Turbo Vee: Question

[Stoosh]

Hello all, I am new to RC Boating. My family and I bought a patio boat and I thought that an RC Boat would be the perfect fit. I purchased a cheapy from Wal Mart and did not have much fun, but my 5 year old loved it. I have just ordered a Turbo Vee from Tower Hobbies as a starter boat for dad. It should be here early next week, just in time for our week on Trinity Lake. Just wondering what kind of speeds I should expect from the stock version with the batteries that they offer in the combo pack (DuraMax 6-cell 1500mAh Sport standard). Is this a good starter boat or will I be looking for something else in the near future? I read all the post on the thread from TurboV, and it seemed that alot of work and money needed to be put into the stock version to make it really scream. Just wondering what I could expect right out of the box. Thanks for the replies in advance.

[Chris LaPanse]

Out of the box, it might do 12-15 mph. It would be a good first boat, but after a while you will want it faster. As for the batteries, they don't really affect the speed (unless it is a high end motor), they only affect the runtime. With those, I would expect 8-10 mins between charges. As for making it really scream, here is what I would put in:
RC-Hydros PG-614/90W ESC (water cooled, 6-14 cell, 90A continuous): $96
Water cooling (both motor and ESC): about $15-20
Mod motor (p-94,D5, around 14 turn): ~$50
octura sharpened and balanced prop:~$35

Total:about $200
but, for a beginner, it should be fine stock. (trust me though, you WILL want it to go faster eventually, we all do :D)

[Stoosh]

Thanks, I got it today and ran it at our local lake. At this point it was fine, big upgrade from the kids Wal Mart version. Couple questions:

1. When I go to turn the boat at full speed and not that far away from me (100ft +/-), the boat seems to sputter. Do I need to adjust something? I noticed the controller has a trim dial and a switch for the steering servo. Do either of these need to be adjusted? I am a neeby that does not know much about this stuff, YET!

2. The antenna on the boat seems to lean towards the front of the craft, actually it points in the direction of the bow, an inch from the boat, almost horizontal with the boat, bent in that direction. This is how it came out of the box. Would this affect my range or would it be something else? Could this be affecting the turns?

3. I ran the 2 power packs till the boat was moving much slower than it was with a full charge. I noticed the charger states that the batteries need to be completely discharged before recharging. Do I have to wait until the boat is dead in the water or the performance and power is greatly reduced, before battery is considered completely discharged?

4. The boat also seems to turn really sharp in one direction and not as sharp the other. Is this also something that needs to be adjusted? If so where?

After the first test runs of about a total of 10 min run time. I was excited to have something that had a little punch, I am sure I will want more as time goes on. Thanks for the answers in advance........

[Chris LaPanse]

1: I really don't know, but it might relate to #2 in that if the bent antenna is affecting the range, you might just be nearing the end of it's range (with the bent antenna).
2: this shouldn't affect the range too much, but just in case, I would try bending it into the vertical position (or just get a new antenna tube at the LHS)
3: I usually run my electric boats until they can no loger get up on plane, and I consider that discharged. Also, you could get a discharger (such as this one (http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKX50&P=7) by WS deans. It can also be found at the LHS. Or, you could just get NiMH's. They don't need to be discharged at the end of the run.
4: This is most likely caused by prop torque and it is normal. Don't worry about it.

Good luck with the boat. :D :D

[n.h.schmidt]

Hi Stoosh
For best radio range . The antenna should be straight up. You should also try to get as much of it out of the boat as you can . Even with the included Radio (usually a low power unit ) you should get much more range . Keep the battery wires and motor wires away from the receiver if you can. They also will interfere with range. Many many boats turn much better to the right . It is a effect of prop and motor torque. some boats resist this better than others. You can likely get this boat up to around 20mph with a few simple changes . A Kyosho Magnetic Mahem motor ($21 at Tower ) and better props could do it. n.h.schmidt

[Chris LaPanse]

Yes, it could if the stock sc is up to it. I don't know much about this boat, so I would suggest getting a better ESC first.

[Stoosh]

Hey guys, thanks for all the responses! Now, with the antenna wire. I have ran all the extra wire through the antenna tube. There is now 1 - 2 inches of excess hanging out the end of the tube. When it came in the box they had a plastic kinda cuplar holding the extra wire against the tube on the top, pointing back down to the boat. Should I toss the cuplar (SP) and just let that extra antenna wire point up out of the tube? Sorry, if this all sounds trivial, but being new to the hobby I want to learn the trivial stuff! By the way are there any RC Boaters out there from Nor Cal? Again, thanks for the responses in advance.

[TurboVeeIIMod]

Hi Stoosh...

