Hydro Junkie

That's why I've been buying raw props with the plan of sending them to Sholund. Just sent a 637, a 640 and 440/3 his way for my new Pak to experiment with since the Prather 220 didn't seem quite right with a slobbering rich new NR 21

Slideblues

Yea Mark does nice work.
I want a couple bag stock 1440's to tweek on,
Kinda round out what I already have.
Gene

kiteboarder

I'm jumping ship to this thread for a second, cause you are all talking about something I'm interested in...

I'm building a .21 inboard [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_10633813/tm.htm]here[/link] but recently I scored a little 3.5 NOS K&B outboard.

@blackout - You'll find this interesting after following my build thread.

I was checking on how much it would cost to build a tunnel with that engine, and it's VERY affordable. So I'm considering building one alongside the inboard build.

After looking around (and reading this thread) I'm pretty much set on one of the Aquacraft's based on price and performance. The only question is, apart from the obvious difference in construction material... What are the main differences between the Vision and the TS3? Like, is either actually better or just different? Being fiberglass, I sort of prefer the TS3, but I actually like the shape of the Vision better.

I'm keeping a watchful eye on Tower Hobbies for a sale as I might order that boat along with a radio and some servos all at once.

Thanks, Danny

rodneypierce

Kite, they are both fiberglass hulls.  With the Vision being a higher quality lay up, thicker hull.  Dont get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with the TS3.  Handles race water like few others.

kiteboarder

Hi Rodney, I guess I was mistaking the VS1 as the Vision. I was referring to the VS1 as being wood. Where can I find the Vision to "look" at it! ?

Edit: Nevermind. Found it! Here on the thread. I was obviously mistaking Vision for VS1 as the same. (But which is better then, VS1 or TS3? looks aside)

rodneypierce

http://www.intlwaters.com/index.php?showtopic=34118

You can find pictures of the boats there.  They are quite abit more expensive then the TS3 or VS1.  I think around 300.00

kiteboarder

I've been trying to get on intlwaters but to no avail. I gave a good private email address, registered, confirmed my email address and account. And I'm still waiting for the "manual" approval. You guys must know the boss there. Can you please give him a nudge? I can't see pictures until I'm approved.

Yeah, $300 is too much. I going to choose between VS1 and TS3. Curiously enough, I like the cowl on the VS1 more (I see some of you don't like it.) I just like the straight top rather than having the back so much higher than the front. Plus, I think the cowl on the VS1 looks more "scale"

Buy anyway... Which is "better"?

rodneypierce

Danny, PM me your full name and email address, and I will pass the word on.

Blackout

From what I have read, the VS1 is for stock engines, where the TS3 will work good with both stock and mod engines. Both will run good. They are both good designs.

Dan Hutchinson sells the Cobra tunnels and is on Intlwaters. He sells them for between $125 and $175, depending on color and whether they are on sale or not. So that is another option.

My local hobby shop has a Top Speed 1 new in box for $59.99, Dan's Crafts and Things in Rochester, NY.

Slideblues

Danny welcome aboard,
Tha thred is tunnel talk so your right on tha money.

The guys purdy much got ya covered here, All I might add is the VS1 needs more setup work.
If you have run a wood tunnel before its nuthin new.
Mike Z. covered this in my "21 tunnels powerheads" post at IW.

Straight out of the box rig it and run it the TS3 is hard to beat.
Dan at Cobra has sweet deals on his stuff too.

All good choices, just pick yer poison
Gene

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

Craig, let that Top Speed sit there and collect dust as that thing is a lemon. I made the mistake of buying one when the price dropped down to a C-note. Sheet metal screws to mount the motor? The radio box is open to the elements even with the lid on. I ended up by unloading it cheap to a local guy who wanted a beginners boat for his son.

The VS-1 was originally the Villain that Mike produced back when he had his own little company, Grim Racer/Power Surge Racing, when his nickname was two words. With Traxxas having the same name for their mono, that wouldn't go over too well with the confusion between those boats.

If you want to get your foot in the door on Tom's site, use your regular ISP screen name, not one from a Yahoo!, G-mail or other account like those. Change it once you're in as he tosses a lot of those as he's trying to keep the spammers out. IW used to not have links allowed for a while here when Tom closed the doors to members only so you couldn't see the contents without joining then being approved first. Now that he's letting you peek inside, links directly to the subject at hand are OK here.

kiteboarder

@Slide - Thanks for the welcome. I've never ran a wood boat before, let alone a wooden tunnel. The only tunnel I've ever run was an epoxy Lap Cat III with a K&B .67. A bit tricky to setup compared to my old Dumas Scarab. Are the cowls on those 2 boats (VS1 and TS3) interchangeable?

