lots of new hammers out there

[BoatDoc]

since a lot of guys are asking about nitro hammer mods, i figured i'd start a thread with a link back to a discussion in april about my hammer. there are pictures and descriptions of the changes i made. the only thing that really didn't get mentioned was the home-made radio box. you can see it in the pics.

http://www.radiocontrolzone.com/forums/showthread.php?t=164960

warning...i'm a little on the crazy side when it comes to experimentation!!! but then again, my boat's pretty quick :D

[ejp]

I like your mods. what kind of prop are you running and how much difference did it make?

[water dog]

I think you posted that the wet exhaust upped your power .How is that?.

[BoatDoc]

the pipe itself increased power. adding the water just made it run a bit cooler. ejp---i think in those pictures there is a y534 prop on the boat. but it's been cut down. i got it to work, but it made the boat really unstable, and a stock motor won't turn it. i had that motor pretty tweaked and running on 30% just to turn that prop. my best results so far are with the stock prop and the x427. still trying to find a good one though.

[water dog]

Thanks for your answer.

[ejp]

o.k. Thanks

[ejp]

How big are your trim tabs? Do they really need to be that big or could I cut mine down a little smaller and still have ride pads?

[BoatDoc]

he he he...he noticed the ride pads :D lots of folks have asked about 'em but i dont' know if anyone else has tried 'em yet. fact #1: the stock tabs are not big enough if you have ride pads. fact #2: mine are big enough :D . i made them that big just to be sure. i don't know if smaller one's will work. they probably would, though. if you want to try the pads, mount them a little farther out then mine. mine are 1 in from the keel. i think that 1 1/4 would be better, or maybe 1 1/2". they definetely changed the whole character of the boat. it also runs high enough that i started running topless. the boat can be a handful to drive, but on smooth water it's pretty good.

[ejp]

I am going to put ride pads on my nitro hammer tommorow. I made new trim tabs and turn fins today. I'll let you all know what I think about my ride pads. Hey Boatdoc How are your ride pads held on the bottom of the boat?

[Watercadet]

Nice lookin' tabs man! I thought they were factory!
Adam

[BoatDoc]

the pads are epoxied to the hull. make sure you've got plenty of clamps around. and make sure they go on STRAIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i used large c-clamps to hold them onto the boat. there may be a better way, but i've got a pretty limited tool selection right now.

[ejp]

If you had to some day could you get them off or are they stuck on the hull forever?

[porschefan911]

of course u can get them off but the question is can u get them off without damaging the hull...then answer is no..unless some guy invents so magic powder that will disolve the epoxy :cool: ...hmm that gives me an idea :D

[BoatDoc]

yeah...they're kinda stuck.

[ejp]

O.k. wise guy, what can I use to hold them on but still get them off? I am going to try clear silicone but I don't know if it will hold.

[Watercadet]

I am thinking that silione is not thin enough to let it sit flush. Tacking it with CA would work.
Adam

[scorpien boats]

yeah cause they have ca glue debonder ;)

[ejp]

Here is a pic of my progress. It was sure a hand full to clamp. Hope they work!!! :confused:

[BoatDoc]

another brave soul! trust me, they'll work. if they didn't, i wouldn't go on about 'em all the time. what did you use to make them from?

[ejp]

I don't really want to say but I guess I will. The are made from paint stir sticks. I used the bench grinder to make the ramp on them. Then I painted them black. If I like them I will take them back off and epoxy them on for good.

[ejp]

got one done and am working on the other one. here is another pic. I hope I can go try them out tonight. Its been raining so I haven't for a week. :mad:

[ejp]

Now there is two hammers with ride pads that we know of. Here is a pic of my finish product. Where did you hear about ride pads and what made you try them?

[wakeracer]

Sorry guys, but i have a silly "newbie" question. What are the purpose of ride pads? And how fast does the Hammer really go?

[ejp]

Ride pads let the boat ride hight out of the water which makes less drag and more speed. I don't know how fast my hammer goes because it is barely broke in.

