Set Up for a Race Ready Stock SuperVee 27R

[longballlumber]

Here is the BIG one and that is working with the brass sleeve bushing the stub shaft rotates on. I see many users asking about this type of system. This system has been used for MANY MANY years by the Nitro/Gas powered boats, and they have some VERY fast boats. If it has worked for them this long it will work fine for us on our FE powered boats. In theory the bushing is supposed to “float” inbetween the brass stuffing tube and the flex stub shaft. BUT, most importantly, there needs to be a clean/slip fit between the stub shaft (it’s rotating, fast) and the brass sleeve bushing (it’s the bearing surface). It needs to support the stub with little resistance, but also not have much if any radial slop. To date, I have never “worn out” a brass sleeve bushing in any boat I have ever owned FE, Nitro, custom build, or RTR. However, with these RTR boats you NEED to take the bushing out of the stuffing tub and make sure the sleeve bushing fits correctly.

First thing I do to check this fit is pulling the sleeve bushing out of the stuffing tube. I have found on these RTR boats that the sleeve bushing likes to “stick” in the stuffing tube. What I do for this is; I carefully chuck the shoulder end of the bushing into my cordless drill and using a green 3M scotch bright pad. This process isn’t going to remove much, if any material, but it will knock down any burs or sharp edges. The Key here is making sure you don’t deform the bushing in the chuck of the drill. Sorry, no pictures on this one. If anyone needs one let me know, I can reproduce the procedure.

[longballlumber]

Now I move to the fit of the bushing on the stub shaft. Unfortunately, on this particular RTR the fit wasn’t up to my standards. First I had trouble sliding on the bushing and there was some resistance trying to rotate the stub in the bushing. This type of condition translates into increased heat and loose of performance. The thing about these RTR hulls is some of the boats may be just fine, but others may need some work. That’s why you should always check; RTR is a relative term. Well, I had some work to do. For starters I put the threaded end of the stub shaft in my cordless drill, and using the same 3M scotch bright pad I clean off the bearing surface of the stub shaft. Again, this isn’t really removing any material, but it’s cleaning up the surface. Next I put a 3/16 drill bit thru the ID of the bushing. What I found was the drill would go thru, but it seemed the bushing was out of round for some reason. It wasn’t bent at all, but I could feel the resistance in the drill bit too… However, the drill wasn’t removing any material from the bushing. Test fitting again, I still had my problem and I wasn’t happy with the fit. I knew that I needed to do something more drastic.

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[longballlumber]

Now, at this point I could have probably went out and bought a new sleeve. But, I didn’t want to take the risk of getting another bushing with a poor fit. The next best thing for me to do was go to my local Machine Tool supply store and buy a 3/16” hand ream. These are really handy items to have around. I also keep a 1/4” ream around to for the speedmaster style struts using 1/4” brass stuffing tubes. Anyhow, they are relatively inexpensive meaning they were under $20 each and you simply chuck them into a hand tap (handle) and rotate the ream into the sleeve. When I did mine it ended up removing a decent amount of material. It takes some time and patients because you need to hold the bushing in your hand (fingers) while trying to clean it out with the bushing. Once I worked the bushing using the ream for a while (from both ends) I test fit the bushing onto the stub shaft again; GREAT SUCCESS… It was MUCH better and had a slip fit that was appropriate for an FE boat. My job here is done! (on the drive line of course)


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[longballlumber]

With the flex shaft, strut, and bushing all working and fit to my approval, I need to check the alignment of the stuffing tube, flex shaft, and motor/collet. On this particular hull the alignment is pretty good. With the flex collet loose, you should be able to push the flex shaft thru the stuffing tube and right into the collet without moving anything (motor or stuffing tube). IF this is a problem on your boat you can try a couple different things to fix it. You can elongate the mounting holes in the motor mount or you can CAREFULLY bend the brass stuffing tube.


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[longballlumber]

Finishing up the hardware install is where I am at now. I started with the trim tabs. I will be replacing the stock OEM trim tabs with the OSE adjustable trim tabs. This will be the ONLY non-OEM part allowed for our Stock/Spec Club class. Reason being is, I am not a fan and do not want to promote the bending and pushing on the stock trim tabs. Trying to make small equal adjustments is almost impossible and imposes unnecessary stress on the transom using the OEM trim tabs. The OSE tabs bolt right into the stock locations and allow the ability to make fine adjustments a racer needs. Pretty simple here they bolt into the stock locations. I simply use my Silicon like the other places to attempt to minimize water intrusion. You can see I left the tab surface above the boat planning surface. This may need to be adjusted down as I do my performance and handling testing this spring.


