A cat with an attitude
07 Nov 2006
 Some details of
the Hot Shot 3.5.
The painting scheme was really
simple to do and the results looks ok. Vinyl decals applied over this immaculate piece of
work. The painting resulted in a glass like finish.
 DPI motor cover for
3.5 motors. This cover is suited to this engine (K&B 3.5) and comes in two halves,
joined with CA and painted. It adds to the scale looks of the boat.
My motto is - If it looks good, it runs good. (isn't
it?)
 Under the hood. The HITEC 605, HITEC HS 100 the Futaba F118 and a
1200mAh pack fit perfectly on the radio compartment. It is completely water proof as
experience shown. The lid is sealed with tape.
Running
| Day 1 (27-12-1997) |
| |
I was expecting a lot of problems with this engine. It's a high
performance engine and I'm running it with 10% nitro, and with high performance airplane
engines the pains are endless.
Guess what ! The engine started easy, revved a lot and the boat runs like mad.
The carburetor is simplicity at its best. No fuss, no mess. Just a small needle,
when adjusted as the manual states will give you plenty of control and power.
If I thought that the Heatwave is fast, then this is amazingly fast. The handling
is a surprise. Precise, fast turning, hands off
at full speed. No trimming required.
This boat is by no means a starter boat. You have to be prepared for intense
sensations and fast reaction time. If you have trouble turning when the boat comes towards
you, then get a slower one. Unless the lake is huge, you hardly get a second chance. Your
boat will become a plow.
It was so rewarding that I went to the lake in the morning and in the afternoon,
after a extra fast lunch. I couldn't get enough.
Now I know what they mean about this being a first class, competition capable boat.
 Like
Johnny Bravo would say - Oh man ! (put a little Elvis accent). |
| Day 2 |
| |
The motor break in period is over. I've leaned the needle a little
bit and the thing goes like crazy. The 3 bladed Octura was replaced by a Prather S215 (I
wonder how K&B thinks that we can a put a prop like that with the pickup tube being
where it is?). The day came to an end with 3 of 4 screws of the motor mount being lost. A
strange turn (with the engine wobbling) made me throttle back to see what was happening.
The last screw was almost loose. Time to go home and order screws from the US (Yes, it is impossible
to get them in Portugal...). A couple of weeks waiting. |
| Day 3 (24-2-1998) |
| |
 My first flip. The wind caught the boat from 45º behind
when exiting a turn, and there it goes. In flight barrel roll and fell inverted. I admit
that some of my planes don't fly this easy...
However, it was no big deal. The radio compartment was completely dry
and I just drained the water inside the cowl and went to the
water again. This boat is running faster everyday. The lake is getting smaller and
smaller.
 A turn at high speed. I didn't expect this kind of
handling. Perfect!
I'm not quite sure how fast I'm going. This is a problem that will happen with
all my boats. There's no one else playing at my pond (or any other pond that I know of).
I'm probably the champion in the street where I live!
I would like to compare it with other boats of the same class. The only ones I saw
were .21 cats but 6 years ago, and they were not very well tuned.
|
Review
| This boat has a very good ABS hull and first quality hardware. The hull comes
pre joined and only the underside of the cowl chin needs to be glued and some filling
applied. I used epoxy with micro balloons. Very light and easily sanded. The radio
compartment is waterproof and enough for the radio system. I use an 8 channel receiver
(that's right, to many channels, but that's what I had at hand) and a 1200mAh battery.
They have plenty of space. |
I chose to paint the hull with yellow and red spray paints (fuel
proof). The red paint is LustreKote and the yellow paint is a resin resistant to fuel. The
results were excellent and the glow of the surface is too good to be believed.
The trim applied (vinyl letters) was made on a professional cutting system with the
original graphics drawn in a PC.
(OK, I have a "little" publicity of my employer, but anyway he paid for the boat
:-). PS - I did not receive any fee from Mercury motors... |
As I said, the kit comes complete with the exception of a fuel
filter, radio system and motor cover. The fuel tank is a Sullivan slant tank and all
silicone tubing is provided.
The motor mount is Dubro (I believe) and all the pull-pull cable system, snap links and
linkage bearing come on the kit.
The only thing you really need is the fuel filter, in this case I chose to use a Sullivan
filter.
The boat was completed in 6 hours work (even with the paint job included) and the result
is a sleek boat that suggests pure speed and performance. |
Present configuration
| Motor |
K&B 3.5 Outboard Gold
Carburetor (fast and furious...) |
| Fuel |
10% nitro, 12 % synthetic oil, 4% castor |
| Propeller |
Octura X440/3 |
| Receiver |
Futaba F118 |
| Throttle |
Hitec HS100 Mini |
| Steering |
Hitec 605BB |
| Radio pack |
Futaba Ripmax 1200 mAh |
|
