22" stepped hull mono El Lobo II setup

[rockwerks]

Ive been searching for quite awhile and have found very little about correct setup for s stepped mono hull.

the only article I have found was fro the UK, stating that the CG should be 1/2 back between the front and second step.

also the motor is placed in front of the main forward step

The hull is currently setup with the motor about 3" from the transom.

anyone have any real world experience?

[rockwerks]

here is a pic for reference

Im planning on running a 4mm stinger setup, 98mm rudder, Plett motor and 11.1 lipo on tekin FXR esc......prop a x440 to start with

[ozzie-crawl]

my mate has a stepped mono and motor is in front of first main step

[rockwerks]

my mate has a stepped mono and motor is in front of first main step

can you find any pics of his setup? does he post here?

[ozzie-crawl]

will try get some pics. he doesnt post here

[rockwerks]

will try get some pics. he doesnt post here

you da man!

[AlanN]

The suggested cg is about right if it runs like a el lobo I stepped hull. I ran one years ago. Do not use trim tabs and play with the cg in the area you have marked. A 1/4" for or back should find the right spot. Oh and they really load up in the turns....hard to get 'em to carve well. I do believe mine was set up a touch torward the aft on the mid step.

[rockwerks]

The suggested cg is about right if it runs like a el lobo I stepped hull. I ran one years ago. Do not use trim tabs and play with the cg in the area you have marked. A 1/4" for or back should find the right spot. Oh and they really load up in the turns....hard to get 'em to carve well. I do believe mine was set up a touch torward the aft on the mid step.

Im definitely going to move the motor forward as suggested. I will try without trim tab and with. Ill be putting in an adjustable stinger also. so I can play with thrust angle also

[Fluid]

While I never ran a stepped El Lobo, the stepped boats I have run like the weight concentrated along the keel, not out by the chines. The Europeans who run stepped hulls usually use a solid driveline, so they need to keep the motor 'way forward to have a straighter thrust line. With wire or cable this is less important although running the motor well forward is no problem.

The step position is different from one stepped hull to another, so saying that the CG "should be 1/2" behind the step" can be misleading. The correct CG can be critical to handling, moving it 1/4" can make a big difference. Experimentation is probably the best course, so make the setup allow easy movement of the CG until you get the boat dialed in.

Turn fins can make a huge difference in handling with stepped boats. Try a large one, first at right angles to the bottom, then at right angles to the water. Sometimes the latter works better, there is often less of a tendency for the boat to hook in a turn. Changing the rudder pivot angle has a big effect too.

Usually the stinger should be set parallel to the step points when the hull is sitting on a flat table.

Setting up a stepped mono is a bit more involved than with a flat mono, but the speed advantage is enough for me to prefer the former, when they are legal.


.

[rockwerks]

While I never ran a stepped El Lobo, the stepped boats I have run like the weight concentrated along the keel, not out by the chines. The Europeans who run stepped hulls usually use a solid driveline, so they need to keep the motor 'way forward to have a straighter thrust line. With wire or cable this is less important although running the motor well forward is no problem.

The step position is different from one stepped hull to another, so saying that the CG "should be 1/2" behind the step" can be misleading. The correct CG can be critical to handling, moving it 1/4" can make a big difference. Experimentation is probably the best course, so make the setup allow easy movement of the CG until you get the boat dialed in.

Turn fins can make a huge difference in handling with stepped boats. Try a large one, first at right angles to the bottom, then at right angles to the water. Sometimes the latter works better, there is often less of a tendency for the boat to hook in a turn. Changing the rudder pivot angle has a big effect too.

Usually the stinger should be set parallel to the step points when the hull is sitting on a flat table.

Setting up a stepped mono is a bit more involved than with a flat mono, but the speed advantage is enough for me to prefer the former, when they are legal.


.

By placing the motor forward then I can use a wire drive if I wish. and the motor can sit much lower in the hull with less angle, about 40% lower!..and yes all the weight low and centered in the hull... my thought was the esc and receiver at the transom, motor in the front and that will give me about 7" between for battery adjustment.

This hull is joined at the chines and very sharp edged, I was told to round the chine on this boat to stop them from digging in and flipping the boat

[AlanN]

Do not bother with trim tabs on this or other stepped hulls. Stepped hulls (at least the lobo ones) don't like them. Turn fins yes, you will need them.

[Darin Jordan]

By placing the motor forward then I can use a wire drive if I wish. and the motor can sit much lower in the hull with less angle, about 40% lower!..and yes all the weight low and centered in the hull... my thought was the esc and receiver at the transom, motor in the front and that will give me about 7" between for battery adjustment.

I've never run a stepped El Lobo, but I've run plenty of non-stepped ones... If it were me... I'd leave the motor at the back, run a flex cable, and have ALL the area in front of the motor for weight adjustment... Run the batteries (you don't mention how many cells you plan to run) down the middle in front of the motor, and put the lighter weight RX and Servos at the back two corners alongside the motor...

Basically like this:




This appears to be how it is currently setup. It's definately not worth the work to move the motor now, just to run wire "if you want to"... You'll have less hassles and likely no noticable difference in performance just running a flex...

That's how I would do it, anyhow....

[rockwerks]

Hey Darin, according to the guys who have run stepped mono hulls, 3 out of 3 have told me its worth moving the motor forward. and most have said not to run trim tabs so those I will leave off. The fun in this sport is the modification and experimentation. IVe ran it with the motor in the back not impressed..........time to shake things up.

About the wire setup, its just a thought I have a complete 4mm stinger setup and rudder that Im replacing the ol skol fullers with. I believe the big advantage will be that the weight of the plett will now be 40% lower in the hull nearly flat.

Im planning on running a 4mm stinger setup, 98mm rudder, Plett motor and 11.1 lipo on tekin FXR esc......prop a x440 to start with

[Darin Jordan]

Well... give it a shot and let us know how it works out...

[rockwerks]

Well... give it a shot and let us know how it works out...

Also the short flex has a sharp bend in the stuffing tube and you could feel the tension on the cable as it rotated the longer straight tube will decrease friction and amp draw.

As for batteries, I will run an 8 cell nimh to start so we can get a comparison as that is what the boat came with. I will post up pics and build info as I get around to it this week...........as soon as a new charger comes in for my camera that is