Pursuit Brushless V-Hull R/C Boat (820mm) w/Motor

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What was needed to get my Pursuit running.

Sep 11, 2017

The following notes may also help others that may decide to buy a Pursuit to get it completed and set-up.
The first thing to decide is what sort of speed controller to buy. I chose the Turnigy 180A water cooled speed controller as it has good reviews, it is a good price and has enough "in reserve"to cover any future power upgrades that I may like to consider.
I bought a RossMod digital servo with a 24 kg pull for use on the rudder and have ordered some 4 cell Nanotech LiPo cells from Hobby King.
Meanwhile I stripped the flex-shaft and greased it with ptfe waterproof grease and checked that every nut that was not a nyloc type was thread locked to prevent it coming undone.
The sharp burrs on the steel trim tabs were removed with a fine file so they are now nice and smooth and not likely to inadvertently cause a cut - and they just look better with a nicely finished edge.
There was a small gap between the propeller and its fastener that could not be closed as the torpedo shaped retainer is held on with a grub screw that locks at a fixed distance into a groove in the drive shaft, so I took a fine slice off of the water cooling tube and slid it between the prop and its retainer to act as a "cush-drive" washer. This took away the "slop" and now keeps the prop fully engaged with the drive dog.
The speedo arrived quickly from HK so I changed the motor plugs to those that came with the speedo so I could connect them together and fitted it onto the front of the battery plate behind the motor with Velcro leaving plenty of room behind for the LiPo battery.
I fitted the steering servo into the cradle that is pre-mounted in the hull and chose a suitably shaped servo horn and connected the rudder control rod.
I connected up the lumo-yellow non-kink replacement water cooling tubing that I had chosen and plugged the speed controller and the steering servo into the RadioLink receiver that I am using with this model.
I had a small battery to test everything with so I connected it and was delighted to see that everything works as it should - but than I noticed that the propeller was not turning over correctly as the main drive shaft was bent!.
A bent drive shaft is not visible to the naked eye until the propeller is mounted and turned over - but the shaft on my Pursuit is definitely bent and needs to be replaced before I can run the boat.
Unfortunately no spare parts for the Pursuit are listed by Hobby King and the "Instruction Manual"does not show any parts either !!!
I have requested a replacement drive shaft from HK as I cannot run the boat with a bent shaft and hope this will arrive very soon as the LiPo cells have been despatched and I want to be able to run my Pursuit for the first time as soon as possible!
Hobby King say on their site that spare parts for the Pursuit will be available soon, and as soon as they are I will order a spare drive shaft and flex-drive.
The flexi shaft is an essential spare and given that my drive shaft was bent on delivery I am concerned that they could be made from a soft metal and so a spare drive shaft sounds like a sensible part to keep handy!

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The waiting is over!

Sep 05, 2017

Finally the day has come - I am one year older and at last able to open my birthday present that has been kept tightly packed in the box it came in for over a week now!
The outside box was removed to reveal a strong and well made plain brown box that has the Pursuit boat safely held inside it mounted in white foam bulkhead shapes that were cut-out to fit the boat and keep it secure whilst in transit.
Taking the hull from the box and removing it from the clear plastic bag it was wrapped in shows a beautifully finished glass fibre hull with minimal decals applied that leaves a lot of space to add some alternative decals or paint finish if desired.
Similar foam to that used to hold the boat safely in the box has been cut into two blocks and pushed into the nose of the hull to add some buoyancy - a great idea - I will use some of this packaging to do the same job on my Inception as that boat comes with no buoyancy aids at all.
The "handbook" suggests the new owner should read it thoroughly - this wont take too long as there is not much information inside - unless you had the boat delivered with the suggested speed controller as this item is quite well covered - but the Pursuit from HK is not delivered with any speedo so this information is of very little use.
The laser-cut plywood stand looks nice, is easy to clip together, and actually fits the shape of the hull very well but it needs some rubber tubing (or similar) fitting to prevent the raw wood edge damaging the paintwork.
A small pack includes 4 allen keys and a press stamped flat steel spanner. Other packs include the (small) metal prop, some fixings and plastic tie-wraps to hold a suitable steering servo. A short yellow ariel tube and a nicely made alloy holder are included for use if you are still running a non 2.4 gig radio system that needs an exposed ariel to be fitted .
The bonded-in battery tray and motor mounts on my boat are made from black GRP and not the plywood shown in the HK photos - this is a bonus as it is a nice upgrade.
The alloy parts on the transom are really nice but the laser cut steel trim tabs have burnt and burred edges that have not been finished at all after the laser cutting. These are sharp and need to be removed to prevent cut fingers - poor marks here!
The alloy rudder is a work of art and is very heavy. I blew through the brass water outlet that is mounted on top of the rudder nipple just to make sure there was no blockage and everything was OK so I fitted it and connected the poor quality water cooling tube which is too soft and floppy and is liable to kink in use and block the cooling water flow so this needs to be replaced.
Two bolts hold the rudder onto its alloy mount, the top one is M5 and the lower one is a smaller M4 size. This top bolt secures the rudder in the normal way but the lower bolt passes through a curved slot in the rudder that is designed this way to flip open if the boat should suffer an underwater strike of any kind - a really good idea that is very well executed.
Both bolts came with nyloc type nuts that look like they could be made from stainless steel.
The glass fibre canopy is nice but it is only a "drop fit" onto the hull. It has no method of securing it or sealing it whatsoever so it is free to fall off and cannot be used like this so a method of securing (and making it water tight) it will have to be devised.
A roll of clear tape is provided with the boat - presumably to hold the canopy onto the hull!! Whilst I am sure this would "do the job" is is not exactly an elegant or well engineered solution so I will find something that will improve this as I prepare it for its first run.
I noted almost 5mm of free play between the prop driver and the end of the shaft holder so I will adjust this to a more modest 1-2 mm and secure everything with a suitable thread lock after removing the flex-drive shaft for lubricating.
Apart from running some super-glue along the plywood stand joints there is not a lot more I can do at this stage until I get a metal geared servo, a speed controller and some LiPo packs.
As everyone else that buys a Pursuit will have the same choices to make I will study the available options and report back on my choice of the parts needed to get the boat up and running as soon as I have researched the options.

