Should I buy this F41 Stryker cat?

[Ron Olson]

If you need a place to get Walbro carbs or a lot of other things, I've bought several times from this place. Here's a link to the carbs, the second page: http://www.gizmomotors.com/index.ph...id=16&page=shop.browse&limit=20&limitstart=20

 

[override]

Thanks! I ordered the 257 bored out

 

[override]

Either this motor is a hunk of junk or the carb I got is a dud, I talked to a guy at Gizmo about the carb and told him I think that it was a dud carb but he insist that there is nothing wrong with it. The boat still won't stay running, I'm just about ready to sell the damn thing off and if I do another boat just start fresh and build one from the bottom up. This has been 70% headache for me...

 

[Ron Olson]

Before you get to throwing the thing in the garbage, what is it or not doing?
I'm betting that it is going to be something really simple.

 

[override]

Ron,

I will make a video sometime soon of the boat with the new carb and then an 813 carb...Basically the carb needle adjustments are not affecting anything on the new 257, I can turn em way out or way in and it still acts exactly the same. When I threw the 813 off my baja on there the boat responded alot better. The two biggest problems are 1) The boat stalls out with a WOT pull and 2) when it does make it to WOT it dies when coming back down to an idle. I did happen to try covering half of the carb intake with my thumb and doing that allows for pretty decent throttle response all the way through the powerband. So that makes me believe the new 257 bored out is giving to much air for the the air to fuel ratio???

 

[Ron Olson]

I'm working on a spitting and sputtering problem on my RCMK R-254 right now trying to narrow that down. What I've seen so far for the issue is supposed to be a bad diapragm but it looks fine. I still may change it anyway.
Let's see if I can upload this for you, a trouble-shooting guide for Walbro's. I wanted ot guess that maybe the carb isolator block was the culprit on yours but generally they won't start at all if it's mounted upside down. I found out that one the hard way!

 

[override]

Thanks for the troubleshoot guide! I didn't know you could put the isolator block on upside down, maybe I should check that out cause I always just put it on however it would fit, lol...It does have trouble starting so maybe it could be an issue, maybe just a bad block.

 

[Ron Olson]

You're not the only one! This gas stuff is a lot different from the nitro burners.
Some of the isloator blocks are marked "Top" but heck, I never really looked before or paid any attention. You'd also be amazed at how many people put the carb on the wrong way! I have done that one....., yet!
Probably my stupidest one was to hook the fuel line up to the return line and wondered why I wasn't getting any gas but when I pumped the primer the IV bag would fill with air.

 

[override]

Well thanks to Ron Olson and Dave Melonie I now have this boat running!!! All I got to do now is paint it and get the new cowl ready.

Check out the videos below:

My F-41 Stryker Cat being driven by Dave Melonie - Top speed close to 55mph

Dave Melonie's Outrigger being driven by himself - Top speed close to 75mph

 

[Ron Olson]

Thanks. I'm happy to see that you found Dave to help you out in person as although the Internet is nice, there's nothing better than having someone right with you to help out.
I had my own Dave when I started out, a guy named Dave Homer who was there for me.

 

[tmaxxfreek]

glad you got it going, looks like it runs quiet well, and the outrigger is NUTS!!!!!

 

[override]

It runs like a top! It's freaking scary running the boat, I start getting all shaky....lol

 

[Ron Olson]

In no time you'll have a handle on it. It's amazing what a 5 or 10 MPH gain in speed feels like on the water when you're driving the things. Just relax and have a good time with it right now. There is that thing called a throttle that you can back off from if you need to. It's something that you have to use to drive smart anyway.

 

[override]

LOL...I know Ron, I was taking it really easy today! On and off the throttle a lot, I have my Idle-up set so if I completely let off it won't kill the boat in the middle of the water. Throttle isn't everything though, turn that wheel to quick and that boat darts off like nobody's business. I think I am going to build a mono now, I want something to putt around in....hehe

 

[Ron Olson]

I started just this late afternoon on a "putter" boat, a Zippkits A-Box. This is the easiest wood kit that I've ever put together! My race mono is the Rampage, that boat is fantastic!

