I know that there is a reverse issue with this tub but somewhere I have seen where the put batteries in it that are made for emergency lighting, 6v 7amp. My questions to the experts are:

1- What is the max voltage/amps the stock speed control can handle?
2- Is one battery (6v 7amp) too low voltage?
3- Can I use two batteries? If so would they be series or parallel?
4- If I wanted to go brushless, what would be a good motor/esc replacement?

I appreciate all the help.

Thanks for looking
Joe

Hi Joe,
We've got several of these neat little boats in our club and most of us have switched over to 12v with the stock esc/motor with no problems. I run a 12v/10Amp battery in mine. I'm going to change over to a larger prop and a 55Turn Lathe motor for more pull. I thought about brushless, but was too expensive. (The lathe motors are about $20) The reverse prob is in the radio, as changing the radio w/one that will allow throttle adjustments has fixed every one that we've done. The stock esc seems to hold up pretty well. My 2 bits worth. Happy Sailing, Ron

blckgnx,

Thanks for the input. Where would I get a lathe motor? And would in fit in the stock mount?

Joe

I contend that the reverse problem is not 'in the radio.' It must be the ESC. Why do I say this ? Because I replaced it with a Proboat one that costs but $ 10 more than Hobbico's standard equip. in their tug, with no other modifications to the boat or changes to the transmitter, and that eliminated the problem entirely. Mine runs as fast in reverse as anybody could expect or want. In fact once it kicks into gear (not long at all) it looks almost comical as it motors in reverse; it's that effective.

Hi Joe,
I got mine on-line, however, most hobby shops have em for the rock crawlers. Mine turns about 1500rpm less than the stock one in the boat, so its going to need a lot larger, more pitch prop. Speed really isn't an issue for a "Tugboat" , so I want some pulling power. Ron
PS- Yes, it bolts right in the stock mount.

This question got me thinking. Back in the car racing days our Futaba wheel radios had a setting for the trigger throw. You could "dial out" almost all of the reverse travel leaving just enough for brakes. I just went down to the dungeon and took my Pro Fisherman out for a bench test. On the bass boat's wheel radio reverse throw on the trigger is about 1/2 +or- the forward throw.

I took one of my stick radios and crystal swapped so I could try the boat that way. I got basically the same results. The speed control is limited in reverse. A necessary feature in the bass boat. I don't know if Aquacraft uses the same ESC across the board but this one definitely limits reverse. I couldn't trim the ESC to neutral but the speed difference between forward and reverse was significant.

I can't say that the trigger travel limit effects the reverse speed but it seems logical to me that it would.

Hi Prins,
The throw of the trigger doesn't do a whole lot, but if you extend the travel, it'll work as good as forward. I have the Spektrum 3, so I extended the travel from 100% to 125%, and on a stick radio we used, it had digital travel that could be extended, then the esc works fine. In total we have 7 tugs that we've done the same thing on and they all will travel in reverse faster than can be controled. Bye the way, if you do the same thing on the "forward" side you pick up a bunch of speed.

The radio that came with the bass boat has a rate control on it. You can dial in or out control. Great feature for allowing rookies to take the helm. Less steering, less throttle, less crashing. I don't know if the new Futaba wheel radios still have the adjuster on the trigger. It actually repositioned the neutral point and increased the travel of the trigger for forward. That was a nice feature for a car you didn't want to reverse.

I tried using my 9CAPS to experiment with the adjustments and got the same response. I set the end point to 140% and the motor did not turn any faster in reverse. The original radio does have adjustment but they do me no good. I think I might just go brushless or find another speed controller and use blkgnx's suggestion and get a lathe motor, any suggestions?

I still would like to know if the batteries for the emergency lighting would work. I have the duratrax 7.2 volt 3800 mah (DTXC2162) but will 3.8 amp give me duration and allow me to add other stuff?

Has anyone ever tried a bow thruster on this tug or is it not worth it?
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/scaledrives.htm bottom of page.

Thanks

topflight-rcu,

I don't own a Atlantic but a couple of guys I know do so I'm familiar with the model. a few questions. Are you looking for speed or endurance? They are mutually exclusive. Are you looking for pulling power? Better prop will give better thrust. This is a short boat and IMHO a bow thruster will be a waste of money, space, and battery. You would be able to blow the bow around but on this boat, why? Put the cash in a better quality ESC, and/or a radio that will give you full travel on the throttle in both directions, and spend the build time customizing the boat to suit your taste (see Hoghappy's Belinda as a example).

A good motor will give you decent run times with a 3800 pack. Besides, coming in occasionally to swap a pack,so you can check for water in the hull, take the motor temp, and uncramp your hands from holding the tx is not such a bad idea.

In a tug a fast motor is not usually the best motor. Torque is better. All my tugs are direct drive (I hate gears) and I run Dumas Pittman motors almost exclusively. They draw less than 2 amps stalled, and they turn at a more scale rate for a tug. I can run for over an hour on a 1200 pack in my 24" tug. I hook two packs in parallel in my 36" and can run for 1 1/2 hrs.

Prins,

I am looking for power (torque) and endurance. To take care of my speed addiction I have the blackjack 26 nitro and the blackjack 26 brushless, I want something to that will ease mind and get my boats back to shore. I also have built a Winston Eagle Hydro from Newtons plans which is much larger and want to get that back to shore.

I started out wanting a boat strictly for retrieval but now that I have it and look around at what everybody else has built I am starting to like the scale side of boating. You make allot of since about customizing a boat to suit my taste. I am gong to try the H300 from this site. http://www.mo-na-ko.net/plans/plany_c.htm

What would be your recommendation for a good esc and what would be a good pittman motor?

Thanks for your input.

I have been using the Dumas 2004 6 volt, and the 2005 12 volt motors for years with no trouble. I have one that is 20 years old and still chuggin along. They are a bit pricey but I have never had one fail (30+ years of using them).

If you ask about ESC's on this forum you will get many different opinions, and all are valid as they are based on personal experience. Best advice, decide your requirements (i.e. voltage, amperage, and features) then buy the best esc you can afford. My favorite setup is a 6v Dumas motor direct drive, using a 7.2 v NiCad pack, running through the old Hitec 610 esc (which is no longer available ), and a 2 channel stick radio.

I have been looking for a suitable replacement for the Hitec 610 esc. Many folks on here like the Blue Proboat esc. I bought one and was not too impressed with its performance. It seemed notchy even compared to the Hitec. it may have been the unit I bought but I haven't looked at the issue seriously yet. I have since raised my target price range and I am going to try out a pair of Mtroniks Viper Marine 25's in a carferry I am building.

The lathe motor is by Integy and my LHS gets them for me. Give the Ripmax Quantum a try from HobbyPeople also take a peek at the Traxxas XL-1. best mod is swap the ESC and radio then add at least 3 lbs to the boat. It will swing a 1.5" prop and has a 3mm shaft. I reamed the shaft log to 1/8th and added a stainless shaft and a Prop Shop 3 blade prop. Whole world of difference in performance. Agree that the bowthruster is not needed.