Things I've learned about my SV27

[Bill-SOCAL]

Had my SV27 for a short time (run +/-30 times). Here are some things I've learned or done to mine:

1 - sealed all wood with thinned epoxy

2 - Removed and sealed all hardware on transom with silicone. Bolts were loose from factory

3 - moved antenna to exit on top of transom. Sealed hole in radio box and hatch.

4 - removed and sealed hatch latch. Simply tape cowl/cover down.

5 - sealed hatch lip with silicone

6 - Removed water jacket on ESC and used blue Loctite on the brass nipples. They were loose and leaking

7 - re-soldered two of the three wire plugs from the motor to the ESC. Wires came out of plugs = dead boat

8 - Replaced stock radio with Futaba 3PM-FASST

9 - trim tabs just very slightly negative (0.5 degrees ??)

10 - Drive shaft even with bottom of boat

11 - rudder tucked full forward (negative)

12 - changed prop to GrimRacer 42x55.

13 - changed water pick up tubing to slightly larger. Had to, messed up the stock tubing and I only had the next size up laying around

14 - Removed wood at front of battery tray to allow packs to be located farther forward. Packs are 2.5" forward of stock. CG is at 7.75" from transom this way. Stock location makes boat very tail heavy and prone to blow over more easily. I use 3600 & 4200 mAh NiMH packs.

15 - added more flotation across stern against the transom. Also put some more up front. I use piping insulation from Home Depot. Cheap and floats nicely.

16 - roughed up the bottom with a Scotch-Brite cleaning pad. Took the "shine" off it.

17 - Added port turn fin

Seems like a lot, but it really only took a few hours time spread over a couple of weeks to end up doing all this. Knowing what I know now I think I could take one out of the box and do all the above in 3 to 4 hours.

My boat runs very nicely with unconfirmed (but estimated by experienced racers) speed of mid 30's. I am very pleased with it overall, especially given the cost and it being RTR (with minor touch ups).

[ice329]

You coverd most of it. I like Zpoxy over the thinned Epoxy. Stregnthen the stand to. Paint the inside of the hull with Zpoxy where the top half meets the bottom half to help stop the paint from cracking. A OSE water jacket is almost a must have. You missed one important part or parts I like to spend some time on. The drive tube... it normally needs to be reset, it also needs to be bent slightly, then I like to push out the two teflon inserts and add one big one the legnth of the tube. I relace the shaft bushing on my personal boats, and like the X642. I cant scratch up the bottom of my boats...just cant do it to them. So what if I loose a mph or two. I actually like the stock radio, its easy to adjust, its simple and I have not had one mess up UNLESS I wasnt following the rules and was using 7 cell packs.

[Avanti]

You missed one important part or parts I like to spend some time on. The drive tube... it normally needs to be reset, it also needs to be bent slightly, then I like to push out the two teflon inserts and add one big one the legnth of the tube. I relace the shaft bushing on my personal boats

got any pics??

[Bill-SOCAL]

You coverd most of it. I like Zpoxy over the thinned Epoxy.

You lost me. Zpoxy IS epoxy. It is the brand sold by Pacer. It is what I used. I just thin it with 95% isopropyl alcohol to the consistency of water and brush it on.

Stregnthen the stand to.

I did not mention that specifically, but I did hit all the glue joints with thick CA and I also brushed the whole stand with the thinned Zpoxy brand epoxy.

A OSE water jacket is almost a must have.

I have not had any issues with mine so I saw no need to make any changes.

You missed one important part or parts I like to spend some time on. The drive tube... it normally needs to be reset, it also needs to be bent slightly, then I like to push out the two teflon inserts and add one big one the legnth of the tube. I relace the shaft bushing on my personal boats, and like the X642.

Again, I checked mine and see no need to play with it. The drive line slips straight up the stuffing tube and into the drive collar without any real pressure. Seems my alignment is OK. I do take the driveline out after each day and wipe it clean and re-grease it and the stuffing tube. I use whit lithium grease. Works fine.

As far as the prop (42x55 GrimRacer) that is what Mike Z. (GrimRacer himself) recommended to me. SO I used it. I may play with other props, but I do know that this one works very well. Others may be better, so it gives me something to play with!!

I cant scratch up the bottom of my boats...just cant do it to them. So what if I loose a mph or two.

To each his own. I never see the bottom (hopefully) especially when running. And it does make a difference. At least to me.

I actually like the stock radio, its easy to adjust, its simple and I have not had one mess up UNLESS I wasnt following the rules and was using 7 cell packs.

Agreed. I just wanted to try the FASST system and to get away from the worry about frequency conflicts. In addition, I have a new (to me) boat that I will have running this weekend (H&M Viper hydro in Budweiser trim) and a 32-inch mono that is being built. The 3-PM FASST has 10 model memories so I can use the same TX for multiple models. If not for that I would have happily used the stock radio.

