Mini Rivercat redo

[kfxguy]

I've had this neat little cat for a while. I haven't done much with it. I posted a thread where I was attempting 75mph with it. I got pretty close even tho I didn't try or put much time into it. Note that I sold my 32" Rivercat I figured I'd put a little into it and make it a touch faster but a bit nicer. I've learned a lot since building this cat so I'd like to apply some of that here. There's a few things I don't like about it. Heres a list.

Wires. Messy and all over the place. The cooling lines are right in the way.

Servo. It's a $15 pro boat servo. Slow, weak and big. I've already ordered it's replacement. Much nicer, stronger, smaller and faster.

Steering linkage. Flimsy, ugly. I came up with a new setup that has a slightly larger stainless rod that will be polished. No threads on it either.

Rudder offset. It's originally a inline setup. The bracket is too long and just didn't look right. I'm going to replace it with the right stuff. While I'm at it I'll mill out the linkage pass through hole in it to cut down drag at low speeds.

Cooling lines. Like I said they are I the way. I'm going to replace them with nicer but thinner lines and reroute for a cleaner look. I also got rid of the through transom fitting in favour of a through hull ring that the hose slides through. It eliminates two house connections. I also moved the exit fitting to the middle side of the boat instead of the rear. I used a ul1 drain plug to fill the hole that was in the transom. Also makes it to where I don't have two hoses going to the rear.

Motor. It's a finned version castle. I don't like the look of it off the cooling jacket. I'll shave the fins off, polish and put a nicer jacket on.

Receiver. It's right in the way where I'd like to have a gps. I'll move it and figure something on hiding the wires.

Hers some before pictures. I'll post some after pictures one I start putting it back together.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/E01BAFA5-792C-4DE8-82EC-9223C958563F.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/E01BAFA5-792C-4DE8-82EC-9223C958563F.jpg.html)


http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/E1B2C18A-D126-4FD1-B32D-480EDC7E1446.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/E1B2C18A-D126-4FD1-B32D-480EDC7E1446.jpg.html)


http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/390B83A0-A8C0-4E55-8150-CF3C5DAB9E33.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/390B83A0-A8C0-4E55-8150-CF3C5DAB9E33.jpg.html)

[kfxguy]

And another rear pic.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/1A63AD21-EA9A-448D-AF24-1ED2F2675685.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/1A63AD21-EA9A-448D-AF24-1ED2F2675685.jpg.html)

[kfxguy]

Got a few things done and need some opinions. Here's the rudder offset I changed to.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/D5826622-7246-4F7C-83AB-0DDAF76F58FC.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/D5826622-7246-4F7C-83AB-0DDAF76F58FC.jpg.html)

And notice the through hull ring now. Muuuuuuuch easier to run hose though this than to try and fit it on a nipple and put a wire tie on it so it don't pop off. Makes me agitated just thinking about it!

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/58C283FF-CEC9-42F8-A31F-4FC8D41E82DE.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/58C283FF-CEC9-42F8-A31F-4FC8D41E82DE.jpg.html)

And notice the little 90 degree swivel for the rudder hose. Did the same on my 32" Rivercat. Like that little touch. Guess it looks sleeker.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/203CCEAF-4594-4145-BC28-4B6EAF830F5E.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/203CCEAF-4594-4145-BC28-4B6EAF830F5E.jpg.html)

[kfxguy]

Now here's where I need some feedback. I'm not too much for painting a carbon hull. Call me boring, I just like the carbon look. I like to put a little color on it I guess, so it gets some simple decals. Should I put the "Rivercat mini" obit straight, at an angle or none at all?

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/4ABAA2B5-10F0-4ABB-90D8-FD446A55AA12.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/4ABAA2B5-10F0-4ABB-90D8-FD446A55AA12.jpg.html)



http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/4B3FA164-FD4E-49EE-8596-D4217329AAC5.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/4B3FA164-FD4E-49EE-8596-D4217329AAC5.jpg.html)

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/10DD8624-8C75-4650-8A0E-6BA6F718FC3D.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/10DD8624-8C75-4650-8A0E-6BA6F718FC3D.jpg.html)

[kfxguy]

I milled out the offset bracket to cut down drag while it's not on plane. Seems to pull a little one way because of it. Untouched one for comparison.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/B40CB44F-A4D2-4AFA-B42F-53DD43A16C2F.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/B40CB44F-A4D2-4AFA-B42F-53DD43A16C2F.jpg.html)

[Luck as a Constant]

The rivercat sticker looks strange diagonal unless the cat decal were placed diagonal too
Go straight


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[Luck as a Constant]

On the offset, it looks like there isn't much meat left? No concerns?


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[kfxguy]

The rivercat sticker looks strange diagonal unless the cat decal were placed diagonal too
Go straight


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Gotcha. Thx

[kfxguy]

On the offset, it looks like there isn't much meat left? No concerns?


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It's a thick version. I didn't really take any from the top, widened it and thinned the bottom a good bit.

