Quote from George Lucas via Yoda from Star Wars The Empire Strikes Back

Currently recommending you do not change to the flex shaft/strut driveline

If upgrading the driveline, use the Wire-Drive that we used on Stealthwake #2

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We added a second, stock, new Pro Boat Stealthwake, Summer 2021
Check out the dedicated Stealthwake #2 page for the Wire-Drive and other changes

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Stealthwake #1 is the original boat that was upgraded and is detailed below.

The starting point: Stock, new Pro Boat Stealthwake (#1), Winter 2018

You will find videos and information on the upgrades here. For many more videos, check out our YouTube channel: Handful Of Hobbies (formerly Generation of Gaming) (also linked above)

Below are videos and pictures of the upgrades

After this first list of videos and photos is the suggested upgrade order and a shopping list of parts for the Stealthwake

This first list of videos are specifically related to the upgrades including detailed information and how-to for each stage of the upgrades. They are posted in chronological order with the newest upgrades at the top of the list.
The photos are in order from the first upgrade to the last upgrade, so the opposite of the order the videos are posted

If you want to see details of the upgrades with tons of pictures, measurements and test results, you can download the full document in PDF format. You will need a PDF viewer to see the file.

All the below links to videos should open in a new browser window or tab inside YouTube

• We look at and compare the upgrades done to Stealthwake #1 and #2 : Pro Boat Stealthwakes Upgrades Comparison
• The Pro Boat Stealthwake is as fixed as it can be : Stealthwake 1 and Stealthwake 2 try out new props and a successful run on a 3-cell LiPo
• Pro Boat Stealthwake handling issues continued, Pro Boat Stealthwake with strut moved up and stinger : trying to fix the handling Early Summer 2021
• Pro Boat Stealthwake handling issues, how we worked the problem to find a solution Spring 2021 (although we're still looking for the right solution)
• Pro Boat Stealthwake flex shaft driveline modification 1st runs and prop testing early-Spring 2021
• Pro Boat Stealthwake flex shaft driveline modification to allow strut adjustability, early-Spring 2021
• Pro Boat Stealthwake flex shaft driveline 1st runs, Fall/Winter 2020
• Pro Boat Stealthwake flex shaft driveline upgrade, Fall 2020 - - - For now, our recommendation is to not do this upgrade until we fix the handling problems!
• From this point up, once we changed to the flex cable and strut driveline, we have had handling issues
• Pro Boat Stealthwake rudder upgrade 1st runs including 3-cell LiPo, Summer/Fall 2020
• Pro Boat Stealthwake rudder upgrade and fiberglass transom, Summer 2020
• 1st runs with Upgrades to Pro Boat Stealthwake and Candy, Winter 2019-20
• Upgrades to Pro Boat Stealthwake and Playtron Candy, Winter 2019-20
• Pro Boat Stealthwake Brushless Upgrade a success!!!! Fall 2019
• Stealthwake brushless upgrade coming soon!
• Pro Boat Stealthwake brushless upgrade, take 1, Summer 2019
• Pro Boat Stealthwake on 2S LiPo - 1st time, Spring 2019
• Pro Boat Stealthwake First Run, Jan. 2019

The first upgrade ... brushless motor and ESC

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The 2nd and 3rd upgrades ... trim tabs, components and new rudder

The 2nd and 3rd upgrades ... interior layout

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The 4th upgrade ... flex shaft driveline and metal prop

The 4th upgrade ... interior layout

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The 5th upgrade ... flex shaft strut modification to allow prop shaft angle adjustments

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The 6th upgrade ... move trim tabs closer to keel and add new turn fins

Compare this image to the one in "The 4th upgrade..." section above

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Change 1.0 ... move the battery into the bow

This only partly helped, but it's not the final solution ... more to come!

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Change 2.0 ... Move the prop shaft up and try a stinger strut

This change would have been so much easier to do during Upgrade #4

The stinger mount was just a little too wide so the trim tabs had to move out to their original locations.
This meant having to remove the new turn fins and putting the home-made ones back on.



Look at all the holes!
These are from: 1) the strut (4 holes around the centerline); 2) the stinger (3 holes in a triangle on the centerline);
3) trim tabs being moved (4 holes on each side); 4) turn fins being installed (2 holes each side) and
5) the giant oval in the middle is for the stinger so it could move up 5mm.
Lots of holes to epoxy closed when this is done!

Change 3.0 ... Plug the holes and re-mount the hardware (new trim tabs too)

The only thing left to do is play with battery placement to move the Center-Of-Gravity (CoG),
change trim tab and stinger angles and test different props

The boat runs better with the trim tabs flat (zero angle), a slight negative angle (2 or 3 degrees)
down on the stinger and the battery moved forward to shift the CoG toward the bow.