As for the antenna, apperantly it used to face upright, but the guys at tower hobbies ran the wire through the antenna and placed it in the box before shipping. The exact same thing happened to my antenna. Basically, the antenna was bent because the top section of the box was jammed on top of it. For length, I have also been looking for a replacement antenna, but nothing seems to be big enough to fit into the antenna hole in the top of your boat. Everything is too thin. You could buy a whip antenna from off Shore Electrics http://offshoreelectrics.com/MainPage.htm (scroll down to near the bottom) and just fill in the gaps with some silicon sealant or liquid rubber (liquid rubber can also be bought at off shore electrics, or tower hobbies, in tower it's called shoe goo II).
Good luck with your boat, I'm waiting on Tower to deliver my ESC water cooling package.

Note: If you want a no-hassle, top of the line mod, go with Chris's mod. If you're like me, and have little money to burn, go with my cheapo mod:
ESC: Duratrax Streak $40 http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXD523&P=ML
Motor: Tower Hobbies Speed Secret 14 turn quad motor: $20 http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJA78&P=ML
Prop: For me right now, stock, I'll change it soon for one that's like $10-$20
Water cooling for ESC: $5 http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXGBH5&P=7

Total Cost: $70-$80

Good luck modding,
Turbo

[TurboVeeIIMod]

Oh yeah, one last thing: Batteries. If you do mod your boat, expect very little runtime. Most 2400 packs are extremely high, so I found this pack to be awesome: http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&W=000557942&I=LXBBD3&P=K
Two 2400 mah at $34.99, about 17.50 each. That's 2400 mah at the price of 1900.

[Stoosh]

Turbo, have you been using the stock antenna? If so, what have you done to increase the range..I have tried to straighten it as much as possible and pulled all extra wire through the top, and just let the extra point up out of the tube. I have not tried it yet, but was wondering if you are doing something similar with the stock antenna. If yes, has your range increased? Thanks for the help, I like the boat and will add mods when I get the chance. Just trying to get the stock version running with an acceptable range.

[Bash_N_Thrash]

The prop shaft can be a source of radio glitching. You should re-grease it after every few runs (4-6) to keep glitching to a minimum. Just pull out one of the rudder screws and loosen the other so it will swing out of the way. Then loosen the grub screw in the coupler that holds the prop shaft. Slide it out and re-lube it.
1. Vaseline-----------------Good
2. Wheel Bearing grease-----Better
3. Marine Grease------------Best
The stock ESC only handles 27 turn motors. If you put a lower turn motor on it you will need a new ESC.
The antenna tube can be swiveled to face backwards but it probably wouldnt work any better for range, just look better. I get good range out of mine.
The easiest way to make it faster is to go with a 7 cell battery. That adds some extra zip to it. I run my batteries till the boat barely moves. After every 5-6 cycles I discharge to about 6.3 volts for a 7 cell battery with a bulb discharger.
If you want a faster boat I would get a new one some day that would handle the speed better. After buying all the stuff to make your Vee faster and better, the weakest link would be the hull and prop system and you cant really mod that too much. But the Turbo Vee II is a great starter boat and you should have fun with it.

[Stoosh]

Well, I used marine grease on the prop shaft. I just took it out and there was no difference. The boat sputters at about 100ft away and it is really bad when turning at that distance. When the batteries get low the sputtering happens at closer ranges. That leads me to think that it might be a battery issue. I am using the AA batteries that were sent with the controller. I have ran it about 12 times now, but the minimal range was noticable on the 1st run and has seemed consistant through all the others. Should I change the batteries in the remote? Any suggestions, getting frustrated when the 5 year olds Wal Mart special has a longer range.....

[Bash_N_Thrash]

Ya sure. Try changing the batteries. Also does the boat being in the water make any difference for range? Maybe if you test it out of the water it might have different results. If all else fails maybe something is wrong with it. You might want to ask Tower about it. They have great customer service.

[Chris LaPanse]

I still think you should check if your LHS has an antenna tube. Not the full antenna, just the tube. Most hobby stores have a Maxx section, and I just pick up the same tube for my E-Maxx as for my boat. It's from traxxas. Total cost: 1.00 + tax. That is definitely what I would try first, and if it doesn't work, then try something else (it only costs a buck).

Oh- and BTW, get your radio problems fixed before you try any mods, because with either of our suggested mods, it would get out of radio range real quick unless you get that fixed. ;)

[MikDee]

Just a note here, make sure your throttle trim knob on the radio is turned up till the prop almost starts to move on it's own. This is optimum setting, it might help your radio range, & signal strength. You probably have found that the steering trim knob on the radio is used to center your rudder, most all boats will have a tendency to turn better to the right because of (normal)counterclockwise prop rotation