PDA

View Full Version : Newbe with a Impulse31.....Questions....please help!!!



ejimbo4
07-29-2011, 02:23 PM
So I just got my Impulse31 last night and man was I amazed! What a sweet boat! I have been into trucks for a few years and when I opened up the box and checked out my new boat I realized I was starting out all over again :frusty: Only thing is when I got my first RTR truck it pretty much came with a how to and what's what kinda of manual and this one for the boat doesn't really explain anything. I know how to use the search function but I am getting info overload and I am just trying to take it all in :confused1::help::confused1:

Epoxy and Silicone....never used it! What should I use for basic sealing around fittings and leaks?

Turn Fins and Trim Tabs.....Is there a starting point to set them at and what do the adjustments do?

I know these are probably dumb questions to most(should be a RC Boats for Dummies section:lol:) but I really want to learn this thing so any help is greatly appreciated!! I am still waiting on batteries from HK so it will be a week or so before I can get it in the water. I just purchased a aeromarine water inlet because I saw that V-spec used one to correct a little leakage issue so I figure I would do the same plus it looks cool! I also grabbed acouple female deans connectors for the batts but I also ordered some 5.5 bullets....should I go with the bullets? I havn't even put the hardware on yet,probably tonight! All I can say is Thank You for any help in advance!!!!:Peace_Sign:

dana
07-29-2011, 02:32 PM
if you must, use silicone. its less messy and works well, just keep in mind if you ever want to paint it, silicone can cause fisheye issues. i use plumbers putty or phenoseal vinyl caulk. turn fins. pointing down, they help the boat corner and should dig in when you turn the boat. trim tabs help push the front of the boat down if you feel its riding to loose. deans will prolly work ok to start. most of us use 5.5, but make sure youve got something to cap them with. wouldnt want to touch the leads on a lipo pack :flashfire:

ejimbo4
07-29-2011, 02:46 PM
Cool,thank you for the in-put! So I am guessing that a lot of the adjusting on the trim tabs and turn fins I just do to my liking but is there a starting point? My trim tabs are set about a 1/8" above flush w/bottom of boat....does that sound close?

dana
07-29-2011, 03:23 PM
Well they should be 1/8 above bottom. They are not adjustable up and down via the mounting holes. They stay 1/8 above and the tab is bent downwards to lower front of boat or bent up to bring nose out of water more. You can install trim tab adjusters that use a machine screw to set trim tabs. I would leave them for now and continue your reading the forums to gain a clear perspective on what the hardware does. There is no set point for this boat, and really hasn't been played with by other experienced members enough to get an answer considering it's brand new. Darin Jordan I know has been playing with this hull for a couple months now, try asking him. I think he may have a thread on it somewhere

v-spec
07-29-2011, 10:01 PM
Keep in mind if you read my post that you really only need to worry about making it water tight. For your first boat I don't think you could have gotten a better RTR ever in the past but from my experience with mine the only thing I had any probs with was water leakage and my flex shaft was pretty much totally stuck inside the strut. After finally getting it out it looks like the stub shaft was ground down with a file and shoved inside (literally) It's not even round!

It's a great boat and you shouldn't have to do much to dial it in reasonably well. Make sure you tape the hatch well grease the flex shaft after every few runs and you should have a good time. Boats are great and we have some awesome helpful guys here to help. All the nice people is what got me so much more into boating!

ejimbo4
07-30-2011, 01:15 PM
All right cool! Quick question....when you say tape the hatch you mean go all the way around to seal it right?

v-spec
07-30-2011, 04:54 PM
Yes, that's the best way. Try to use hockey tape or at least electrical tape.

ejimbo4
07-30-2011, 05:34 PM
I picked up a roll of hatch tape to start off and will try the hokey tape next. My biggest problem is I have a brand new boat, a order from OSE with some extra stuff...grease and stuff, but the batteries........somewhere between here and Singapore :doh: Thought I ordered from the USA warehouse but guess not! But that gives me time to do a little more reading and get the hardware and stuff on and.....stare at it! LOL I have it sitting on my dresser at the foot of our bed.....my wife thinks I am half crazy :banana:

v-spec
07-30-2011, 05:47 PM
I picked up a roll of hatch tape to start off and will try the hokey tape next. My biggest problem is I have a brand new boat, a order from OSE with some extra stuff...grease and stuff, but the batteries........somewhere between here and Singapore :doh: Thought I ordered from the USA warehouse but guess not! But that gives me time to do a little more reading and get the hardware and stuff on and.....stare at it! LOL I have it sitting on my dresser at the foot of our bed.....my wife thinks I am half crazy :banana:

