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Thread: Zelos 36 strut disassembly

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    IL
    Posts
    4,100

    Default Zelos 36 strut disassembly

    Had a nasty flip today and the boat landed ass end first with a good sideways cartwheel. Broke a rear motor mount, sheered a wire drive and bent a strut. I had some spare struts in the parts box, but was hoping to not have to remove the small hardware deep inside the hull. Spent a little time with some basic tools and was able to break the struts down into their individual components and swapped over only what I needed. Some of the threaded cups unscrewed quite easily and others were soaked in thread lock during assembly and required heat. I learned the hard way what was just enough heat and what was too much. I cooked one set of the plastic cups in my trial and error process. Breaking these down might also make it easier to punch out the worn stock bushings and replace them new with lead teflon bushings. Got everything swapped over and readjusted. Now to fix that motor mount...

    2019-06-02 17.09.42.jpg 2019-06-02 13.51.22.jpg 2019-06-02 11.34.33.jpg 2019-06-02 17.12.02.jpg
    Last edited by fweasel; 02-06-2020 at 10:17 AM.
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2019
    Location
    AZ
    Posts
    30

    Default

    Hey me again! lol!

    Did you put new struts on your zelos after this? if so what kind? ive seen different sized "stinger struts" here on OSE's shop but im not exactly sure what the point of them is - a better hold on the shaft so the prop doesnt wobble as much?

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Aug 2015
    Location
    VA
    Posts
    435

    Default

    Nice job Ryan. The strut disassembly can be quite intense on the Zelos sometimes. I have hurt a couple of them myself.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    IL
    Posts
    4,100

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Revolt Flash View Post
    Nice job Ryan. The strut disassembly can be quite intense on the Zelos sometimes. I have hurt a couple of them myself.
    Thanks!

    Quote Originally Posted by Aquaman92 View Post
    Hey me again! lol!

    Did you put new struts on your zelos after this? if so what kind? ive seen different sized "stinger struts" here on OSE's shop but im not exactly sure what the point of them is - a better hold on the shaft so the prop doesnt wobble as much?
    This particular boat is on the workbench now getting a set of MBP smart drives installed along with a set of custom extension mounts off the transom and a new rudder system. Longer drives/struts kinda of fool the boat into behaving like a longer hull, providing a little more stability at speed, which can help keep the boat on the water. This is especially helpful with the Zelos, which because of it's wide tunnel, is better suited for turning than all out straight line speed in comparison to a long, narrow SAW hull. The longer struts also have flat surfaces on the bottom, which can create additional lift at the transom.

    IMG_20200131_155732.jpg

    Another advantage of the longer drives is that they're supported closer to the end of the assembly with a rigid connection to the hull. The stock struts, and even some similar style TFL struts, have a pivot adjustment very close to the transom mounting surface which creates a lot of leverage in a crash (or even just hard acceleration) and can easily take them out of trim adjustment. I drilled out the stock adjustment bolt so that I could use larger 4mm hardware. It gave me more clamping force and let me use a larger, more secure hex bit when adjusting them. The new Geico Twin redesign addresses some of these issues with the new, longer style strut. They are a significant upgrade to the original design, but are still limited in the amount of support that can offer the entire assembly due to the short overhang of the Zelos hull. Regardless, I would run the Geico Twin struts instead of the original Zelos struts if you're looking for an upgrade with less custom work/parts involved.
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Aug 2018
    Location
    Ky
    Posts
    176

    Default

    Quick question...who made the blocks that are bolted to the top of the rear mount on the smart drives?

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jul 2016
    Location
    IL
    Posts
    4,100

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by EddieM41 View Post
    Quick question...who made the blocks that are bolted to the top of the rear mount on the smart drives?
    Gabe Clegg at Stump Fabrication in GA.
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

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