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?...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?...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

[pistol18]

Sweet flip and she landed right side up which always helps! Glad you are enjoying the new boat, they are awesome.
When its windy, you can run downwind full throttle and I usally run half throttle into the wind with no issues.

Where did you run? Is that a stadium on the water? looks real neat!

[vinnyp]

That is in Zachs Bay, its part of Jones Beach. The bad part is that it is salt water. That arena in the background is actually an amphi-theatre. There are concerts there during the summer months. Pretty cool to go to, unless you get a bad day weather wise.
Yes, I figured out running slower into the wind and faster going with the wind.... after I flipped it!

[mikiek]

Good to hear you were incident free. Does it really count as a flip if you land right side up?

Were you running with the 4 3S? If yes, where did you place them? Also wondering if the batteries were still in place afterwards?

[vinnyp]

Yes, I am running 4 3s lipos. These...
http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?...product_id=399
I have all 4 lipos pushed as far forward as possible. After the flip, the front lipos shifted around. The rears, stayed pretty good. Being that the front lipos are kind of stuffed under the deck, I cant get 2 hold down straps around them. I was thinking of using Velcro, but the lipos fit a bit tight under the deck, I don't know if I could get them out if they are held down with Velcro.

[mikiek]

Very reasonable price for those.

I suppose as long as you can keep the rear batteries in place the front ones can't do too much damage. I assume yours came with the pool noodles up in the hull. Just wondering - when I hit the wall one came loose. It must have slammed into the motor and knocked that out of alignment which then sheared the cable. I'm sure you probably did, but check the components and make sure they are screwed in tight.

I think having an incident like in your video or mine is not a totally bad thing. It keeps us honest

[REDLINE1]

Did the same thing last weekend wish I had a video lol. Perfect back flip lots of big air landed perfectly lol. Make sure u check your struts mine got knocked out of wack on the landing

As far as the batteries I use a Velcro strip as wide as the battery. For the front ones I have a thin plastic ruler which is the same width as the batteries Lay the ruler on top of the velcroed battery tray all the way forward under the hull , slide the battery in on top of the ruler then pull the ruler out. To remove the battery reverse the process by lifting up on the rear of the battery and working the ruler in under to separate the Velcro then slide the battery out

Even after my flip none of the batteries moved Velcro worked great

[TheShaughnessy]

Yes, I am running 4 3s lipos. These...
http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?...product_id=399
I have all 4 lipos pushed as far forward as possible. After the flip, the front lipos shifted around. The rears, stayed pretty good. Being that the front lipos are kind of stuffed under the deck, I cant get 2 hold down straps around them. I was thinking of using Velcro, but the lipos fit a bit tight under the deck, I don't know if I could get them out if they are held down with Velcro.

A little trick I learned somewhere along the way concerning Velcro and stuck batteries. Ill try to find a pic but for now i'll do my best to explain it. Get a flexible ruler, or any thin sheet of metal, place it on top of the Velcro in the boat, slide the battery in, slide the ruler out. To remove them you wiggle the ruler back in and it keeps the Velcro from re hooking everything.

[vinnyp]

Thanks for the tips on mounting the lipos. I'll look into that.

[vinnyp]

Yesterday, I finally got the time and had good weather to take my second run with the Zelos. I won a Garmin Forerunner on EBay as well, so I had some #'s to work with. Although I am definitely a novice, I was still expecting better #'s. Unfortunately, I have no videos, since I went alone. The water was as flat as its going to be here. Not like you lake guys, but flat enough. I had the struts set to 4mm, had 4 3S lipos as far forward as possible. The boat seemed to be running slightly wet, but I decided to leave it as it was and run it. With the exception of me detounging and sharpening the props, they are what came with the boat from Horizon. I haven't messed around with any ESC calibration or programming. They are as they came.
I see the speed #'s you guys are posting here. I am no where near that, even compared to the guys still running stock electronics. I am starting to think either I destroyed my props by me screwing around with them, or something is off with the ESC calibrations, or maybe I just suck and should stick to full sized boats. Am I expecting too much from my second run?