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Suggested upgrade order:

The order has been changed with the flex cable and strut the last upgrade based on issues with handling we have experienced with the strut

1. A 2-cell (2S) Lithium Polymer (LiPo) battery
• The higher the mAh, the longer the run time but the heavier the battery
• The "C" rating should be as high as you can afford. It's a 'measure' of how quickly the battery can dump 'juice' to the ESC and motor
2. Brushless Upgrade
   • Brushless Motor with a KV rating to stay between 25,000 and 30,000 RPM (KV x VOLTS = RPM)
   • 4000KV or less if only using a 6 cell, 7.2 volt NiMh battery or 2-cell, 7.4 volt LiPo (4000KV x 7.4V = 29,600rpm)
   • 2700KV or less if using a 3-cell, 11.1 volt LiPo (2700KV x 11.1V = 29,970rpm) (also works well with 2-cell LiPo = 19,980rpm)
   • Brushless ESC (absolute minimum: 60 Amp, recommended is 90 Amp or higher)
   • See the prop testing chart above to see what the max AMP draw for different props
   • Motor to prop shaft coupler if the motor isn't 3mm or 1/8" motor shaft
3. Longer aluminum rudder and reinforced transom
• The added 1-1/4" of rudder in the water dramatically improved control of the boat
• See the section "Fiberglass ABS boat hulls" in my Other R/C Info page for more details on applying fiberglass to the ABS hull.
4. Trim tabs
5. Turn fins
6. Flex cable drive system ...Avoid this, use a Wire-Drive like we used on Stealthwake #2
   • Flex cable assembly with 3/16" prop shaft (but, if you get it with a 1/8" prop shaft, you won't need a new prop)
   • Strut or Stinger
   • Motor to cable coupler
   • Brass tube for stuffing tube
   • New prop(s) if you went with a larger diameter prop shaft than the stock 1/8", which you should do
7. Additional components at any time if desired (optional): water line inlet and outlet, tow hook, stickers, etc.

Items we purchased to upgrade our Stealthwake:

1. Dynamite Reaction 2S (7.4V) 5000mAh 30C Hard Case LiPo Battery w/EC3 plug from HobbyTown
2. Brushless components:
• Surpass Hobby Brushless Inrunner Motor 3660 2600KV from HobbyKing
• Turnigy Marine ESC 90A from HobbyKing
• See below under "Items below are no longer used as ..." for the motor to shaft coupler
3. Rudder Assembly with water pickup for 650mm to 900mm boat : ose-83260
4. Angled Trim tabs (pair) : ose-80077
5. One set Metal Turn Fins, small : ose-80060
6. Flex shaft and strut components:
• OSE .150 cable with 3/16" prop shaft 2.25" long : ose-cable-150L
• Speedmaster 21 Strut, Mono, Round bottom : ros-spdss-002MR Mono
• 1/4 OD K&S brass tubing for stuffing tube (we are using a teflon liner so we need the larger diameter tube) : ose-8131
• Octura Coupler Flex Hex 5mm to .150 Cable Short Length : oct-ocfhe5mm15S
• Flex cable saver Size .150 Cable Saver : ose-80072-15
• CNC Prop 44mm, 1.4 pitch, 3/16" bore : cnc-4414250
7. Other components:
• OSE Aluminum Small Water Outlet : ose-80895-black (we painted it white)
• OSE Aluminum Small Water Outlet : ose-80895-silver
• Aluminum grommets (2) for tubing, 6.0mm Silver : tfl-522b35-6-sil
• OSE Tow Hook / Cleat Size- Small tow hook : ose-83002-SM
• OSE Prop Logo Decal (sometimes free with order, see OSE for details) : ose-83240-prop

• FlySky FS-GR3E 2.4GHz 3CH upgraded waterproof receiver from Amazon
• We changed the stock Transmitter (Tx) out for the FlySky FS-GT3C so the same Tx could be used for both the Stealthwake and the ECX AMP MT
• We just needed a new Receiver (Rx) for the Stealthwake
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. . . Items below are no longer used as they were not needed after upgrading to the flex shaft drive . . .

• Yes, we now have extra props for the Stealthwake, our testing uncovered some issues with these props

• The prop and prop adapter above fell off and sank, but they're listed here since we bought them

• We still have the rigid connector but ran with the rotate-able universal coupler with the rigid prop shaft

We started with a $160 boat in Dec. 2018 and when done in 2021, it's around $400 USD. So the upgrades cost more than the boat. But it was fun and the boat is an absolute blast to drive in any condition the lake can throw at it!

Additional videos with the Stealthwake not directly related to upgrades

• Pro Boat Stealthwake and Playtron Candy in slow motion
• The Stealthwake running in the dark with lights
• Pro Boat Stealthwake Tip: Trim Tabs setup for different water conditions
• Ride along on the Stealthwake, Runabout and Candy (FPV)
• Our entire flotilla of R/C boats at the lake June 2019
• Pro Boat Stealthwake and Blade Inductrix Switch intro

Updated: July 2021

Of course, if you want more information on any of my boats, you can email me at:
sv_design@frontier.com