Albacore continued

[Subculture]

The 550's will no doubt do their work easy, but are the 400's working hard?

To illustrate my point, a while aback I was donated a pair of 6 volt engel tanks. These have 540 size motors, which tend to be a little on the thirsty side. I took some readings, 12 watts free running, ramping up to about 24 watts when pushing against about 1 atmosphere, not too shabby, but probably not as efficient as they could be.

I replaced the motors with some 12 volt 385's. These gave the same speed as the 500's, yet ran at about 6 watts unloaded- so half the power used, but same level of performance. they also weigh considerably less, and take up less space.

Sometimes more isn't better.

[greenman407]

John, thanks for the feedback. As you can probably tell, with my many Hobbies, Im always trying to push the envelope. The duo prop Albacore has two huge propellers, that are being driven by two Anemic Speed 400 motors. By going to 550 motors, they will spin up higher for sure. With the counter-rotation of those very same props, its just begging for this Mod.
As far as the 3.5" cyl., Im going to do the same thing that I did with the Seaview, Increase the size of the Subdriver to 3.5" in the motor compartment only, leaving the rest at 3". If theres an increase in buoyancy it will be in the area of the motor compartment and a little bit of weight at that point will take care of that.
In my book, its better to have too much power, you can regulate that. But if you dont have enough...................then , well then .......you dont have enough.
The motors that we all get from Mike and Dave are just fine for your Average............Sane.........Submarine Drivers out there. I just want to see how much more I can get out of her. Shes Scary fast to be sure now, but after a while......your not scared anymore.

[Slats]

I have been able to locate some super motors that I want to try. They are 550 ,12 volt motors that are supposed to have 70 inch pounds stall torque. WOW! They have a 1/8" shaft , but its only .3 inches long. Out of the question for the older 3.5" motor bulkhead, with external gerboxes. But I think it will work for Daves newer style 3.5" motor bulkhead with internal Gearboxes. Some green sleeve retainer will hold the small drive gears on those short shafts, Im sure. Ill order them tomorrow and when they get here Ill test them. If I like them, Ill order more.

Just wondering why you'd want the extra grunt? Torque I find is everything with subs and the geared motors we run I find are not lacking in operating speed or efficiency (run time). Also are you considering a 3.5" SD for your Albacore? I am thinking if you up diameter beyond the 3" SD you might find that the SD is above the WL which means ballast issues and stability issues. The 3" and 2.5" SD are a better bet in MHO.

J

[greenman407]

I have been able to locate some super motors that I want to try. They are 550 ,12 volt motors that are supposed to have 70 inch pounds stall torque. WOW! They have a 1/8" shaft , but its only .3 inches long. Out of the question for the older 3.5" motor bulkhead, with external gerboxes. But I think it will work for Daves newer style 3.5" motor bulkhead with internal Gearboxes. Some green sleeve retainer will hold the small drive gears on those short shafts, Im sure. Ill order them tomorrow and when they get here Ill test them. If I like them, Ill order more.

[Slats]

Hey! Wheres mine?

Indeed....you're going to be on a big winner here David. Build buddy build.

[greenman407]

Hey! Wheres mine?

[Slats]

No pressure. Huh, John?!.....

To quote Marko Ramius: "When he reached the New World, Cortez burned his ships. As a result his men were well motivated."

I have the excellent GRP parts I purchased from you and the SD so I'll just be needing the upper and lower hull, WTC saddles for a 3" SD, indexing lips.

Don't feel pressure David - look at it as opportunity. Its going to be freakin awesome.

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

No pressure. Huh, John?!.....

[Slats]

I fully intend to build one of the Phase 1 Albacores that Dave is working on marketing for us. Next question is, can I obtain a sail for the phase 4 and retrofit it on this boat? That way Ill have a working sail rudder to "mix" with the radio rudder control as well as manually. If so Ill document the results here.

I have just given my ABS kit away (for beer money) at the Australian Sub Regatta. I'll be decking out my 3" SD soon in preparation for the GRP hull kit.
Get on with David.

J

[greenman407]

I fully intend to build one of the Phase 1 Albacores that Dave is working on marketing for us. Next question is, can I obtain a sail for the phase 4 and retrofit it on this boat? That way Ill have a working sail rudder to "mix" with the radio rudder control as well as manually. If so Ill document the results here.

[greenman407]

I used a long 6-32 screw and a blind nut to hold it together right behind the Subdriver. To feed the screw and guide it to the blind nut I used a length of alluminum square tube that I opened the end up with a mandrel like a funnel. No fishing around, it goes right in. NO FEAR NOW!

[greenman407]

And another thing! The Subtek Albcore is made of a very thin plastic. The Revell/Moebius Skipjack is much heavier. At any rate, if I run this sub into something hard, the possibilitys are very real that I could lose it. Because, if the upper hull comes lose and comes off then all the foam that helps this thing float will be gone with it and it will never come up. The only thing holding the top on is that little screw(4-40) and the forward lip. Therefore I did this:

[greenman407]

HA! Funny guy

[He Who Shall Not Be Named]

I once examined the face of Mark's transmitter, the throttle stick had interesting notations.

From neutral up (the ahead side): Ahead-Slow, Ahead, Ahead-Flank, Flank, Puree!

From neutral down (the astern side): Back-Slow, Back-Full, Back-Emergency, All-Back-Mother ****er!!!!

Honestly.

M

[crazygary]

"Nasty" looking sub!! I'm sure she commanded plenty of respect from any combatants!!!
Very sleek, and with that prop arrangement, pretty danged fast, too!!

crazygary