mid 50's mph cat with $29 motor

[chuck st romain]

this is my hotr cat. i am using the turnigy 600 1400kv heli motor, turnigy 180 esc, 3s 5000mah 40c x 2 in series for 6s, hitec hs225mg steering servo, hotr hardware and starting with m445 prop.

i have eagle tree files if anyone is interested in the big outrunner. i was running a stock s/b m445. i added 1 lb of weight to the right sponson to counteract the torque of the motor and settled it down a bit. i was pretty happy with how it ran. here are the numbers: rpms are higher than i like, max amps 162, speed 52. on a bigger pond where it could be opened up this boat will easily run mid 50's

once again, notice how the cheap turnigy batteries have no significant drop in voltage as others claim.... 2 x 3s 5000mah 40c in series.

also keep in mind that the power train in this boat was $108 brand new and this was with no set-up, first runs ($29.99 motor, $77.99 esc), batteries $40 x 2

i also ran it with a m447 and temps were still low (130 motor, 125 esc, 110 batteries) but it was to wild for my small pond. this motor is easily capable of pushing this thing close to 60mph

 

[chuck st romain]

here are the numbers, volts/amps, watts/amps and rpm/speed. all taken with eagle tree v3 logger

 

[AlanN]

That's a nice economical setup and it looks good. Thanks for the share.

 

[properchopper]

Very Nice ! I'm starting to realize that this setup is becoming the "way to go " for so many applications. Thanks for posting. Now dig out that 447 & give it some room to stretch its legs !

Tony

 

[chuck st romain]

i know, but i dont have room to "stretch its legs". my pond is like the flight from here to the mainland in coach...... i dont know why but i keep building faster and faster when i need to build better handling. it is like driving a corvette on a go-gart track instead of a go-cart

 

[chuck st romain]

by the way... this is my "go-cart" rtr weight = 9 oz

 

[Martin Hamilton]

What do you use to seal the hatch on the cat, Is it just sealed with tape. Also what propshaft grease do you find works well to prevent water coming up the shaft. Martin.

 

[chuck st romain]

i just use tape, hockey tape from OSE, to seal the hatch. the prop shaft is 7/32 k&b brass tube with a .187 flexshaft with no liner. i use grim racer grease. this boat has now been run 6 sets of batteries and has never had even a drop of water on the interior. make sure to do the 3 basic test before running any FE boat.

1) blow into the water pick-up hose on the exterior of the boat while pluging the exit with your finger, there should be no leak down of presure. if it leaks air under presure it will leak water

2)set it in the bath tub and float it with the hatch off for about 1/2 hr. watching for any signs of water leaks. it is a good idea to line the intire interior with paper towels that way you can see where the water comes in before it settles to the bottom.

3) tape it up and hold it under water. it will almost guarantee leak a drop or 2 which is ok. the boat will not be subject to this much presure when floating upside down. this test will help find leaks that may be easily stoped. where the air bubbles come out of the boat is where water will come in.

always test the boat as RTR with the shaft greased and in. the key is sealing all the hardware good, pushrod sealed good and make sure the hatch fits correctly before taping it. if you do get a few drops it is ok, even though my boats do not leak, i put a small peice of sponge in the bottom of the hull at the trandsom to catch anything that might enter. most of the leaks you find are going to be from the cooling system hoses & connections. unless these connections are real tight i use zip ties...

good luck