[ice329]

Pics of the drive tube?... wouldnt be very exciting. I would say 4 out of 5 needed to be realliened, maybe yours is good, prb isnt though. Every one had 2 small pieces of teflon rather then one big one but what do I know, no pic needed there. A aftermarket shaft bushing make everything smoother, ne need for pics. Sounds like you guys got the SV all wraped up, no need for my input. Enjoy your boats.

[ice329]

You lost me. Zpoxy IS epoxy Zpoxy is differnt. epoxy is brittle. Zpoxy is Zpoxy. Use the finishing resein no need to thin it.

[Bill-SOCAL]

Man, why so snippy Mr Ice? Avanti wondered if you had pictures to show the misalignment you talk about? Why is that an issue??

As far as my comments, why does it irritate you that I do not have one of the issues that you do??

My water jacket works fine and does not leak, so I should replace it because you have pronounced it a POS??

My shaft is not out of alignment, that seems to bother you. I must have gotten the 1 out of 5 good ones. You must have seen a fair number of these boats to be able to proclaim that 80% of them need to be realigned.

OK.

[Bill-SOCAL]

You lost me. Zpoxy IS epoxy Zpoxy is differnt. epoxy is brittle. Zpoxy is Zpoxy. Use the finishing resein no need to thin it.

Pacer makes several epoxy resins. You prefer the pre-thinned finishing resin:

http://zap.supergluecorp.com/pt40.html

I used thinned 30-minute epoxy

http://zap.supergluecorp.com/pt39.html

They are functionally equivalent.

How you can say that the epoxy is "brittle" especially after being applied thinned is beyond me. I've been using this same method for sheeting wings, fuel proofing airplanes, and waterproofing boats for a very long time. Never had it fail due to being brittle.

[ice329]

I thought your original post was good for a SV beginner, I was just adding to it. A effort to make your boat better. Your the one who is snippy challanging all my comments. Trust me if you think the stock jacket is as good as the OSE jacket then by all means dont bother with the OSE. I can tell you from experiance there is no comparison.

If you would have wrote Zpoxy in the begining I would never have posted Zpoxy. A newbe may try regular Epoxy which is brittle.

[Rex R]

ahhh fellas, we are talking about 'entertainment devices', lets do try to be civil here(not like that 'evil red board') please. it is said that; if you have a thousand monkeys banging away at keyboards for a thousand years then one of them might turn out a complete works of shakespere...sooner or later some one is bound to get one of the few boats w/o stuffing tube problems. though I would suggest that folks check them and add some epoxy to hold them in place(AQ's boat builders were not over generous with the glue :))

[Bill-SOCAL]

I thought your original post was good for a SV beginner, I was just adding to it. A effort to make your boat better. Your the one who is snippy challanging all my comments. Trust me if you think the stock jacket is as good as the OSE jacket then by all means dont bother with the OSE. I can tell you from experiance there is no comparison.

If you would have wrote Zpoxy in the begining I would never have posted Zpoxy. A newbe may try regular Epoxy which is brittle.

No worries then. What I said about the water jacket is that mine is working OK. I did not say that there might not be a better one out there.

As far as my boat. I am not new to boats. I am new to FE and have been away from boats for several years. However, I think I still recall how to check if the shaft is properly aligned. Is mine absolutely perfect? No, but it is close enough that I am not going to worry about it.

My concern is for the total neophyte who will think that they need to do all kinds of complicated adjustments and exchange parts to have a decent boat. Truth is that out of the box this is a good boat for most people. It is also a good platform to work from when you want to start making changes.

Are we friends now

Edited to add:

I did add some epoxy mixed with shredded CF around the stuffing tube a the transom as well as putting the CF filler around the rails and to fill a minor void where the wood was glued to the transom. I used 30-minute Z-Poxy expoxy resin for that. And again, I guess I am just the lcukiest guy on earth to have gotten the one SV27 that did not need major work on the stuffing tube alignment. I've been buying lottery tickets but my luck does not seem to extend into that venue!!

[ice329]

Friends off the water yes.... If I see you on the water my SV is gonna woop yours... hehehe Have fun with your boat, there really excellent boats.

[Avanti]

I've had my whole boat apart and rerigged. I did not notice any teflon tubing in there, that is why I asked for a picture. I would still like to see it if you have one and could e-mail it to me.

[Bill-SOCAL]

BTW - here's the next project:





The yellow boat on the table is a 32" inch hull called a Storm 32. That gives you some idea of the size of the other boat. It will be set up with a Neu 2215 and run 10S2P packs. A couple of friends of mine and I have gone insane!!

Should be fun!!!!

[ice329]

I've had my whole boat apart and rerigged. I did not notice any teflon tubing in there, that is why I asked for a picture. I would still like to see it if you have one and could e-mail it to me.

Twards the bottom of the page... http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/products.php?cat=70 Next time you order grab a liner. Take the bushing out and stick the new liner in the old small pieces will come out, then you have to measure with the shaft in the tube and cut the liner at the other end. It just makes everything run smoother.

I dont have a pic, I throw the old ones away. The pieces are about 2 to 3 inches long.