Hi All,

Well this is my first post on what is an amazing informative site. Love It! Ive built a few Nitro boats when I was at high school and I have been away from the hobby for 10 years. I now have the budget for a fantastic gas boat but need some feedback on some manafacturers, or which way to go.

Im looking for an Mono RTR kit at the moment because I live in an isolated part of Australia and cant go to the hobby shop to buy parts so I thought Id get a RTR so I have all the neccessary bits and peices but in kit form I could at least assemble it.

After a lot of searching I have narrowed it down to two. 1. A Enforcer Manta Ray or 2. A Bonzi 54" Fountain with a twist. I love MHZ Z drives. To me they keep the scale look of the boat. I asked the folks at Bonzi and thay can even install those drive for me which is great. I also asked Bonzi if two side by side zenoahs would fit in that hull but they wont, I dont really want a 84" boat just so I can get 2 engines in it. I have since asked them about 2 inline Zenoahs but I havent heard back yet. I want a boat that is different from a single engine/ single drive config. I want something that stands out in the crowd yet fairly small. So I guess that all leads into my questions:

1. How do you rate MHZ Z drives for reliablity etc? Including the splitter gearbox for 2 Z drives?
2. Would you recommend Bonzi or Enforcer as companies for quality, service and reliability?
3. Which is the faster boat?
4. Is there another company that I have missed that can build me a custom RTR kit with 2 Z Drives and one/two engines?
5. Is the 2 engine 2 drive set up to many headaches and should I settle for something else.

I should mention I dont plan to race but I want to go fast.

I really appreciate any help and advice you can give. And once agian this site is fantastic and informative. Im glad I found it.

George Harris

George,

First off, WELCOME to the MGB forums & back to this GREAT hobby !
Big & scale is NOT my area of expertise ... So will allow our broad membership to guide you in your quest ;D
Best of luck, sounds like a GREAT project.

Scott

Welcome!

It sounds to me like you are looking for a sport/performance boat. All the companies you mentioned will deliver an excellent product for this application, so you are on the right track. The important thing is always to first decide if it's a race boat you are after or a play/sport boat. They are two different beasts. You can have a blast with a sport boat in just about any water conditions, but don't expect to race it. On the other hand don't expect to play around with most race boats as you would with one of the boats your are considering. All the companies listed here on MGB.com deliver quality products in their areas of expertise. Don't order a WHH boat expecting a race boat. Don't by and Insane Mono expecting to jump 2ft waves. That's the point I'm trying to make.

I have no personal experience with the MHZ drives, but I know that some of the readers here do, and maybe some will chime in.

Hi George,

Sounds like your looking at a pretty cool project. I guess my first recommendation would be to try to source something local to you. You have some very good options in good old QLD in the form of Danny of Sonic Racing sonicracingaustralia.com (Near Brizzy I believe) and Viper Hulls - viperhulls.com and I can also highly recommend Tony Grinter of www.hobbysupplies.com.au (In Melborne but a great guy to deal with (His prices are so good that I have even purchased items from him while in the US ;))

Take a look at the big vees that Sonic and Viper offer since it will save you a fortune in shipping and that money can be spent on other goodies for the boat (Plus you will be Pay True Bluing !!). You will find they both have good experience with bigger boats and making them work well.

The idea of twins is nice but unless your experienced with gas they can be more bling than bang - and you can spend more time figuring them out thean enjoying the boat on the water.
Give the guys a shout and see what they have to say. Personally I would recommend sticking with a regular strut - sure a stern drive looks cool but the maintainance required can make it more a pain than it is worth.

Go with a single motor in a big vee and have a blast with her. Get some hours of experience under your belt and then you will be able to make a more informed decision as to what you want next time around. You will never regret having a simpler boat that works well - but you might regret one with twin motors and stern drives. One thing goes wrong and you could be sidelined for weeks or months (particularly with those stern drives). The drives are pretty reliable with a single zenoah but no where near the reliability of a strut.

By all means let us know how we can help and keep us in the loop on your project

Hi Again Guys,

I have finally decided what to get, but just have a few more Q's I need help with.

I have decided to get a MHZ GTX-XXX hull and run 2 side by side Zenoahs from Bonzi sports, with a normal roatating MHZ Z drive and a counter rotating MHZ Z drive. I first need to find out the beam at 600mm from the transom (CoG) to make sure 2 engines will fit. Hopefully once I have done it will be full steam ahead with the build.

What do you think of this configuration? Can you see many problems? Im thinking getting 2 engines to run perfectly in sync might be a challenge.

The few last questions I have are:

1. Will each drive require its own steering servo?
2. The drive shafts will be a lot higher up in the boat than a normal strut, Will the radio box still fit above them?
3. How far apart should the drive be mounted? ie is close better or farther apart?
4. If the engine outputs are say 200mm apart is it possible to bend flex shafts to drives that are say 100mm apart?

I guess thats all for this installment. Hopefully you guys can answer my question so I can go ahead and spend some hard earned.

Cheers

George