[kfxguy]

I blue printed the sponsons. I had to throw it back together last night because my buddy wanted to go run this morning. The sponsons were hooked prett bad on the last two ride pads got that fixed and she runs even nicer. Water was prett choppy and she soaked it up right to the point where it caught a ripple, dove down and disappeared. I don't know how long it was under for but it felt like eternity. I was getting ready to walk back to the car and my buddy said there it is. It came back up a few feet from where it dove under. Whew. Thought I lost the little meanie. No water in it either which is awesome. I should have a video emailed to me sometime today.

[kfxguy]

I received some more items in today (finally!) to get more of this rebuild done. The servo, steering rods and water fittings came in. I chose a strong little short savox servo to replace the spectrum miss geico servo it had. It was slow, and wasn't quite strong enough. I went up put the savox it and it was a tab wider. Dang. So I pulled the mount out and made another one, nicer this time. I also decided the spaghetti sterring rod just wasn't gonna cut it. It was corroded and starting to rust anyway so I replaced it with a muuuuuuch stronger stainless rod. Very hard to bend. I'll be using these rods in future builds for sure. I repositioned the servo and remade the rod with much less bends. Turned out much better. Boat should drive Better now with no slack.

Junk steering rod I had:

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/09ED2903-9699-4680-81DC-7AD5148BD44A.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/09ED2903-9699-4680-81DC-7AD5148BD44A.jpg.html)

New servo and mount

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/344E522F-2257-4912-9963-252E2928F520.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/344E522F-2257-4912-9963-252E2928F520.jpg.html)


Stainless rod I used. http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/410F4EBE-E3C3-4568-A9C0-88710AA47EBC.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/410F4EBE-E3C3-4568-A9C0-88710AA47EBC.jpg.html)

[kfxguy]

Installed. Look how much better and stronger the steering rod looks

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/F8B409A0-9236-43D1-8C39-15DEB86247C8_1.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/F8B409A0-9236-43D1-8C39-15DEB86247C8_1.jpg.html)

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/8825330F-590B-4D64-BB82-8E475FC2DBB5.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/8825330F-590B-4D64-BB82-8E475FC2DBB5.jpg.html)

And the 90 degree fittings on the water lines. I actually have some much better looking stainless ones on order but they haven't come in yet. These will at least get the water lines out my way.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/0F914362-FE39-4FF3-AFB8-2AAE1130E777.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/0F914362-FE39-4FF3-AFB8-2AAE1130E777.jpg.html)



Next I'm gonna shave the fins off the motor and put a lighter, better looking cooling jacket on. This will take some higher locted weight off. I always try to make things light up high and heavier down low. Helps to keep the boat planted (my theory anyway) and helps the boat live up to the name "cat" so when it flips it lands right side up. Sounded good anyway lol.

[kfxguy]

Well I decided to rip it all out and start over. Omg it was a pain to get the motor mounts out. At least I know they were in good! I'm basically gonna sand it and revolt the carbon. It seems like it was done too dry. Figured I might as well fix it right.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/77799EC1-898B-4C9B-B355-C0D5B39D77F5.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/77799EC1-898B-4C9B-B355-C0D5B39D77F5.jpg.html)


And after sanded and cleaned. I already did the epoxy too. It's setting up right now.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/5693C0DF-A602-4DC0-A6F4-CA06A035EA93.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/5693C0DF-A602-4DC0-A6F4-CA06A035EA93.jpg.html)

[Luck as a Constant]

Oh Travis.... Lol


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[kfxguy]

Oh Travis.... Lol


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I know I know. I've got quite a few irons in the fire right now. I really wanted to run an mbp collet and the way things were, it wasn't going to fit no matter what. I'm changing the motor mount to a kintec slider mount also. It's definately going to be nicer, it really deserves it. This is a sweet little boat. The stuffing tube epoxy will be redone too. Stay tuned, letting epoxy cure.

[kfxguy]

Castle 1515 after shaving the fins off

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/77F48B3D-1232-442D-8501-9AF0733EA5A2.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/77F48B3D-1232-442D-8501-9AF0733EA5A2.jpg.html)


http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/D9EB7B8D-A9FD-4F24-AF64-EBC3BB487FCF.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/D9EB7B8D-A9FD-4F24-AF64-EBC3BB487FCF.jpg.html)

[Luck as a Constant]

the mount looks great, but I'm thinking it isn't gonna work well on my mono. thats the kintec one right?
the adjustment screws down the bottom become so obstructed when mounted on slants, you would have a really hard time getting an allen key in there.
may have to rethink my plan....

[Rocstar]

the mount looks great, but I'm thinking it isn't gonna work well on my mono. thats the kintec one right?the adjustment screws down the bottom become so obstructed when mounted on slants, you would have a really hard time getting an allen key in there.may have to rethink my plan....I installed one in a MHZ Lizard Extreme and didn't have any issues...for what it's worth.

