Terrible Accident

[Andy Greene]

I don't run electrics, so this may be dumb question? If boat is DNF can the driver just kill the transmitter. With no signal it can't start again.

Yes, until the current from the esc to the rec is terminated - correct me if Im wrong.

 

[moparbarn]

you're right, drew. until you disconnect the power in the boat, it has one in the chamber - safety off. don't get me wrong anyone! fe boats are awesome, we combined them & quite a few nitro classes. sure helped heats & competetive racing, imo. but they are "live" until disconnected, you have to treat them differently is all.

 

[TimothyJones]

Robin,

I always love what you have to say. Never change my Friend,You Are so on the point, all the time.

See you at the races.

T

Mike, if you haven't seen a dead fe glitch on 2.4 then you haven't been in the retrieve boat enuff....LOL! I haven't seen it A LOT at our races, but I wouldn't call it entirely uncommon. The fe boats worry/scare me in the retrieve boat!! At least with gas or nitro, I KNOW that boat is DEAD - fe boats are like a loaded gun with a hair trigger, they can go off at ANY time! Just have to treat them that way (-; BTW, what is it about nitro that scares you????? LOL!!!

 

[Kris Flynn]

Safety loops

 

[Gilbert Pun]

The guy is recovering fast, he can visit the boating site and play smaller boats now but not entering water.

 

[Don Ferrette]

I have watched this thread which started because of someone's foolish decision, stupidity, complacency or whatever you want to call it turn into an assault on FE boats mostly by those who know little or nothing about them.

I've been in this game a long time and witnessed many instances of fingers getting zinged by running props on a nitro boat. Seen people tattoo themselves by letting their hands or arms come in contact with extremely hot exposed gas engine pipes (gas burns way hotter than nitro) and the countless cuts from turn fins, rudders, props and all the other sharp objects on these boats. Maybe it's because we haven't been running them as long but I've yet to see an injury from an FE boat, perhaps it's only a matter of time? This whole tit for tat argument is foolishness at the very least because at the heart of virtually every mishap was carelessness or complacency, I've even done it myself (how many times can you apologize to a good friend for the hole in his pit apron and cut on his belly from not making sure he was clear of the props before you went to blow the motors out). I've watched a gas boat coming into the pits where the driver throttled it off and everyone heard it stop yet when the driver released the trigger thinking it was dead the big gas prop was in just the right position that the water made it turn and the engine fired sending the boat under power into the bank. Who would have thought that would happen? How far do you go to protect us from ourselves?? It doesn't matter what powers these boats what matters is we let ourselves get careless and downright invite trouble. We all can do a much better job of preventing stupid stuff from happening without over policing this hobby as if the government was involved (don't we have enough of that crap in our lives already??) by being constantly aware and remembering that even though they are toys they are capable of inflicting extreme harm. If you see someone doing something foolish or stupid say something or help them, it's way better than explaining to a paramedic what happened............

And lastly to my friend Robin- we luv ya man but remember in D12 if there are dead FE boats an FE experienced racer is required to go out in the retrieve boat to assist but if you are still that scared of FE then just let someone else go out to get them.

 

[moparbarn]

Don, no way scared, just "respectful" of them until the power is disconnected. I couldn't agree more Don, ALL of our boats are potentially dangerous. But in different ways, fe boats are the newer of our power systems in racing & some folks could benefit from the info here. Is my loaded gun analogy wrong, sorry if it came off too strong; but I think a possible poor choice of words is better than the possibility of ANY injury at the pond (-;

 

[Doug Smock]

Well put Don.

Be safe out there fellas!

 

[Andy Greene]

,Not really sure where your seeing an attack on f/e Don with your opening paragraph , A decent open civil discussion about safety is what I see this thread as no matter what powers it. This case just happens to involve an F/E boat - and as a whole, I see people just posting reminders for those that may or may not be aware of the hazards involved. Hell they all can hurt ya, some just need to be treated a little more cautiously is all. If your taking MY statements as an f/e bash, then you have read my post wrong, I was running sparky boats before we knew what a lipo in a boat was

 

[Grimracer]

agree Andy.. no busting balls here...

Just healthy chat... work with it day in and day out........ man.. just be safe, that's all..

Grim

 

[Kris Flynn]

And that all boats should have safety loops

FE drivers are the dangerous ones...not the boats ;-)

 

[Don Ferrette]

And that all boats should have safety loops

FE drivers are the dangerous ones...not the boats ;-)

So tell us Kris how a safety loop would have prevented this accident??

