NEW ProBoat Stiletto FE OPC Tunnel

[properchopper]

Darin, I have to say that the absolute brilliance of this boat [ besides its undeniable visual appeal] is that it opens the door to so many tunnel-hungry boaters who have stayed away from FE tunnels because of the labor-intensiveness of the build. A rtr tunnel is just the thing to stimulate the class for real. Case-in-point : A new guy I recently met from SoCal was asking me for advice on building a tunnel using any number of available nitro-specific boats. First question I asked him was if he had a belt sander [like ours ]. I tried to pursuade him to wait for the Stiletto but he just bought a TS-3. I just know that he'll be coming at me soon with questions/problems/frustrations :angry: Ah, the poetic justice !

Oh, about Brian : At last year's 2-Lap he showed up with a VS-1 identical to mine. His just ripped up the course while mine crapped the steering servo. At the 2-Lap two weeks ago he shows up again with the same boat while mine, which ran fine all year crapped ANOTHER SERVO ! What's the deal, Mr. Snowman ?

 

[Darin Jordan]

I tried to pursuade him to wait for the Stiletto but he just bought a TS-3.

I've seen the TS-3s go... they are good boats. I have a feeling that it won't be long before AQ has a kick-ass package to challenge the ProBoat offering... Right, Mike?

Then we can have races like THIS! I LOVE the fact that ProBoat, and AQ, both have REAL looking tunnels to compete with!!

 

[lohring]

I just raced Darren and can testify that the ProBoat tunnel is a great boat. I will be building a Top Speed for next year. I can't believe there aren't some other complete electric outboard motors out there. The ProBoat one is first class, but inexpensive molded ones should be easy to produce. The ProBoat mount has all the adjustments of an OS outboard with clean looks. Ti definitely has set a high standard.

Lohring Miller

 

[Darin Jordan]

I'm in the process of converting one over to an A-Stock boat with an OS XM to see how it'll work as that. We'll have to see what she weighs once it's all assembled. Was designed to carry more weight and go a little fast than most A-Stock boats would go, but we'll see how it does.

 

[ZIonOB75]

any personal speed record?

z

 

[HTV Boats]

Went to my LHS today and he just got the first one in. So I helped him unpack it. Nice job Darin!!! Good looking hull and it was built very sturdy. Rigging looked great also. Motor and mount very nice. Might just have to get one. What would be a good battery setup. I have a Triton charger but know nothing about LiPo batteries

Mic

 

[Darin Jordan]

Went to my LHS today and he just got the first one in. So I helped him unpack it. Nice job Darin!!! Good looking hull and it was built very sturdy. Rigging looked great also. Motor and mount very nice. Might just have to get one. What would be a good battery setup. I have a Triton charger but know nothing about LiPo batteries

Mic

Mic... Thanks... it's setup to use two 2S1P packs from the factory. You can slide one up under the ESC, and the other lays just in front of it to keep the CG low. On mine, I remove the deans, and use 5.5mm or bigger contacts, and use a single 4S1P pack, 4400mah or greater, for 1-mile races. Boat seems to like the battery weight all the way forward. Balance point currently is 8" forward of the sponson transom. If you are planning on just sport running, then a 5000mah or greater sized pack would be good. I may be switching to a 5000mah pack for racing, just because I think it still needs a little more weight forward.

Really rips in the turns in you take a little time to blueprint the bottom. Mine just took a little bit of block-sanding.

Here is a video of mine from last weekend:

http://www.banzaihydrosports.com/video/ProBoat_Stiletto_Test_Run_Aug_29_2010.wmv

Setup:

Battery -> ThunderPower 45C 4400mah 4S1P pack, all the way forward in the battery tray

Prop -> Octura X440/3, backcut .030" with some cup and a little pitch added (still a work in progress)

Motor -> Stock ProBoat Stiletto 1800KV BL Motor

Still running with the nose a little high for my taste, but I'm still getting used to driving it and haven't gotten everything else where I am confortable with it just yet. Slowly dialing it in.

 

[Kris Flynn]

Hey Darin,

Once you get the nose high part sorted out it should be good...they it is, it seems to be very darty (if thats a word lol) because the nose doesn't want to drop, then bang down and around it goes...

Are you backing off in the corners?

That is such a small course you Fe guys run on we run full size course over here and they get very aired out by the end of the straight

Cheers

Kris

 

[Darin Jordan]

That is such a small course you Fe guys run on we run full size course over here and they get very aired out by the end of the straight

Cheers

Kris

Kris,

Thanks... Yah... that particular course is smaller... When we run with District 8, we run on the full 1/6th.

I'm easing off entering the turn to set the nose, then squeezing the throttle back on through the corner. With the nose running that high, if I misjudge, or catch a bad wave/wake, it can grab a little too hard.

Will get it sorted out. Just haven't had that much time to tinker on it with all the other projects I've been working on.

