TFL Small Bolt Hydro????

[Mad Racer]

Anyone have one these?

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...at_385mm_.html

They look awesome for smooth small lakes.

Comes as a ATR so really appeals to me.

[Jwmflying14]

I skipped overy it several times, until I found so many vids. I ordered one 3 days ago. Still waiting for it to ship...

I think it will be a blast. Common consensus seems to be replace the servo, and greasing the flex shaft is a PITA, so some people mod it.

Its unfortunate that they stopped coming with ESC's.... that effectively increased the ready to run price by 20%

[Brushless55]

Cool little boat, I have one but never ran it

[tlandauer]

This is just for you to see the production line, I visited the TFL factory in August, the owner, Mr. Ke is a super nice guy and a racer himself, of course Monica is super nice too.
DSCN7046.jpg DSCN7054.jpg DSCN7057.jpg
I was there for a concert, I didn't post these pictures because i didn't want any misunderstanding from guys who have official relationship with TFL. It is not my intention to be a TFL rep. I just love RC boats and wanted to see the factory. It is quite interesting to see how they make their boats and it is a much smaller operation than one would have imagined. The laser cutters and CNC machines are the only "hi tech" quarters . Lots of work by hand... especially how they apply stickers to the Genesis hull

( yours truly is on the right)

[Brushless55]

Very cool man!

[Mad Racer]

Thanks for sharing tlandauer .

That's really cool to see all those Small Bolts and my new Princess in the background. I really love the attention to detail with the decals and finished look on the Smash Shark, Genesis and Apparition;

I have just ordered a Small Bolt so can't wait.

[SweetAccord]

I have one and they are great boats. Exactly like the Mini Cat but half the cost.

[HangTheMan]

Very cool tlandauer

[ron1950]

Nice Tim. Did u bring back anything interesting?

[tlandauer]

Nice Tim. Did u bring back anything interesting?

I had an instrument plus it was just too many things to carry. Shipping is expensive if you ask the airline to ship it , nowadays carry-on restriction is so tight.

[Jwmflying14]

Hey guys! Just got mine today. I will give my opinions below, but be aware that I am an aircraft guy first, and fairly new to boats.

The over all finish looks great for a $100 boat! The outer FG finish is fantastic. That being said, the hull is extremely thick and much heavier than need be. Being that it is in a boat, this is probably not much of a concern, and more beneficial when it comes to avoiding dings. Now, I do not understand how some people think there is a mystery leak in the hull, this thing is so thick it would almost have to be intentional to miss a spot!

Weight is respectable (I think) at 353g (12.47oz) less ESC, RX, or battery.

I also bought this battery and ESC from HK:
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...arehouse_.html
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...arehouse_.html

The ESC is much larger than I expected, especially for a 30a, but this may simply be due to the water cooling which I am not accustom to. On that note, what Is the best cooling line routing? Motor>ESC (loop)>Exit or ESC (loop)>Motor>Exit

Rudder, Rudder mount, and prop shaft mount are all very well machined, including pre-pressed brass bushing in the rudder mount! Very cool.

Unfortunately, I do not have a spare servo laying around, and only learned about the necessity to replace it after I placed the order. I am hoping to at least get a couple runs on it before I replace it. (I would hate to wait any longer to get this thing in the water.)

I am not sure if everyones came with canopy tape (I think thats what its called, maybe hatch tape?), but mine did, and I am very thankful for it! I have been using electrical tape on my scratch builds, which seems to work fine, just isn't very pretty.

Now, hardware.... This is where I have a few questions. First off, I found a large wire wound (helical) on one end, and a loop on the other. I can not for the life of me figure out what it would be fore, except for maybe a tool to remove the flex shaft? My mind ids thinking similar to a dip stick in a car, but in this case it would push the shaft through? Second, there is a strange conical shaped nut, on an m3 (?) bolt, with a lock washer. I can not figure out where or what this is used for either. Last but not least, there is a strange red wire with a terminal on one end and nothing on the other. I have a feeling these three piece belong.

Last but not least (which I could actually care less....) the provided stand doesn't fit.... I assume it is meant to go between the trailing fins (that trail back to the transom from the aft of the sponsons?), however it doesn't fit. If you turn it side ways, it is unstable, and same with upside down.... Needless to say, I tried it all. MY solution will be a quick cut with the dremel on all 4 top corners, and it should fit and work fine as intended.

Here are some pics! I tried to include everything that I could, including manual, etc. Your guys help and answers would be appreciated!

20150112_141731.jpg20150112_141816.jpg20150112_141831.jpg20150112_142022.jpg20150112_142022_1.jpg

[Jwmflying14]

The other 5 pictures
20150112_142051.jpg20150112_142113.jpg20150112_142137.jpg20150112_142211.jpg20150112_142232.jpg

[Mad Racer]

Hi Jwmflying14,

Thats great news that yours have arrived. Mine did too.

The hardware that you aren't sure off is the whip antenna and associated mounting bits.

Yes the stand is not a good fit.

The ESC you choose is a good one but a brick for the Amps I bought this esc and batteries to run her on 4S . It's a smaller ESC.

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s..._w_3A_BEC.html

http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s...arehouse_.html

Unfortunately the esc had to come from their international warehouse so I'm still waiting on it..

[Jwmflying14]

I had a feeling it was an antenna, it definitely looked the part, and the helical winds of the antenna threaded onto the bolt perfectly (like a heli-coil).. But what the heck is it tuned for? 72?

Yeah, I was concerned about the ESC but it was the only one they had in the US warehouse, and I am building this boat on the cheap.

[SweetAccord]

Since no one answered your question on the water routing, you want to go to the ESC first, then the motor and then from the motor out the hull, so to ESC>Motor>Exit. You do this as the motor will be hotter than the ESC and you don't want to feed the heat from the motor to the ESC.