The Robbe Magin One is a semi scale offshore racer powered by 12 cells and a 700 size motor.  It has a couple of interesting features including a self righting capability and a emergency power cutoff.  The self righting capability is achieved by using a free flooding tank.  This tank takes on water while the boat is upside down and causes the boat to roll back right side up.  The emergency power cutoff is accomplished by installing a removable wire loop in the main power circuit.  The loop is installed right on top of the deck so it is easy to get to.

There are drawbacks to both features, first the free flood tank adds weight and also causes the boat to list to one side when at rest.  Secondly, the emergency power cutoff adds a good bit of wire which will cause increased resistance in the motor circuit.  Fortunately, neither feature is mandatory so the builder can select what he wishes to include.  I eventually decided to add both features to my boat.  It was a tough decision because I had wanted to use full size C cell batteries which simply will not fit with the flood tank installed, but the peace of mind of having a self righting boat won out.

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Last Updated: 08/28/2008