RE: Proboat Blackjack 55 Catamaran
After reading all the posts on the forum, and the different threads about the BJ 55 I wanted to get a better look at my boat. I believe we all agree that Warehouse Hobby's puts out a great product, so when I got home last night I broke out the tools and the put my BJ 55 and my Manta Ray on the work bench and COMPLETELY DISASSEMBLED them for a side by side.
The radio box in the 55 is SOLID as a rock, it is all fiberglass, I have no clue where you guys say it flexes, My Manta Rays radio box flexes, it is Plastic, but not the BJ 55's radio box. The two high torque Servos in the 55 seemed hoaky to me, but they work just as well as the 1/4 scale in the Manta. All the other radio equip, push rods, throttle cable; ect is apples to apples in both boats.
I do see where there could possibly be an issue with the rudders, they are simply tack welded. I have several friends with proboats, and all the rudders are the same, different size or course, and I have yet to see a problem with them. The rest of the running gear is anodized aluminum, looks great, and light weight, about the only way to damage it is to drop the boat on the ***** end, but that would damage any boat. The hardware is comparable with WHH except for the rudders. The flex cables are interchangeable, and the WHH cable seems to be made better. So when the cable finally goes it will get replaced with WHH cable
Now for the Hulls. I have no idea if comparing a "V" to a "cat" hull is valid but here are my findings. Where the "rubber meets the road" or should I say where the "gell coat meets the water", the WHH is more rigid, but weighs twice as much, and both decks have a bit of flex in them. Over all the complete hull on the Manta is more sturdy, but again the weight, I see no issues with 55 hull. One thing I have read is the stringers in the 55 are held in with epoxy and the WHH is fiberglass. This is accurate, but until one or the other fails I have no idea which is better, one has less strength the other less weight. Pros and cons for both. There is ALOT MORE ROOM to work in the BJ 55 hull, VERY open and every thing is easily reachable.
Zenoah to Zenoah, Apples to apples. The clutch on the Manta is FAR SUPERIOR to that of the BJ 55, I have already destroyed one clutch in the 55, from what I hear around the lake it seems common for a proboat to TNT a clutch rather quickly. I do like the engine mounts on the BJ 55 better, loosen 4 nuts and remove the engine, very simple. The fuel tank on eth BJ 55 spits fuel up on the cowel when full, it makes a small mess, the WHH fuel cell is much better, and holds more fuel ( which is not really that important unless you are trying to cross the gulf of Mexico with these boats, they both have LONGGG RUN TIMES).
Once on the water, as I mentioned before, the BJ 55 looks HUGE AND TALL, but once wet, has a sleek profile, it does look better wet than dry. The BJ 55 is also quicker than my Manta, and I have yet to tune the BJ 55 engine. So I would have to say after a side by side, if the WHH is 100% a great boat the BJ 55 comes in a solid 90%. Upgrade the kill switch, get a better clutch (or no clutch) and you have a great boat. I hope this sheds a bit of light for those curious about the boat.
Regards
RD