Both boats are 36", and both are called Zelos. So, what makes the new Miss Gieco better than the older boat? Electronics, larger motors, better out drives, better drive shafts, etc...

Hey Guys,

Just bought the Zelo's twin and have a bunch of questions. I bought it spur of the moment when OSE mentioned the $399 sale on FB. I was headed off for a two week vacation at a lake house we rent and thought a new boat would be fun. I'm very familiar with RC, mostly planes and heli's but do have boats, just don't get the chance to use them much. I got the Zelos and assumed it was RTR, I'd get around to re-greasing shafts, motor alignment, strut tuning etc. after I tried it out......big mistake.

About three minutes into the first run it started making a horrible noise, I started to idle it back to the dock and noticed it was sinking. I took off the hatch and was greeted by a large amount of smoke and water. The port side lower motor mount that supports the copper tube had completely melted. The copper tube was then able to spin around breaking the seal with the hull and knocking the water hose off of the intake fitting. The copper tube and lower motor mount aren't available parts and are only sold as part of a replacement hull so essentially the boat was done. I called HH and of course they said to send it back and they'd repair, replace, refund...whatever. Normally that would be fine but I was on vacation and wanted a boat. If they fixed or replaced it I wouldn't be able to use it until next year. And if I got a refund I wouldn't be able to replace it with another $399 equivalent.

I quickly located another Zelos still on sale and ordered it. While waiting for my favorite UPS man to show up I reviewed the forums and discovered that this appears to be a common problem. When the new boat arrived the first thing I did was lubed the shafts and aligned the motors the best I could with the tools I had with me. I was only able to run the boat twice before vacation was over but it was still awesome. Nothing melted but something is still off. The stbd shaft gets hot, the ports shaft gets very hot. When I got it home I pulled the shafts again and fully aligned the motors. I also had to trim the inserts flush with the copper tubes in order to have enough clearance to remove the collets from the motors. I aligned the motors so that the shaft enters the collets perfectly centered but noticed that once it's inserted further you can feel the edge of the collet dragging across the wires. To me this indicated that the angle of the motor isn't perfectly aligned...problem is the angle isn't really adjustable. I got them as good as I could with the available adjustments. I'll likely replace the cables before running it again anyway. Considering I'm just a basher and looking for reliability over setting any speed records what would you guys suggest I upgrade or do to make this drive system trouble free? The stock speed was fine so I'll probably just sharpen, balance and polish the stock props.


I also wanted to ask about cooling. I'm aware of the 30 mph rule on the Zelos. The problem is where I run the boat is usually a little rough and hitting top speed is unlikely. The majority of my running will probably be 20-40 mph with occasional 50 + mph bursts. I'd thought about running a pump on boats in the past and now I'm thinking about it again for the Zelos. I'm curious why I never see it discussed or anybody doing it. I like the idea that I can slow down or sit for a minute while I wait for the water to calm and the motor and ESC's will cool right down with water being pumped through them......is this a bad idea for some reason?


Lastly is batteries and CG. I ran what I had for batteries that were close. I had a pair of 6S 3000's and a pair of 3S 5500's. Seemed to run fine with both. I don't have the boat in front of me to look at but if you run (4) 3S packs how do you strap down the front pair that far fwd? And I don't see any mention of CG. With planes we are provided a CG range. Why doesn't the same apply to boats? I understand that it will vary some depending on your strut angle and what characteristics you're looking for but shouldn't a basic range be accurate for most users? For example set your CG 100-110 mm from the transom with a strut angle of 4mm and tune to your liking / conditions from there? Again not that familiar with boats it just seems like randomly putting in your packs and tuning CG and strut angle from feel could be a long and subjective process. Especially for those not as experienced as others.


Thanks for any tips or suggestions you guys can share

Not sure where everyone is! I have only gotten one run in myself, so I'll try and help you out.

Originally Posted by supertoyz

I got the Zelos and assumed it was RTR, I'd get around to re-greasing shafts, motor alignment, strut tuning etc. after I tried it out......big mistake.

Joke in RC is RTR = Ready to Rebuild...always grease the shafts first thing, as I'm sure you know now

About three minutes into the first run it started making a horrible noise, I started to idle it back to the dock and noticed it was sinking. I took off the hatch and was greeted by a large amount of smoke and water. The port side lower motor mount that supports the copper tube had completely melted. The copper tube was then able to spin around breaking the seal with the hull and knocking the water hose off of the intake fitting.

Sounds like it got too hot and melted it, probably due to little to no grease.


Considering I'm just a basher and looking for reliability over setting any speed records what would you guys suggest I upgrade or do to make this drive system trouble free? The stock speed was fine so I'll probably just sharpen, balance and polish the stock props.

