salt water

[Queequeg QuintParticipant @queequegquint38270]

hehow,

 

Is it really bad to run your R/C boat in salt water?  I’ve heard it’s not good at all.  The worst thing, I’m told, is that the salt air will destroy all the electronics.  Is this true??

 

Quint

[Queequeg QuintParticipant @queequegquint38270]

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Hello Quint

 

If you are intending to sail in salt water you could protect the electrics by fitting them in plastic boxes, even the motors can be enclosed……but think about cooling.

As for the rest of the boat it is best to wash down as much of the model as you can with fresh water (take some with you in old plastic pop bottles) to get rid of the salt.

 

Paul

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I took the Fantome out on the sea a little while ago and afterwards washed it down with water from a squirty bottle that i took along especially for the purpose, but STILL there was a bit of corrosion on the chrome bow rail and ariel.  The problem with the electrics is the salt water creeps into connexions etc and starts to corrode them, and its very difficult to wash that sort of thing out, so keeping water out of your boat has to be number one priority. If the boat interior stays dry, no problems. The other hidden danger is rusting up your prop shaft. All my old boats have 4ba steel shafts (possibly they were supposed to be rustless at point of sale), and were all greased up, but over time they all have corroded. Stainless is the only way to go unless you want to strip this item after every salt water dunking. You have to rinse, rinse and rinse again in my experience!! A large capacity pump action spray bottle would be my option (ex-kitchen cleaner bottle or something). There is nothing like having your boat out on a REAL sea. My HMS Jersey goes a treat over the big waves, and you can see exactly what the design is all about. Flare and raised bows and knuckles all start to make sense on the big sea. Ashley

[Peter FitnessParticipant @peterfitness34857]

I agree with Ashley re the stainless steel prop shafts, they’re a must, otherwise you’ll have no end of trouble.

 

Our club is lucky, as we have a purpose built wash down table, with fresh water laid on… all courtesy of the local council. (Sometimes you love ’em, other times you could murder the lot of ’em  &nbsp

 

Peter. 

Edited By Peter Fitness on 04/08/2009 06:51:56

[Craig MParticipant @craigm61647]

 

 These cheapy imported ARTR boats are the worst, when ever i sent one out i state they are not to be used in sea water (Had 3 sent back due to this)

I’d use the stainless shafts too, i use them in my own boats even for fresh water

 

Craig

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

I can state catagorically, from sailing on Fleetwood salt water lake, electrics, electronics and salt water just are not compatable.

 

You can’t stop the degredation, even by putting all gear inside tupperware boxes……the salt is in the air and it rots away inexorably just as it does when a motor car is left out in the salt air.

 

“Black wire” is constant, failed electrical curcuits often, and lighting is a joke………I fitted full lighting to a puffer many years ago and within 4 weeks all had rotted even when all terminals had been heavily greased.

 

Make your electronics as simple as possible if you are going to sail on ( what we call up here in FD) a dog’s broth, and after each sailing remove the superstructure , at least, to prevent decay and allow the salt air to disperse.

 

The worst thing you can do, is if you’ve had some weepage of water through the stern gland, to just drain it and leave the electronics inside the hull.Not only will it affect GRP but also any glues used on timber hulls……WASH IT OUT!!

 

Dried Salt forms on the inside of the hull and decays faster than you can have a pint.

 

I am not being alarmist, but really speak from bitter and sad experience.

neil.

[Peter FitnessParticipant @peterfitness34857]

I’m sorry to disagree, Neil, but after 5 years of sailing in salt water, all my radio and electronic gear is still in good condition, and I’ve never had a problem with black wire. I bought my oldest radio, a JR X347, in 1990, and used it in aircraft for many years before getting involved with model boats in January 2004. The X347 is still in perfect working order and, while it’s something of an overkill for boats, it gets used regularly.

 

None of our members have reported problems caused by sailing in salt water, but they all do take the necessary precautions. As far as I am aware, none of us have the radio gear inside plastic cases, that is, none except our submariner but, in his case, everything is inside a watertight enclosure. 