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Can't wait!

Sep 04, 2017

My wife has bought me this for my birthday - but I have to wait for a couple more days yet before I can get my hands on it!
The boat is slightly smaller than my Inception and may possibly be better suited to our smaller sized club lake - but even if it does not - I am really looking forward to getting it fitted-out and running it for the first time.
The all alloy stern gear looks impressive and the greater security of a GRP hull should be better than the ABS hull on my Inception - and these are the "facts" that I used to impress my wife enough to buy it for me as my birthday present this year!
As I wait to open the box (not allowed for another couple of days yet!) I have ordered a Turnigy 180 amp speed controller to fit in the hull and I am deciding which 4S LiPo packs to buy - but think I can use two of my current Nanotech 2S cells in series for initial testing (stacked one on top of the other) as they are nice and slim and should work well enough and have the advantage of being able to be used in my Inception as well.
As soon as I can I will give a report on my findings as I open the box and start work on preparing my Pursuit to make it ready for its first run in the club lake.

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Customer Rated

Aug 16, 2016

The paint finish of the boat is superb. The hardware is magnificent. My maiden run on the boat was on 6 cell Seaking 180 esc and it went well but not perfect. The handling was very stable. The alignment of the motor to the stuffing tube is not perfect. It was more to the left. I am still trying to
figure a way to put it to center. There is still a 5-10pcnt binding on the
flex shaft inside the stuffing tube. I gave it a 4 star cause of that but I'm
happy to have this boat.

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Customer Rated

Jul 30, 2016

Received the boat today July 29, 2016. The boat is in perfect condition and
very secured packaging. The hardware installed is magnificent. 3/16 shaft, stinger strutt and the rudder is so nice, looks professionally done. Thank you so much HobbyKing.

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Customer Rated

Jun 22, 2016

Habe die Pursuit nun ausgiebig gestestet und muss sagen das ist ein super tolles Boot.
Die Verarbeitung ist prima, der Rumpf stabil und haltbar. Getestet durch drei heftige Abflüge über einen Holzklotz der im Wasser lag. Nur der Prop hattees jedesmal nicht überlebt.

Der Original Propeller sollte direkt in den Müll wandern, da er einfach nicht zum Motor passt.
Ich verwende einen Graupner K-Prop, eingebauten original SSS-Motor und einen AQUASTAR 120 Ampere Esc.
Selbst mit 6S bleibt alles kühl und das Boot liegt prima auch bei Höchstgeschwindigkeit.

Würde mir sofort eine Neues kaufen, wenn meines eine Havarie erleiden sollte.
Ein absoluter KAUFTIPP!

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Certified Buyer Rated

May 12, 2016

shipping was fast and came flawless thanks again hobbyking.

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Customer Rated

Oct 04, 2015

Brilliant, bought as a fast boat to play with, not race. 4s 5000mah 60c battery on stock setup gives plenty of speed, and with stop start & fooling around at beach easy 12-15 minutes run time.
Love it. Having to remove stinger to grease is a bind so will fit aftermarket flex.

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Customer Rated

May 20, 2015

This boat is excellent, the hull is robust and should not need any additional reinforcements for 50mph - 55mph running. I would probably want to do a carbon inlay if you want to go 60mph plus, but it has a much stronger hull than any boat in this price class, such as the Aquacraft Revolt 30 or the Proboat Impulse.

Also, in the picture it doesn't show the latest improvements to this boat. Mainly the single piece carbon motor / servo tray, which looks better than the wood bits in the stock photos, and it has an adjustable stuffing tube mount integrated with it.

My boat is running the Leopard 4082 2200kv with a SeaKing 180a ESC in both 4S and 5S setups.

For easy of use and also to handle big power, I high recommend you get rid of the stock 2-piece flexshaft & stubshaft and go with an upgraded single piece flex/stub shaft from Kintec racing, OSE, or Boat Bitz.

Also, the stock teflon liner was too small, so I bought a replacement making sure it went all the way to the end of stinger. Make sure to buy some stinger seals as well.

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Customer Rated

Jan 26, 2015

Absolut empfehlenswert. Sehr stabil in Kurven, kein Wassereintritt im Rumpf, schnes Fahrbild. Bisher nur mit orig. Prop und 4s gefahren - etwas mehr Speed geht natrlich immer. Im Vergleich zur Princess lsst sich dieses Boot auch noch mit etwas Schilf oder kleinen sten im Ruder lenken - die Princess war dann nicht mehr steuerbar.
Oberflchenfinish gefllt mir auch sehr gut. Jetzt noch einen greren Prop und mal 5 oder 6 s probieren.