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OK, torn on this one as I am trying to figure out which way to go on this one, but figured I would post it for sale. I purchased it off the swap shop here and it was in very nice condition. But knowing how these things are built, I tore into it and made the following changes.
Rudder: Removed the stock rudder and put a scale like rudder from HOR on it. I epoxied a piece of aluminum in the back of the cat where the rudder bolts up and then drilled and tapped it. Now the rudder is very secure and can be removed without any cursing at all due to the tapped holes. The rudder has also had the small shear bolt drilled out and replaced with a 3mm nylon shear bolt to prevent hull damage on a strike. Not tested, as I have not hit anything with this boat, but it has worked on other rudders I did this to.
Props: Props were stock, so I spent a couple of hours sanding and balancing them. Sharp and balanced now. 4mm bore, 35mm dia. Yeah, they both rotate the same direction, that is the way these cats come.
ESC's: This is a big improvement. The shrink wrap was coming loose from the silicone plugs in the end, which will leave them open to water and the eventual failure. So I opened them up and remove the heat sink. Sure enough, only a 1/4 to 1/3 of the fets were even touching. Filed them flat and remounted the heat sink with thermal paste. I then sealed the whole thing in laminating epoxy so it is truly waterproof. I have had these run underwater like this without issue.
Hatch: I hate taping hatches and the paint damage that can come from it. So, I added 1/4" soft closed cell foam around the inside of the hatch lip. I installed two pins in the front of the hatch and moved the finger pull to the back and glued in a foam block for hatch flotation. The hatch now presses in tight and stays put. I sometimes put a small piece of electrical tape across the back part, but lately just press the hatch down and run it. I have flipped it before and it stayed put. After sitting upside down in the waves for several minutes, there was a few ounces of water in the hull, very little.
Hull: I added two part foam to the bow for permanent flotation. Also makes the bow stronger incase of a crash. The cheap battry trays were loose when I got it, so I removed them and sanded the middle section and epoxied in a piece of kevlar/carbon. Then attached a large piece of velcro to allow easy placement of the batteries. With the non scale rudder gone, I added two water pickups in the back of the sponsons. They work well and everything remains cool.
electronics are fitted out with chinese deans connectors. Also included is a tower hobbies servo. I was not planning on including the 2 channel AM radio.
Performance: I ran the boat on 3s-2200-20c batteriese. These were a bit small and limited the speed. The first pass was ok but after that you could tell the batteries were straining. Higher c or 3000+ capacity would be good. I was getting 33 to 34 mph as it sits, but current was pretty low. i think in the mid 30's, so plenty more room left as the ESC's are rated at 70amps, and with the improved cooling should handle more just fine. This boat has plenty more in it, I am getting into the smaller boats and I do not have the battery setup to really run this thing, so looking to pass it on. I think some of the venom props would probably work out well on this thing. I can post a graph of one of the runs from the eagle tree also if anyone wants to see it. Voltage definately dropped under load.
Now the price: yes, a new one is currently $277 delivered through the slower shipping option from HK, but you then have to do all the work and wait! I put a lot of time into this thing including the hull reinforcement, the servo, and the new rudder. I feel this is definately better than a new one that may or may not have issues with it. heck, just getting rid of that ugly rudder alone was worth it! The $250 is shipped UPS CONUS, not sure what the difference would be for the other two states or Canada. I am torn on it because it is a beautiful looking craft and works perfectly.
Thank you for looking, Brian
Rudder: Removed the stock rudder and put a scale like rudder from HOR on it. I epoxied a piece of aluminum in the back of the cat where the rudder bolts up and then drilled and tapped it. Now the rudder is very secure and can be removed without any cursing at all due to the tapped holes. The rudder has also had the small shear bolt drilled out and replaced with a 3mm nylon shear bolt to prevent hull damage on a strike. Not tested, as I have not hit anything with this boat, but it has worked on other rudders I did this to.
Props: Props were stock, so I spent a couple of hours sanding and balancing them. Sharp and balanced now. 4mm bore, 35mm dia. Yeah, they both rotate the same direction, that is the way these cats come.
ESC's: This is a big improvement. The shrink wrap was coming loose from the silicone plugs in the end, which will leave them open to water and the eventual failure. So I opened them up and remove the heat sink. Sure enough, only a 1/4 to 1/3 of the fets were even touching. Filed them flat and remounted the heat sink with thermal paste. I then sealed the whole thing in laminating epoxy so it is truly waterproof. I have had these run underwater like this without issue.
Hatch: I hate taping hatches and the paint damage that can come from it. So, I added 1/4" soft closed cell foam around the inside of the hatch lip. I installed two pins in the front of the hatch and moved the finger pull to the back and glued in a foam block for hatch flotation. The hatch now presses in tight and stays put. I sometimes put a small piece of electrical tape across the back part, but lately just press the hatch down and run it. I have flipped it before and it stayed put. After sitting upside down in the waves for several minutes, there was a few ounces of water in the hull, very little.
Hull: I added two part foam to the bow for permanent flotation. Also makes the bow stronger incase of a crash. The cheap battry trays were loose when I got it, so I removed them and sanded the middle section and epoxied in a piece of kevlar/carbon. Then attached a large piece of velcro to allow easy placement of the batteries. With the non scale rudder gone, I added two water pickups in the back of the sponsons. They work well and everything remains cool.
electronics are fitted out with chinese deans connectors. Also included is a tower hobbies servo. I was not planning on including the 2 channel AM radio.
Performance: I ran the boat on 3s-2200-20c batteriese. These were a bit small and limited the speed. The first pass was ok but after that you could tell the batteries were straining. Higher c or 3000+ capacity would be good. I was getting 33 to 34 mph as it sits, but current was pretty low. i think in the mid 30's, so plenty more room left as the ESC's are rated at 70amps, and with the improved cooling should handle more just fine. This boat has plenty more in it, I am getting into the smaller boats and I do not have the battery setup to really run this thing, so looking to pass it on. I think some of the venom props would probably work out well on this thing. I can post a graph of one of the runs from the eagle tree also if anyone wants to see it. Voltage definately dropped under load.
Now the price: yes, a new one is currently $277 delivered through the slower shipping option from HK, but you then have to do all the work and wait! I put a lot of time into this thing including the hull reinforcement, the servo, and the new rudder. I feel this is definately better than a new one that may or may not have issues with it. heck, just getting rid of that ugly rudder alone was worth it! The $250 is shipped UPS CONUS, not sure what the difference would be for the other two states or Canada. I am torn on it because it is a beautiful looking craft and works perfectly.
Thank you for looking, Brian
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