AM conquest brushless conversion ?

[MattHench]

I have a AM conquest cat i thinkin about building to brushless, i'am lookin to find out what motor,spd control,batteries i would need to run to make it insanely fast, try to run in the 70's would be nice but faster is good as well,and the estimated price it would run for the goods, the hull is 43"Lx16"W not sure on the weight thanx in advance for any insight on this idea, matt

 

[jayt]

The Aeromarine cats are popular subjects for FE power. Several club members have them and they run very well. 70 mph is possible on good water but it isn't cheap to do. My 41" Stryker cat runs 10S2P power with a Lehner 3060 motor. Spinning an x465 prop it hits mid-60s in a race heat and pulls around 130 amps doing it. Some guys run 2215 Neu motors with great success. Not much else is appropriate for this kind of performance with the big heat racing cats.

Realize that to use top quality parts - the only way you'll reach 70+ mph reliably - will cost between $2000 and $3000 without the hull. That includes 9000+ mAh cells, a Schulze or Castle ESC, Lehner or Neu motor, SpeedMaster hardware, etc. It may be possible to do it for half that amount - but it will not be very reliable and will likely not reach 70 mph. If you spend too little you will not have the boat you want, and you will not have your money either.

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[jayt]

To put the above in perspective, a recent poll on the largest gas boat site showed that 65% of the 400 responders spent $1200 or more on their gas boat, and almost 17% spent over $3000. Considering that a well-built $3000 FE boat will walk all over most gas boats, the cost of FE is more understandable. Still, plenty of gas guys spend a like amount on their gas boats...

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[Kris Flynn]

That is a VERY interesting thing you have come accross Jay...

I know for a fact that there are some people who want to get into FE but are scared because they see people who know (or should know) what they are doing blowing up controllers (mainly CC) which tells them they don't want that happening to them when they know very little about this side of the hobby.

Kris

 

[Tim_Duggan]

That is a VERY interesting thing you have come accross Jay...

I know for a fact that there are some people who want to get into FE but are scared because they see people who know (or should know) what they are doing blowing up controllers (mainly CC) which tells them they don't want that happening to them when they know very little about this side of the hobby.

Kris

You can put me in that category that Kris speaks of. Those expensive fuses are the main deterrent. I'm not sure I want to make the leap when other, more experienced guys with F/E are converting ESC's into smouldering messes.

Sorry for the side track.

Tim.

 

[David Kingston]

Very interesting indeed...

My latest FE boat would have cost me close if not tipped the 3K mark, but like Jay said its all top quality stuff and will be a plug and play boat every day... I went with the cheaper Castle Controllers (well not that cheap) but i had issues with them and am now selling. Now Running 2 Schulze ESC and have not had a drama since...

I have seen U-tube stuff of Jays boat and they are fast and stable. If you have the money and want to build a super boat for FE use then i would listen to his advice. After all he has setup a few FE boats in his day.

Yeah, Gas is great just keep fueling up and off you go again. Can run all day on a gallon of fuel. FE has some down time with charging but now you can get some top cells that are at a reasonable price...

Its all realtive. Over all setup cost will be more with FE but once you have everything you dont have to spend a thing apart from flex cable grease. You run a gas boat there is plugs, fuel, filters. All that need replacing sooner or later.

Dave

 

[K.R.Joye]

I have a AM conquest cat i thinkin about building to brushless, i'am lookin to find out what motor,spd control,batteries i would need to run to make it insanely fast, try to run in the 70's would be nice but faster is good as well,and the estimated price it would run for the goods, the hull is 43"Lx16"W not sure on the weight thanx in advance for any insight on this idea, matt

I think the main point is this guy is a newbee to FE high-end boat racing. I've put together quite a few large scale race hulls for 60mph+ NAMBA / IMPBA competition, a 70mph setup will be a huge learning curve for a newbee and cost a bundle to do it right. I would highly suggest you start with something smaller to get familiar with FE boat setups before you venture into something of this magnatude.

Link to one of my Cat builds: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1043673

1/8 Scale Atlas tribute boat: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=907355&highlight=atlas+tribute

 

[jayt]

You can put me in that category that Kris speaks of. Those expensive fuses are the main deterrent. I'm not sure I want to make the leap when other, more experienced guys with F/E are converting ESC's into smouldering messes.

I understand the hesitancy to go FE when you read all the horror stories. What you don't read much about are all the successes. The way around smoking high power ESCs is to run the Schulze 40-160 controller rather than the current generation of high-voltage Castle ESCs. With a bit higher buy-in than the Castles, the Schulze is virtually 100% reliable unless you make a basic mistake - like running a gas boat without putting oil in the fuel would be a basic mistake that ruins an engine. Guys running the Schulzes seldom have any ESC issues. I don't think that FE or gas is any better than the other - they are just different ways to enjoy the R/C boating hobby.

Ken makes a very good point, starting with a 10S boat is usually asking for trouble; I've seen a new guy make a basic mistake and destroy $500 worth of batteries - it discouraged the new guy as you'd expect it would and he left FE before he really got started. There is a learning curve to FE boat power and it is far better to learn how not to make mistakes on a smaller, less costly boat like a SuperVee27, Miss Elam or UL-1. Same basic idea as the 10S boats just smaller and cheaper. After learning you can sell these boats without loosing too much cash. Or you may find their small size and low noise make them ideal for running in that neighborhood pond that is too small for your gas boat...

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[MattHench]

Ya i be a newbie to FE thinkin i will start off small like with my VS1 converted to see if FE is for me,and stick with mod gas for the cat and then i thought nitro was costly,seems you need deep pockets for the big FE stuff anyway thanx for all the posts, this cat may be up for grabs to if anyone is interested, i also have a s10pickup that is gettin bagged and bodydropped could use some extra cash for that project thanx matt