Just joined the Zelos 36" club today

[vinnyp]

I am new to this hobby. I have been running a Motley Crew for a bit and found that I am hooked on this as you guys are. I was going to upgrade the Motley Crew, but decided to keep it as it is and go with the Zelos. I am also into fast full sized boats. I own a fast Checkmate and am a marine mechanic, do it for a living. I am finding this hobby very interesting.
I have been reading through all the threads here about the Zelos. I have PM'ed Raphael , he has answered me quickly and thoroughly. Not everyday you can actually talk to the guy who designed what you are about to spend your $$$ on. Impressive.
Today, I ordered a Zelos 36 from Horizon. Should be here mid next week. I am going to go over it as you guys have described, before it gets wet. I learned a lot here. My next acquisition will be lipos. I am looking at these...

http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=399

Any experience good or bad with them? Looking to run 2 3s in series to each motor. As per Raphaels' advise, I have ordered the "Y" adapter from Horizon so as to run the batteries in series to get 6s for each motor.


Thanks for any advice.

[ChevyPrerunner]

Hello and Welcome to the Zelos 36" Club!
Great boat and Rafael is a great guy.
Have fun and enjoy.

Happy Boating,
Brian

[fweasel]

Personally, I choose to run 5000mAh 3S packs. Those 7200 might be physically too big to slide in under the deck, especially if you plan on running 4 packs. I'm a fan of the Revo graphene batteries and have had excellent results with them in my Zelos last summer. When you get your series harnesses, make sure they're wired properly. Many are shipped with incorrect polarity and need to be repinned. I also think the red grease that comes in the teflon liners is too thick. I would clean it out and replace with the Proboat blue marine grease.

Fun boat, enjoy!

[vinnyp]

Thanks for the replies. I am planning on running 4 packs. I looked at the specs for both the revo and the tru-spec. The revos are 7mm shorter. Not sure how much clearance there is under the deck. Possibly the tru-specs wont fit?

[mikiek]

Hey Vinny - welcome. Nice to have another "new kid" on the block. The space between where the batteries lay and the underside of the deck is about 37mm. I would figure on 34-35 just to be safe.

[vinnyp]

thanks mikiek

[vinnyp]

My new Zelos just arrived. I ordered 4 3s Lipos today, going to try these. I measured the clearance under the deck, they should fit ok.

http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=399

It will be while before it gets wet. I want to go over the boat before using it. Its my busy time of the year at work, so time is a luxury I don't have right now.

I know you guys know what it looks like, but here are a few pics anyway.

[fweasel]

purdy

[mikiek]

Here's hoping you can keep yours in better shape than I have with mine

[vinnyp]

I'll try to keep it off the walls!! In my case, where I run, there are no walls. Only have to keep it off the beach.

[Mike Caruso]

Props and the running surface just like the full size boats is speed.
Best of luck and enjoy.
Mike

[vinnyp]

I made some time to work on the new Zelos today. First thing I would like to give a little advice to any new guys ( you more experienced guys most likely know to check this ). As was pointed out here on OSE, the water pick ups in the bottom of the hull were in fact partially blocked by paint. First I disconnected the water tube from the esc, so as not to get any paint chips in the motor or esc. Then, I used a small round file to clean out the pick ups. The first went well, the second pushed right through the hull. There was barely any glue holding it in place. I took them both out and epoxied them in place. I wouldn't like to think of what would have happened if the pickup popped out while running. Maybe the motor or esc would fry, or possibly the boat would sink? After going through the rest of the hull, I started to work the props. This is my first attempt to detounge , sharpen and balance props. I used clay to get the blades as close to even as possible. So, please take a look, be critical, let me know what you think. I am pretty sure they can be made thinner. I figure I can spend more time on them when I have some time.
BTW, I got the SMC lipos today. They fit without any issues. I will be running 6s to each ESC. Hoping to run it tomorrow.

[vinnyp]

One more picture...

[mikiek]

I filed down a set of props - or at least I thought I did. I think the consistency between them was good. Then I picked up the CNC replacement set from here at OSE. WOW! They feel paper thin. I have a good example to work towards now.

Good luck tomorrow and have fun. Watch out for walls and harnesses

[vinnyp]

I got to run the zelos today. It was a bit windy, wind coming from the left of the short video. While I should have known but I guess I had a brain fart. The short video will attest, I should not have been trying to run full throttle into the wind. Luckily, no damage after the flip. The rest of the run was incident free. For my first day running this boat, I was not only happy but impressed with the speed and handling. I don't have a gps yet. That will be coming soon. Maybe 60 mph or so??? Guessing...

https://youtu.be/kCbKO-9jBOw