Hello to all, my name is Dave. I'm new to the forum and wanted to start a build thread on a tug boat I just bought used. This will be a working rescue boat and one for my wife to drive around Done my research, mostly on this sight and looking forward to changing many things to make her look and perform better. Heres's a list of things in the works:
Stock motor
3.5:1 Master Airscrew gear box
Pro boat ESC
50mm prop
going to enlarge rudder
larger steering and drive shafts
12v battery
and repaint

Advice is welcomed......keep and eye on me

Hello gtop- I am also In the process of doing a major refit of my Atlantic tug,mine needs the power to retrieve my newport 12 hull which is 6' long .So it will be a true test. Im also moding the bow profile and the modifying the lower cabin.Im adding a few more scale details as well. I will be posting pictures soon of the progress.

Nice..... Got the batterys that came with the boat charged up and the motor sounds like . Bushings are going out and would like to up grade motor to a stock ball bearing one. Where can I found one?

what about a rock crawler motor? 55-70 turns so not a lot of speed and good amount of torque. I always liked the Atlantic tug, but not so much in the factory paint scheme. I'd love to see some more pics when you get it painted and some newer fittings on the boat.

Sounds like a good idea with rock crawler motor. Having a tough time trying to find out how many rpm's a stock Aquacraft motor turns....does anyone know? Will post many pics and a video when build is complete.

K...got proboat ESC in today and hooked it up, no motor response but rudder works? Is this a bad ESC or am I doing something wrong?

Originally Posted by gtopillado

K...got proboat ESC in today and hooked it up, no motor response but rudder works? Is this a bad ESC or am I doing something wrong?

We need a wiring diagram or a pic of how you set up the wiring.

You did center the throttle on the TX before turning on the RX / ESC?

By the way, the Proboat ESC's are not known for their low end 'start up' and generally cut in at about 1/3rd throttle.. Not good for fine manouvering of a tug..

my atlantic is being converted into a pleasure boat but will keep a bit of the tug charm

Pretty simple wiring....red to red motor, blue to black motor, plug into receiver and red and black to battery(12V). Should I just get a car ECS? Novak or something simular? Thanks for the help.

Spent about 1.5 hrs driving the tug around the pool today. Switching her to a 12v battery really gave her plenty of run time, it also increased motor speed too much for my liking. 3.5:1 Master Airscrew gear box arrived the other day, just waiting for prop then I can start the overhaul. Sent Proboat ESC back and will just look for a RC car style one. Also picked up a new stock motor off of eBay ($13.00), they are cheap enough to replace when the bushings wear out. Going to take out factory lead balast as the battery is enough weight for her to ride level. Wife approved, in fact, she didn't want to put the controller down.

Here's the pics:

Wife approved, in fact, she didn't want to put the controller down.

Success.

To remove the ballast...post # 9.
I hope this helps.

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...craft+atlantic

Great idea on removing ballast, they are really glued in there.

Yeah, Millertime is right. I ended up with a hairline crack in the hull after I pulled and pried the weights out of my Atlantic. Just be sure to give your boat a bath tub or tank test before taking it out. My hull wasn't as thick as it seemed to be, there was a lot of glass cloth that wasn't saturated with resin from the factory once the seam was opened. I just mixed up some thin resin and drizzled it in and around the cracked areas making sure to get plenty in there and my boat's been just fine ever since.
Good luck and keep us posted with photos of your work.
Large Mike