[BoatDoc]

ejp-i forget where i got the idea from. i think it came after reading about putting steps onto an electric cat. it's cool that someone else is trying the idea out. let me know what you think. i have a feeling you're going to like them.

[ejp]

Hey this is a little off subject but could I have the water from my head exit at the stinger? Thats the only place you can really do it with the stock pipe. Out of money right now or I would get a macs pipe. They are only 35 bucks including shipping.

[BoatDoc]

i really wouldn't worry about the wet exhaust. running the water to the stinger wouldn't really do anything anyway. i set up my wet exhaust purely out of curiosity. there isn't really any gains to be had by doing it. it sounds cool and cools the pipe. by placing it in the stinger all you're doing is adding a lot of plumbing to the boat for no reason. if you replace the pipe, and still want the wet exhaust, go for it. i would leave the stock pipe alone, because the only way to improve it is to replace it! for now, i'd say get to used to driving the boat. when the time comes to get a new pipe, you're going to see some pretty big gains as the stock pipe is worthless.

[ejp]

O.k. I figured it wouldn't help at all but I just wanted the sound that everyone was talking about.

[kevin28]

The videos of this little boat are pretty impressive. But has anybody upgraded to a surface drive with a flex cable. Those standard drives are very inefficient. Much of the thrust is wasted, or directed in the wrong direction.
also, the drag/size of that fiberglass strut under the hull.
I'd like to hear from someone who has tried it.
I have a ride pad in my challanger, but the gas boats set up ride pads (illegal for many races) like the full size bass boats. I have about six to eight inches of the back Vee flattened out. when on plane, this is what touches the water, an area on only a few square inches, on a hull thats over 40 inches long. This creates very little drag, and faster speeds.
Also, run a little sand paper under that hull. One trick is to never wax the bottom of the hull. by using fine sandpaper (not 80 grit! more like 600 grit) the boat will create tiny bubbles (air) under the hull, that help to break surface tention. air has less resistance than water, the more hull you get out of the water, the better.
I promised I would never go back to nitro, but i think I'll have to give this little boat a chance.
good luck guys
Keep on boatin'
-Kevin

[BoatDoc]

i'm actually working on a surface drive conversion right now. it's slow going as my boat funds have been cut. too much other stuff to pay for right now. i'm thinking that in sept. i can get the other parts that i'll need to finish. if someone else does it before i get mine done, i'd sure like to hear about it. i'm sure that with a surface drive and the motor i've got (dynamite .15) it's going to be a screamer. the only problem is the fact that the way i mounted the ride pads makes my boat illegal for competition. but i don't race anyway.

[Micho523]

How could you mount the ride pads so that they would be competition legal? This would also classify it as a hydro, wouldnt it?

[ejp]

Hey boatdoc where are you getting you surface drive parts?

[BoatDoc]

micho- you're right, it qualifies as a hydro now. but too slow for that class. that's one reason i recommend to others to mount the pads farther out. you can have them, but they can't be below the keel line. if they are above the keel line, then the boat still qualifies as a mono. ejp---i'm probably going to order the parts i need from fine design. i need a motor coupler, drive shaft and tube, and a strut. i'm going to make the rest of the parts. i did see a nice set up at climate models too, it's the offshore hardware kit.

[water dog]

The videos of this little boat are pretty impressive. But has anybody upgraded to a surface drive with a flex cable. Those standard drives are very inefficient. Much of the thrust is wasted, or directed in the wrong direction.
also, the drag/size of that fiberglass strut under the hull.
I'd like to hear from someone who has tried it.
I have a ride pad in my challanger, but the gas boats set up ride pads (illegal for many races) like the full size bass boats. I have about six to eight inches of the back Vee flattened out. when on plane, this is what touches the water, an area on only a few square inches, on a hull thats over 40 inches long. This creates very little drag, and faster speeds.
Also, run a little sand paper under that hull. One trick is to never wax the bottom of the hull. by using fine sandpaper (not 80 grit! more like 600 grit) the boat will create tiny bubbles (air) under the hull, that help to break surface tention. air has less resistance than water, the more hull you get out of the water, the better.
I promised I would never go back to nitro, but i think I'll have to give this little boat a chance.
good luck guys
Keep on boatin'
-KevinWow ! .i never knew that waxing the hull was not a great thing .I guess i will stop doing it.