[MADRCER]

Yesterday, I finally got the time and had good weather to take my second run with the Zelos. I won a Garmin Forerunner on EBay as well, so I had some #'s to work with. Although I am definitely a novice, I was still expecting better #'s. Unfortunately, I have no videos, since I went alone. The water was as flat as its going to be here. Not like you lake guys, but flat enough. I had the struts set to 4mm, had 4 3S lipos as far forward as possible. The boat seemed to be running slightly wet, but I decided to leave it as it was and run it. With the exception of me detounging and sharpening the props, they are what came with the boat from Horizon. I haven't messed around with any ESC calibration or programming. They are as they came.
I see the speed #'s you guys are posting here. I am no where near that, even compared to the guys still running stock electronics. I am starting to think either I destroyed my props by me screwing around with them, or something is off with the ESC calibrations, or maybe I just suck and should stick to full sized boats. Am I expecting too much from my second run?

Sounds like you might have something amiss. Bring them batteries back some. Those 7200mah SMC'S are heavier than most 3s packs and they are probably holding the nose down too much, especially with 4 of them. I ran 62.2 mph with a stock boat virtually untouched, you should be able to get more than 54.

[mikiek]

Hey Vinny - seems like batteries are a mixed blessing. Do you have any other 3S batteries to compare the 7200mah to? Or can you weigh the 7200mah? I'm using 5000mah 3S and one of those is 15.75 oz. I have said before I wish they were a tad heavier. I have yet to totally pull the throttle because the z is in the air most of the time. The best placement I have found is 2 batteries forward as far as they will go and the other 2 as far back as they will go.

Is the 4mm strut at parallel or did you go up or down?

I know in general, when things are behaving the way you want, sometimes it's best to go back to the defaults - ctrl-alt-del so to speak. Find the best placement for your batteries before you start messing with the struts. Didn't we get 2 sets of props with the boat? Or maybe I bought an extra set. You might try going back to originals. If nothing else, then you'll have some backups.

Stay with it!

[vinnyp]

According to SMC's website, the 7200 MAH weigh in @ 16.47 oz. Not much more than 5000 MAH. I don't think that is my problem. The struts were @ 4mm. As I look at more You-Tube videos of these boats running, the water they are running is much flatter than what I have here. The boats in the videos are running bow high, packing air, not bouncing around at all. Don't think mine will ever be able to run like that, unless I find another place to run. I am sure the bumps are costing me considerable amounts of speed.
Since I attempted to work my props myself, it is totally possible that they are not right. My boat didn't come with any other props. I am trying to get a set of ABC 1814-17-45(2) from OSE. However, the left hand prop is out of stock.
Like the full sized boats I work on, trial and error is the only way to make performance gains. Only I have been doing that for 30 years, only messing with RC boats for 30 DAYS!!!!

[fweasel]

Vinny - If your water is as rough as you say it is, the 1814 props might be too aggressive, and hard on the electronics. You might try a set of x447's or even 447's cut down to 45mm. A professionally prepped set will do wonders compared to the stock 442's. Hit up Dasboata for a set.

[dasboata]

According to SMC's website, the 7200 MAH weigh in @ 16.47 oz. Not much more than 5000 MAH. I don't think that is my problem. The struts were @ 4mm. As I look at more You-Tube videos of these boats running, the water they are running is much flatter than what I have here. The boats in the videos are running bow high, packing air, not bouncing around at all. Don't think mine will ever be able to run like that, unless I find another place to run. I am sure the bumps are costing me considerable amounts of speed.
Since I attempted to work my props myself, it is totally possible that they are not right. My boat didn't come with any other props. I am trying to get a set of ABC 1814-17-45(2) from OSE. However, the left hand prop is out of stock.
Like the full sized boats I work on, trial and error is the only way to make performance gains. Only I have been doing that for 30 years, only messing with RC boats for 30 DAYS!!!!

I have a set of 1814 I can race prep for you ,,,,,,,and thanks Ryan

[vinnyp]

Thanks for the replies..
Dasboata... what do you think about running a set of 1814 in less than ideal water? If you think they would work, can you p.m. a price and an estimate of how long it would take.