Don't feel bad mines on dresser next to my bed right now I was just looking at it lol! Oh and the hatch tape if you got it from OSE is the hockey tape it's made by Renfrew, I get it at local sporting good store here in California. I buy from OSE when they have it in stock too. It's the same price.

ejimbo4
07-31-2011, 03:35 PM
All right so I got my hardware on! Man my fingers did tricks trying to get some of this stuff on! LOL! Used to trucks and tires! LOL! So couple more questions..... is there supposed to be a cone type nut after the nut that holds prop on or just the end of the shaft plain with threads showing? My second question was should I pull shaft and grease it but I am going to do that anyways and put some lock titr where I need it but is there anything I should know about pulling the shaft?

ejimbo4
08-05-2011, 04:50 PM
I am confused on props.... First I plan on keeping this stock except I need to get another prop. Everyone has opinions and it gets confusing so as far as I understand with this stock set up running 2 2cell 5000mah 40c packs I should be able to run a x442,x445 or m445.....does that sound right? I understand bigger the diameter more draw on electrics but will these work and what is the difference between "M" and "X" they have the exact same specs??? :help:

ejimbo4
08-07-2011, 02:45 PM
Ok....skip the prop questions. I got some liquid tape and silicone and waterproofed the receiver and servo, greased the shaft and got my batteries soldered and I put it in the tub and it filled up with water :doh: dumped it out and stuck it out in the sun. I tightened everything up really good(yes a couple screws a little loose) and I put a nice glob of silicone on the four mounting screws on inside. Once it was dried out I put it back together and taped it this time(i didn't the first time) and put it back in the tub and waited and looked.....no bubbles! Pulled it out and it had taken on water :doh::doh: Do I need to just strip the boat down,apply silicone to everything and remount the hardware? I really need help because my wife is looking at me like a dumb:moon: but in a loving way :thumbup1: Any help or suggestions would be appreciated!

dmwilson09
08-07-2011, 04:09 PM
It may be a dumb question, but have you put the boat in the tub with out the hatch and lid and looked to see where the water is coming in at?

ejimbo4
08-07-2011, 04:24 PM
Yes and really couldn't see anything. I just stripped off everything and siliconed it real good...just waiting for it to dry.

ejimbo4
08-07-2011, 06:58 PM
Just tub tested again after stripping all hardware and siliconing and it still literally flowed right in the boat! I did it with the hatch off and it looks like it could be flowing in the drain plug....should I just silicone that to? I know I am a new guy but I don't believe there should be this much leakage.I am talking it flowed in not dripped in. I just don't understand.....

dmwilson09
08-07-2011, 07:16 PM
Fill the boat up with some water and hold it up to eye level and see where the leak is coming from. Maybe easier to see where the leak is at vs putting the boat in the tub.

v-spec
08-07-2011, 07:22 PM
Just tub tested again after stripping all hardware and siliconing and it still literally flowed right in the boat! I did it with the hatch off and it looks like it could be flowing in the drain plug....should I just silicone that to? I know I am a new guy but I don't believe there should be this much leakage.I am talking it flowed in not dripped in. I just don't understand.....

Did you tape the hatch? Mine doesn't get a single drop of water inside even after sitting upside down on the pond for 20+ minutes drifting to shore. I have not sealed anything besides the water inlet line and an o ring around the water outlet and some hatch tape also removed the antenna and tape over that as well as took off the hatch lock. If you are relying on that tupperware lid it's completely useless because they have the big hole picture below as well as another for the hatch pin in front.

