This is VOYAGER my first RC sailboat so its not the best.
I don’t have a scale but it all ready sits on the water line and I don’t have the receiver or battery in it yet.
I currently had no hobbies so I started to build a footy razor.
Here are some pics plz tell me what you think ty.
Sorry I forgot the older pics here they are.
Here are some pics of VOYAGER in my measurement box
Here are some pics and a video I took of voyager in the water. It already sits at the bottom of the transom so its a bit heavy but its not going to be a racer so who cares.
//youtu.be/OIyZV21rlXk
i ordered the tx/rx system it should be here in 3 to 4 days
Welcome to ‘the hobby’!
Looks good. Interesting to see a winch in a footy.
The biggest difference in weight can be made in the batteries.
Consider a small cell phone battery.
How would i wire that ?
thank you
all the cell phone batteries i could find were 3.6 or 3.7 volts my setup takes 4.8 to 6.0 volts
Most AM and FM receivers and servos will run well on 3.6volts.
The light weight aircraft guys used to run on 3 cell nicads for years.
A fully charged LiPo or LiIon cell is over 4 volts and discharges down to about 3volts before it needs to be shut off to prevent damage.
I suggested a small cell phone battery because they are readily available, as to are the chargers, cheap (surplus), and have a built in protection circuit to shut them down before fully discharged.
On a small footy with a balanced rig in moderate conditions, you should budget on 100mAHr drain, so a small battery should last most of the day.
They do not appreciably self-discharge, have no memory effect on recharge, and are incredibly light.
The one I have in my DLG glider weighs 3.6gm and will power the FM receiver and two analogue servos for an hour and a half!
The LiIon in my footy with a McRig I got from a surplus electronics store for $1 and is 19gms (heavy) metal encapsulated, delivers 450mAHr. It has no protection circuitry so I just have to remember to charge it every second time I go sailing and its ok. They are supposed to have a shelf life, so be conservative with older stock.
The lower voltage may slow the servos slightly and give a little less torque, so size the sail servo accordingly. A McRig does not need much anyway. The lower voltage also increases the battery time because of lower current draw too. Unlikely to be any range problems from the receiver.
Attached is a photo of the footy power wiring. The loom is attached to a socket for the receiver scrounged from a common old computer lead, and a switch jack (switched power socket) sourced from an electronics supplies outlet and takes a common charger power plug. The cell is charged and monitored through this plug. Monitoring of the cell voltage is done with a 50 ohm resistor loaded volt meter that mimics a loaded cell. This may be prudent if using a small ‘racing’ pack on a windy day. The circuit is isolated by inserting the plug. A short rubber plug or tape covers the socket when sailing. When making one you may need a multi meter to verify the function of the socket lands - one side of the switch goes to the charger circuit and the other to the receiver. They are available ready wired from DLG glider outlets eg, http://olgol.com/TabooGT/form.html.
If your system by some quirk requires more voltage, then this cheap circuit will boost to 5volts: http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=7884&Product_Name=Voltage_Booster_for_BEC
If you run an old (heavy!) AM receiver, many of these have a BEC circuit which will allow you to run 2 LiPo batteries in series (2S pack), the circuit will reduce the voltage to 5v for the receiver and servos by wasting it as heat!
I have a nicad double/triple A battery charger that charges four at a time that’s what I was planing to charge it with and run it off four double A batteries.
this boat is not going to be a racer mainly because it is my first and I did not do very well but also because I live in California U.S.A. and there are no rc sailing groups near me.
This is a nice voltage level and amperage with long life,fast charging and very compact.I use it in my I-54 sailboat for the receiver/sevo/winch pack.
Regards,
John
I heard that footies were limited to double A batteries is this true?
Nice! Batteries keep getting better.
Might be overkill in a Footy!
The battery restrictions were dropped.
Originally intended to keep things simple, and above all cheap.
No longer applies as Lithium based batteries are now very cheap.
I have a box of very old, unused 500mAhr NiCad button cells so I have used them in a fun footy just for something to do with them.
Use what you have. But if you are buying something, go with the most logical solution.
Four rechargeable AA cells, a holder and a switch harness are going to be over 125gms - that’s more than most Footys weigh, sans gear and bulb! Battery choice is the easiest way to rescue a heavy build.
my tx/rx system arrived today but it did not come with instructions.
can anyone tell my what to do with the bind plug.
thank you.
i just found out that for 2 dollars more i could have got the computer software and cable
how do i set it up?
it works!
but only at short range, very short range 5 feet.
please help
ok i have worked out the range issue by restarting the system a few more times then i could count.
its ready to sail.
some more pics i just found the keel pics its on half travel how can i switch it to full travel
the mast broke 
this pic shows were it broke.