Good Morning Busted Knuckles. You wont be disaapointed with the ZippKits 650 outrunner. I have 4, 3 in boats, and they all perform wonderfully. My Taucher Wulf 6 is 32 inches long and weighs between 15-16 pounds ballasted. I use a 2 cell lipo and a HobbyWing 30 amp esc, and shes been rock solid.
Cash

Heres a vid of her running

Hi i would check on this forum for experience in and opinions on RC these days. I would not know what to choose either but I believe some are much better than others.

I know when I first used brushless motors i had problems setting up. A well known one refused to accept the cheap 2 channel sets but worked if set up from an FM set first.

I only have 2 boats with brushless motors and have reverted to brushed motors now
Roy.

I'll likely buy a cheap rig from amazon. I'm having a hard time finding a good value elsewhere.

Hi again B..K, I expect you will be buying 2.4G radio. I have never moved away from 27 and 40 Mhtz as I now have nearly 2 dozen radio Tx's and even more rx's.
When every one went to 2.4 RC the previous RC was going very cheaply. I have some very complex computer Tx's from the 35Mhtz (flying) people.

I just pop in a pair of 40Mhtz crystals and I am ready to go, although the double decoded rx's do not work . I have enough rx's to use instead. It seems that almost all the 35 Mhtz imported radio sets are all changed from 35 Mhtz sets to 40 Mhtz anyway!
The brushed motors are getting to be in a similar plight.
I have been using my cheap esc's for 6 or7 years now, (I used to design my own), I have been impressed with the units, all of which work and none have failed.

I have also been starting to use 9 gram servos for operating the rudder. However I think they are designed to be used with 2.4 Ghtz. As soon as a suppressed brushed motor is turned on they do not work, turn the motor off and they work fine.
regards
Roy

Hi I expected something like that, I have a niece and others who live on and near Vancouver Island.

I am sure you took the right decision etc. Do you have a convenient lake to sail on? I hear there are so many in Canada, I have never been although my wife has.
Lakes here seem to have been claimed by the fishing fraternity and the rest are municipally owned, down south they are not terribly cooperative either.
kind regards
Roy

Well, I live in the middle of nowhere, with few options other than the internet. While I do sometimes by cheap chinese, I find that the descriptions of product often vague (if there is one), and build quality is often VERY poor. Long shipping times don't help either. So I prefer to find the best quality value I can.

Hi I think I must be a complete cheap skate!

For a similar boat I would buy a 5 pole 550 type brushed motor. About $15 max. Pitman motors are great but expensive, I have 3 or 4 but these were harvested from American computer tape decks before they were scrapped. Quality electric motors last forever!

I currently use incredibly cheap esc's from China, my last purchase cost £14 (24$) including tax and postage for 5 (five) esc's. So $5 for a speed controller.

Quoted as 10 amps which I do not trust so allow for half that and maximum voltage 8.4 volts, so would allow for 35-40 Watts power and they do not even get warm.

I know there are cries of supporting model shops but I only ever bought 2nd. hand motors from them and other sources were garden sales etc and now on-line.

Perhaps mine is a different view point, but in my early adult and married days I needed to justify the spend on my hobby against family needs. It is different now but the old habit stays embedded in me.

I have over 40 model boats and yachts at home more being built. My last and biggest ever purchase was for £150 for a complete boat kit but 2nd, hand which I have checked over and it is £200+ from model shops if you can find one that is.

Sorry it has gone a bit off thread, however it is good that you have found decent retailers, so well done for that. I think they are the ones that should survive.

My eyes were opened in the UK some 50+ years ago when I wanted some stanchions for a boat I was building. I went to Basset-lowke then in Holborn, London.
They were prepared to sell them to me at £1 each I needed 26!

On just checking my laptop £1 then is worth £27 now. Similar stanchions are still less than a pound even now!

I went off to evening classes and did basic engineering and lathe work! Lesson learned.

Regards
Roy

Thanks guys. Bought the motor, ESC, mount, and connectors for $135CDN. Can't beat that.
All I need now is a simple 4 channel R/C rig. My preference is for a 2-stick rig rather than the car type.
And I'll take recommendations for that too!😎

I bought four Zippkits Springer tug kits from them. They are a reliable company with great service. (They are also located here in Florida.) As they laser etch plywood I asked them if they had any scrap sheets, they did, and I bought a package from them at a decent price.

Lew
Florida, USA✪

Thank you both for the replies! Much appreciated.
I had not heard of Zippkits. And when I went to the site the first thing that pops up is a brushless motor for tugs. AND they indicate the matching esc. Could not be easier.
Given the price, I can hardly do better.
Having said that, I have never tried a brushless motor, so this will be an experience.
I have two 6v nimh which I'll use in series.
I'd also mention that it has been about 5 years since I did a ship, and the technology seems to have changed rather dramatically in that time....

Hi bustedknuckles, I agree with Roy. That said brushless motors are used in Rock Crawler land models so I suggest you look for a low rev version in a supplier who sells such models. Perhaps one of our Canadian friens will suggest some suitable outlets
dave976

Hi I am sure the advice you have is good, but, you do not need a powerful motor in a hull that size and displacement.

15 - 20 watts will be more than adequate, as you probably know brushless motors are the next step up with powerful electric motors.
Am I right in thinking this is a single prop model?

When using a large propeller and low revs I suggest 2000 rpm at most will have your tug planing. I find it is the slow end of electric motors that your sort of boat needs.

I have been a bit disappointed with low speed performance of brushless motors and for me I stick to brushed motors.
The inexpensive choices I make are for 24 volt motors running at 7.2 volt NiMh batteries driving a large prop direct, very economical as well in power.

I have a similar tug (Bugsier 3) in the build and will be fitting a geared Marx Decaperm. A friend has a Bugsier 3 and has a 30 watt motor in it and she gets on the plane, in reverse!! Just too much power.

Best of luck and look forward to seeing photos.
Roy

Go to zippkits.com

Their brushless tug motor is 650KV. They also sell a ESC engineered for that motor in tugboat service.

I am currently using one in a single-engine Springer tug with two 6v SLA batteries in series. It weighs more than 3kg but it's in the SUV right now, ready for Wednesday morning sailing session so I can't readily weigh it for you right now.