57348

ejimbo4
08-07-2011, 07:24 PM
Just filled it with water and it poured out the hole/tube/opening that the flex shaft goes into but I did not fill it up enough to let it fill up to the tube on the inside......I dont understand but at least I have narrowed it down but what do I do now? Am I wrong but if you buy a RTR truck you usually just put a couple things on,install batteries and play and this is not seeming like that. Hmmmmmmm......

v-spec
08-07-2011, 07:36 PM
Also if your just testing in the tub if you haven't greased the flex shaft it may come in from there.

ejimbo4
08-07-2011, 08:04 PM
No I have greased the flex shaft twice....when I filled up the inside it poured out the hole in the back that is about 3/4" in diameter.

dmwilson09
08-07-2011, 08:39 PM
The hole that the stuffing tube (Brass tube) is running thru. If so, you will need to seal up around the stuffing tube when it comes into the boat. That should fix your problem.

Mtwinste
08-07-2011, 09:10 PM
same thing was happening to me albeit not as bad. I took people's advice on here and put some fuel tubing in between the shaft collet and the plastic tubing the flex shaft comes out of. I also greased the shaft and the water went away. I think water was coming up the shaft into the bilge before i put the tubing in between. I also installed one of those aquamarine water inlets in the back which was a total pain in the ass but that probably helped too. This weekend i ran 3 sets of lipo in salt water and no water got inside and i completely submerged the boat after casing a big wave and rolled upside down a long time and still no water. using electric tape for the hatch.

ejimbo4
08-08-2011, 10:40 AM
All right so I woke up this morning and figured I would take a video to maybe show my problem. In the video I pour water down in the space right in between the section the esc sits in and the box that houses the tube. I poured the water right in front of drain plug pretty much....here is the vid

http://i855.photobucket.com/albums/ab116/770ejimbo3/RC%20Boat/th_MOV02966.jpg (http://s855.photobucket.com/albums/ab116/770ejimbo3/RC%20Boat/?action=view&current=MOV02966.mp4)

ejimbo4
08-08-2011, 10:42 AM
sorry double post

mcdragon2
08-08-2011, 10:52 AM
it looks like it must be cracked or something. pull the flexshaft and plug the hole it leaves with something to see if it still leaks

ejimbo4
08-08-2011, 12:31 PM
I am at work right now but the water doesn't even make it that far...if you look it is coming out of the big hole,I don't think plugging the hole will make any difference. How hard is it to fix if it's cracked? What I am wondering like I posted earlier is when I received my boat,trim tabs were all ready installed as were brackets for turn fins and there was broken pieces of styrofoam in the box like someone had all ready had it out at hobby shop seeing as how it was only one they got and had to ship it straight to me.Didn't think much of it at the time and who knows but I have all ready put stickers on it,siliconed everything possible and installed water outlet in back which I agree is a big pain in the.......... not to mention waterproofed all the electronics so sending it back I am sure is not a option and it hasn't hit any water but the tub :cursing: Can anyone tell me how to go about fixing this? :Sinking:

ejimbo4
08-08-2011, 08:51 PM
So I got home and shined a LED light up the outside of the tube and sure enough.......cracked about half way up the tube!!! DANG! First boat! Is there something.....silicone,epoxy....something I could stand the boat on its bow and get in there a little past the crack(I am talking filling tube up past crack) that would stop the leak? It seems that it wouldn't get in the way of anything...... I am going to contact proboat or Horizon tomorrow seeing as it never hit water and its cracked but I all ready installed water outlet and I don't know if they will send me a new hull and in the case that they won't I would like to try to fix it untill I can buy a new hull.

arp1500
08-08-2011, 09:22 PM
good luck man i hope they replace it for you, i had a aquacrap that crack after the first run about a year ago and that company just took it back

mcdragon2
08-08-2011, 10:10 PM
I was just trying to eliminate the flexshaft as a possibility but since you can see it take a picture and be ready to send it to Horizon they should do something unless they feel you caused it somehow. the big tube is there so you can move the prop height somewhat

ejimbo4
08-09-2011, 02:17 PM
Yep just got off the phone with Horizon and they said to get some pics together and e mail them to him(tomm) and he is going to get me another hull. It does blow about a cracked tube on my first boat but the people at Horizon and the customer support made me feel a lot better about the situation. So thanx everyone and I will be back!