32 Cat first build

[DV8ion]

Hello all This is my first FE build so please if you have suggestions or tips to help me along please feel free to share.

The hull is an R2 Hobbies 32" Cat..I know I know...I should of listened and bought a HOTR or Fighter Cat and am kinda kicking myself now..ah well live and learn right.

This build will consist of the following components.

• 32" hull
• Leopard 4074 2200kv motor
• 4s2p 6000mah 40c battery setup
• T180 ESC

To address the thin nature of this hull I have reinforced it with carbon fiber, not as hard to do as I had thought and will hopefully add the much needed strength. Next will be the squaring up of the transom and bottom side of the boat. The bottom lines are already crisp and sharp I just want to make sure its all square.
Here are some pics so far. I'm thinking its gonna be a fun experience and hopefully pretty quick too.

[tim v]

good luck i was also looking at those hulls , make sure you post the finished product also....

[DV8ion]

Will do for sure.
Any good prop suggestions ? I was thinking of a x442, a 447 and would like to try a X642. Would these be a good starting point ?
Thanks,
Josh

[TotalPackage]

642 for shure but any of those will give you a good starting point. Those are some nice hulls > Iv always wanted one.

[FighterCat57]

This is the R2 hobbies cat, right?

It'll work OK as a single. The big problem is the room in the hatch. I didn't have much room for the servo arm and for the motor to fit inside the hatch. It's a long narrow center and uses up quite a bit of interior room. Watch the water tube clearance.

The cat handles OK, I set one up for sport last year and ran 40-50mph no problem. It was a fun little boat.

447 is a bit large for that hull. The 32's like smaller props like the 40 or 42. I ran the x440 and x442 at 30k - 40k rpm so the 642 will probably run well.

4s2p is OK, but watch the lipo weight. You might be better off with 4s1p ( 2 x 2s in series ) so there's less weight. I recall having just enough room for the big 3s packs running 6s.

I'm curious as to how the T180 will fit in that hull and still close the hatch.

Hope this helps. =)

[DV8ion]

This is the R2 hobbies cat, right?

It'll work OK as a single. The big problem is the room in the hatch. I didn't have much room for the servo arm and for the motor to fit inside the hatch. It's a long narrow center and uses up quite a bit of interior room. Watch the water tube clearance.

The cat handles OK, I set one up for sport last year and ran 40-50mph no problem. It was a fun little boat.

447 is a bit large for that hull. The 32's like smaller props like the 40 or 42. I ran the x440 and x442 at 30k - 40k rpm so the 642 will probably run well.

4s2p is OK, but watch the lipo weight. You might be better off with 4s1p ( 2 x 2s in series ) so there's less weight. I recall having just enough room for the big 3s packs running 6s.

I'm curious as to how the T180 will fit in that hull and still close the hatch.

Hope this helps. =)

Thanks for the tips FC It is the R2 hull I was looking for one of your hulls but you were out of stock and I'm such an impulsive bastage..LOL Ah well live and learn eh. My next hull will be from you though.

You are correct about the total lack of room in this hull. My first issue was the motor. When I got the hull and the motor I did a quick mock up to test the fit. it didn't fit, not even close...after some head scratching (and choice words I cannot repeat on here ) I came up with a solution. I added a 1/16" shim under the motor mounting plates, this gave me enough room to lay the motor back and still clear the cooler on the bottom of the hull. By laying the motor back (not all the way) it made enough space to get the hatch on without it hitting, I also have lots of space for the water lines too.

The T180 in mock up is a very snug fit, and with the motor leads pointing to the moon its even worse. The solution is to lay the wires down, which I may have no choice to do, but don't really want to or swap out the leads for some high quality silicone jacket wire and run them from the bottom of the board. The connections will be very short anyways as I like to keep my installations neat, tidy and short as possible (a long time 1/12 onroad racer..old habits die hard).

The battery setup was born out of necessity really. I have 2s 3000mah packs already and they are alittle anemic for this build, so the 4s2p idea was created. This setup weighs only 2.8oz heavier than a 4s1p setup and if I stack them on top of each other they are 3mm taller than a 3s pack. Not to say this is going to be my only battery setup, I will be ordering some better 2s packs for this boat in the near future.

Don't even get me started on the servo setup..all I can say is that its going to have to be pretty crafty cause there is sweet F all for room when it comes to the servo. I'll cross that bridge soon enough. LOL

Yeah my mention of the 447 was a mistake I did mean the 445 (that damn 447 is stuck in my head for some reason). I have a 642 to work with and will be ordering a 445 soon to play with. Should be good times

[FighterCat57]

Thanks for the tips FC It is the R2 hull I was looking for one of your hulls but you were out of stock and I'm such an impulsive bastage..LOL Ah well live and learn eh. My next hull will be from you though.

You are correct about the total lack of room in this hull. My first issue was the motor. When I got the hull and the motor I did a quick mock up to test the fit. it didn't fit, not even close...after some head scratching (and choice words I cannot repeat on here ) I came up with a solution. I added a 1/16" shim under the motor mounting plates, this gave me enough room to lay the motor back and still clear the cooler on the bottom of the hull. By laying the motor back (not all the way) it made enough space to get the hatch on without it hitting, I also have lots of space for the water lines too.

The T180 in mock up is a very snug fit, and with the motor leads pointing to the moon its even worse. The solution is to lay the wires down, which I may have no choice to do, but don't really want to or swap out the leads for some high quality silicone jacket wire and run them from the bottom of the board. The connections will be very short anyways as I like to keep my installations neat, tidy and short as possible (a long time 1/12 onroad racer..old habits die hard).

The battery setup was born out of necessity really. I have 2s 3000mah packs already and they are alittle anemic for this build, so the 4s2p idea was created. This setup weighs only 2.8oz heavier than a 4s1p setup and if I stack them on top of each other they are 3mm taller than a 3s pack. Not to say this is going to be my only battery setup, I will be ordering some better 2s packs for this boat in the near future.

Don't even get me started on the servo setup..all I can say is that its going to have to be pretty crafty cause there is sweet F all for room when it comes to the servo. I'll cross that bridge soon enough. LOL

Yeah my mention of the 447 was a mistake I did mean the 445 (that damn 447 is stuck in my head for some reason). I have a 642 to work with and will be ordering a 445 soon to play with. Should be good times

Cool, sounds like you've got a good handle on it.

Nice RC-51, I love the big twins.

[DV8ion]

Thank you It means alot to hear that from a fast guy. Yeah I have abit of a love affair with big twins as well. Nothing like the sound of a high revving big twin thundering down the road. I find you have to be a true rider to really applicate them.

[FighterCat57]

Ah, big twins. This is a cool vid. I'm the guy that comes up from the left in the first few seconds. The vid is from a competitor I used to race against. I had a superstition against onboard video, so never got any from my perspective.



Sorry for the thread jack, just wanted to share the vid of me riding the duc. The bike is an 800 supersport in this video. I ran a 1000ds, 800ss, 848 and 749r over the years.

[DV8ion]

Awesome vid I know how you feel about the on board video, or any video for that matter....it seems to give guys that extra bit of courage that usually ends up in a wadded up bike or worse. No worries about the post..its all good, bikes and boats...its all speed.