If I want my Club 500 racing model boat to run well, it seems that I need to pay attention and not rush the construction. We I doing this a few years ago I could have enlisted the help of a colleague, one Richard Newey who could have asked his son Adrian for some advice. As it is I have to work this stuff out myself.Anyway, at my multi-million dollar research facility I tried the battery tray in the boat. There seemed to be an inordinate amount of clearance above the prop shaft. Since the battery is the heaviest component this would raise the centre of gravity and make the vessel less stable than it needs to be.
You could argue that a lack of stability is a good this as it makes the boat agile.
The Eurofighter is a hopeless lump of metal without a bucket load of computers as it is very unstable but that aids it's dogfighting abilities. I don't think I want an unstable boat though. In my experience, smoothness makes the difference between winning and losing races. Overall speed matters but if you keep your turns tidy then you won't do badly. Tortoise and Hare etc.Anyway, I lopped about 12mm off the bottom of the legs and stuck it in the hull so the bottom just clears the shaft. Running some epoxy around the bottom has fixed it firmly. Let's hope it makes a difference.
Attention to detail is everything, I'm sure in this case it will pay dividends !
ReplyDeleteYou appear to be at a similar point in your build as my Dad is with his, but I'm guessing this will have a higher top speed than his narrow boat :) You may find it of interest @ www.petesboats.blogspot.com
I hope the 500 will be a bit quicker than a barge !
ReplyDeleteAnd yoes, both your Dad's blog and your own are excellent. I've been a follower on both for some time.