That is interesting about your alignment, mine seemed to be spot on. After a few runs I did not have any heat issues around the flexshafts. I believe OSE sells upgraded flexshafts, but not sure that's necessary for a stock boat.

I also wanted to ask about cooling. I'm aware of the 30 mph rule on the Zelos. The problem is where I run the boat is usually a little rough and hitting top speed is unlikely. The majority of my running will probably be 20-40 mph with occasional 50 + mph bursts. I'd thought about running a pump on boats in the past and now I'm thinking about it again for the Zelos. I'm curious why I never see it discussed or anybody doing it. I like the idea that I can slow down or sit for a minute while I wait for the water to calm and the motor and ESC's will cool right down with water being pumped through them......is this a bad idea for some reason?

I also run in somewhat choppy water, so full speed all the time isn't an option for me. I tried to go slow and go by my dock, and at slower speeds I saw water coming out both cooling lines, so not sure about the 30mph thing. A pump wouldn't hurt anything, but might be overkill.

Lastly is batteries and CG. I ran what I had for batteries that were close. I had a pair of 6S 3000's and a pair of 3S 5500's. Seemed to run fine with both. I don't have the boat in front of me to look at but if you run (4) 3S packs how do you strap down the front pair that far fwd? And I don't see any mention of CG. With planes we are provided a CG range. Why doesn't the same apply to boats? I understand that it will vary some depending on your strut angle and what characteristics you're looking for but shouldn't a basic range be accurate for most users? For example set your CG 100-110 mm from the transom with a strut angle of 4mm and tune to your liking / conditions from there? Again not that familiar with boats it just seems like randomly putting in your packs and tuning CG and strut angle from feel could be a long and subjective process. Especially for those not as experienced as others.

I have no idea about CG on this one, nor about how to get the batteries all the way forward. ProBoat recommends running (4) 3s packs, which would be on the whole tray so I guess then CG is the same all the time.

Hope this helps! Sorry I don't know more.

Here is my maiden run!

ProBoat Zelos 36" Maiden on 4s and 6s (6 min 54 sec)

Tuning run on 4x 3S 6000 MAH and an octura prop and 4mm strut angle. Got to 74mph, so I still have some tuning to do. I wonder if two smaller MAH 6S batts would be lighter and faster. Hmmm.

Mid filming, there is a spectacular blow back and fish bobber maneuver which it fortunately lated right side up.

Zelos36 2 (1 min 57 sec)

Picked up a bone stock BNIB Zelos w the 3831 Dynam motors for significantly less than the close-out sale price. Even though I'm not really a production boat guy, I just could't resist.

Is anybody running this boat on 6lap 1/6mi NAMBA ovals rather than a couple hot flat straights? I usually build my rigger, P-ltd or P-class boats and hadn't bothered with a production build like these because they're rarely competitive. Our club has a few 6s class guys that are ripping fast and I was wondering how far down to prop this Zelos to get 6laps w/o going thermo-nuclear, or getting tarnished.

I'll be running 6s either as 4 6s-3000 or 4 3s 5000. Ran the maiden last weekend and while it needs tweaking and props, and understand I won't be at the front of the pack, it's pretty amazing how well you can do at the end of 6 laps if you stay outside the pins, don't crash, break down or melt it down.

447s seem a bit hot for my 90*+ Fla lake water. I'm thinking a pair of massaged Dasboata 445s or cut down 447s?

Thanks for any input from the oval guys. Mike

Video coming next week......

Oval racing Rocks different set of Balls than StraitAheadWardes I would read up Mads tips A-Z then become the King of the Pond This is one Rockin Cat but needs some prep work Pull the Flex Shafts and roll on flat surface to see how true. OSE has upgrades you Need I Run 3831 on My Veles 7 laps 55mph on stock Velos 36 prop S/B me runs cool so with two plenty room to up the Bet. Its tough to keep them Girls Behaving at 55 in a heat. Just what I have Learned but always Learning

Yeah Buckman, racing is a whole different trip than brief straight passes. Well, as suspected the Zelos is plenty fast for a production boat but unfortunately, after a genuine effort I discovered it's not even in the same league with the custom built Q class (6s) twins doing 6laps at my club. Even my 4s Cheetah twin that I sold last year would do similar lap times simply because it handled rough race water so much better.

The good news is that after massaging the hull, motors n props I could run 6 ripping fast laps with temps in the 125* range. The bad news is that I was completely dusted even after wrenching all I could get out of the stock hardware. Rather than fight a battle this cool boat could never win against my crew I'll just pass it on to somebody who wants a boat that's exactly what it was designed to be, a truly ripping fast, reliable pond boat.

We now return this thread to very impressive super fast brief passes.....

Brother you must have a Masters Degree in the use of the English Language I could not Say that Any Better Friend
Cheers

LOL, A master of the English language......an attribute I've never been accused of. Best wishes and fair winds, eh? Cya