THE BIG LIST

 

The Big List:  A compilation of items that you will or may need when building, gearing up and/or maintaining a Classic Thunder 1/10th Scale Electric Hydroplane. 

The Boat building materials can include some or all of the following.  You’ll need a 1/10th scale hull either already built from scratch or composite materials.  Otherwise, you can build your own or have one built for you.  Depending on your preference, here are some things you might need for basic hull construction or repairs.

  1. Fiberglass and Resin
  2. 1/32” inch plywood (12” x 48”sheets recommended), various spruce stringer material, balsa wood and 1/8” Lite-ply.
  3. CA and accelerator, filler, sandpaper for prep work.
  4. Epoxy resin and hardener.  Rubbing alcohol (at least 70%) for thinning the epoxy to use as a sealer.
  5. 2” and 1” thick Styrofoam sheet for construction or just floatation.
  6. Primer and Paint (including clear top coat if needed or you prefer)
  7. An accurate scale set of plans based on photos of the real boat.  It always pays to get as many good photos of the real boat to use.  You can purchase graphics or do your own from paint, printed decal sheets or vinyl.

Running gear and hardware to make the boat go.   These are some of the items that many of us are using to gear the boats up.  However, there are many options you can choose from.

  1. Motors:  Brushed motors including the Astroflight 25-5 turn (the most popular motor) or Cordite SS1 have been used in Division 1 and 2.  So far, we’ve had good luck with a number of different brushless motors for Division 2 including Feigao (aka Nemesis) 540 10XL, Mega 20/30/2, NEU motors and Hacker brand.  Many motors can be fitted with water cooling coils or jackets.
  2. Speed Controller:  Brushed controllers including the RC-Hydros.com and AstroFlight brands. You need to make sure of their cell rating depending on what division of racing you intend to use them for.  Brushless controllers that we have had the most success with in Division 2 include the Castle Creations Barracuda 80 and 125.  Some have also had success with the Hacker Navy 77.
  3. Motor mount for the motor of your choice.  Mounts can be made from angled aluminum, hose clamps or other materials or purchased with drilled mounting holes for a number of motors.
  4. Rudder: You can build your own or purchase a variety of rudder assemblies on-line from companies.  We use a Sport 40 sized rudder, many of which are made from aluminum to save weight and some of which have water pickups on them.
  5. Propellers:  We turn left, like the real unlimiteds, so the props need to be right hand turning for best performance.  So far the Octura X447r has worked best in division 1, with some experimenting with the Graupner 51mm.  Other right hand turning props that have been primarily used in division 2 are the 45mm and the Octura x442r.
  6.  Prop Shaft Material:  1/8” drill rod, piano wire or stainless steel material.  The shaft will need to be shimmed to use the propellers of choice and most drive dogs that are used with them as they are primarily made for 3/16” shafts.  Shimming can be done using brass or plastic tubing.
  7. Drive Dogs: Unless you get custom ones, you can use the 3/16” Octura drive dogs and shim them or you can use the 1/8” Octura drive dog if you don’t mind the smaller teeth.
  8. Push rods for your rudder steering can be made out of small guage piano wire or you can get them already made at a hobby shop.
  9. Octura 1/8” Dura collars can be used to link up you streering rods to make them adjustable and can also be used as a prop nut to hold your propeller on if the shaft is not threaded.
  10. A 3/16 Inner Diameter brass tube is can be used as a stuffing box and can be two Octura 3/16 Outer Diameter Lead Teflon bushings (sleeve bearing) on each end of it to support the shaft.  However you can use brass flanged bearings with a 1/8” hole mounted in a larger tube too.  Some still use just a plain 1/8” brass tube to support the shaft.  It’s all good.
  11. Bru-Line rubber seals can be used to seal the hole where the rudder push rod comes out at the transom.  If you put your servo in a box, you need one of them to seal the hole where the push rod comes out of the box.
  12. Aluminum tubing can be used as water cooling if wrapped snuggly around your motor. 
  13. Silicone or rubber tubing can be used as plumbing for your water cooling, running in and out of your boat.
  14. Silicone adhesive sealant, marine goop or other durable sealant can be used to secure and seal your stuffing box, motor mount and sealed boxes inside your boat. 
  15. Velcro can hold down some of your removable gear and batteries in place.
  16. Plastic boxes can be used to protect your radio, speed control, servo or other gear from the water.  It is recommended that all non-waterproof gear be sealed in a box.  You can also build boxes out of sealed wood and put a plastic lid on it.  Sorbit or Silica Gel packs can be placed in the boxes to absorb moisture from condensation.
  17. Various small wood screws, small bolts and fixtures may be needed to mount your gear too.  You can find some really useful items in the Great Planes section of the hobby shops.  Other RC plane parts are often used in what we do.

