It should be ironed out. I figure I have about 3 hrs of work to complete it. Not really a lot. Some things are tabs for the hatches. tidy up a few wires/hoses. make sure the rudder servo is not hitting the side.
What days are you off next week Paul? let me know maybe we could get together for a sail if all goes well.
Next week I am working monday to friday from 9 to 5:30. I am thinking I might try the grove for a test sail on sunday. I want to see the boat on the water and to check for leaks.
Well I am still working on the rudder. I am now making a platform to change over the rudder servo and center it in the stern.
Well more rudder work today. I now have to get some collars from Maritime hobbies. One of the arms was loose and that is why I was not getting a lot of throw.
Well I changed over my rudder system. I am charging radio and battery so I should know tommorow how well it works.
Well the Sodak hit the water for her first sea trial. It was the good, the bad and the ugly. Good: rudder system works well, it does not bind when thrown hard over and with engines running. Good: Pump worked well. An 8-10 ft pump stream Good: weight was balanced and sitting on the waterline. All weight was in except bb's Bad: Engines. No speed at all. It would make the pundua look like a speed boat. I think the engines need to be replaced. Bad: I need a servo extender for rudder and throttle so I can move receiver up front. Ugly: Some twits in a dragon boat asked the name of the ship. When told the name was Alabama they thought it was a model representation of the boat in Crimson tide.
Well Captain..not too bad 3 out of 6. 50/50 least the rudder is resolved. Well buddy. Question. What motors are you using. Are you direct drive, or gears? Are you in parralle wiring or series? What size are your props? Are they turning in the right direction or is one engine going reverse and the other going forward or are they counterclock wise but turning in the same direction. Are the batteries charged full? You sure?? How much grease in the tubes. Do the props turn freely or is there a lot of binding?? Crimnson tide eh? Well least they didn't call your ship the Titanic, Aircraft Carrier, or submarine. Curt
Well Curt the Batteries are fully charged. As to what size the motors are I honestly have no idea. When I move the props the shafts move easily as well as the gears. The motors were wired as +ve from one engine to the negative of the other and then wired into the throttle. Even with dry runs on the bench the engines did not sound that great. I had just assumed it was the gears as I am not not used to what it should sound. I will be doing a motor switch out and going with another set of engines I have. The engines were not wired any differently than how they were last year.
Ok that leaves me with the question(S) Where did you purchase the motors? If it was at Princess than you may have high V motors with high or low rpm. Running them at 6v may not provide the power to turn them over quickly through the gears. Got a pic of these motors?
Actually there were in parts box. I suspect you are right that they are highv with low rpm. I may have put the wrong engines in as I had some motors from dreadnouth that were set for 12 v.
Well motor change over occured today. What a difference in motors. I will be taking it out thursday for a spin to see how it runs. It should run well. The engines were just purring along.
