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Getting "the most" out of your hydro.
By: Chris Harris of Hammer Head Marine
THESE ARE SOME TECH TIPS ON HOW TO SQUEEZE THE
MOST OUT OF YOUR HYDRO NO MATTER WHAT TYPE OF HULL OR HOW MANY CELLS THESE SUGGESTIONS CAN
HELP MAXIMIZE THE PERFORMANCE ON YOUR BOAT.
"THE HULL"
The first rule for a high performance electric
boat is it needs to be light, light, light. Some people say I'm a little fanatical
about this point. However we are dealing with a relatively small amount of
horsepower and reducing weight is one of the best ways to compensate for this. Here
are some weight guidelines for hydros.
6 to 8 cell hulls need to weigh 5 to 8
.oz's. For outriggers and 1/16 scale hydros 10 to 13 .oz's. 12
cell hydro hulls should weigh 12 to 14 .oz's for outriggers.
"HARDWARE"
Maximizing your hardware is another key to
performance gains. First of all there's that weight thing again. Keeping you
running gear as light as possible will help keep that overall weight of the boat down.
After all what good would an ultra light hull be with heave over built hardware??
I like using aluminum where ever possible but stainless steel with a little work
can be made light.
Next is making sure everything that touches water
is sharp and I don't mean kind of sharp I mean REALLY SHARP! drag is another big
enemy of low horsepower so the more drag you eliminate the faster your going to go.
The handling of you boat can also be greatly affected by this detail. The turn fin
on hydros should always be sharpened on the right side only. This forces the water
to the right side of the fin and helps counter the torque of the prop so the boat will
track straight. If you have to give the boat a left rudder input to go
straight this is a robbing a huge amount of speed.
"TUNING FOR MAX PERFORMANCE"
A hydro that is setup to run on an oval course
would have the dame running attitude all the way around the course. By this I mean
if your boat is ballistic down the straightaway but bogs down in the turns the boat is
doing something entirely different in the turns that it's doing in the straights.
The way to correct this problem is by angling the rudder back. The rudder when
turned will act as a ramp and keep the transom up. This in turn will keep the RPM's
of the motor up and it should be flying through the turns. Some experimenting will
be needed to achieve the proper angle. Angle the rudder back a little at a time
until your satisfied with the speed at which the boat is turning.
I also believe in polishing any hardware that
touches the water including the prop. This makes a smooth surface for the water to
flow over which reduces drag. I also polish my flex cable and stub shaft to help
keep the friction in my drive train as low as possible.
Vibration is another rober of speed. Props
should be balanced very carefully so the entire drive operates smoothly. Any noise
you hear coming from the drive is the product of vibration which causes friction in turn
robbing power.
I hope these tips help with your success in the
hydro classes. Stay tuned for my next article where I'll talk about setting up your
fast electric for different water conditions. And remember "Light, Sharp, &
Shiny = Fast"
Chris Harris ( Hammer Head Marine)
This Article was written by Chris Harris Exclusively for Rum Runner
Racing. Use of this article is prohibited without written permission from Rum Runner
Racing.
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