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View Full Version : Setup tips from an experienced club....



drobie
07-15-2007, 08:45 PM
Our club now has 7 of them, 5 race regularly. We have a collective 30 years of experience running boats.

Only one or two have other than the stock shaft and those were badly soldered out of the box. However, I just took delivery on a second and it didn't even have the perforated bushing. It was simply a brass tube turned down to fit in the stuffing tube with a flange on the end. The tube/bushing could not be removed and yes, I did apply heat.

On this one, I replaced the stuffing tube. I used a Speedmaster prop bushing, but it doesn't fit as snugly as the stock version. I'll be ordering one.

We water proof the wood after removing the front part of the battery tray, and most (all?) of us have expoxied a 1" x 8" long strip of light fiberglass cloth inside along the hull seam on the right side. That seems to be a week point.

We pull the small plywood stuffing tube brace below the radio box, trim the front of the brass tube and check alignment. Then slide the brace back on and epoxy is place, checking alignment carefully. Most of the wood can be removed with the tap of a small hammer, but this new one had gobs of epoxy and need sanding to get velcro to lie flat for the batts.

We run stock props. We have other 50-60 mph boats to race for the speed fix and keeping this class stock is sacred to our entire club. When you get 5 racing on an 1/8th mile oval, there is plenty of speed, speed is matched and it's all about driving.

Set the trim tabs at neutral. Put a straight edge on the hull bottom under the tabs to find neutral. Move the batts forward about an inch from the back battery brace.

For the strut, put the straight edge along the keel line and set the strut so the bottom of the prob hub sits on the straight edge. Close counts and one usually doesn't have to adjust it with the stock prop.

When conditions change, we move the batts. However, if they go too far forward you can hook in a turn. Then we resort to adjusting the trim tabs in small increments.

Another thing to try to enhance stability is to take a square nose plyer and put a tiny bend in the outside corner of the trim tab. You'll have just a little triangle bent down about 45 degrees. A right triangle with the base (across the tip) of about a .250" from side to side. It doesn't significantly effect drag.

We also have a left turn buoy of the front straight. Most of us use a 1", one-piece turn fin to negotiate that turn, some use the AQ version. Model boats don't like to turn left anyway because of prop torque moving the transom to the right.

There are some quality issues to deal with, but that's expected given the cost. If this boat were assembled in the US, it would probably cost twice what it does now.

That's our story.

Jeepers
07-15-2007, 08:49 PM
good info!

Steven Vaccaro
07-15-2007, 09:56 PM
Good info!



I used a Speedmaster prop bushing, but it doesn't fit as snugly as the stock version. .

Which speedmaster bushing did you use? The one from a stinger?

drobie
07-15-2007, 10:13 PM
Which speedmaster bushing did you use? The one from a stinger?

I'm not sure which one. I just grabbed it out of a drawer.

Steven Vaccaro
07-16-2007, 05:49 AM
does it look like this with the flared end?
http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/proddetail.php?prod=ros-187sting-b