 

I do agree, however, that any ingress of salt water into a hull needs to be treated seriously, and the hull thoroughly cleaned. As an example, at our Christmas party / sailing day last year, one of our lady members had her small tug rammed, and it sunk to the bottom of our lake, in about 9 feet of salt water. She immediately dived in and retrieved it, to the loud applause of all the members. It was immediately washed thoroughly in fresh water, the radio gear removed and soaked in fresh water for an hour, then allowed to dry in the hot sun. 2 weeks later it had been repaired and was back sailing, and is still doing so with no ill effect from its voyage to the bottom of the lake. The motor and radio gear are all working perfectly.

 

Obviously, the ideal is sailing in fresh water but, if there’s no other alternative, in my opinion nobody should be deterred by the prospect of sailing in salt water.

 

Peter. 

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

I only speak from experience,Peter, from both myself and a great number of fellow modellers down Fleetwood lake….perhaps the old Pacific salt is less abrasive than good ol’ Atlantic stuff, lol

 

you’re very lucky therefore.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

May be down to the cool moisture laden salty air in Fleetwood. I expect the climate is somewhat better in Peter’s neck of the woods.

 

Also, you don’t need saltwater to get “black wire” although it does help!

 

Colin

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

you’re probably right spot on there Colin.

 

Thats why my mates call me a crusty old salty dog!!

 

I once bought an MG that had been”fully restored”…it took about 2 months from buying it to find a large rim of rust starting to poke it’s way through from the “newly restored paintwork”

 

I did some research to find that it had been caught in the floods of ’77 in Fleetwood and the salt water that it had been imersed in upto the cills for 4 hours, was litterally rotting the car in two.

 

So if it can do that to a car, it will do it to my electrics, no probs.

[Peter FitnessParticipant @peterfitness34857]

Neil, your mates are very unkind, calling you “old”  

 

If a car is immersed in salt water, for whatever reason, most insurance companies here immediately write them off. However, that doesn’t stop someone from buying them from the insurance company, doing them up and re-selling them, so it really is a case of “buyer beware”.

 

Colin, our climate probably does have a significant bearing on trouble free salt water sailing. The higher temperatures would allow any moisture to evaporate fairly quickly but, as I said before, care needs to be taken to clean boats well before storing them.

 

When I was RC flying in Lismore, 40 km inland from here, some of our members had problems with “black wire”, and they were never flying near salt water. It’s not something that I, personally, have encountered, but I am aware of it, and check my radio gear regularly.

 

Does anyone know what causes it?

 

Peter. 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

I used to get the Black Wire Syndrome, in my old days, flying model aircraft.

 

There was mention of a theory about not having metal to metal linkages…….but probably, this is  an “Old Wives Tale”?

 

Bob

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

There is an explanation here: http://www.modelflight.regheath.com/mf117/airspaceset.htm

 

but I have also heard it is due to residual current in a connected wiring setup causing some sort of galvanic/electolytic reaction.

 

The 25 year old wiring in my 1:1 scale boat suffered badly from this although it still worked.

 

The cure would appear to be to disconnect or remove the battery pack completely when the model is not in use. But this is not always practical.

 

Colin

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

i have never had a problem with it not conducting electric current to any gear, but it is a sod to solder when attaching terminals.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

I am taking the Seahawk to the seaside soon, and I think i will try a teeny weeny squirt of WD40 on all the connections to alleviate any possible probs. I will also rinse the motor and speed controller out (as the Viper is waterproof.).

 

I think Black wire happens to any really old wiring, salt water or not. Our old Wolsely 1500 was absolutely awful for this. Not only was EVERY wire Black, but the ghastly rubber covered insulation had gooed up and lost any semblance of colour. . You have to wire-wool the strands back to shiny copper to get any decent connection .

 

Ashley

Edited By ashley needham on 19/08/2009 19:22:16

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

Neil, your mates are very unkind, calling you “old”  

 

And Flattery, Peter will get you anywhere…..good luck with the Ashes tomorrow….winner takes all.

[Peter FitnessParticipant @peterfitness34857]

Wise precaution, Ashley.

 

Good luck to you too, Neil. It’s come down to the last game, and bragging rights for the next 2 years are at stake.

 

May the better team win – as long as it’s the Aussies  

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

   HOPEFULLY, PETER,

 

But more likely     lol

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