input requested = MHZ Mystic 840mm or 1140 vs Proboat 36 Miss Geico

[hannhann00]

Hi,

I'm a 1/8 GP on road car guy and i've always wanted a nice offshore cat. Frankly speaking the cat will be more of a display piece in my office/ home rather than something i'm running regularly however i'd of course like to get it out on the lake every now and then (very flat fresh water).

From my limited knowledge the MHZ line-up of hulls and equipment seems to be a grade above what else is available (any other brands i should check out pls feel free to suggest) and as i like quality i'm thinking a Mystic 5000 840 (or maaaybe a 1140) with twin drives.

The 1140 would be the ideal boat, however when spec-ing it out the budget starts to run up pretty fast (as i was thinking to do something around the $1000 mark since i'm not a hardcore boat guy - thus i'm thinking the 840 may make sense. I have some questions i'm hoping you can help me with;

- i understand the 1140 would prob have a larger operating window in terms of performance/ stability (at a cost increment) however on very flat conditions would it be feasible to make the 840mm a good 100+MPH boat? The 100+MPH is a vanity metric i'd like to be able to hit with the boat given that it seems very possible to get the stock Proboat 36 up to that speed with some light worx.

- what are the pros/ cons of going to a bigger hull (1140) vs the 840 with the MHZs? Would the capex to get a 1140 up to a 100mph boat be a lot more than the 840 (bigger motors/ escs/ lipos/ etc) or would it not be too much difference?

- The other thing i'm thinking is would the Proboat 36 Geico just do the job nicely for a lot less money (i'd just get it repainted as i'm not interested in that livery as i wanted to run my company livery)... If i can get a well spec'd MHZ 840 for a few hundred extra compared to a Proboat 36 miss G i'm thinking that still makes sense , but if it's double then you have to start asking the question.

- The other thing i could do is just suck it up and pay $1800 ish for the ARTA MHZ Mystic 5000 1140 (carbon) and then spec it with motors and ESCs at a later date. In such i'd have pretty much one of the ultimate hulls possible.

- btw i struck the TFL zonda off the list as i wanted quality since this will largely be a display piece, however have i been too harsh to strike this boat off the list if i'm putting the Proboat 36 Miss G on the options list?

Anyone been through a similar decision making process and what did u choose and why?

[fweasel]

Generally speaking, the longer the hull, the more stable it is at speed. Yes, you can build an 84cm hull to do 100mph. The 114cm hull will be more stable at those speeds, and can do it with fewer concerns on water conditions. I have a 32" Rivercat carbon cat, single motor, that runs 102mph on 4S. It needs perfect conditions, and is a handful in anything less. My HPR twin cat which is 115cm does 106mph on 6S and is infinitely more stable at those speeds.

Stability aside, the bigger hull is easier to build, more room on the inside. More room on the inside means more battery options as well. A twin 840 build will be a knuckle scraper of a project.

As for the RTR options, yes, the Geico twin can get you to your speed goals, but it's near the bleeding edge of its abilities. The hull needs to be reinforced to handle crashes at those speeds. You can argue that's the case for all of the hulls in this conversation. The Zonda, while a very capable design, is a thin hull and needs the reinforcement the most. I like TFL hulls, but wouldn't run one at those speeds without a full inlay and other reinforcements. If you're already set on painting the hull to suit your taste, it would make more sense to start with a bare hull.

My advice, build the 114. It's a standard sized hull with lots of parts available, lots of past build experience to draw from regarding setup and equipment specs. You can put quality running hardware on it and skimp on the electronics. If you catch the bug and want to run it more often, you can go back and put better motors, ESC's, and batteries.

[vvviivvv]

Theres a Mystic (in Europe) on here brand new for 800 euro.

Don't think its a 100mph boat currently - but a good starting point. 100+ Is really hard on a boat my 115 has beaten Fweasel's by 1mph so far - with a lot more to give

I don't like driving it at these speeds as it's not too enjoyable worrying if each run will be the last, my setup could probably push into 120 zone but I'd prefer some longer drives if I wanted to go looking for these speeds.

[hannhann00]

Hey guys, thanks for the input... As i done more reading abt this i've learned there's actually a reasonable amount to learn to set-up, run and maintain a FE boat well.

I therefore actually just ordered a cheaper boat online (a Flowmaster 920 twin). This will just serve as a bit of a 'learner boat' and potentially a future salt water boat if i can solve the leaking issues that have been discussed online regarding the Flowmaster twin (what are the views on running a well sealed boat in salt water btw? - is it just a matter of rinse off all very well after use, remove flex shafts and rinse/ re grease then spray something like CRC or WD40 on all hardware?).

From what i read the Flowmaster twin is a decent boat but they do require some work which i think will be fun, then once i'm use to taking care of a FE i'll probably just order the larger Mystic 5000 114 in the future.

I'll probably make another post detailing/ asking question for what i have in mind for the Flowmaster but the current thinking is-
- before running pull it apart and add additional fibreglass or carbon layers and epoxy to the full inside (without removing motor mounts and battery tray. Although this may not be needed if i'm not going to larger ESC and motors**)
- realign motors to drive tubes
- remove and grease flex shafts (align)
- switch connectors to bullet connectors (is this the best option?)
- upgrade to decent balanced and sharpened metal props (still deciding which ones - any suggestions?)
- align drive struts correctly
- solve leaking issues discussed online (tips?)
- sand back current design livery and respray my prefered design (any advice for how i get the nice gelcoat clear finish once i've resprayed the hull using Tamiya type spray cans?)



(not going too crazy as i don't want to sink too much $$ on this as i'd rather save it for the 114 in the future)