 

[153stars]

That is a thing of beauty there <I'll tell you what. It's a great package to recommend to the guys at the LHS that want to get there feet wet in boats. Although they will spend a grand on a buggy kit to dabble in a boat that needs a $300+ motor they get a blank stare. Some of the tunnel purpose cut 1400 series props seem to have just a little extra lift left to bring down the front of hull.

 

[Kris Flynn]

I agree Mark, Darin you should maybe try some mod 1440 props or 1445 cut down?

If you give me a little more info on the pitch/cup of what you are runnign now I can send you a couple of 1440's I am not using right now...

Kris

 

[Tim_Duggan]

What sort of current draw would you see with the cupped 1440's Kris? Might be a little too borderline for the stock ESC?

The 1440 has approx. 25% more L/E pitch than comparable 40mm progressive pitch props........

 

[Darin Jordan]

What sort of current draw would you see with the cupped 1440's Kris? Might be a little too borderline for the stock ESC?

The 1440 has approx. 25% more L/E pitch than comparable 40mm progressive pitch props........

GREAT discussion, guys. Thanks for sharing this info.

The stock ESC is a 60A unit, and based on the success of the 45A version to handle these spec setups, I'm not worried about over amping it. It'll take it.

Total Mah used for a 1-mile race, plus mill and cooldown lap, is about 2400mah, using an X645, cut down to 41.6mm, and backcut, rounded tipped, spooned blade, and pitched up to 4.00". Temps get a little warm... around 130 on the motor. ESC and Batteries are fine. Keeping the wires from getting hot is an issue with this prop, so I tried the X440/3, which lowered the temps down significantly, and was pretty close to as fast.

I will certainly try the 1440 version. I keep trying to take lift out of the prop, because I thought it was driving the nose down in the turns, but maybe I need to rethink that.

Unfortunately, as nice as this design is... it's a RTR, so it's a little heavier than the same hull would be made of "race quality" glass. It's solid, and the finish is beautiful, but a production boat, none-the-less. It's bigger than many other boats, at 30", and the "scale" looking outboard adds additional weight, so a lighter "race" outboard could be used to shave some weight, along with a lighter ESC, etc. However, it looks too cool with the stock outboard, and it does function and handle well on this boat and is a very solid piece. Has a ton of prop clearance as well, for those who wish to go large diameter...

I've done a few tweaks to make the outboard and hull more "raceable". You can follow along here is you wish: http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/showthread.php?t=15485

 

[Kris Flynn]

Dunno Tim, if the weather is kind I will give it a go. Only ever really run 42X55 props...

 

[Tim_Duggan]

I've never measured the L/E pitch on the 42x55 (as I don't have one yet), anyone know what it is?

 

[Darin Jordan]

I've never measured the L/E pitch on the 42x55 (as I don't have one yet), anyone know what it is?

A modified version of the 42x55 seems to be the FE prop to have on boats like the AQ VS-1. They are usually equiped with the AQ UL-1 motor, which is 2030KV. The Stiletto motor is rated at 1800KV (haven't actually bench tested that to see the actual KV, but it should be close to that), so it's a little underpropped with the 42x55 and needs more pitch to match the UL-1's speed.

 

[153stars]

If it digs in at outer corner you might be able to get about 1degree on motor top to right from rear view "with stock mount holes.Just a thought. Before I wrecked my areotech I think I had about 3 degree by accident and it never turned WOT so well.

 

[Ronald van Essen]

In a German magazine---schiffsmodell- the Stiletto has been tested. With good results. Even a video has been made.

Ronald

 

[winzracing]

HI Guys , after reading a few forums Im NOT sure on what BATTERY SETUP to go for and use . Some say two batteries and some say one battery . im NEW to Electric tunnels and this is my first one.I have always run IC Boats so I really havent a clue what is goin on with 2p , 1s etc etc . Also the manual says use 7.2v or 7.4v one battery and then guys are recommending 14.4v on the threads ???NEED HELP AS I will be racing this baby and need the best reall performance out of the batts etc . thks alot

 

[Darin Jordan]

HI Guys , after reading a few forums Im NOT sure on what BATTERY SETUP to go for and use . Some say two batteries and some say one battery . im NEW to Electric tunnels and this is my first one.I have always run IC Boats so I really havent a clue what is goin on with 2p , 1s etc etc . Also the manual says use 7.2v or 7.4v one battery and then guys are recommending 14.4v on the threads ???NEED HELP AS I will be racing this baby and need the best reall performance out of the batts etc . thks alot

I would recommend that you replace the Y setup on the stock ESC, and use some 5.5mm contacts on the two battery leads. Then, get a single 5000mah or similiar 4S1P pack, and run the single pack up near the front of the radio box. This setup works great, and it's easier to manage the charging of a single 14.8V pack (4S), vs. two 7.4 (2S) packs. You'll also clean up the battery area by getting rid of all that additional wire.