[ejp]

I didn't realize wax was bad for the hull. I have a long time to learn all the tricks though cause I am only 14.

[BoatDoc]

i guess i'll quit waxing too. i always thought that the wax broke up the surface tension of the water along the hull. my nitro hammer is back on the back burner again!!! it seems that i've sheared yet another drive cable on my prather vee. and it was running sooooooo fast. i've owned that prather for about 8 or 9 years and i've never seen it so quick...and then...i break the cable. oh well, i guess i gotta wait to order a new one. and then there's the esc that i need for the ep hydro. so yup, the hammer is pushed back even more.

[ejp]

I ran my boat over at the neighbors pond today because he is gone for the summer. The ride pads are great!!!!!! With the bigger trim tabs the boat still handles like stock. I'm guessing my boat does about 25mph. I love my hammer and just can't wait to run it again. BoatDoc thanks for the tip on the ride pads, they are really great.

[BoatDoc]

glad to hear that one of my ideas worked well for someone else. a lot of people have asked me about the work i've done on hammer's, but you're the first one to try my ride pad idea. nice work. forgot to ask...did you make the tabs and fins? they looked really good. not as BIG as mine but still good :D

[ejp]

Yes I made the tabs and fins while my parents were at work because they think the boat ran fine without hop ups.

[Watercadet]

I did the surface drive conversion on my Nitro Fury which is very similar to the N. Hammer in size and hull shape. It is a lot faster than it was with the sub surface. The first run I did was with a solid shaft that was angled at about -2 degres. It rode very wet but was tons faster and the motor was able to breathe finaly. Then I did a whole flex shaft conversion (I got my cuplers and stuff from Chris Fine at Fine Design, thanks Chris!) Wow what a difference! I was able to raise the prop and turn a X437/3. It is fast to the point of blow off at more than 1/4 throttle. Good thing?? If your motto is "There is no such thing as too fast," cool. But I abandoned the project and did the flex conversion on my Bud with much more rewarding results. Go to the surface piercing and enjoy the building :)
Adam

[ejp]

Hey boatdoc have you tryed running w/o tabs. I did and it really made a difference. The boat turns quicker and mine also got up on plain higher. I also want to know if I could see a pic of your radio box. The factory one sucks. leave the turn fins on though because you really need those.

[bertsbackyard]

were dos one get the rid pads , what are thay made of , and what glue did you use ?? can one make them , and if so what out of??

i look,t at you pics of your boat , and sor you still have a plastic prop on it ,,

if you put a size 30 metal prop on it it ust make the bout so much fast, PS any help you can give me on the rid pads and what thay do would be good , im a new be to nitro hamer boats thank s

[bertsbackyard]

love my N hammer, it flys, and all i did was replace the plastic prop for a size 30 metal one , every one that watches the boat , wants one now lol
and yes no wax, i go out boating with a pro , hes been in it for 39 years he mm about 68 or so , a long time
and a good sors of info , but hes in to the 2 stroke boats , iv getting him to make he one, , so lucky only $850 the lot, but iv got to help him at nights, you should see his sheds, oww hes got the lot, moulds laths pressess and the list gos on. i brock my shaft on my hammer the other day , and i got him to make me 2 ,cos parts here in SA are hard to find. i was luck to meat him i think , PS by the way i stil love my hammer, and getting a nother in 2 weeks , cant help my self lol but yes for any one wanting to get in to nitro boats the hammer is the one . from 1 to 10 i give it a 9 for a good efort