michaelbarnes

I have plans for a predator and was wondering if a .18 engine would fit this boat?

The plans do state electric and the spacing of the top openings on the predator do look different then the ff18.

Anyone have plans for the ff18 they can send me?

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

Tom Moorehouse sells the plans in order to make a few bucks off his hard work in developing the FF .18 and his other plans so I don't think that anyone is going to up and give away theirs.

michaelbarnes

thats alright.

Does anyone know if the Predator plans would work with a .18 engine?

TCHedOff

Michael, it sounds like you dont know what size engine the plans you have call for??? If not, do the plans tell what the overall length of the boat will be when complete or can you figure it out? That should give some idea of what engine it was designed for.

I doubt they were intended for a .18 - most plans are for more mainstream engine sizes like .21, .45 etc. People that want to run a different size engine than what the plans call for usually resize their plans on their computer.... if your plans are for a .21 engine and you want to run a .18 in it you'd shrink them accordingly.

Throwing a .18 in a .21 design will probably leave you unhappy.... ALOT of work in time and testing goes into making a good set of plans to figure out where best to mount things, what sizes and shapes are required etc - which is why the designers should get paid for their efforts. An underpowered boat may not launch well, get up on plane, or be able to pull props. Conversely, an overpowered boat is also likely to give you some problems.

So, "YES" you can run a .18 in a predator, but the boat should be the right size for the engine, so it run like it was designed to do.

toyotatruckin

best bet is build a nitro hull as there will be several hull changes that would need to be made on the predator, length and width would work fine for .18 but sponsons are fixed and not adjustable the entire top in my opinion would need to be shaved and the hatches put in different places, inside "electric" mount would need to be changed and moved into a different place and would become the front of your radio box on a nitro there are several things i havent typed up but that should give you a taste of the modifications needed to do it right

michaelbarnes

toyotatruckin, that is what I figured.

The predator states that it is for a 6-8cell electric setup.

What are peoples thoughts on the firefighter boats? Would the FF18 run ok with something like a GO engine? Looking for a first build (Have one boat but it was RTR) in the boat department.

beaverboy

I have no experience with GO engines, but I have 3 Aqua 18 engines that only cost $85 each, run great for a sport engine & have propelled my MV to 44 mph with only a tuned pipe & metal prop added. You can build a FF18 on-the-cheap using the Aqua Miss Vegas running gear & radio (engine, flywheel, header, pipe, engine mounts, strut & rudder). You'll need an after market .150 flex shaft because the MV shaft is too short. Not too difficult to build & runs very well if set up right. You could build one using the parts from a MV for $120 + paint & adhesive. You will need a CAD program to print out the plans you download from Tom Moorehouse. PM me if you want a list of parts and sources.

Sean Bowf

I think you left some stuff out there...like hull modifications...

I would also wonder if a pullstart engine would fit in the FF-18. The riggers I have built don't have a lot of space between the engine and the boom tubes/fuel tank. Not sure if the pull start would fit in there or not... Tom Moorehouse (designer of the FF boats) has his own website. It is http://www.intlwaters.com/index.php?act=home . The site has its own forum. He would be able to answer if a pullstart engine would fit in the FF18 or not.

Sean

Dan S

I don't see any room in my FF 18 for a pull start.

Dan.

beaverboy

Sean is correct, however the point was that the MV was timed at 44 mph with a totally stock Aqua 18. The only hull mod besides damage repairs is the JD sponson mod. It also has a Cooper Quiet Pipe. The Aqua 18 pull start must be removed to fit it into the FF18 hull. Removing the pull start is only a matter of taking out 4 screws. I have run my FF18 that way.

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

I just saw a video of the Predator. That boat is way too small for an .18 or most nitro engines.
If you're looking for something unique (and expensive), there are a few 'riggers here that could be converted over to nitro with a little work: http://www.finedesignrc.com/hullshydromarine.asp . Yeah, they are pricy but the work on them is some of the best that I've seen from anywhere.
When using an electric boat you'll want one that is made for 12 cells or more.

toyotatruckin

your wrong If you did some modification to the predator to make it a nitro boat a good stock aqua .18 would work fine mabey even a cvrm, and it is as close to a .12 rigger as your gonna get trust me ive built both and have the predator on the work bench almost ready to go, actually this would be about the 5th small rigger ive built.

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

Mike, is that the one that you showed me the shots of the other night in the chatroom?
From the video that I saw earlier today it looked really small. Hopefully it's bigger than it appeared.

toyotatruckin

showed you the antenna mount If I remember right, Pictures/video can be hard to judge size sometimes, Ill go put my DF33 hull next to the predator on the bench and get a picture just to give better idea on the size.


here ya go-hope this helps a bit

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

OK, that's not the one that I saw in a You Tube video. It becomes a problem when you have too many boats with the same name.
Here's the one that I saw: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZV5m...eature=related