Stock Proboat flex shaft vs OSE upgraded flex shaft

[Hawcer]

Ok, I measured both flex shaft diameters.
Measuring both in the middle of the shaft gave these results:

Stock = .149”
OSE = .146”

Now, measuring where it matters. The first half inch that goes into the coupler.

Stock = .147”
OSE = .149”

Why the difference?
The stock shaft appears to be machined smooth at the tip, reducing the diameter. (Welded tip, and ground smooth, I'm assuming)
The OSE shaft looks to be solder reinforced, increasing the diameter.

Steven at OSE assured me it is fine to use as is. And that he has sold many of these cables to people that didn’t ever order a coupler.

I’ll still order a coupler because I’ll need one anyway for my other hydro when it’s converted.

First pic is the OSE shaft, second is the stock shaft.

IF YOU DO NOT READ THIS WHOLE THREAD, KNOW THIS. REPLACE THE COUPLER WITH A MATCHING .150” COUPLER. DO NOT RISK IT. DO NOT IGNORE THE WARNINGS!!!!!
THE STOCK PROBOAT COUPLER IS NOT COMPATIBLE WITH THE OSE UPGRADED .150” SHAFT.

[Hawcer]

I took her out today for to run though a coupl set of batteries.
First laps it was nice and smooth, seemed a lot quieter too with a non-bent shaft. I had the stock prop on there.

[Hawcer]

I. Swapped out the batteries, made sure the coupler was still tight and swapped the prop to the pre-prepped Octura x442.

EVERYBODY stand up and scream “I TOLD YOU SO!!!!”

Disregard all the measuring and verifying the numbers bs...it doesn’t matter. Apparently OSE ,150 shafts are not compatible with Proboat couplers regardless.

My new prop and new shaft now rest on the bottom of the pond. I’m more pissed I just didn’t listen to you guys. But when the place selling the shafts says it will be fine, what do ya do?

I can’t believe my wife isn’t upset about it and she can’t believe I’d share my mistake with the people that warned me.
Lesson learned the hard way, I’ll admit it when I’m wrong especially when the proof is undeniable.

[MADRCER]

From MADRCER on OSE....

Pro Boat used to use what appeared to be 4mm cables in most all their boats instead of .150 cables up until the launch of the Veles and UL-19. Some people have found this out the hard way that some of these new boats have had what appears to be 4mm couplers on them from the factory as well. I'm trying to give you advise so you won't be the next person that puts an old stock coupler (4mm) on a true .150 cable and finds out the hard way that the coupler can bottom out and seem tight but in essence it's not. Do or run whatever you want to run but if I'm doing something I'm going to make sure everything I'm doing is right the first time if possible (because it's cheaper that way) rather to find out later when I'm spending $70.00 for a new .150 cable, a new Octura .150 short coupler, and a replacement stock prop. Good luck with it!

I.My new prop and new shaft now rest on the bottom of the pond. I’m more pissed I just didn’t listen to you guys. But when the place selling the shafts says it will be fine, what do ya do?

I assure you Steve didn't know the coupler wouldn't work with his cable or he would have told you to buy the .150 coupler. As a matter of fact most people wouldn't think about it either and assume all "small cables/couplers" are .150 cables and sometimes forget about the dreaded 4mm ones. We all live and learn...Everything happens for a reason. Good luck with it and use that cable saver!!!

[Hawcer]

Yeah, it sucks to learn the hard way.
I could try to drag the pond with a big magnet since my vid footage shows where I lost it. But it’s pretty deep and no “people” boats or swimming allowed, and who knows how much crud and sludge is on the bottom So tossing a magnet out that far and dragging it back in could be futile.

[boatsrnew2me]

sorry dude .i was pretty fortunate i guess .

[Hawcer]

I’ll order another shaft, the correct coupler, and a shaft saver. I have to hold off now on replacing the prop. Too much $$ already spent on toys this month. I also lost the little white thrust washer. I’ll have to locate one of those too.

I was impressed with the shaft quality over the stock one. Maybe I should wait for the HD shaft to be back in stock since I’ll be jumping up to 6s sooner or later. That prolly takes a different coupler too.

To anyone reading this post for the first time. Do as these guys said, not as I did. The proof is all there, it’s not just an opinion or two.

[MADRCER]

I also lost the little white thrust washer. I’ll have to locate one of those too.

https://www.offshoreelectrics.com/proddetail.php?prod=oct-oc6twmm

[Hawcer]

https://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pr...od=oct-oc6twmm

Thanks for the help.
...and the HD cable is back in stock. Should I just go that route even if still running 4s?

[MADRCER]

Thanks for the help.
...and the HD cable is back in stock. Should I just go that route even if still running 4s?

It's up to you. but the HD cable is a .187 cable, so you will need that coupler instead of the .150 coupler and you might need to cut some off of the brass stuffing tube because the .187 coupler is longer than the .150 coupler.

[Hawcer]

I went with the HD cable and everything else needed to go with it. Also added a CNC 42mm x 1.6 prop to try out. There goes my plans to order some 3s batteries this week.

[Hawcer]

I assure you Steve didn't know the coupler wouldn't work with his cable or he would have told you to buy the .150 coupler. As a matter of fact most people wouldn't think about it either and assume all "small cables/couplers" are .150 cables and sometimes forget about the dreaded 4mm ones. We all live and learn...Everything happens for a reason. Good luck with it and use that cable saver!!!

for whatever it's worth.
Steve just told me the stock coupler and their coupler have the same specs. I don't know if that means the OSE coupler or the Octura coupler has the same specs...I'm guessing OSE.

afterthought:
When tightening the coupler on the stock shaft, i could feel it slowly cinch down and squeeze the cable tighter. I recall with the OSE shaft when tightening the coupler it had an abrupt stop when tight. I was thinking it was the just the "harder" soldered section of the tip not allowing as much "squeeze".

[MADRCER]

Steve is correct, they do have the same specs.....if the boat leaves the factory with the correct coupler and not an "old stock" coupler (as I refered to it as in my earlier post) designed for a 4mm cable that was installed on the boat (perhaps by mistake) that just happens to tighten down just enough on the stock cable but not enough on the other aftermarket cables... Myself, you and others have found that out already....

[Hawcer]

Steve is correct, they do have the same specs.....if the boat leaves the factory with the correct coupler and not an "old stock" coupler (as I refered to it as in my earlier post) designed for a 4mm cable that was installed on the boat (perhaps by mistake) that just happens to tighten down just enough on the stock cable but not enough on the other aftermarket cables... Myself, you and others have found that out already....

So in all reality, The new .150" coupler isn't the same specs as what was on my boat from the factory...if by chance it had some oddball spec coupler installed on it.

Heck I just got it last month from Horizon. You'd think all the leftover oddball *!***!***!***!** would have been weeded out by now.

[martin]

Put some anti seize compound on the coupling taper & thread then tighten the coupling hex, you only need a small dab on the taper & thread so as not to get any on the flex going into the coupling. The anti seize stops galling & you get the coupling much tighter without to much pressure on the wrenches, lots of boaters on this forum use anti seize.