Zelos 36 - First Run

[mikiek]

Took my new toy out for a first run this morning. She's a screamer! Did several long up & backs - life was good. Things went south in a hurry. Was making a pretty wide turn and it flipped. Sent out my tug with a long tow line, somewhere near the Zelos the line got fouled up in the tug prop. 2 boats out of commission. This is on a big lake but it must have been too early for other boaters to be out. So I "commandeered" a kayak from a nearby rack and hand paddled out to retrieve the boats. If I use this site again I will definitely bring a paddle next time.

I do have one question out of all that. The Zelos rudder was stuck straight out when I took it off the water. Not sure if I hit something. It didn't look like it. Didn't see any impact marks on the rudder edge. Can I assume the rudder should kick up if it hits something? Was there any sort of break away piece that I now need to replace?

[fweasel]

The rudder is attached to the black anodized mount with two screws. The top screw is a stainless hex cap head with a lock nut. The bottom screw is a white nylon screw with a matching nut. The plastic screw is your breakaway and will shear if the rudder strikes something while running. When that happens, you'll usually still have all three parts to the plastic screw, two sides on the mount and a chunk in the rudder. The replacement screw part number is PRB285000 (https://www.horizonhobby.com/breakaway-screw-nylon-%285%29%3A-zelos-36-p-prb285000), but you can use pretty much any plastic hardware from the store.

In theory its possible the breakaway screw wasn't installed and the rudder just flew up, but unlikely. You probably just hit something.

[mikiek]

Thanks fweasel - you're teaching me a lot. I'm in that mode right now where inquiring minds need to know.

[fweasel]

Sure thing. It's a fun boat and doesn't take much to make it fast.

[mikiek]

Thinking back, I suspect I may have stressed that nylon screw during transit. I had the boat just sitting in the back of my SUV. It was likely resting on the sponsons in front and on the rudder in back. I'll need to come up with a better way to transport. The little stand that comes with the boat isn't a lot of help.

It'll be getting crowded in the vehicle - the Zelos, a 24" tug, a sailboat or two and a paddle :unsure: