Thunder Tiger Desperado Jr

[Steve Maines]

I've just purchased a new Thunder Tiger Desperado Jr as my first fast electric and I have a question. I raced nitro boats in IMPBA District 1 from the mid 80's into the 2000, but have been out of R/C boats since then. Everything seems to have gone electric now so thought I'd give it a try.

My question is about the rudder. On this catamaran hull, the rudder swing upwards freely, I assume as a safety in case of a strike or grounding to prevent breakage. I don't see how this works when under power, and wouldn't the rudder just swing upwards from the forward movement of the hull? I don't see anyplace for a shear pin like I had in my nitro race boats with Speedmaster or Octura rudders. Any help here is greatly appreciated.

Steve

 

[HTV Boats]

Securing a rudder has to do with the potential speed of the boat. The source of power gas, nitro or electric, are not a factor. Run the boat and if it kicks up it needs some way to hold it down.
Mic

 

[Mike Hughes]

Tighten the crap out of that one bolt. You can also dimple around the rudder hole with a punch. This will help hold on to the blade more.
Mike

 

[Steve Maines]

I contacted Thunder Tiger through Facebook, and as I thought, the rudder is held tight by a small rubber O-ring. A quick trip to Princess Auto and I had a kit with all sizes and found one that was a perfect fit.

The O-ring provides enough tension to keep the rudder in the down position, but in the event the O-ring stretches (or snaps) thereby reducing damage to the hull or rudder assembly.

Cheers

Quote
There needs to be an O-ring on the picture mark, which is the installation location. The o-ring needs to cover the plastic and blade The way to install it may be to remove the blade first and then put it on, then put plastic together. The o ring is mainly used as a buffer.
End Quote

 

[Steve Maines]

I had a final message from Thunder Tiger to say... "we have transitioned our focus to developing commercial and military-grade vehicles." That news came as quite the surprise. No matter, I resolved the issue myself in the end.

 

[Grimracer]

O yea.. they have been out of the hobby market for some time now.. and being a Tawain company.. military seems like a good play!