Hi guys just got my proboat mini cat for xmas. I have tried it twice..and it doenst seem to go as fast as it should. It goes very slow, and I have noticed that water leaks into the bottom hull, and I have to empty the drain plug every run. the only way I can get it to run at full speed is to power the trigger full throttle in then place it in the water. if I slow down the throttle it tends to start dragging again and choke. this is my first rc boat..so any help is greatly appreciated.

Personally I would exchange it for another... sounds like some sort of receiver problem plus the water getting in shouldn't have been an issue in the first place.

Ivan.

Sounds like a trim adjustment to me. Isn't there a trim adjustment for the outdrive?
Do a tub test to find the leak and seal it with silicone.

Assuming you've tried adjusting the throttle trim and that's not the problem. I was thinking it sounded like a binding issue and with the extra resistance of the water it can't reach full power. I would check for any binding in the drive line. And yeah as far as the leak goes my brand new supervee 27 leaked like a siv from more than one place. So I took all the hardware off and siliconed up all the holes. Are youu sure it is leaking or is it coming in from the hatch from reversing and running the boat? I have a brushles cable driven mini-v that leaked through the hatch so I just taped the hatch even though the way the hatch fits it is kind of a pain in the but to get it sealed up. I sank mine twice and burnt up 2 stock esc's the first week before I put a BL motor and a waterproof esc in it. So I learned the hard way to tape the hatch. But the easy way out (and maybe the best) would be to exchange it if you can get whoever sold it to you to take it back. Due to the nature of this hobby that is sometimes not an easy task. Good luck!

do you mean spins up fast and goes no where when you slow down some

Hi guys,

I have similar problems with the mini cat.

When i give speed, the propeller gets too much air in the water and the boat drive very slow.

I think, that i must give more weight at the rear or adjust the outdrive to go mor under the water.

Have the mini v similar problems?

Best regards
Manfred

I never had to much cavitation with the stock set-up. The outdrive is a little adjustable so you can move it down a little unless it's allready all the way down. I do not believe more weight is the answer.

My dad has a mini cat and I have a mini v.

His boat has the same problem as yours. I'm glad to hear it's not the only one doing that, I think they all do[sm=rolleyes.gif] The problem is the hull. Trust me, nothing else is the problem. It's like they just won't plane out??? Sometimes it plans to get up on a plane and then it goes like it should, but most of the time, it's bow up full throttle 5mph. I posted about this a while ago butnot many people here also own a mini cat so its hard to get advice. The outdrive is supposed to be adjustable, but you loosen the two screws and it just won't move like it should.[X(] Also both of out boats take in water. BTW the mini-v takes off like it should. Oh also, another strange comparison between the two boats, the mini v reverse doesn't work however the mini cats does.

One more thing, beware, the steering servo needs to be water proofed, I fixed mine and my dads once so far after it stopped working, and mine once, can't get it to come back to life this second time now(open it up, soak in rubbing alcohol). I'm just saying, it WILL stop working if you don't, I haven't got around to water proofing yet but I surely need too. This problem kept my dads boat and mine from running for the past two weeks(vacation) because I couldn't find a screw driver small enough to get the servo apart. By the time I found a screwdriver the rite size the pond on the property was frozen, and mine wouldn't work after trying to fix it a second time as mentioned before.[:'(] Time for me to send proboat an email and see if they can explain why the cat won't plain out, and to see if they can be kind enough to send me a new servo.

Both hulls take in water. My vee even stops working from time to time, but it comes back to life shortly after I take the paddle boat out and drain it.

I think they're great boats but they need two things. To be waterproofed, and the mini-cat needs to be able to plain out. That's all. Maybe it's the CG needing to be farther forward, try putting some weight up there. Oh also a tip, my dads boat seemed to "plane easier" when it was windy, creating a bit of chop on the usually flat as glass pond.