I'll give you a hint........ it wouldn't have done jack diddly squat!

The boat was still in the water, how often does anyone pull a safety loop before it gets picked up?? You think a safety loop just pulls out with a finger tug?? This foolish individual not only was barefoot he had the transmitter hanging from his neck by a strap, he could have and most likely was the cause of the boat powering back up by bumping the trigger.

And FE drivers are the dangerous ones? I'm not even going to waste keystrokes on that BS other than to say I've seen far more stupid shiznit done by gassers than all others combined.

Bottom line, the guy was incredibly foolish on multiple counts and once again carelessness resulted in someone getting hurt, just like it always is when an injury happens. You folks have a wonderful day, I'm going to spend time on far more constructive things than this thread.

Outta here................

 

[chuck st romain]

Some very interesting conversation. I think we all know the dangers, I mean honestly building boats, charging battery, running them.... it's all dangerous in some way or another. The important thing is we all use this as a reminder, we all use cation, we respect and accept the dangers and most of all thank god that he is ok and the accident wasn't a lot worse. Honestly we are all guilty of negligence at some point. Let's just try and minimize it

 

[Kris Flynn]

Settle petal... I think you are reading way too much into this

anyway...guess your way or the highway so I will leave

edit for spelling error only

 

[Jack ODonnell]

You are wright Kris ! PUNCH IT J.

 

[lohring]

I'm very sorry for the accident that started this post. Unfortunately, that's what happens when a propeller contacts a person no matter what the power source. I've watched experienced boaters put their fingers into running propellers several times with similar serious results. These boats had obviously running gas or nitro engines. Some of these boats were on stands with propeller guards. It only takes a moment of carelessness. Quickdraw has a picture of what happens when a gas engine driven propeller contacts a foot. The page also has some good advice. This boater was wearing boots. The newest chrome cobalt alloy propellers can be sharpened to the point that cuts can happen from just touching the leading edge.

At one time I was an advocate of safety loops. See below for my first P spec tunnel. However, the higher currents many electrics are now running make finding an acceptable connector difficult. The ones I've tried either have too much resistance as evidenced by melting the solder, or are too hard to disconnect. Other high current connectors are very expensive. Current speed controls seem to have made glitches rarer.

No matter what we do to engineer safety, there's no substitute for continuous vigilance. The T-shirt reproduced below says a lot, both about this and motivations for participating in model and full size boat racing.

Lohring Miller

 

[keith thompson]

I like mine a whole lot more than that what if it had been a 3 blade gas prop end of story would not have been as good you are very lucky man be more careful in future good luck on your healing

 

[ALLAN YUEN]

I'm very sorry for the accident that started this post. Unfortunately, that's what happens when a propeller contacts a person no matter what the power source. I've watched experienced boaters put their fingers into running propellers several times with similar serious results. These boats had obviously running gas or nitro engines. Some of these boats were on stands with propeller guards. It only takes a moment of carelessness. Quickdraw has a picture of what happens when a gas engine driven propeller contacts a foot. The page also has some good advice. This boater was wearing boots. The newest chrome cobalt alloy propellers can be sharpened to the point that cuts can happen from just touching the leading edge.

At one time I was an advocate of safety loops. See below for my first P spec tunnel. However, the higher currents many electrics are now running make finding an acceptable connector difficult. The ones I've tried either have too much resistance as evidenced by melting the solder, or are too hard to disconnect. Other high current connectors are very expensive. Current speed controls seem to have made glitches rarer.

No matter what we do to engineer safety, there's no substitute for continuous vigilance. The T-shirt reproduced below says a lot, both about this and motivations for participating in model and full size boat racing.

Lohring Miller

Electric Tunnels 5.jpg

Safety Message.JPG

I wonder that Must use safety loops for any FE at Namba Rule ?

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Allen, I just went through the NAMBA electric section and didn't find it anywhere. Would I want some sort of positive disconnect, most definitely. I wouldn't want to see a finger laying on the ground, especially my own

 

[Mark Bullard]

I have a question. I do mess with a few FE airplanes and yes they are a loaded bomb. And all radios can have glitches between the trans and receiver. But being in the electric motor repair business I do understand the power of live voltage and current. But the question I have is that on some ESCs there is a switch that disables the radio signal or ESC in some way. I do not know which one it controls. But if all ESCs had this switch would this disable the ESC? Or could a simple radio switch between the ESC and receiver disable the unit to a degree?