1987 Thunder Hawk Rc Boat

[jLei511]

Hey guys, just grabbed a 1987 RC Thunder Hawk Boat off of eBay. I have two big problems with it.
1. It says it can go at 36 knots, but it barely can go 1, the motors run really good out of the water and seem to run fine in the water, but the thing is just super slow. Is there any way to make it faster?
2. It is a 27 MhZ frequency, and I’ve had 27 mhz Rc cars before and didn’t have a problem with any interference whatsoever. However, this boat seems to get a lot of interference and won’t respond to the controller 50% of the time. I got it out of the house and took it to a neighborhood pond, but that just made it worse. Is there any way to stop the interference? I can’t seem to find much info on this.
Please help me, I’m a 16 year old who’s broke lol. Thanks guys.

 

[monstertruckfan]

What batteries it take? Could be weak batteries causing the remote not to respond to remote.

 

[jLei511]

8 Double As and Two 9 Volts. All brand new

 

[monstertruckfan]

Well its old and things get worn out. Check the props on the motor to make sure they are not partially sheared. That will cause it to go slow.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Welcome in @jLei511 , after a little bit of research, it's a vintage boat so you might think about changing the transmitter and receiver.
As @monstertruckfan mentioned, the batteries could be toast.
It's gonna make a good project boat but unfortunately it will cost some money.

 

[jLei511]

Ok thanks guys, the batteries I just bought and tested, they’re not the problem. How would I change the receiver? I know how to find a 27 mHZ controller easily, but I don’t really know how to change the receiver. Also, where would I find good props for cheap that would help the speed? Thanks guys. This boat was in mint condition and had barely been touched. You guys definitely know more than me though lol. Thanks!

Also idk how fast it’s actually supposed to go, there’s no YouTube videos with it in the water. Only one video about it at all on YouTube and the guy just restored it, didn’t test it.

Sorry for bothering, but I really need to figure out how to solve the interference problem too. None of this matters if I can’t solve that problem. The motors will randomly stop and go when I don’t even touch the transmitter. Thanks again guys, I know I’m being a pain.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Can you post a up close pic of the electronics?
It's the old TX/RX "transmitter/receiver" so you will get interference.

 

[jLei511]

Yes sir, pictures of transmitter and receiver coming up.

Pictures

 

[Tunedfrog]

It's a pretty old boat but would make a fun project.
You won't get much speed out of that at all because they are old brushed motors.
If anything I would pull the pinion gear on the right motor and mesh it better with the spur gear.
The old 27.145 MHz will pick up a lot of interference.
The only thing I can see is making it a brushless system but it's going to take
money and a bit of experience, it's a pretty small boat so brushless might be a overkill, not sure.
There is some boat guys in here that may help you more than I can.
If it were mine, I would make it a shelf queen, and with it being a 1/20 scale then I would find a truck that it can hook up to
and put it up on a shelf.
The 16 and broke kind of makes it a bit rough.

Cool little boat though.

 

[jLei511]

Yeah I don’t have much money lol. Is there any way to fix the interference cheaply? I saw someone put aluminum foil on their antenna but I don’t know if that’ll work. Also how much speed would I pick up if I bought new propellers that weren’t old plastic? I already found some, just want the boat to go faster by a decent amount, I don’t need it to hit 30 mph or anything.

Just simple white, plastic propellers. If I can get rid of the interference and pick up a little bit of speed with new propellers I’ll be a happy man.

The interference is a huge problem though, I can’t even drive it without it messing up. As soon as I turn it on it glitches out.

Also how did they ever advertise this as a 40 mph boat, there’s no way this thing ever hit 10 mph.

 

[Tunedfrog]

To be honest, I'm not sure. I've never messed with the old transmitters with that frequency.
Unfortunately, RTR "ready to run" rigs never hit the speeds it says.
I'm not a boat guy so if you stick around, somebody with boat experience will give you some ideas.
@tntpoof knows quit a bit about them.
He will receive a alert and jump in this thread I'm sure.
There is a few young guys around your age in here also that are pretty
knowledgeable about TX/RX systems.

I would also solder in a battery pack and get rid of those AA batteries. Not much power there.

 

[jLei511]

Ok thanks Tunedfrog, you helped me a lot. Just really didn’t want to waste $70. Still a cool boat, just not quite meeting expectations performance wise

 

[Tunedfrog]

You're more that welcome bud. Sorry I couldn't give you more.
You might check this video out and you will see the interference issue.
This is kind of toy grade so it will be a spendy project to make it faster.
I hope you stick around. Lots of knowledgeable guys here and more than willy to help.

 

[TheHawk109]

Hey guys, just grabbed a 1987 RC Thunder Hawk Boat off of eBay. I have two big problems with it.
1. It says it can go at 36 knots, but it barely can go 1, the motors run really good out of the water and seem to run fine in the water, but the thing is just super slow. Is there any way to make it faster?
2. It is a 27 MhZ frequency, and I’ve had 27 mhz Rc cars before and didn’t have a problem with any interference whatsoever. However, this boat seems to get a lot of interference and won’t respond to the controller 50% of the time. I got it out of the house and took it to a neighborhood pond, but that just made it worse. Is there any way to stop the interference? I can’t seem to find much info on this.
Please help me, I’m a 16 year old who’s broke lol. Thanks guys.

you could try to get a more modern transmitter and receiver combo some of them are in the $30-$40 i believe
(on a side not i dont know would it work given the construction of it)