Zelos 36 First Run tips??

[adamnyholt]

I’m back into boating with a Zelos 36 Twin. I’ve been skimming these forums for tips, but I’d like to ask outright for any TIPPS you guys have for my first run. Anything I should look at and adjust out of the box? I already own a bunch of 5000 mAH 3S batteries. If I run four of those will they be too heavy? Is there anything tricky about binding to a new radio, given the two ESC’s? (I want to use my DX4E.)

Anything you just think I should know?

Thanks!
Adam

[MADRCER]

Congrats Adam on the Zelos! You bind the Radio to the Receiver so no issues with the dual ESC's just check the calibration on the ESC's, make sure your endpoints are set correctly on your controller or you might damage your two servo cables. Check the motor mounts to be sure they are tight and check the motor alignment with the flex cables, grease flex cables, make sure your both struts are even and set on 4mm (neutral). You will need a 5mm gap between the drive dog and the strut. Also (4) 3s lipos are the best to run in this boat for a good balanced and stable boat, so you will be fine. Make sure you purchase two Series cables and DO NOT use the series cable that came with the boat along with the two cables you will be using to series the batteries or you will fry everything. I would go ahead and get that adapter as far away from the boat as you can Lol. If you have good water, decent batteries and your setup is close then you should be in the 60mph range. When you want to go real fast contact Dasboata on here and he can fix you up with some ABC props, by the way ABC 1716's are the fastest on the stock setup (ask me how I know) lol... Below is a link to the series adapters you should be using. Good Luck!

https://www.amainhobbies.com/dynamite-ec5-battery-series-harness-dync0028/p263275?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI2a2H6LOD2AIVRJ7ACh1kvgmPEAQYASABEgJ90_D_BwE

[Bp9145]

[QUOTE=MADRCER;705771]
"by the way 1716's are the fastest on the stock setup (ask me how I know) lol."
Hey Adam in case you didn't know. . .Mark should know, he's got the fastest stock Zelos on record! Oh, and wait a minute. . . . .
also holds the fastest stock Veles 29 on record. . .he's not MADRCER for nothing!LOL. . . .great job Mark.

[fweasel]

Make sure the winds on your flex cables are oriented in the proper direction. When viewed from the rear of the boat, they should make a ^ pattern, pointing towards the bow. That is, the left cable winds should be slanted like /// and the right cable winds should be slanted like \\\.

My original Zelos was assembled pretty well and they only changes I had to make were some slight alignment of the motors and motor mounts so that the flex cables would slip into the open collets as easily as possible, with minimal to no deflection.

Be careful to wipe off any grease from the tips of the flex cables before they're installed into the motor collets.

I, and several others, had water leaks where the black struts are mated to the rear faces of the sponsons. This was cured by loosening the hardware and applying some clear silicone caulk into the mating surface before reseating the struts.

The single M3 nut and bolt that holds the strut angle in place on each strut needs to be tightened down as tight as is reasonably possible for hardware that small. The strut adjustment is key to how this boat will run on the water and they can become mis-aligned from just aggressive steering if not tightened properly. I ultimately chose to increase the size of hardware on my struts to provide more hold.

Have fun, it's a great boat.

[MADRCER]

[QUOTE=Bp9145;705806]

"by the way 1716's are the fastest on the stock setup (ask me how I know) lol."
Hey Adam in case you didn't know. . .Mark should know, he's got the fastest stock Zelos on record! Oh, and wait a minute. . . . .
also holds the fastest stock Veles 29 on record. . .he's not MADRCER for nothing!LOL. . . .great job Mark.

Comment well appreciated. Thanks Brian!

[vinnyp]

Adam,
I have been running 4 7200 SMC's in my zelos. No issues with weight. They weigh in at 467 grams each. I agree with what was said above but want to add a couple more things for you to look at. As is common with this boat, when I first got mine the the water tubes had paint in them from the bottom. I was cleaning them out, when 1 fell through. Turns out it was barely glued in place. Also, some guys cut small slits in the bottom of the hull just in front of the water tubes to allow a bit more flow into the tubes. Personally I hated those tubes and went with 2 sets of dual flush mount pick ups.

[vinnyp]

Here is a picture of the dual water pick ups installed. You can also see the slits cut into the hull in front of the pick ups.

[Tuono995]

Ok just did my first run my with new Zelos 36 tonight and would have to say an awesome boat....but water pick up flow not the best....motors pretty hot esc ok didn’t have infrared temp gun so not sure on temp.
Anyone have an idea where I can find thread on cooling.....��

[dasboata]

Ok just did my first run my with new Zelos 36 tonight and would have to say an awesome boat....but water pick up flow not the best....motors pretty hot esc ok didn’t have infrared temp gun so not sure on temp.
Anyone have an idea where I can find thread on cooling.....��

you should start your own thread on that

[Tuono995]

you should start your own thread on that

[Lowroller]

Hey guys, just joined the forum and recently bought this boat. Is the 5mm gap between the drive dog and strut accurate that madracer posted? The manual calls for a 1-2mm gap.

[Revolt Flash]

Yes it is.

[fweasel]

Hey guys, just joined the forum and recently bought this boat. Is the 5mm gap between the drive dog and strut accurate that madracer posted? The manual calls for a 1-2mm gap.

I don't use the white teflon washers and make my gaps about the diameter of the flex cable is use or just a hair less. 1-2mm would be a little close for comfort, especially if your motor has some axial (in and out) play.

[Lowroller]

Thank you

[Lowroller]

I finally got around to running my Zelos today and it performed great! I ran it with two 6s 4500 mah packs and I did not have any heat issues at all. With a compley stock set up and the batteries pretty far forward I got a best speed of 55.9 mph and a run time of 8 minutes. I’m pretty sure with a little battery positioning I can get even more speed out of it. Very happy with the overall performance of the boat. ESC and motor temp never exceeded 100’ F. The batteries were warmer at 120’ F.