New owner, some questions on salt water use / after run / setup

[Tharr62]

Hi Guys!

Apart from my Atomic Barbwire, this is my first real RC boat. I bought it a few days ago (Impulse 31 V2) from my LHS, and its sitting here on my work bench. I am excited to go and run it, but I want to be smart about it and ask a few questions as I am VERY new to boating (although have lots of RC experience).

1. Whats the best way to leverage torque when putting on the prop? There is no easy way to "hold" the flex cable.. so, what I had to do is use a hex wrench, and hold it on the grub screw by the motor (on the collet) to prevent the whole thing from turning as I tightened the prop on. Is this the way to do it?

- Also, should I be using any loc tight on the prop?

2. Prop gap. I noticed that there is a small white “washer” that kinda flops around between the strut and the dog. The gap is apx. 2-3mm.. but, I can’t push the shaft any farther in. Is this normal? I read this was by design, as it will compress under load. I just wanted to be sure, that this is the case, and the washer is suppose to be floppy etc..

3. I have this part that came with the boat. Its a small clear tube, but bigger diameter then the water cooling tube, and its short. Where is this used? The manual has no mention of it? Its about the diamater of the drive shaft?

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4. CorrosionX. Should I buy this product from the get go, and use it on my boat? I DO intend on running in salt water.. and I have a perception of what my after run should be.. and wanted to run it by you all to confirm.

a. Immediately after the boat comes out of the water.. I will use a small hobby fuel pump (hand crank system) to flush out the cooling lines with soapy water (fresh water). (bring in a 12oz bottle). This will be done before the motor even has a chance to cool off.

b. Remove the flex cable, wipe dry, spray with [WD-40, or CorrosionX??] and place a small amount of marine grease on it, and place in ziploc bag till I get home. Also, will remove the teflon from the drive shaft.

c. Spray some [WD-40 or CorrosionX] through the bare drive shaft flushing out any water etc..

d. Spray some [WD-40 or CorrosionX] on the rudder / outside hardware / fins /etc?

e. Spray some [WD-40 or CorrosionX] through the cooling system, after I have flushed it with soapy water


After that, I would pack the car and head back home.. where I would then leave the hatch open to air dry anything for a few days (assuming no water got inside of course.. otherwise I would have to deal with that) and I would leave the drive line etc... out until next run, re-grease and go play again.



I guess my question here is two parts. First, do I need to use WD-40 or CorrosionX? and how and when should I use it? Lastly, do I need to wash the OUTSIDE of the boat, or can I just wipe down with a beach towel when it comes out of the water, and then do all of the above?


5. I can't stand the stock collet with set screw! Whats the upgrade part for a better system with no set screws? Also, on that note is there a better upgraded flex cable I can use too?

Thanks so much guys!!