Just Another Mean Machine Build

[mm123521]

Here is my Mean Machine build.
Hull is water damaged.
Objective: long run time, Sport

Leopard 4074 1400KV, home built cooling jacket, home built motor mount
Check out the home built, collet style, 5MM to 3/16, coupler.
I built it on my lathe and it runs smoooth!

ESC is T-180

All the pink stuff is builders foam insulation.
It is laminated with 1/16 ply and glued on the insides of the sponsons.
It serves to stiffen the sides of the boat and spaces the batteries and provides flotation.
With the foam on the insides of sponsons and the 1/8 inch ply rails, hull is very strong.

The foam insulation is also a rx battery mount, the receiver mount and the ESC mount.
Every extra space is filled with fitted pieces of foam for flotation.
The foam weighs nothing, but is very rigid.

Batteries are zippey 30C, 5S , 5000MAH, both will be in parallel for 10000 MAH total.
I can also run two battries (3S) in series, for 6S total (have not purchased the 3S batteries yet).

Check out the sub hatch. The raised section covers the motor and is built from - guess what -- insulating foam. It may not look like it, but the real hatch fits perfectly over the sub hatch. The sub hatch is sealed with tape and held down by velcro.

With 5S and 10,000MAH it should get long run times, but slow - 45MPH or so?
Will run X442 to start with, then maybe X447 later.
5S X 1400Kv = 25900 RPM unloaded.
This setup weighs exactly 8.25 pounds RTR, with 5S / 10,000MaH
Is this too heavy? Will it get up on plane ok?
Will I be able to run the X447?

Mark

[mm123521]

More pictures

[keithbradley]

Neat idea with the foam insulation...I like how the rx and rx pack are held in place.

I have 4 New 40C 3s/4000mah batteries in the swap shop if youre interested. They would be perfect for 6s2p. I bought them for a cat Im building but have decided to run 8s1p instead so I dont need them.

I don't think you'll have any problems getting on plane, even with the 5s setup.

Did you make that sub hatch?

[mm123521]

Keith:
I saw your batteries in the swap shop and thought the same thing. I was thinking about 5000 MAH. I wonder if I have space to stuff all 4 batteries in the available space? That would give 8000Mah.
I was going to look up the dimensions of your batteries on HK site.
I have 52mm X 50mm space available.

The hatch is just 1/8 inch ply with that shaped chunk of foam to cover the "hump" where the motor sticks up. The foam is "painted" with 30 minute epoxy to make it dent resistant. The foam also stiffens up the hatch.

The foam cuts nice on my milling machine or sands to shape with a belt sander.
You gotta watch out, because paint desolves the foam.


Mark

[keithbradley]

They're 145mm x 50mm x 21mm, so if you doubled them up you would be at:
145x50x42...should be a good fit.

I like the foam and may consider that on future builds. I like the idea of filling up the open area. I like to run most of my boats on the outside edge of what the hull can handle speed-wise, so they do take so nasty spills from time to time. I think filling in that excess area would prevent the glass from flexing alot on impact and make cracks alot less likely.

[Rich]

Here is my Mean Machine build.
Hull is water damaged.
Objective: long run time, Sport

Leopard 4074 1400KV, home built cooling jacket, home built motor mount
Check out the home built, collet style, 5MM to 3/16, coupler.
I built it on my lathe and it runs smoooth!

ESC is T-180

All the pink stuff is builders foam insulation.
It is laminated with 1/16 ply and glued on the insides of the sponsons.
It serves to stiffen the sides of the boat and spaces the batteries and provides flotation.
With the foam on the insides of sponsons and the 1/8 inch ply rails, hull is very strong.

The foam insulation is also a rx battery mount, the receiver mount and the ESC mount.
Every extra space is filled with fitted pieces of foam for flotation.
The foam weighs nothing, but is very rigid.

Batteries are zippey 30C, 5S , 5000MAH, both will be in parallel for 10000 MAH total.
I can also run two battries (3S) in series, for 6S total (have not purchased the 3S batteries yet).

Check out the sub hatch. The raised section covers the motor and is built from - guess what -- insulating foam. It may not look like it, but the real hatch fits perfectly over the sub hatch. The sub hatch is sealed with tape and held down by velcro.

With 5S and 10,000MAH it should get long run times, but slow - 45MPH or so?
Will run X442 to start with, then maybe X447 later.
5S X 1400Kv = 25900 RPM unloaded.
This setup weighs exactly 8.25 pounds RTR, with 5S / 10,000MaH
Is this too heavy? Will it get up on plane ok?
Will I be able to run the X447?

Mark

Mark, that setup should run great with a large prop such as an x445 or above. I would start with the x445, since the x442 would be a tad small, but its up to you. It will most defiantly get on plane with all that weight. I ran my mean machine with 3s2p running an x442 with a 2200kv motor. It was running great. As for the speed, you might hit close to 45. Do you have a data logger?

[mm123521]

Rich,
Your setup has similar RPM as mine. What prop were you able to run?
I have X442 and a X447. I think I'll go get a X445 at the hobby shop tomorrow.
No data logger.
What amps did you pull?
I think this setup will be a no worries, fun running boat.
You ever flip your boat? At a moderate 45 MPH, it should be very stable?

Mark

[Rich]

I ran an m445 pulling 152 peak amps. Your motor has more torque then mine, therefore it will be able to spin an larger prop. An x445 would be a good starting prop, though you most likely could go bigger. Better to start small just to be safe. I have flipped my boat many times til I got it right. I use a fishing rod to retrieve my boat when it flips. At 45MPH it will be very stable. Mine is very stable at 57mph when I got it setup right.