Getting Started with R/C Boats
Running Hardware
Running Hardware
Does Not Have to be Confusing
The running hardware
of the boat can be a mystery to the novice. The power produced by the
inboard engine is transferred to the propeller by a drive shaft. It exits
through a "stuffing box" (a tube filled with grease) which lubricates the
shaft and keeps water out of the hull. Some stuffing boxes include needle
bearings for better performance.
Some boats use a
flexible drive shaft where the propeller and rudder are mounted behind the
boat and power is transferred from the engine to the propeller by a flexible
cable which exits through the bottom of the boat. This eliminates the use of
universal joints beneath the water.
Beneath the hull are
additional fittings. A strut, which supports the drive shaft, also provides
a solid mounting for the propeller and absorbs the thrust from the
propeller, transferring it to the boat. Immediately behind the propeller is
the rudder for steering the boat and the water pick-up tube. Water expelled
by the propeller is caught by the tube and routed through the engine's water
jacket to cool it. The heated water is then expelled overboard.
"GETTING STARTED"
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