Brushless motor

Fast boats used to mean an IC motor with all the attendant noise and pollution. Then we moved to electric power but the motors were still pretty chunky. Now we have brushless motors is pretty simple - rather than have a commutator whirling around with pickups (brushes) bearing on it, switching on and off of the poles is handled by a small computer in the speed controller.

To be honest, it all seems like magic to me. I see boats at the club powered by teeny tiny motors that generate enough power to hurl the model around the lake. People have tried to explain the power classifications to me, something to do with astronomical rotation rates I believe, but the whole thing is still a bit of a mystery.

Anyway, the first impressions of my motor are incredible. The thing arrives packed in a padded box rather than (if you are lucky) a plastic bag. Price wasn't too scary either from Component Shop. 

Originating in the model aircraft world, fitting one of these is "interesting" as the body rotates. You have to provide a plate for the stationary end to be fixed to. Easy in a 'plane but harder in a boat. I cut a piece of plastic to fit in one and screwed the unit to this. That's a bit harder to do than say but everything seems to line up at the moment.