Leecraft hop

[Jim Mamaril]

Hi everyone,I thought I might get a few pointers from some of you guys that have run the XT460 leecraft. I have run many tunnels in the past and have had good sucess getting them trimmed but Iam having a tough time getting this thing to run without hopping in the straights. I have tried every angle from 2* neg to about 2* pos and prop height from 1/4 in.below to 1/4 in. above the sponson bottoms. Also have weighted as much as 8 oz. to no weight at all(the sponsons have been opened up and weight glued inside but I have no Idea how much). I just cant seem to find a happy medium. At the moment I am running a x450 slightly cupped on a 7.5 pro redhead. I have been told that I need to get a 1450 to get more lift,so that will be my next change. If anyone has any sugestions on angle,pitch of motor,CG,and prop depth it would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Jim

 

[lohring]

See the setup tips at www.leecraftracing.com.

Lohring Miller

 

[Jim Mamaril]

Thanks Lohring,I'll do that.I haven't seen you in a long time, I took a hiatus from racing for quite a stretch but I am back and trying to get things in order for the Nats in a couple weeks. I will be running 2 leecrafts in both A stock and B stock tunnel so I need to get them squared away. Hope to see you there.

Jim

 

[moparbarn]

jim, is this in "race" water or on a calm/flat pond by yourself? my 3.5 leecraft in good, stable race trim will hop slightly in calm water. all it takes is a slight ripple to free it up & fly. if you read into that, it may take more speed to fly the hull properly.........you still have my # ? call me if you want, we can try to talk the hop out of it :lol: .

 

[Jim Mamaril]

jim, is this in "race" water or on a calm/flat pond by yourself? my 3.5 leecraft in good, stable race trim will hop slightly in calm water. all it takes is a slight ripple to free it up & fly. if you read into that, it may take more speed to fly the hull properly.........you still have my # ? call me if you want, we can try to talk the hop out of it :lol: .

Hi Robin, This thing hops in all water. I did get the set up info off the website and set it up exactly as suggested but have not had a chance to get out and try it yet. I think my problem was having to much weight up front,I got this boat used and it has had the weight glued inside the sponsons and I added weight to it without checking the CG.My other problem may be the x450 I am running, I have been looking for a 1450 but have not been able to find one locally so I emailed Mark Sholund to see if he has one avalable.Hopefully I can get one before the nats.By the way I have been thinking about selling my 3.5 mod motor with garcia pipe and I know you are into the K&B 21's if you are interested let me know and we can work something out.

Jim

 

[moparbarn]

jim, is this in "race" water or on a calm/flat pond by yourself? my 3.5 leecraft in good, stable race trim will hop slightly in calm water. all it takes is a slight ripple to free it up & fly. if you read into that, it may take more speed to fly the hull properly.........you still have my # ? call me if you want, we can try to talk the hop out of it :lol: .

Hi Robin, This thing hops in all water. I did get the set up info off the website and set it up exactly as suggested but have not had a chance to get out and try it yet. I think my problem was having to much weight up front,I got this boat used and it has had the weight glued inside the sponsons and I added weight to it without checking the CG.My other problem may be the x450 I am running, I have been looking for a 1450 but have not been able to find one locally so I emailed Mark Sholund to see if he has one avalable.Hopefully I can get one before the nats.By the way I have been thinking about selling my 3.5 mod motor with garcia pipe and I know you are into the K&B 21's if you are interested let me know and we can work something out.

Jim

yes, jim, i would be interested. i'll give you a call this evening. btw, my 3.5 leecraft didn't run well with the setup on the website. i had to go lower & use some negative trim.

 

[LarryConrad]

Jim,

What is your boat setup? Engine, lower, ect. Check your sponson ride surfaces, they need to be dead flat with sharp edges. If the boat has been painted, wet sand the running surfaces to remove the gloss. I had the hop problem with one of my XTR-21's after it was painted. It never hopped or porpoised before the paint, and was undriveable afterwards. I wet sanded the running surfaces to remove the gloss, and the problem went away. I have had 2 XT 460's and have never had this problem with either of them. I don't believe the X prop is the cause of your problem... but hey, what do I know, what works for me might not work for someone else.

 

[Jim Mamaril]

Jim,

What is your boat setup? Engine, lower, ect. Check your sponson ride surfaces, they need to be dead flat with sharp edges. If the boat has been painted, wet sand the running surfaces to remove the gloss. I had the hop problem with one of my XTR-21's after it was painted. It never hopped or porpoised before the paint, and was undriveable afterwards. I wet sanded the running surfaces to remove the gloss, and the problem went away. I have had 2 XT 460's and have never had this problem with either of them. I don't believe the X prop is the cause of your problem... but hey, what do I know, what works for me might not work for someone else.

Larry, I have got my setup straightned out pretty well now. I have my CG at 10" from stern,approx 1.5* neg pitch,and the center of prop 1/4 " below bottom of sponsons.This is with a K&B 7.5 Pro redhead. I got to go test today and finally got it riding pretty flat with just a tiny bit of hop at the end of the straight , but not enough to effect the handling. It wil not be an issue during heat racing. I will wet sand the bottom a bit as well to see if it helps. Thanks for the ideas.

Jim

 

[moparbarn]

sounds good, jim! i agree, that slight hop should go away in race water. plus, racing & defending your lane isn't a "straight line" affair. the corrections you make racing will help settle the boat also. when you wet sand the bottom, use a long (like 10") block to get the ride surface flat. like larry said - sharp edges - transom, keelsons, anti trip, chines - everywhere. it does make a difference, helps free the boat up & that will help the hop. it will turn better, too.

 

[andysmith]

Jim, I hope by now you got your 460 running right, and you have good advice, but 1 of the things that is a miss on your boat is that 460 dose not like is a x450 prop. Try an x457,x548, a p220,p225, the best i found is an 1450 cup up. Run the prop shaft parrel with the bottom of the boat. Try not to run any negitive. Some boats need it. Run the top of the prop shaft to the bottom of the sponsons. Your cg should be around 9 inches + or -. Try not to balence it out with weigt at the tips in front of the raido box.It will take mor weight, but it turns better through the corners. Best of luck,

Andy

 

[Jim Mamaril]

Jim, I hope by now you got your 460 running right, and you have good advice, but 1 of the things that is a miss on your boat is that 460 dose not like is a x450 prop. Try an x457,x548, a p220,p225, the best i found is an 1450 cup up. Run the prop shaft parrel with the bottom of the boat. Try not to run any negitive. Some boats need it. Run the top of the prop shaft to the bottom of the sponsons. Your cg should be around 9 inches + or -. Try not to balence it out with weigt at the tips in front of the raido box.It will take mor weight, but it turns better through the corners. Best of luck,

Andy

Hi Andy,Thanks for the tips,you are right about the 1450 I have one on there now. I have my CG at about 9 3/4 to 10"

with just a slight bit of neg angle and the boat is working very well. I raced it in the NAMBA nats a couple weeks

ago and had no trouble running with the rest of the guys,I just had some bad luck.I broke a crankshaft,had a run in with a bouy,and just had a bad day all together. Anyway thanks again.

Jim