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[longballlumber]

Trim Tabs; not really any magic here. I simply use my files to put a nice sharp leading edge on the fins. Don’t try and take too much material too fast. You can always remove material, but you can’t put it back if you’ve gone too far.


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[longballlumber]

I reinstalled as stated in previous methods. The final installed angle will depend on spring testing results.


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[longballlumber]

Water pick up is next… This is a little newer set up compared to the previous SV version (original SV27). The transom mounted cooling pickup guarantees delivery of water regardless of which direction the boat is turning. Before mounting on the boat I ran the appropriate sized drill bit thru the pickup tube to ensure, there was no blockage.

Another item will need to be adjusted as I perform testing is to make sure the pickup is as high as possible to reduce drag, but also maintaining enough water flow to cool the motor and controller efficiently.


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[longballlumber]

The rudder was prepped much like the trim tabs. The sharpen takes time, but well worth the additional performance it provides.


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[longballlumber]

Reinstalling the water proof linkage boot was a little more of a pain than I expected. When I tried dry fitting it back in the stock hole size the boot wanted to go in deformed, not seating completely around the hull opening ID. So the easy solution was to open the hull opening diameter slightly until the boot fit nicely without any gap. After that I used the Silicon (again) around the boot and then reinstalled pulling the boot from the inside out to get a nice seal to eliminate water intrusion. Also once the boot is seated correctly I rotate it ensuring the Silicon is evenly distributed.


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[Bullwink]

Do your club rules allow you to cut the the stuffing tube at the transom (on the stinger side) to allow more adjustment of the stinger?

[longballlumber]

Sorry Bullwink,

I didn't see you question until now. I am not sure I fully understand your question. I don't know that I've ever run into an issue with the length of the stuffing tube and a stinger strut the won't allow me to make necessary adjustments. Can you explain further or maybe snap a picture of your issue.

Thanks
Mike

[Bullwink]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for getting back to me. There has been a few posts here like this one (http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/showthread.php?21806-Stuffing-tube-question} that suggest cutting the stuffing tube at the transom. I can send picutes later.

I am definitely using your build thread here to redo my Super Vees!

[longballlumber]

Hi Mike,

Thank you for getting back to me. There has been a few posts here like this one http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...-tube-question that suggest cutting the stuffing tube at the transom. I can send picutes later.

I am definitely using your build thread here to redo my Super Vees!

As far as our club rules I would suspect it would be OK if the boater wanted to. Actually, I would suspect we would discuss that modification as a group and decide as a group what benefits the class more.

I think the biggest point about our rules (as a club) is maintaining control of major modifications to enhance performance is what we are trying to keep to minimum. Our objective for the Stock SVR27 Class is to provide a CLEAR avenue for sport boaters to enter the racing side of our hobby. However, I also want to use this class to show the fundamentals of proper boat set up and tuning.

Back the modification suggested in your link. I think this becomes personal preference. This is my opinion and other may not agree with me, but cutting the stuffing tube doesn’t completely solve the “perceived” problem with the adjustment. When you cut the stuffing tube at the transom you add an additional “hinge” at that point WITHOUT support of a stuffing tube. By leaving the stuffing tube and making adjustments you have the support of the stuffing tube to help “smooth” out the transition of the flex shaft.

Leaving the stuffing tube intact (NOT cutting it) does increase the difficulty of adjustments, but it doesn’t make it impossible. Also in my experience with the SV, a lot of strut adjustment isn’t necessarily needed. Set your strut to neutral (maybe a small amount of negative), and use the trim tabs for fine adjustments.

The ideal situation is to have opening in the transom to allow the entire stuffing tube to float up and down. That is easy in a nitro powered boat since they have a radio box. However, in the FE boats it’s a little tougher since the entire inside of the boat needs to be treated like a radio box. Some guys have successfully installed a small box or wet well ¾ of the stuffing tube length. This will let the stuffing tube move up and down with the angle changes of the strut. Here you go Wink. Doug Smock did a really nice build on a mono that he built in a wet well for the stuffing tub http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...light=seaducer

Later,
Mike

[Brushless55]

cool stuff man!
have you ran your SV yet?
I may try one of these in P-Spec...