RC Airboat

thingiverse

This model is extremely water-resistant, highly buoyant, and accelerates quickly with my setup. I printed this on my Ender 3 using split parts for easier printing or a single part if your printer can handle the height. The hatch measures 26mm deep, 150mm wide, and 132mm long, fitting a 3c 2200mah lipo battery with plenty of extra room. 04/17/2019 Significant modifications have been made to the body, while major changes were implemented in the hatch. The design is now even more water-resistant than before. Adding a small amount of grease between the hatch and cap ensures it's nearly waterproof if the hull has been painted. The hatch utilizes standard RC Body clips to secure the cap or paper clips for easy attachment. A slight lip was added around the edge of the hull, which should help push water away from the hull and propeller. Changes were made to the motor and servo wire holes to increase their water-resistance. I'm considering adding a rubber shroud surrounding the wires, plugged into the top of the hull. Currently, it's best to apply hot glue around the wires; this can be easily removed by briefly soaking in Isopropyl Alcohol. 04/14/2019 The water test was a huge success! The boat is evenly weighted, floats stably, and glides smoothly across the water. However, the initial lid took on too much water (along with a rear wire intake that I never released), so it's been redesigned to be significantly more water-resistant. Remember to waterproof your electronics! I used it for about 20 minutes and took plenty of water over the deck. Turning hard, speeding around, it never felt unstable or about to tip over. After running, I checked the electronics hatch and found it was totally dry. Major relief compared to the first run. Running in a straight line is still a bit challenging, but each time I've tested the airboat, it's been quite windy. I'd rather not redesign the rudder, but it may be necessary for better control. Especially when navigating tight areas at slow speeds. 04/13/2019 I need to find an area where I can test the boat at higher speeds. The rudder works great when the boat is "on step" but lacks turning authority when it's just motoring around. I'd like to see how easily it stays on course. A dual rudder or a slightly larger single rudder would likely solve this issue. Minimal parts are required: transmitter, receiver, ESC, motor, battery, 9g servo, and 1" bugle head screws. 1x Transmitter/receiver: $30-$75 - I'm using Radiolink RC4GS+R4FG 1x 2212 920KV brushless motor: $10-$25 1x 30A brushless ESC: $10-$20 1x 3s lipo battery: $15-$20 - I chose a 2200mAH battery 1x 9" 9450 Self-Tightening Propeller: $5-$15 1x SG90 servo: $1-$5 12x #8 1" bugle head screws: $3-$7 Total filament weight is approximately 525g, costing between $7 and $12. I estimate you can build this for about $100, significantly cheaper if you already have a transmitter/receiver. 440mm total length from stern to bow (480mm from rudder), split into two parts for easier printing. Each half of the frame takes around 8-10 hours to print using settings like .32 layer height, 4% infill, and 4 walls at 70mm/s. For the rest of the parts, I used a lower layer height, about 15% infill, and only 3 walls. Print the frame upright with support touching the build plate. Print the motor stand horizontally with wire rings facing down for maximum strength, enabling support. Print the rudder with "fill gaps between walls" disabled to shave off around an hour of print time. Print it horizontally along the long flat back, aligned to the bed, and use a brim. Two large locating pins should be printed and placed between the frames if you're gluing them together.