NEW Pro Boat "ZELOS 36" Twin Cat

[arrover]

I think Darin posted a picture above of a 40mm Voracity motor mounted in this new boat. There is also another thread here that you might want to follow. Good info. http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...quot-twin-cat-!

[Rafael_Lopez]

Here are pictures of the included adapter. We did this because we don't expect our customers, that may be new to boating, to drop major $ for 4 LiPos, on top of the price for the boat. This way, they can get going with just 2 packs. Running 2 packs like this, run time is 3:1/2-4 minutes of full throttle driving. I've had people report as much as 7 minutes moderating the throttle, and I was experiencing about 6 minutes during the making of the official promo video. With 4 packs, full tilt, you will get around 6-7 minutes and upwards of 10 moderating the throttle. This is all with the stock motors of course.


As Darin has mentioned, and posted pictures of, the motor mount will fit 40mm diameter motors but if you go as large as he is, you will have to find a way to support the back. I set the boat up to use the shorter can, 40mm motor from the Impulse as an "upgrade", being that it is only 6mm longer than the stock motor.

[arrover]

Thanks for the picture Rafael. Is there any advantage to running 4 packs other than longer run time?

[Rafael_Lopez]

I discovered a long time ago, before working here, with our 29" hulls that they like weight. In my first MG29 that I got back in 2010, I ripped out the wood battery trays and would run 2, 4S packs in the sponsons. Handled way better than with 2, 2S packs. It made it feel more planted and I could carry more speed through the corners. The boat is also less likely to roll in a tight turn. Since this boat carries the same bottom design as the 29" boats, it reacts the same way to more weight.

With this specific boat though, I'll be honest, it's quite overpowered. With 4 packs, I found that during windy conditions the boat could run in to the wind without the front end wanting to lift. This meant that I could run in rougher conditions as well. 4 Batteries also makes it easier to set CG, without the need to change the struts from a neutral position, because the added weight helps settle the boat it can now plow through ripples/chop that might normally upset it. Just keep in mind that the weight of 4 packs could be equal to the weight of 2 single packs of the total sum voltage, to each ESC; meaning 2 single, 5s or 6s, packs would provide the same outcome with the only drawback being that you would be limited to not being able to shove a battery under the hull and use the entire length of the battery tray if you needed to.

[bigcam406]

nice job guys! love the"bruised banana" color scheme.after looking at the above photo im guesing it might be a tad of a pain to remove collets to lube the shafts though.looks tight.correct me if im wrong.

[JMSCARD]

All great info! Boy looks awful nice, and hence why I thought the 1512's would be nice in there... 2650kv's and 4s per side :) with some dasboata 442's lol... the castles are only 68mm and probably no rear support needed, just plunk in and go! Great work Rafeal... I this is def a nice boat, and perfect size! I'll be trying one for sure. Hoping HH has one of those surveys lol.

[Rafael_Lopez]

Bigcam406, it's the angle of the shot. There is plenty of room to loosen the collet. Also, to access the farthest screw on the motor mount, all you need a ball driver, and an Allen wrench if you really want to crank on it. Trust me, there is nothing complicated about this boat. We designed the interior layout for ease of service. The benefit of working with this specific boat manufacturer is that We/I have 100% control of how the boats get designed and built. We don't buy what they have on the shelf which gives us the creative freedom to do as much forward thinking as possible.

Also, you had me dying with the "bruised banana" comment. That's awesome!!


Hope these pictures help.

[Rafael_Lopez]

All great info! Boy looks awful nice, and hence why I thought the 1512's would be nice in there... 2650kv's and 4s per side :) with some dasboata 442's lol... the castles are only 68mm and probably no rear support needed, just plunk in and go! Great work Rafeal... I this is def a nice boat, and perfect size! I'll be trying one for sure. Hoping HH has one of those surveys lol.

Thank you.

If you don't find the survey, they sometimes have a summer boat sale during spring, which is right around the corner.

[bigcam406]

thanks for the clarification.the picture was deceiving.nice job.should be a hot seller.

[Darin Jordan]

Guys, also of note, the couplers on these new boats are QUALITY bits. All the hardware is. Just really, really nicely done.

[kfxguy]

Guys, also of note, the couplers on these new boats are QUALITY bits. All the hardware is. Just really, really nicely done.

Raphael was showing me the drives and rudder a while back and I was impressed. I can't wait till they sell the hardware because I think it will fit nicely on a couple hulls I have. The couplers look like octura units which are high quality

[PROP]

What is the reason you chose to run two battery packs in parallel ? Is it not better to run a separate pack to each motor like Darin is going to do ? You are joining them and then splitting them again.

[Darin Jordan]

The couplers look like octura units which are high quality

Actually the couplers (picture doesn't yet seem to appear on the Pro Boat/Horizon site), are more like these:

ose-81518_medium.jpg

Use a pair of 10mm wrenches.

[Rafael_Lopez]

What is the reason you chose to run two battery packs in parallel ? Is it not better to run a separate pack to each motor like Darin is going to do ? You are joining them and then splitting them again.

The financial reason for running both ESCs off one set of batteries is cost to the consumer. Our expectation of every RTR boat is that we will pull in customers that may not have experience with boats, or are possibly stepping up from a beginner boat. This means that if they don't have LiPos with which to operate the boat, the expense will be at least 1/3 the cost of the boat to buy 4 batteries. The cheapest 50c+ 11.1v packs I found on line were $60 + shipping, a each. So as you can imagine, expecting a customer to spend $649.99 for the boat plus $240 to $400+ on batteries could kill a sale. It would make much more sense to sped at least an extra $120+shipping for batteries, and go have fun. Having said this, keep in mind I do all my testing with the recommended packs. I can't vouch for the $60 packs though they may work just fine.

Performance wise, as long as your batteries are close to equally matched, it won't hurt to put them in series and then split them to the ESCs. The only thing you are hurting is run time. Where one may run in to heat issues is when you have 1 weak pack and one strong one, but that can happen any time you series 2 packs; it has nothing to do with splitting them. As for the ESCs, they don't care where the power is coming from. As long as they are both calibrated to the transmitter, which is done at the factory, they will both put out equal RPM to their motor, relevant to throttle position on the transmitter. With the adapter, voltage is constant between the 2 ESCs, and I never experienced one ESC hitting LVC before the other.

Depending on the quality of packs you run, you cold experience better performance, and run time, running an individual power feed to each ESC, but not everyone will have that luxury, so we made it easy for those who don't.

Long answer, I know. Sorry.

[Rafael_Lopez]

Actually the couplers (picture doesn't yet seem to appear on the Pro Boat/Horizon site), are more like these:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]140568[/ATTACH]

Use a pair of 10mm wrenches.

The pictures should be up soon. The couplers in this boat are the same ones I specified for the Voracity 36. They are very well made and have excellent grip over the .187 cable. The only time I've heard of people having issues is when they get grease in them, which I've experienced with other couplers as well.