sv27 hull with ep-1 outboard with power trim and upgraded gears.

[igotit]

heres my lil project!
sorry for the long first post.
i wanted around a 30 inch boat that looked great,and ran the most scale outboard out there.
the sv27 hull....and the ep-1.
but i like to be different,so i opted for a standoff jack plate,fabricate power trim somehow,and find harder gears.
the hardest part was the gears.....but its done.

the start



she sat for over 1 year in that condition,empty hull with a new ep-1 bolted with just 2 screws.
after a year i got tired of seeing it sit there.
started gutting the hull and fabricating the jack plate.

[igotit]

new transom glassed in,held with temporary screws.




before i finish boxing in the jack plate....im gonna build a remote power trim unit....gonna try anyway.
prepare to be amazed....my ideas usually work.
ill be using a small steel hinge,a 150:1 micro gear motor and some all thread.

got the power trim concept sorted out.
just gotta power it with a high torque servo or gear box.

i went a different route with the idea,used the existing motor mounting brackets,axial 3rd upper link,long screw,threaded peice of plastic.






built the trim bracket,installed a thrust bearing.
just have to cut the shaft down,attach a powerful servo....make a mechanial seal on the outside to keep water out.
motor is free to pop up in the event that i hit something.

the downward force of the prop wash will push against the thrust bearing,that rides on the back side of the stainless plate.
this way i dont transfer any foward load on my servo.

[igotit]

built the trim bracket,installed a thrust bearing.
just have to cut the shaft down,attach a powerful servo....make a mechanial seal on the outside to keep water out.
motor is free to pop up in the event that i hit something.






controlled by the radio if i can.
working on it now,ive built the bearing housing already,installed the bearing....working the kinks out now.

heres a pic of the system,and the order its put together.



the inside thrust bearings are dont,now i gotta build the outside seal assembly.
works beautiful by hand,but if i apply load.....hard to turn.
example....if the motor puts out 6lbs of thrust,and the boat weights in at 4 lbs fully loaded....i need a motor/gearbox that can handle atleast 12lbs of rotation.
gonna have to brain storm this one.

[igotit]

heres a working vid!
driven by a servo.

photo bucket drags on my computer,making the trim look twitchy.
but its pretty smooth on my end.
servo has enough power to lift the entire boat.



the outside shaft seal assembly.
made another aluminium cup,cut and installed 2 soft foam inserts from a cheap,common paint ball squeegie.also used a spacer from the squeegie.
as i tighten the screws to the transom,the yellow tube compresses the foam tighter around the shaft.
making a tighter seal.
ill lube with silicone lube,water should do the rest.
should be ready for a float trim water test in a few hours.

[igotit]

made and glued the trim servo mount,cut down the driveshaft,installed universal....ect.
worked on the transom alittle too.
next is steering.

[igotit]

built the servo and reciever mount.
installed a traxxas waterproof servo,ill run a xl-5 esc for now.
i hate the double tap brake before reverse option though.
difficult on a stick radio.
hopefully i can continue on her,possibly ride her this afternoon.



building the adjustable battery box.
the beauty of the power trim....i dont need to be ballanced to adjust the ride.

[igotit]

i got lots more to add and edit.

done a test fit on everything,fit was good.
so i gave everything a decent coat of polyester resin,installed some foam in the battery tray.
just gotta wait for her to dry,mod my tq3 tx to run the trim,install everything for the test run.



modded my traxxas tq3 rx to use the trim.shes ready to hit the waves.
gotta add more weight to the nose though.
pool tested great,when trimed 3/4 the way up,she hops out the water....cant wait to go run her.




first test ride in water was nice,a bouncy ride,the trim works great.
on the second pack i went out to open choppy water with 8-10 mph breeze.
made 1 lap before the stock motor threw a brush.
so i didnt setup the cam.
first pack lasted about 20 mins running up and down a drainnage ditch.
caught lots of grass in the wheel,tested the motor kickup by jumping a submerged bucket.
i had fun.its a wild ride steering this thing straight in a narrow ditch,in open water she was pretty stable,but due to the bounce i slowed alittle on turns....just in case.
a good 15-18 mph.
the trim is sensitive....lol.
ill post up a youtube test vid in a few.

nothing fancy....just a test,some weeds in the wheel,a few trim adjustments from the tx,a jump...lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PxssyICb53Y&feature=youtu.be

[igotit]

knew this moment was comming
after 30 mins total run on the ep-1....ive got water in the lower unit.

heres a closer look at the guts.




after a quick clean up and inspection....my gears show wear.
the ep-1's downfall.



so after many mths i found a gear machinist,ive torture tested his new phosphor bronze gear set.
they are amazing.

ive installed the gears,had to trim the grub screw on the vertical gear,mesh feels great,gears went right on with no slop.this machinist is good....cant beat it for $30.gonna go charge my batts and give em a try....after i lube the lower unit.
i adjusted the mesh a lil on the tight side to allow the gears to wear into each other,alittle tight spot...but not too tight to deter me from running them.


stock brass gears on the left,phosphor bronze on the right.




ran 7 test like this today...im trying to destroy these gears.

[igotit]

ok we seen the torture test vids right...just pulled her down.....looks the same as the last time i pulled it down.only damage to the gears is my fault,the motor coupling set screw backed out and allowed the vertical shaft and gear to rise,rounded off the tips of the gears....very slight damage.
im impressed,anyone want repeat the same test on stock gears....lol.



i have 15 hard runs total on the new gears....flawless operation.now if i can only fing someone to cast the ep1s housing.....we can put this lil gem back into production.
the boat is far from finished...but has come a long way.