Should I buy this F41 Stryker cat?

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I know this is kind of strange for a thread but I want to know before I drive tomorrow to go see this boat. He is asking $700 for it.

http://austin.craigslist.org/tag/2405086917.html

I spoke with the guy just earlier and he doesn't seem to know alot about the boat. He is into 1/5th scale baja's and he told me he bought the boat off a racer out of midland. The guy has this setup with no clutch, and the 26cc Zenoah is modded but he couldn't say exactly what has been done to it. He did say that it would reach speeds somewhere near 70 mph with the 3 fin prop included. All it needs is a reciever, transmitter and fuel to run. He claims the motor only has a few hours on it and that the boat is worth around $900 or more.

Anyone have any advice for me? Also anything to look at or for when I go see the boat?

Thanks for any help guys! Ill try to get the pictures up that he sent me too, it has some small damage areas to it.

Ok here are the pictures the guy sent me:

 

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Anyone have any thoughts? Considering the few small damage areas does it seem that $700 is reasonable or should offer a little lower. I already know the clutch is gonna set me back atleast $100.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

You can get a bigger, more powerful one in much better condition than that at a much cheaper price. Saw one close to that one on craigslist here in LA going for $400 a couple months back. Just keep your eyes open.

 

[Rewired]

Nice boat but i also think you could get something abit newer/better for cheaper. I wouldnt pay more then 500 for it.

 

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LA is a bit to far for me to drive and pick it up, lol

I was thinking somewhere more along the lines of $400- 500

I don't mind the age of the boat as long as the motor is good and has low hours. I'll deff keep looking though. Thanks for the heads up guys

 

[alpinehyperlite]

From the looks of the motor (and I could be 100% wrong) but it looks pretty old and worn out to me from the outside. Just keep your eyes open on craigslist and other forums.

 

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Yeah that also had crossed my mind, for the motor only having what he thinks is low hours it sure does look dirty.

To bad this isn't local to me http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250839881556&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT

 

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Well the guy offered to sale it for $500 after I told him no, so I countered his offer with $450. Will see what he says, at $450 I think it would be a decent buy for a project boat.

 

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Said he would sale it for $450, Seems fair enough since it does need some work on it. Imma go look at it tuesday, unless I find something better.

 

[Rolex]

I would do $450. $700 was way out of line. You can get a 55" Zenoah powered gas boat for about 9.

Check the compression before agreeing to buying.

 

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I would do $450. $700 was way out of line. You can get a 55" Zenoah powered gas boat for about 9.

Check the compression before agreeing to buying.

That was gonna be my next question! Where can u get compression gauges for those small motors and what is an ideal compression? I've read 140 is for new and about 120 is ideal for used. 100 and lower is a waste of time.

 

[Rolex]

The best you can do is turn it by hand to see what kind of resistance you get. If it's a ringed engine, you won't get as much as you do with one of our car engines. You also want to get the piston on top dead center and rock the flywheel to see if you feel a clicking or a lot of play.
If you're not sure of the condition of the engine, offer him $400. I'm sure he'll take it.
Fiberglass hulls and all that hardware is pretty costly, so even if the engine is worn, it's well worth that amount.

 

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Hmm ok, I'll be sure to check it by hand. He offered to start the motor. Is there a way to start it and get water to the cooling head without having it in water? The cooling heads don't act as a pump right? The water is forced through the rudder...

 

[Rolex]

It doesn't have to run very long to know if it starts and powers up. Water is forced into a tube behind the prop, but it's not necessary for short runs.
If it starts, throttles nicely, go for it.

 

[Ron Olson]

$450.00 isn't a bad price for it. I could tell that it was a Marine Specialties motor before even seeing the decal on the recoil. The claimed 70 MPH speed is a little iffy, maybe 60 if it runs well.

Rolex, a ProBoat boat is no comparison to a Stryker F-41. That's like comparing a Ferrari to a Yugo.