 

[override]

Just got my order in the other day, this boat is about to get an overhaul! Speed master hardware, paint, new cowl and more.

 

[Ron Olson]

This is somewhat outdated as I don't know if you can get JG hardware anymore or not.
http://rcboatworks.com/Setups/Stryker F41 Cat Setup Guide Lines.pdf
Everything else I wouldn't worry about as you don't need to set up your radio box and others things seeing how it's already been put together and run.
I've been using Speedmaster hardware for years on everything from my .12 nitro's up to the gassers and will continue to do so. Once in a while I use other brands because it either came with the kit or it was recommended for the boat. Most are set up for a certain brand of hardware but Speedmaster seems to be the standard for many of them.

Me, I'm kind of shopping for yet another Cat and the new Stryker T-44 is on the short list. It's basically a stretched F-41 with a few other mods like a built-in radio box that gives the hull more strength to prevent twisting.

 

[override]

Man thats a nice cat! I have not seen that on there website, you can't get JG hardware anymore unless you find it used.

I found that setup sheet as well but will be running my rudder on the right rather than the left as it wants you to do.

Have you thought about an Insane Gen 3 cat? Those are some sharp hulls!

The Viper Cat is a very nice cat as well, able to handle some extremely modified engines.

 

[Ron Olson]

Yeah, it's not on their site yet. So far they've only laid up just a few hulls but within the past few weeks started making some for production so the site hasn't been updated. I think that they're $399.00 and $35.00 for colors other than white but don't quote me on that. The transom hardware used on the prototypes is Rum Racing. It's kind of unique as the strut and rudder bracket is a single piece instead of two separate ones. The stuff is on the expensive side but again, I'd use Speedmaster on it if I buy one.
I hadn't thought about the Insane Cat as an option. I've seen the Gen 2 run but man, it's one ugly boat! The Gen 3 does look a lot better. The T-44 is made for the 29.5cc engines that are coming out of the woodwork from Zenoah and RCMK or full-mod 27's. There's also the CP Kat on the list. I like the looks of the AC R-42 but you don't see a lot about the handling issues with it as the owners are trying all kinds of things to keep it on the water.

It's refreshing to type to someone in these smaller boating forums about gas or nitro boats as I was just in one where I had to go 6 pages back to find anything remotely talking about anything besides RTR brushless boats.

I know a few guys in the DFW area that are seriously into gas boats and just held the IMPBA Gas Nat's there. I don't know where that's at in comparison to where you are but it may be worth the drive to attend one of their races. They do have a race coming up in early December. If you might be interested I can dig up some info for you.

 

[override]

Are you talking about the inline strut and rudder designed for cats? Those are nice ass setups but I don't see anyone using them. I almost picked one up for my cat cause I like the design and it seems as if you would get even left and right steering response. The only thing I would be concerned about with that kind of hardware is spin outs. My cat will spin out in a hard turn if you gun it from a slow speed. When its on plan though, poop handles like a dream. Just wish I could get the boat dryer on the water, I am hoping my new hardware setup will do that for me!

I am about 5 hours from DFW, chillin out here in San Antonio, TX. I think I know what race your talking about in December and if I remember correctly I wont be here. I know the Voodoo races are this month right around Thanksgiving time. I deff want to check out some races as I think I would like to race my cat eventually. I just want to get rid of the shakes before I do. I'm getting better, ran Dave Parkers rigger the other day and never shook once!

The Insane gen 3 looks alot like the Stryker gen 1 with a different cowl and I think it's shorter as well. As for the R-42 I have heard a lot of bad things about the handling characteristics of that boat. It takes a lot of tuning to get it to run good on the water.

Have you ever considered using one of offshore electrics cats? I don't know if they are setup specifically for electric or they are something that you can stick a Zenoah in but they have some nice hulls as well and I believe they are all made by Aeromarine. Don't quote me on that one though....

I found a nice ARTR Plum Krazy mono on JRBD out of Fort Lauderdale, super running boat and I have heard the Plum Krazy had some really nice mono hulls. To bad they are not in business anymore