MRP Bud Light |
First written: November 11th, 1997 | Updated: January 6th, 2009 |
 |
This is the MRP Bud Light. 24" ABS hull, electric outboard (flex shaft) 12 cell (original). My version has an updated set of decals (new Bud Light logo) It looks good doesn’t it?
|
 |
First run May 1st 97 and it’s really fun! The speed is incredible and the handling excellent. It gets on plane in about 1 meter and runs very fast. Check the review and read about all the headaches I had with it. |
 |
Edwin Cintron (WEBDESIGNERS@PRTC.NET) sent me this beautiful version of the MRP Bud Light Tunnel. It is a replica of a F1 tunnel hull that exists and races in the American Championship. |
 |
The speed controller Tekin 432M 4 to 32 Cells, water cooled and able to handle twin 05 motors. One of the best Marine ESC’s around. |
Running
Day 1 |
|||
| I’m eager to run this beauty. I don’t have experience with boats, but how hard can it be? Harder than I thought! The boat is fast and the water is a little rough. The turns have to be made with some care, or the boat makes wild moves on the end of the turns. Some adjustments are needed. Propeller depth, outboard angle etc. It was a good experience after all. |
|||
Day 2 |
|||
Not so good. The motor wires got too hot and the top of the motor had some minor damage. I’ve read about fast electrics getting hot, but this is ridiculous. The boat just stops in the middle of the lake – batteries exhausted? – No, the solder of the motor wires and of the capacitor on the brushes melts. This motor reached at least 300º Celsius. On the lake I don’t have a soldering iron… Returning home  |
|||
Day 3 |
|||
| Motor rebuilt, everything checked and rechecked, and here we go. After 1 minute the boat starts to behave erratically. Refuses to stop. A closer inspection reveals an unsoldered wire on the speed controller. Again no iron . Let’s go home and repair it. Definitely I’m going to install water cooling because I want to run the boat with the engine cowling. This will include a Prestwich Model Centre Cooling coil (aluminum) and a couple of brass tubes soldered to the brush housings. The pickup tube is brass and mounted just behind the propeller (like the K&B outboards). The speed controller, isn’t too precise and sometimes the boat refuses to stop!!!. Some adjustments were made to the SC and now it is acceptable. This is showing some weaknesses on the various components. |
|||
Day 4 |
|||
 A couple of brass tubes were soldered to the brush housings and a pickup tube installed just behind the prop. No coil yet, but the results are promising.This boat has clearance for a 32 mm propeller (Octura X432) and I’m running it with a X430.The speed is very good, better than the original propeller (plastic Octura X431?, yes that’s what the propeller has written on).
|
|||
| First run with brush cooling. The motor handles perfectly the entire run with a normal temperature at the end of the run. The cooling coil will add even more cooling capacity to the system. |
|||
Day 5 |
|||
| The motor is gone! RIP After the end of the first run the motor started to smoke. Thick white smoke. The switch unit stuck and the top of the motor melted. The motor stalled, the wires got to hot and so on. Total destruction. I wonder what would have happened if this was an inboard? Total catastrophe? |
|||
Day 6 |
|||
| First run with the Trinity Quartz 19T and Tekin 432. The first run finished early due to another endbell melt down. I’m starting to get really fed up with this thing. This time I didn’t install cooling on the brushes and it seems that’s the only cooling that matters. The motor was rebuildable but now I don’t trust it anymore. I will not know if the next fail (because there will be a next fail) is due to the damage inflicted on the first run or due to the excessive voltage on the motor. Back to testing again. I’m starting to wonder if I should install a reliable motor like an Astro 05. I’ll call this boat the "Flying Money"… |
|||
June 97 |
|||
I’ve lost confidence on the Trinity Quartz. The top ball bearing shifted a little bit causing the brushes to stay in contact with the same pole on the commutator. And you know what this means – short circuits all the time. The run time of the batteries dropped drastically to 1 minute… and their temperature at the end of a run is way too much.
A new motor was installed – Trinity Speed Gems Diamond 12 turn double. I’m running it with 6 or 7 cells and now I think I’ve found the right setup. Now it’s fun! I’ve a lot of packs to use and the fun is even greater. |
|||
The batteries |
|||
| I had a couple of problems with this boat. This experience made me a more knowledgeable modeler about electrics. Read all about it. | |||
The complete cooling system. It consists of two pickup tubes (one over the prop and other on the left side of the transom), a cooling coil and two brass tubes soldered to the brush housing. The water flows with a high rate on both tubes (4mm inner diameter).
Present config.
| Motor | Trinity SpeedGems Diamond, 12 Turn Double |
| Speed Control | Tekin 432-M ESC |
| Propeller | Octura X430, X432 |
| Receiver | Futaba RF115 |
| Steering | Futaba S3001 |
| Radio pack | Futaba 1000 mAh |
| Motor pack | Duratrax 1500 mAh 6/7 cell or Sanyo 1700 mAh 6/7 cell |
Review
| The construction is easy. The hull and deck comes pre assembled, and I only had to check for flaws on the glue. Some gaps were found and filled with thick CA. | |
| A ply plate was added to the interior of the hull, were the motor mount is fixed. Instead of using the self tapping screws provided I’ve used allen screws with nylon lock nuts on the inside. | |
| The excess ABS on the hull cowling, engine cowling and canopy was cut with a cutting disc and a Minicraft drill. Everything was trimmed with sand paper. No problems here. | |
| Mounting the drive system and motor is not a problem. Very easy installation. A lubricant is included for the flex shaft. | |
| The decals were applied with the described method (soapy water), and I the result is outstanding. | |
| Finally, the radio box. The instructions are not very clear in this point. The text is OK, but the pictures are small and unclear. Only the back of the servos has support on the box, so I had to glue a wood stick for the front of the servos. The speed controller is for installation on a standard servo, but I used a micro servo. I had the rethink the method of installation, lowering the servo in the box, so that the control is pressed against the side of the box. |
|
I like |
|
| The building was made in a full day. Only the motor cover and canopy were painted. The hull is perfectly assembled with minor details to adjust. Excellent decals. | |
| The handling of the boat is perfect. Tracks straight, and when on plane the speed is high. The turns are tunnel style – sliding with no inclination on the hull. A turning fin is a must and the kit comes with an included aluminum turning fin. | |
I don’t like |
|
| I just don’t like the speed controller. It has three positions – stopped, fast and very fast. Almost no control. I’ll put an Tekin 432-M. | |
| The radio compartment is just an ABS box without the support for the front of the servos. A spruce stick was glued to the inside of the box for supporting the servos. | |
Tips
By: Andy Hartz
Date: 11.13.97
Tip: Tired of taking screws out to take the cowl off of your MRP Bud Light Tunnel Hull? A 3" Piece of 1/8" dia K&S brass tubing, cross drilled with holes big enough for R/C Car body clips, can be used to remedy the situation. Simply drill out the existing holes in the cowl and transom to fit the tubing, then epoxy the tubing in place, leaving the holes exposed. This will give you access to your batteries in seconds, without having to worry about losing screws in the beach sand.
| Did you like this article? | |
Rating: 0.0/5 |
|
No related posts.