Batteries and Accessories can be found in many places.  Here are some of the items that may be needed.

1.      Batteries:  Right now we are limited to Sub-C type Nicads and NiMH.  12 cells in Division 1 and 14 cells in Division 2.  Many of the most popular brands include GP, Sanyo and Intellect.  Prices vary.  We recommend two sets of batteries for each boat you plan to race.

2.      Battery Charger:  Peak chargers are the most popular.  Charger should be capable of charging both Nicads and Nimh batteries and rated to charge the number of cells you intend on charging at one time.  Two of the most popular brands have been AstroFlight and Triton chargers.  As LiPo batteries may be the included in our club in the future, it might not be a bad idea to get a charger that is capable of charging LiPo batteries too.   You will need to have a 12V power supply or a 12V car or other type battery to hook the charger to.  Deep Cycle batteries work the best for field charging if power is not available.

3.      12 or 13 guage  red and white silicone insulated wire will be needed if you plan to make your own battery packs.

4.      Shrink wrap for your battery packs.

5.      High quality connectors for your packs to connect to the speed controller.  It is recommended that you use at least the quality of  Sermos connectors, but many have started using Deans connectors and bullet type connectors to cut down on resistance and durability, especially in a brushless gear setup.

6.      A good soldering iron is crucial when building your own packs.  A wand type with a larger surface works best.  Weller makes an 80W version that works well. 

7.      Rosin core solder.  (paste flux may be useful too).  Do not use acid core solder for this application.

Radio Gear and accessories to control the boat.

1.      A 2-channel radio is needed.  You can choose from several stick and wheel radios.  Wheel radios are certainly more popular these days.  Futaba and JR radios are common brands, but several others are out there.  You may want to consult the frequency list and get the channel that is available.  If possible, allow yourself the ability to change channels easily either by getting an adjustable radio or allowing easy access to your radio box to change crystals to a backup channel if there are conflicts at a race.

2.      A Deans antenna or other loaded antenna that is not too noticeable.  Otherwise, if you choose to use the longer antenna in a tube, color it black.  

Other useful tools and accesories to have on hand.

1.      A small screwdriver set.

2.      An Allen wrench set in metric and/or standard.

3.      Wire cutters, needle nose pliers and scissors.

4.      A drill and/or rotary tool with attachments.

5.      A small metal file and sandpaper.

6.      Light weight oil for the shaft etc.

Detail items that you may need.  Many of the detail items on your scale boat will be your own creations from things you find at home.

1.      A scale driver.  A trip to the toy department or your kid’s old toy box might do the trick.  A 1/10th driver action figure will be roughly 6 or 7 inches tall.  If you’ve got nothing to measure with at the store, a good sized driver will be about as tall as a dollar bill.  You can always obtain a helmet and life vest later on if needed. 

2.      Clear plastic can be used for windshields. 

3.      You can find small ultra lite airplane wheels at the hobby shop.  They make good steering wheels.  They should be about 1 ¼ or 1 ½ inch in diameter. 

4.      You can use the RC airplane cockpit instrument guages decal sheet kit found in hobby shops or you can make your own fairly easily.

5.      Lift hooks, deck cleats and other detail items can be made from scraps of plastic or wood that you already have.  Some small bottles of model paint come in handy for some of these smaller items.

For more information, visit www.classicthunder.org