Should I buy this F41 Stryker cat?

[override]

That's about as exciting as it gets lol

David Melonie is supposed to be coming over tomorrow to give me some help with the stuffing tube. I've never setup one up without using the plastic liner.

I'm really hoping the paint bonded good, I'm not gonna be happy if it starts chipping.

 

[Ron Olson]

It's a piece of cake! I heat up the tubing over the gas stove (or use a propane torch) until it's glowing then let it air cool. The brass will soften so that it won't kink but you can throw the cable inside to make sure it won't. Mount the engine and the strut to help with alignment. Dave will get you through it. I know his name from somewhere but haven't seen it in a long time.

 

[override]

I'm pretty sure he knows you, I've mentioned your name around him before and he has said he knows you from races.

Well I've got a few runs on the boat and made some adjustements, cut the header down, tried out a 6717/3 prop (which ran alot better) and adjusted the strut a little. The boat is still not turning high enough RPM's for some reason. Dave and Buford both think it's not reaching peak RPM. Not sure what the problem could be but when I upgrade this motor to a GP300 and pick up a Propworks West prop for it will find out if it's the motor or my setup.

 

[Ron Olson]

If they've got some props that you can try, a 2716/3 is a good stand-by prop or a 2914/3 should get you some more speed. I've got some 6717/3's but they just don't give me the speed I want either. They're just Zippkits props, nothing fancy like the 415 or 420's.
I've got my pipe at 12-3/4" right now, a new one from Daniel Place but had the Zippkits pipe on it. It was at 12-1/2" but it was dropping off badly in the turns.

 

[override]

If they've got some props that you can try, a 2716/3 is a good stand-by prop or a 2914/3 should get you some more speed. I've got some 6717/3's but they just don't give me the speed I want either. They're just Zippkits props, nothing fancy like the 415 or 420's.
I've got my pipe at 12-3/4" right now, a new one from Daniel Place but had the Zippkits pipe on it. It was at 12-1/2" but it was dropping off badly in the turns.

They have props but most of the guys run 2 blade props, I'd have to ask next time I am out there. The 6717 I tried today was a VooDoo prop, Brent is recommended a 6717 Star tip prop modded to suit a cat and the GP300 stock motor....I told him I needed slightly more lift and more power for coming out of the corners.

When your measuring your pipe how are you measuring the 12 3/4"? I Might have chopped that header to short as I had to push it back some cause I lost power. Essentially I would like to see this Cat into the mid 60's

 

[Ron Olson]

Bob English at G-Force has been doing most of mine although I've bought one from Brent as both do excellent work. The 2914/3 that Bob did up is identical to the one he's running on his F-41, Barr-cut with his own touch to the cut and some other mods. As you've found out, just because someone says that it's a 6717, there are a lot of mods that can be done to them to suit a hull, cuts, lift, pitching, etc.
I've been using the old stand-by for measuring pipe length but some use other ways. With nitro boats we went from the glow plug but with gassers it's moslty done from the exhaust flange on the engine down the center of the pipe to where the convergent/divergent cones meet (in easier words, the fat part of the pipe which I prefer). Some will use a piece of solder to determine the length where a decent measuring tape works fine for me.
I got this schematic from the Zippkits site.

 

[override]

Yeah the actual prop he told me would be good for me was a 6717/3-101020-ST...lol

I have no clue what the 101020 is but I'm pretty sure the ST is star tip for the lift I'd like to get. My boat runs pretty wet on the carb side and I'm only getting about the first quarter of the sponsons lifted.

I measured and I'm sitting around 9 1/2" to the beginning of my 2" band, if I go any further back I run out of room on my speedmaster mount.

 

[Ron Olson]

The 20 is probably the degrees of lift.
The prop he did up for me was one for my Rampage, it was the one that Antron Brown and Carlo were using on theirs. Great hole-shot but no real top-end on it. I ran out of prop before I ran out of motor. The prop was supposed to have as my understanding one of the three blades pitched up more than the others as that blade would have been on the power stroke. When I got it he quit making them like that. $83.00 for that prop and nothing really trick about it. Not a real happy camper. About the 3rd time out with the prop my son hit a turtle with it! Not his fault, a lot of turtles in the area we were running in.

OK, back to the boat. Yeah, I have that problem also as I've used the Speedmaster pipe brackets but have a Zippkits bracket on mine right now and I'm at the end of that one. That's going to put you at 10-1/2" then as on banded pipes you measure to the middle of the band. with the pipe that I got from Dan I had to get another header otherwise it would have been too short after I pulled the Zippkits pipe off. With Joe's pipe I have to take it almost to the bend in the header to get the right length.
I just went back a page and saw your pipe, it may be a Bruce Hansen as I have one of those sitting in my shop that I picked up at a swap meet.