[Edit] I just looked at the ad. He's stating an overall length as the hull is only 41" long.
The boat doesn't need a clutch, just watch out for the spinning prop. It's just one more thing to go wrong.
The tuned pipe appears to be a B.H. Hanson 2" band pipe, a good one for a Cat. The tuned pipe mount is kind of thrown together but had a Speedmaster mount on the end. What the rest of the transom hardware is, I don't know. I can tell by looking at it that the flex cable has a square end going into the collet because it has a ferrule ahead of the strut. It's OK but it does make greasing the cable a little harder to do.

 

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Sounds like you and me need to get together on this project when and if I get the boat...I agree a that the Stryker f-41 or any of the custom hulls have no comparison to something out of a box (assuming that is what he was talking about) but everyone has there own opinion.

I just know that I have wanted to get into gas powered boating for the longest time and just never could find a way to get into the custom stuff without spending an arm and a leg. With that being said thats what makes me iffy about this boat is how much money it will actually take to get it back to like new quality and ofcourse if the motor is good and how long it will actually last before needing repairs and since it is modded I am not so sure on what all would be needed to get it back to new. I dont imagine you can just throw a stock piston and sleeve in it and it be good. Then again I don't know what has been modded on it and to what extent mild, med, or full...

Got any good informative websites you would recommend for someone just getting into the boating scene to read up on like basics and advanced stuff?

Oh and you mentioned the clutch isnt neccessary, I was told that when you don't use a clutch you have to be on the gas while in the water or it kills the motor. I got to thinking about this though, as a clutch doesn't seem to be of much use if your boat has to be moving in order to cycle water through the cooling head. What the heck would be the point in the clutch?

 

[Ron Olson]

Sure, ask away! I work the 3-11 shift so I may not get back to you right away but I will reply. It's easiest to ask here as I'm already subscribed to this thread.
As far as links go, I already got my hand slapped in here once before for showing a link to an RC boat video site in which I have no part of the ownership in that I was accused of. Most sites really don't have a basic tutorial anyway on the running of any boat. I do have one that's really close as far as some basic things. If you want that one I can PM it to you. It has things like carb settings, adjusting tuned pipes and the like.
The replacement parts aren't that expensive. If you have to replace a piston ring, they're only around $6.00. Things to keep handy are spare spark plugs, prop nuts (if they fall in the grass you may never find them!) and other odd parts.
This is a high-performance boat so take it easy until you get used to it. If you decide to try your hand at racing, it can also be competitive.
I love gas Cat's as that's the #1 reason why I went to gas. I've got 2 right now and just sold another. Look at my avatar and you'll see my Drag Cat (legit) clone. I ran that one today for a little while. I just finished an AC Model Boats Blast Cat 40 this past week as I needed a hull for rough water racing.

 

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Awesome man! Yeah I noticed that cat in your avatar, nice looking boat! Your more than welcome to shoot me some links, I got the one just now when I got on. I don't know if racing will be something I ever get into but I just know growing up my electric boats were always my favorite to run. On a nice day I could mess around all dang day!

Whats your opinion on water pumps? I did a search for water cooling a boat and I saw that you can get water pumps that operate of the compression of the motor. Do those work fairly well or are they troublesome hassles? I do believe I would end up running a clutch. Most of everything in my area is the Guadalupe river...

 

[Ron Olson]

Actually, water pumps are vacuum operated as they hook up to the carb isolator block. They're only good up to a certain RPM level then the pressure of the water going up the water pickup(s) take over.
BTW, here's a very basic setup sheet for the hull, it doesn't tell you a whole lot though: http://www.rcboatworks.com/Setups/Stryker F41 Cat Setup Guide Lines.pdf

 

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Well I picked up the boat today, pretty excited about it...Thing started up pretty easy, it doesn't have a primer bulb or a choke on it...Kinda strange but hey it still worked good.

I still had about an hr of daylight when I got home so I threw my receiver in it and took it to the dam up the road to see how it ran. Started up easy every time, but maybe a foot out from lauch it would die. The last time before it got to dark I just WOT it and it went about 6 feet and then died.

I know I'm new to this and these are probably noob questions but I don't have a clue on any of this stuff quite yet. Anyone have an idea?