro hulls such as the MHZ Miss Madison, and the Korean Delta Force Micro Hydro to have a class in which to race.

The Santee Spec motor and ESC is available on ebay for about $27.50. You can get one of Randy Naylor's Micro Hydros for $30. If you use a straight shaft and home-made rudder and turn fin, plus some bits and pieces everybody seems to have lying around (servo, Rx and such), it is entirely possible to have a boat on the water for under $100.

I am working on another new idea that might take "cheap" to a new low. I have scaled Jay Turner's "Electric Pool Racer" to 400mm and I plan on powering it with the Spec motor. The Pool Racer is an all foam (mostly), single-stepped, straight-shaft hydro that might work well in SSSH. There are some issues getting the prop to fit under the transom as Jay designed it so I will need to build a prototype or two to finalize the design. I have access to a CNC router, and I may make a dozen or so "short kits" for the SLOBS once everything is worked out. Using stuff lying around the shop (servo, Rx, bits of brass and wood, glue, paint, and some little batteries), it is possible to have a racer on the water for around $50 or so.

Another advantage of small boats is the ease of transport and storage. I have two MHZ Geckos in a single gun case. The same case fits the "Big" 17.25-inch MHZ Miss Madison hull, and virtually any 400 mm hull on the market. An MHZ Micro Shovelnose just showed up at my doorstep today, and it now resides in a gun case as well. There is not much work required to get this little gem ready to race, and it should be on the water soon.

In the gallery are some photos of my really, REALLY, cheap racers, and just plain cheap racers in various stages of completion.

As it stands today, the tentative rules for SSSH are as follows:

1. 400 mm maximum hull length.

2. The hull must vaguely resemble a "real" boat (no outriggers).

3. 3000 Kv "Spec" outrunner motor.

4. Plastic props required (can be modified/trimmed).

5. 6 round cells or 2S LiPos.

6. 4-minute heats.

7. Hydro course will be defined by two buoys spaced to fit the pond.

The preliminary rules for Santee Sport Scale Hydro-Unlimited (SSSHU) are as follows:

1. 450 mm maximum hull length.

2. The hull must vaguely resemble a "real" boat (no outriggers).

3. Any motor.

4. Plastic props required (can be modified/trimmed).

5. 6 round cells or 2S LiPos.

6. 4-minute heats.

7. Hydro course will be defined by two buoys spaced to fit the pond.
 
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That is awesome!

I never was a huge Micro fan cause I always wanted to go really fast,

BUT, I recently purchased a MHZ Miss Madison and hope to get into that world

in a hurry... if only my hull arrived!

I think it's great that you are thinking and adapting to your local limitations,

more people should (and will) follow hat lead.

Good luck fellas!
 
Great stuff Doc I would like to see pictures of the Jay T hull you are working on.

Jim
 
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Great stuff-

Exactly what is needed for F/E - An inexpensive entry level class thats good cheap fun for all !!!! Literally anyone can run Without the B/S for rules fights.

Dont forget Jim at -www.minicatraciningusa.com - he's got some great boat also.

I like it ;)

Andy
 
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Great stuff-
Exactly what is needed for F/E - An inexpensive entry level class thats good cheap fun for all !!!! Literally anyone can run Without the B/S for rules fights.

Dont forget Jim at -www.minicatraciningusa.com - he's got some great boat also.

I like it ;)

Andy

Nice hijacking! :lol:
 
I guess he would be fine if you want to pay 300 for a micro boat.

By the way the link is wrong also

Great stuff-
Exactly what is needed for F/E - An inexpensive entry level class thats good cheap fun for all !!!! Literally anyone can run Without the B/S for rules fights.

Dont forget Jim at -www.minicatraciningusa.com - he's got some great boat also.

I like it ;)

Andy

Nice hijacking! :lol:
 
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Literally anyone can run Without the B/S for rules fights....
How odd - our club has run 24" to 44" NAMBA-class boats for years - and we have never had any disputes about rules..... :rolleyes:

.
 
