1/8 Scale Hydros - Electric

[forresterace]

Gentlemen ;D

Last weekend, at the CAFE Cup race in Cleveland, one of the hot topics of discussion was building and promoting 1/8 Scale hydros using electric power. The subject has been popular, this week, on RRR. I would like to initiate the same discussion here and would especially like to have the insight of nitro racers.

I was aware that Roger Newton had done some work and testing of an electric version of one of his 1/8 scale hulls. What I was not aware of was the fact that the subject of switching 1/8 Scale racing (RCU club nitro) to electric power was being seriously considered or at least explored due to the extreme scarcity of running sites because of noise and water polution.

The present talk by electric racers on RRR has not yet addressed the issue of "scale" and what that means (as opposed to "sport scale"). The other thing that pops to mind is that if your going to have a 1/8 scale class, you have to define just what your boat is 1/8 scale of. An accurate 1/8 scale model of a "A" class hydro (or say a 1 1/2 litre) would be much smaller (but just as scale) than a model of a 30 foot unlimited.

Just some initial thoughts.....

 

[JimClark]

Doug here is some info on how RCU and E-RCU look at the scale topic.

E-RCU

Boats are to be built to resemble the original boat in appearance as closely as possible. Boats are to race in their most recognizable form, including wings, engine or cowling and graphics. A photograph of the real boat must be presented upon request to confirm the appearance.

 

The following items are to be included with the boat at the time it is entered into competition:

 

Driver, complete from the waist up with proper helmet and life jacket, in open cockpit boats and visible in canopy boats.

Windshield or clear canopy glass.

Steering wheel and dashboard with instruments

Air scoops, vents, exhaust pipes and/or manifolds, and flashpans.

Bow spoiler; accurate wet sponson detail; open dummy motor or full cowl with exhaust stacks extending through the cowl (not just glued to outside of cowl.)

Boats will be built to 1/10 scale - a scale of 1" (model) equals 10" (actual unlimited) - as recorded in the RCU Master Hull Roster. Scale paint and appearance is to be verified by photograph. Also the boats must have hit the water as an actual unlimited. RCU is the same requirements except they do not have two divisions of boats and they are 1/8th scale.

Not sure you want to got th this exterme or not but there is the info anyway.

Jim Clark

 

[Paul Pachmayer]

Hello Guys,

I can see doing the scale cockpit with driver but I wouldn't want to go overboard with details. Close is good. I think Sport Scale like 1/16th and 12th should be acceptable.

Paul.

 

[Kevin Whitehead]

Hello Guys,

I can see doing the scale cockpit with driver but I wouldn't want to go overboard with details. Close is good. I think Sport Scale like 1/16th and 12th should be acceptable.

Paul.

I agree.

But, there needs to be some tweaking of sport scale rules.

It is obvious that some parties are actively trying to make running hokey outrigger designs, disguised as the Winston Lobster boat, acceptable in the Sport Hydro classes.

There needs to be some minor change, like a minimum transom dimension, to prevent those bogus hulls from ruining the competition.

 

[guiri]

Maybe one day I'll get round to making a hydro but I'd personally like to see an event where, if it is scale, scale judging influences the result of the races, i.e. where the lower scale marks correspond to a distance handicap.

A 30' boat at 1/8 is 45". How much are these things going to cost?

Another thing, with all that scale detail, what's the risk of debris if a boat flips?

 

[Grimracer]

Just a thought.

In scale 20 (A nitro class that no longer exists) we had it where the boat would get points for scale appearance and the points would count towards your racing score. It worked quite well as your boat did not have to look all that good and the only penalty was points.. A lot like buoy cuts. But as we know buoy cuts can come back to haunt you like a bad fish fry.

It was good to look good.... 8)

Grim

 

[Paul Pachmayer]

Hello Guys,

A 30' boat at 1/8 is 45". How much are these things going to cost?

Well, I just finished a S-Sport boat (24 cells) and if you want speed your looking a 2G. You could do it cheaper but you won't get stellar performance. Some would say running 35mph for 10 laps would be acceptable but I want more so $$$$$$$.

Paul.

 

[Andrewg]

I believe a competive boat should be approx $1200

thats Miss US using Sanyo cells, sensorless brushed motor, adjustable controller, hardware, fibreglass gelcoated-hull, radio....

 

[sjslhill]

I suggest that this class should be open to batteries used. Why not make it unlimited? LiPoly or Parallel smaller cells in packs should be legal. Paul and I talked about two 32 cell packs of 1950 in parallel. 3900mah with high current ability.

just some thoughts.......

Steve