@Blackout - Saving $ is good. A good reason to buy a tunnel. But there's a point where you get what you pay for. Hehe. At this point, I'm happy to save, but I don't want to compromise on quality. BTW, when you originally said "put it on a tunnel" in my thread I didn't take you serious. But now I think it's a great idea! I can build a tunnel much faster than I could ever build a vee. That'll get me in the water sooner, while I'm still building the vee.

@Ron! - I wanted to get your take on this one. What do you think? VS1 or TS3? I'm going to run it with that little K&B .21 that I got off ebay. It'll be a good way to start while I build the V. If I fall in love with the tunnel I'll eventually try the OS engine and compare it to the K&B. I like the idea of starting with the K&B because I can "practice" tuning and if I blow the engine, it was $150 - not $450!

BTW, I registered on IW using my private email. That was not the problem. Apparently they want your real name for both the username and full name fields. I thought they want the real name, but just for the full name field, not the username. It got approved thanks to rodney here, but I'm about to get on there and take a look now. Later, Danny

Slideblues

Made to interchange no, But the nose block mounts and shape is very close.
VS1 is 28" long and the TS3 is 30" so TS3 cowl fits the VS1 trimed back and reshaped to the center section.
Other way around your too short.


You can download the manual for the VS1 here http://www.aquacraftmodels.com/boats/aqub0006-main.html
And see if its something you want to take on, check the post I mentioned for a few other thangs too.



The reason I like the different cowl is this boat.....
And a shot of my boat trimed, fit, and ready for graphic's.
Gene

kiteboarder

Cool Slide, that Rinker boat is a good looking boat! Are you going to follow the same scheme? I love scale looking tunnels (and all other boats - haha). I didn't really like the cowl on the TS3 over the VS1 but it's starting to grow on me. The VS1 is lighter though, according to the manual. My initial engine (K&B 3.5) is less powerful than the OS. Might be a good idea to run the VS1. But I've never run a wooden boat so I don't know what to expect.

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

With wood you get sharper edges on the running surfaces which is what you want. If you decide to a VS-1, check every place that it's joined for separation. If you find any gaps you can fill and seal them with a CA adhesive.

kiteboarder

Cool... I think I'll go VS1 then. I keep hearing of a $50 discount from Tower Hobbies. Any other tricks to buying from them?

When I'm going to buy a guitar, I know exactly when Guitar Center does their sales and I know that with a bit of effort I can always get at least 15% off. Now, I just need to learn about how to buy boats.

Slideblues

Havent made up my mind on graphic's yet, Still thinkin.......

Watch Tower "REAL" close, They do two day sales, free ship, 25 off, 50 off,
Just gotta nail it when comes up.
Gene

kiteboarder

By the way, what prop for the VS1 with a NOS vintage black carb K&B 3.5? Probably something smaller than you guys run on the OS?

I'm putting together the "to buy" list so that I'm ready as soon as tower sets up sale. I'll run the list by you guys once it's ready.

Slideblues

If I remember right the K&B guys that ran the orig Villain/VS1 was the Octura 440.
Current day eqiv. is.......
Grimracer props
AQUB9715 40x53 two blade
AQUB9720 40x52 three blade
Get both, Pick which you like best.

Gene

Blackout

I like the lines of the Vision Craft. Shawn took this before it was shipped to me.

kiteboarder

Quick question guys... The older K&B 3.5 OBs... Was the skeg part of the die cast mold, or was it a separate piece epoxied on?

rodneypierce

Danny, the skeg was part of the casting.  Shouldnt have anything epoxied on

Slideblues

Craig all I see is a red x, Maybe needs resized?

Danny yea what Rodney said, No glued on parts fer sure......
Gene

Slideblues

Pic for ya.......

Lower half skeg one piece, other half cover

Gene

kiteboarder

Thanks for the info guys. Looks like Mr. eBay friend sent me crap that he called "new", ha! Skeg was epoxied on and then painted aluminum color. It must have broken off at some point. Time to call the eBay police. On the upside, I've been doing eBay since 2002 and rarely have I gotten burned.

Looks like this one is going back and my tunnel is going to have to get an OS instead.

I'm going up to Legg Lake tomorrow finally. Going to check out the speed trials and see what the guys are running over here. -Danny