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I'm having problems posting photos. I just can't seem to make the small enough, and if I do, they aren't very useful. I'll try to work something out this weekend.
Bill,

Start an album in the gallery link above (similar to what I have done for my thread in the outboard forum). Then click on "My albums" and then upload to your hearts content. You can then copy the page link address to this post and we will be able to click on the link and go directly to your gallery.
 
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Thanks Laurie,

I succeeded in posting a bunch of photos. The photos show how I played around with motors of different Kv values. A 4000 rpm/V motor was too much power for the H&M, and blowing off the water was an issue. Same thing with the Gecko. The blue, short-can outrunner in the yellow Gecko is a 5000 rpm/V motor on a little gearbox that performs almost identically to the 3000 rpm/V longer-can motor. I think there is a photo of this gearbox with the 4000 rpm/V motor in the H&M hydro as well. I don’t see a need for the added complexity of a gearbox, so I'm done with that idea for a while.

Here's the link:

http://www.intlwaters.com/index.php?autoco...m&album=351

I've looked at the MiniCat and I like it. Even at $300 it's not a bad deal. I've heard good reports from the people that run them. The big difference between the MiniCat and the guidelines we will be using this season is the cell count. The MC uses a 3S pack with a 2600 rpm/V motor. The result is the MC is probably faster than SSSH right out of the box, but SSSH beats them at the cash register.
 
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BUT, I recently purchased a MHZ Miss Madison and hope to get into that worldin a hurry... if only my hull arrived!
Ub,

MHZ has always been quick in shipping as far as I know. You should have received it by now, unless they do not have one in stock. Did you order one with or without the hardware installed?. I recommend you send them an email to follow-up. They are always quick to answer my emails, even on weekends and holidays. These guys provide great service in my humble opinion and I highly recommend them and their products.
 
I've had one the MHZ shovels for 4 years. It runs on a Mega 16/15/2, mamba 25 esc and originally 6 1700FAUP sanyos. Now it runs 3300 2S LiPos (run time and weight). It is a fantastic running little boat, low 30's on radar and handles great. It runs an X427.
 
BUT, I recently purchased a MHZ Miss Madison and hope to get into that worldin a hurry... if only my hull arrived!
Ub,

MHZ has always been quick in shipping as far as I know. You should have received it by now, unless they do not have one in stock. Did you order one with or without the hardware installed?. I recommend you send them an email to follow-up. They are always quick to answer my emails, even on weekends and holidays. These guys provide great service in my humble opinion and I highly recommend them and their products.

They were outta stock (not mentioned online)... found out AFTER I purchased.

:(

I will run a Mega 16/20/2, CC45, on 3s2p. Hopefully with a 429 or maybe I should start with a 427 like Brian mentioned?

Hmm... I want this boat but not going to wait 4ever...
 
what props are you using?
Using our "Spec" motor, I have had success with an X431 reduced to 28mm and de-tongued, although I think the stock X431 will work equally as well without heat issues. I was running the Geckos on a Graupner S29 (29 mm x 1.6 pitch), but I think I will switch that out for a K29 (29 mm x 1.4 pitch) to keep them from getting too loose at the end of a straight stretch.

With the Neu-Powered Miss Madison (1107/2Y~3400 rpm/V), FE Calc predicts reasonable currents (2S LiPo) with S31 and S33 props, although I'll start with an S29. FE Calc says I can probably run a trimmed S29 on 3S.
 
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I posted some photos of the Micro Pool Racer prototype in the gallery. Time will tell how well this idea works. If I can swing it, I may be able to CNC rout a bunch of hulls for the SLOBS. My router guy was at the AMA convention this weekend, and I'll be out of town this week, so I will have postpone some leg work for a few days.

The real problem seems to be in finding the foam. :(
 
check with mark scott - obnut on here. he does A LOT of wof stuff, should be able to give you some sources for foam.
 

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