Really big RC

[mariner]

Just took delivery of my latest RC
(up till now I've been running a Genesis and an Enforcer gas boat)
and thought you would get a kick out of it.

It's a 2006 Marine Travelift Boat lift. Powered by a John Deere diesel engine and controlled by a Hetronics 14 channel wireless remote.

It has 54" tires and weighs in at 148,000 lbs. w/ a top speed of 5 mph. I can lift a vessel 80 ft. long weighing up to 165,000 lbs.
It's my most expensive toy to date, setting me back $272,000 (the remote option alone was $17,000).
Now if I can just work upgrade parts for my Gen into this ones operating budget :)

[RCRevolution]

so wait whats the rc the boat or the lift its on :confused:

[Grizzbob]

He's talking about the lift... :cool:

[mook]

nice, me like

unusual choice, but i like it.

[ducati777]

Hehehe I've taken a ride up on one of those bout 3 times now. Never seen a wireless one though, does it look like rc technology? IE comparable frequency range?

[Brian23]

that would be nice if that big boat was rc 2 lol

[rocknbil]

Looks like you could use a little more toe-in, and I suggest 6000 weight oil up front, 10000 in rear, be sure to use RPM ball links, those pipes on the track are merciless.



:D

[suckfish]

man I sure could have used one of those at the track today..

[Holeshot101]

You need thicker center diff silicoln. Think about 1,000,000 weight, because your front tires are ballooning on the straight. :D

[Farwar]

Needs a flame job. :D

[nitro.monster]

what you realy need is a failsafe otherwise you kill yourself or others

[mook]

why go for the remote option?

[socalBash]

Imagine a runaway with one of those babies!!!

[mariner]

The technology is similar to our toys, just larger scale. Digital proportional controls. Don't know what frequency it operates on but i'll call and ask the manufacturer. I opted for the remote function both for safety and increased productivity. The remote allows the operator to be clear of the machine in the event of a catostrophic failure (sling or cable parts, operator drives machine off pier into water) and gives the operator the ability to view the lift from any position around the machine whereas before he was restricted to operating from the cab only. I like the idea of a flame job, I had my guy's paint my last one purple just to be different (Dupont's paint chart said deep purple but we ended up w/ Barney . lol

[Ibjamn552]

Imagine a runaway with one of those babies!!!

:eek: @ 5 mph!!! :rolleyes: jk.....

what brushless set ups can u hop that up with? Lipo's?
we can figure something out to go faster....just 20% will do ......gotta hit the 6 mph mark :D

[mook]

nice. dont mean to be rude, but $272,000 aint chump change. Whats the profit margin on that kind of outlay?

[ducati777]

Its not profit margin you're lookin for, its return on investment. But see its not just the lift, the life allows the boats to hit dry dock. At that point you can do fiberglass/metal work, bottom resurfacing, changing out any plugs below water etc... I'm sure the lift commands a nice fee, but its not just that you gotta look at. Its like asking what the return is on a pizza guy's car. It ain't the car, its the pizzas he can deliver with it.

[tec_41]

Do you plan on racing it in the future? If so, what class? I'd go for 1/10 offroad.

[Adanmtxt1]

SOOooo.... what's the turning radius on that thing? That's just awesome, something completely different from typical RC's. How big is the engine to be able to drive it at 5mph?

[mariner]

ducatti's right, haul / block / launch is $10.00 per ft of length. Average boat is 40 ft. and we average 10 boats per day. But the real money is in the work we perform while in drydock, things that can only be done out of the water or are beyond the scope of the owner. As far as racing I was thinking on road , this baby can pivot on either rear wheel and change direction in it's own length. Might have to shave some weight though, and if I could just get hold of a used gas turbine engine :D