The little boat that could...

[fweasel]

Haven't had much time to run it this summer, but it's crunch time because the mini shootout at Lake of the Ozarks is only a few weeks away. Ran it on a set of bigger 3S packs first with an ABC 1614, then made a few passes on the 4S race setup with an ABC 1715. The 3S run was surprisingly fast, but way low on speed for the 4S run. I think I need a tweak the throttle limit for another 20%. Might have a chance to run it again tomorrow morning before the rain to test that theory. Best part is, it runs flat and stable as long as you can feed it calm water.

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[rol243]

thats a great speed you got there., i like the motor collet too.

[kfxguy]

So it went 71.1 on 3s? And 81.4 on 4s right? Btw you didn't even let everyone know it's only a baby 27" boat lol. You'll get it into the 90's. Be advised....you'll pucker up when you see that thing fly by. That little thing looks so freaking fast at 90+


I just looked back through my pics and it went 65.1 on 3s last time I ran it. So you got it even better on 3s. I have a minute and 19 second video of it I could link if you don't have it. Id like to see some video of it next time you run.

[fweasel]

Yes, those were my best 3S and 4S speeds. Probably won't get much video. My cameraman is 5 and there's a greater chance he'll drop my phone in the water than getting good, stable video that doesn't look like a scene from Blair Witch.

The strut has some negative trim to it, which is part of the reason it's running so well. I'm hesitant to adjust that and ruin the attitude. Perhaps I can adjust just the height of the strut while maintaining the same trim angle. I could also run the 4S packs a little further to the rear in the trays.

[kfxguy]

I had them far up just in case.

[fweasel]

Forgot I started this thread. Might as well update the boats progress. Ran it on 4S, ABC1715 at the shootout in August and did a best of 91.1mph on the radar. Ran it again last weekend and had several good passes, best of 90.3mph. Problem now, crashes at those speeds are bending my speedmaster rudders. Time for a new, shorter rudder design. Travis is going to hook me up with his new design over the off season. Might send it off for a paint job too.

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[rol243]

good speeds there and could be even better if the rudder was abit shorter for saw.

[fweasel]

I'm an idiot. Finally figured out why the rudder was shifting on the pivot pin after a crash. It wasn't the push rod arm, it was the two grub screws that fixed the rudder to the pin itself. Once I realized that was the issue, I pulled the pin, ground two flat spots in it, and put it back together. Cut the rudder down so it was only an inch below the prop, then reprofiled and sharpened it. Not the right water conditions today so nothing ground breaking speed wise, but I did roll it twice and the rudder didn't move.

Second crash cut the cooling hose on the prop, again. Funny, cut the plastic barb in half that I used to splice the last cut.

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[kfxguy]

Glad you got the rudder figured out. I never crash it so I never had that issue. The pin comes with no flats on it. They should come with them tho. I'm not sure how in the hell the hose is hitting the prop. If you want Whalen I send you rudder and drain plug, I can bend you a piece of brass like I did mine and powder coat it black so you can delete the rudder pickup. I'll send you some more hose too.


If you don't want to do all that I have another idea. Cut the hose an inch from the transom. I'll send you a piece of brass and some hose and you can splice it back together neatly.

[fweasel]

Over the winter I'll either do a through hull pickup in the bottom or route the hose into the hull on the same side as the rudder through a new hole. I will take you up on a section of black hose. The stuff I have on hand doesn't fit as snug through the aluminum grommet in the transom, which is why I spliced it outside the boat.

[monojeff]

Nice work man some of these little boats can boogy!
BTW never heard back from you on things PM me so I can get you taken care of!

[kfxguy]

Over the winter I'll either do a through hull pickup in the bottom or route the hose into the hull on the same side as the rudder through a new hole. I will take you up on a section of black hose. The stuff I have on hand doesn't fit as snug through the aluminum grommet in the transom, which is why I spliced it outside the boat.

Did you ever fix the hose and the rudder with the parts I sent you? Wonder how fast it’ll go with a shorter rudder. Remember to move the batts further up if you can. If not you’ll need to point the prop one or two degrees down. Mark the strut too so you don’t lose your setting.

[fweasel]

Strut was marked the day I got the boat so I could always get back to zero. I actually haven't even moved it. I bent one of the rudders flat again, cut it an inch below the prop and re-profiled the bottom. The few runs I got in were not great, a little too windy. My lake is pretty unprotected and calm flat days are hard to come by. Once I can decide if shorter is better, I'll modify the new blade you sent. The replacement hose will go in tonight if I can figure out how you secured it to the wall of the hull and if those routes are reusable.

[kfxguy]

Strut was marked the day I got the boat so I could always get back to zero. I actually haven't even moved it. I bent one of the rudders flat again, cut it an inch below the prop and re-profiled the bottom. The few runs I got in were not great, a little too windy. My lake is pretty unprotected and calm flat days are hard to come by. Once I can decide if shorter is better, I'll modify the new blade you sent. The replacement hose will go in tonight if I can figure out how you secured it to the wall of the hull and if those routes are reusable.

The hose runs through three pieces of brass tubing along the left side of the boat (top of the gunwale). Should be easy to change

[kfxguy]

The hose runs through three pieces of brass tubing along the left side of the boat (top of the gunwale). Should be easy to change

Runs along the side similar to this