You guys need to check for binding because these boats should get up om plain after a couple feet of cavitating if you are using some good batterys. The out drive is slightly adjustable, just unloosen the screws and force it down a bit till the screws are at the top of the range. Then remove all the hardware and use silicone when reinstalling it, alond with taping the hatch you shouldn't get any water in the hull. Make sure the antenna has silicone around it to seal that up. I used some smc IB 1400 that worked great till I switched to lipo and a brushless system, a cable drive, and a x436 prop. I also water cooled everything in mine. Mine is extreme though, it's uncontrollable. I hit the throttle and ut jumps like 2 feet out of the water and fly's.

Nitro man,I've got both of these boats , 2V's and a Cat.the Vees both ran great of out of the box( I even ramed into the side of one while my wife and I were running together made a 2" hole in the side and sank it where only about 2" of the bow was out of the water,Took it home dried what i could and a couple days later took it out and it ran like a champ,i used a piece of the stand and exopy to fix the hole) okay now back to the cat I have had severe cavitation problems with it from day one,I've tried to adjust the out drive up and down but you really don't get much adjustment as it seems to move right back where it was when you tighten the screws back down.I tried moving the battery as far forward as I could and this seemed to help a little, but the only way i can get it on plane is to VERY slowly give it the throttle and after about maybe 100' It will finally get there, then it will fly,have tried different batt's but the more powerful just makes it harder to get on plane.One consulation though, once on plane it will pretty much turn sharply at high speed where as the Vee will hook!!! Don't know if different props might solve this cavitation problem or not as It seems the Cat forum pretty much disappeared.Still for $100 they are fun little boats.(I've got 3 nitro boats but my wife thinks they are to Loud,She just does'nt get it that" LOUD AND FAST IS FUN"!!!!

As finicy as I've found props to be and as much variation as I have come to believe is it these cheaper RTR's if you got a prop that was just a little under diameter it could cause what you describe (I think). I'd try a slighty larger prop.

Today i have test the mini cat again. The only thing you must do, is to set the outdrive down.

I took a little wedge/spear between the boatrear and the outdrive to tilt it.

Now the boat have enough speed to plane.

Best regards
Manfred

P.S. Sorry for the bad English

I had the same problem with my mini cat. I trimed the drive down using two slivers of double sided tape. I put them between the transom and drive bracket. Put both slivers at the top of the bracket and when you tighten the screws back down the drive trims down. My mini cat now gets on plane in 12 inches and skates around the pool the way it should.

I posted this in another thread but it might be interesting to you.

I recently bought a Mini Cat (now the Mini C) and I have had loads of fun with it in the pool. My pool is roughly 40ft x 15ft and I can turn some fast laps with this little boat. Keep in mind before buying that it comes with the same electronics as the Mini-T. The ESC and reciever are garbage and the range is only good for a pool. Plan to upgrade the electronics if you are going to run it in the pond or larger body of water. I also found it necessary to trim the drive down for optimum performance. I accomplished this with two small slivers of double sided tape adhered between the top of the drive bracket and transom (this is very simple). I recently bought Associated's XPS micro ESC and TR203A reciever. This should give the boat enough range to tackle larger distances than my pool and take care of the stock reciever's twitchy atitude. I also bought two different 380 motors to try. One is the Duratrax DTXC3310 High RPM and the other is the Graupner Speed 400 Race. Both motors can be had for under $15 each. If you upgrade the ESC you will have to swithc the stock servo to a standard three prong servo (the MINI C comes with four prong). I chose the HiTec HS-55 servo only because it was cheap at $12. I plan to swap all these components tomorrow night and I will post results after.

In my opinion the Zig-Zig and the other similar boat are not on par with the potential the Mini C has. All together I have around $175 into the boat with the stock vessel and upgrades waiting to be installed. Please dont let all this info discourage you as I am a total newb to RC. I am a boater/fisherman and have a 1998, 31 Fountain Tournament Edition on a lift behind the house. I have also worked in the marine industry for a number of years.