To add photo's to a post, you have to create an 'Album' (top bar above heading with camera icon) on here & upload your pics to the album, you can then use your album pics in your posts.

Edited By Kip Woods on 11/07/2016 10:49:03

The motor is either a 3- or 5- pole Johnson 380/385 type. The problem is that one is more than twice as fast as the other on the same voltage! If we get it wrong then your model might either move at the speed of a twig or a F1 hydroplane.

The speed controller has four thickish wires; the red and black are for the battery. Could you see if there are connectors or a single connector on these wires and, if so, take a photo of them/it? I suspect that if a 12v battery has been used then they will be spade connectors and therefore we're looking at a 385 motor. If there is a single connector e.g. a Tamiya type, then it's more likely that a lower voltage NiMH pack been used, which would indicate a 380 motor. A 30mm 3-blade prop is more 385 territory but not everyone sticks to convention.

Fun this, isn't it? Like long-distance CSI for old fogies!

Dave M

John. If you have a Lipo battery (of 2s) this will be fine for a 380, just use one of those small "low voltage level bleepers" in the boat as the ESC you have is not a Lipo capable unit (does not have the relevant voltage cutoff setup). If buying a new battery I would say a Nimh would be better from the longevity point of view. Lipo are lighter and deliver more current/keep the voltage better when under load and really only need to be used for FAST boats or for size/weight reasons.

​All my 380/400 motor equipped boats run on the "standard" 6-cell Nimh packs, 7.2V no probs.

Ashley

A couple of recent projects have been transformed by using Lipo, despite nominally the same voltage (7.2-7.4) they do seem to up the power delivered to the motor substantially.​ Tradeoff…speed verses longevity

Deans connectors much better than the Tamiya ones

Ashley

Ashley makes a good point. NiMH packs, if properly treated, should give you over 1000 discharge/recharge cycles, whereas you'll be lucky to get 100 from a LiPo pack. That said, you may already have a suitable LiPo pack (which was what I assumed when I read your question).
Don't fast-charge a new NiMH pack for the first 4 or 5 cycles. I never exceed the 'C rate' which, for example, would be 2.5A for a 2500maH pack. If you find that you need a pack recharged in less than an hour it might be better to have a spare pack already charged up.

DM

Volts is volts, amps is amps, the source does not know or care what the load is as long as the load is within its limits. Similarly, the load does not care where the volts and amps come from as long as i) there is enough ability to supply the current demanded and ii) not too many volts.

The only way a LiPo is likely to damage a circuit is if its voltage was too high for the circuit being driven, or, and this applies to any battery, if the + and – were reversed.