 

[override]

I would be fairly disappointed aswell, I actually feel like the 6717 I tried doesn't have enough pitch . He quoted me $88 plus $6 shipping and I tell ya if it doesn't outperform that VooDoo 6717 I will be a fairly pissed customer. I'm surprised he didn't ask me any other questions about my setup. I figure if I decided to race that the 60+ range would be good, that's what I requested on my top end. How far back on your sponsons does your cat ride?

Yes sir I am running a Hansen pipe with an external stinger, I have never had another pipe on this cat. As for the measurement, let's say your at 12" with an inch of header past your O-Rings and 10" with an inch of header past your O-Rings. Are you going to see a big difference?

The way I have read about tuning pipes is you mount it furthest back in your bracket and then cut a half inch at a time off your header. Once your boat looses power then you push your pipe a half inch forward and your "tuned-in"

 

[Ron Olson]

There's probably a good 4" in the water at speed so far on smooth conditions. I'm trying to set mine up for heat racing so I want it a little on the wet side as when you've got 5 other boats out there the water is going to get a little choppy.
I wouldn't use that rule on the pipe as some of them you can see a diffence in as little or 1/8" or less now.

 

[override]

I've been trying to wrap my head around what could possibly be causing me to loose so much speed. I would guess these cats, if setup in a stock form, should be hitting the 60 mph range. I don't think I'm barely pulling 50 in its current form and that's with almost everything new. The only thing I have left that I haven't touched us the pipe and motor (except refreshing it).

I was thinking today, maybe my header is way to short. Even when I first set the boat up I didn't pay attention to measurements I just mounted it and then cut the header about a half inch in front of the water cooled flange. I really want to upgrade the motor to the G300PUM but I'm afraid that I will spend the money and still not attain the results I am after. I would like to see this cat hitting the mid sixties.

 

[Ron Olson]

It's the rare person who can squeeze 60 out of a stock engine and I'm not one. I've got the trailer almost loaded for a day on the water Sunday morning, going to show the electric guys how we do it! It takes a lot of time and testing to get them up to speed, tweaking pipes and props. My 'rigger is the only one now that's haulin' ass as that should be hittin' the mid 70's. Try as I can I've only had a couple of boats that came off the bench that rocked the firsttime on the water. One only needed a needle adjusted.
I'll try to update here Sunday when I get home as we should have some videos. With the new pipe and trying some other props we'll see how she runs. I'm taking 5 boats along so I will be busy. My son will probably drive some, my boating buddy and maybe it'll be the day that my daughter-in-law takes the transmitter. She normally takes the pix and vids including the one in my avatar.

Using that schematic in an earlier posting, use that to initally set up your pipe length. It's easier to start off long then cut off the excess than trying to go back long. That pipe should give you a broader power-band and be easier to set than a no (0") band pipe.

 

[Ron Olson]

I finally got the boat out this morning. Met up with some new guys and had to show off my babies. We didn't get any videos but with the new pipe and trying a Voodoo 2716/3 she was really haulin'! We'll probably meet up with them next Sunday AM and do it again, this time we'll get some pix and videos! I don't know what it was doing but the old butt cheeks were clenched! Maybe in the 60's easily.

 

[Ron Olson]

I took her out this morning and got a video of it running better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=024HrkuuScc&feature=youtu.be

 

[hamz9561]

She really looks good, Ron.

 

[Ron Olson]

Thanks. I think that I've still got some more tinkering to do on it but happy so far with it. The boat handles differently than my others Cat's so I have to get used to that also.

 

[Rolex]

the old butt cheeks were clenched! Maybe in the 60's easily.

Butt cheeks clenched at 60 PSI?

Really moving. Looked great.

 

[Ron Olson]

No butt cheeks clenched but it's hard to tell as I have no ass to speak of!
I picked up another prop, one made for Cat's for it but that'll have to wait until spring as it's been put away for the winter. The one on it in the video was just one I grabbed out of my box of props, something that I knew it would easily spin.
I did some swapping with a guy about 6 weeks ago. In the deal I got rid of my gas 'rigger, a JAE .21 'rigger, an engine and other things to get a RCMK 30cc fully modded by Mike "Suicidal Engines" Ross that I was half tempted to drop in the F-41 but put it in my Rampage mono instead. I also got a 1 of 3 RCMK billet blocked Zimmerman valved engines. That could also be a candidate if the R-U gives up.

 

[override]

Ron, you know anyone that might be interested in buying this Cat? I'll give a good deal, I just don't think all the tuning to get these cats to run perfect is for me. Maybe one of these days I'll pick up a mono.

 

[Ron Olson]

Not right off hand as I've got 2 of them right now.