[kfxguy]

I installed one in a MHZ Lizard Extreme and didn't have any issues...for what it's worth.

I'll be using one in my mono too. Thanks for the pic Joel, that's how I was gonna set my mono up, pretty much the same layout. I was just on the fence about it.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/DE8674A6-B73E-4BEA-AD55-60C255208A6A.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/DE8674A6-B73E-4BEA-AD55-60C255208A6A.jpg.html)

[Luck as a Constant]

I installed one in a MHZ Lizard Extreme and didn't have any issues...for what it's worth.

Appreciate the pic and insight Joel.
It does look a bit cramped tho no?


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[Rocstar]

Appreciate the pic and insight Joel.
It does look a bit cramped tho no?


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Not bad. I use short Allen wrenches though. It's a pretty cool mount with a lot of adjustment.

[NativePaul]

Why would you need to get at the bottom ones anyway? The motor will go in and out for maintenance just using the top ones at the back and the ones into the front endbell, just set it to the angle you want before gluing it in.

If you want to alter the angle for some reason once it is built, you will have to rip out and redo the stuffing tube anyway so cutting down an allen key would be the least of my worries.

[Luck as a Constant]

Paul, it would probably be never, but if I ever changed a motor to a different length or something, it would be nice it they were relatively easy to access


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[kfxguy]

Looks a little better now. It's definately stiffer too.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/68CF79DE-A36F-468F-9964-F26F804F8BFC.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/68CF79DE-A36F-468F-9964-F26F804F8BFC.jpg.html)

[kfxguy]

Mounting it down

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/F50AC216-C344-45A4-B0E9-39CAFACF6C83.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/F50AC216-C344-45A4-B0E9-39CAFACF6C83.jpg.html)

[kfxguy]

Peeled tape. I think only waited 2 hours this time to pull the tape.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/46415CB6-9305-4AF6-85A8-A5E05147CD8B.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/46415CB6-9305-4AF6-85A8-A5E05147CD8B.jpg.html)

[rearwheelin]

I peeled at 1 hr and came out good ! I think it helped the edges to settle a little more too.

[kfxguy]

I peeled at 1 hr and came out good ! I think it helped the edges to settle a little more too.

I'll have to try it at an hour. i'm thinking 4 hours seem to be best tho. it seems like the jb "tears" cleaner

[kfxguy]

Getting close. Waiting on my cooling jacket is basically all I have left. I'm pretty impressed with the outcome.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/6C17EB86-986C-40B3-887C-1E71B2E9C9DE.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/6C17EB86-986C-40B3-887C-1E71B2E9C9DE.jpg.html)

[Make-a-Wake]

Just ran across this thread, nice work!

[kfxguy]

Just ran across this thread, nice work!

Thanks man! It should be back in the water by the weekend. I'm hoping it drives even better (drove really good before tho) and hope it's a touch faster. It's impressivly stiff too now that I re epoxied it. It was just too dry.

[Make-a-Wake]

Comment not appropriate after "thinking" about it.................

[kfxguy]

Comment not appropriate after "thinking" about it.................

Ahhh no worries !

[kfxguy]

So I finished it up tonight. I'm so glad! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. I want to thank Joel for helping me out. He sent me a water jacket that I needed and had I been forced to order it, it would have taken much longer. I added a bec to it. I kept having brown outs that we all know castle is famous for lol. The servo and steering linkage no longer feel like junk. No slack, nice and smooth. Servo is very strong. Check it out.

http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/408B3101-CC3F-4409-8863-FD1F60F47875.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/408B3101-CC3F-4409-8863-FD1F60F47875.jpg.html)


http://i218.photobucket.com/albums/cc243/ltzguy/E7E627B3-983E-422D-88E2-41778D65C574.jpg (http://s218.photobucket.com/user/ltzguy/media/E7E627B3-983E-422D-88E2-41778D65C574.jpg.html)

[Make-a-Wake]

Man, you could drop that off a building without damage..............looks so beefy! Nice job...................now vids!!

[kfxguy]

Man, you could drop that off a building without damage..............looks so beefy! Nice job...................now vids!!
If it warms back up this weekend I'll be running it. It was 72 degrees on wed and today it's 25....I stay away from the water when it's that cold lol

[Make-a-Wake]

I was so absolutely intent on running some days in the winter that I would actually break ice to get out to the open water! Talk about an addict................Temps come in great though

[kfxguy]

I was so absolutely intent on running some days in the winter that I would actually break ice to get out to the open water! Talk about an addict................Temps come in great though

if its too cold, i'll just stay home and work on some of my many builds lol

[kfxguy]

Man, you could drop that off a building without damage..............looks so beefy! Nice job...................now vids!!

Here's one if you haven't seen it. She's pretty peppy!




http://youtu.be/iej-c2w-ttE

[kfxguy]

Here's another. This was in the middle of this build where I had to throw it back together. This little thing screams.



http://youtu.be/kLoETrbHxxc