Can't wait for Aeromarine's Mean Machine

[wakeracer]

Today i was struck with bad news from my LHS that the Mean Machine 18 wouldn't be released until late September. This is an awful long time to wait for a RTR of this quality. I've been doing good waiting this long, as Aeromarine's website said it would be released in late August. Everyone knows that the season's wait for no one and a boat like this, i'm going to want to drive everyday. Besides i start back to school on October 4th and this means i won't have much time to drive it any how. However i'm going to my LHS this week to preorder mine while i try to sale my Pro Boat Miss Bud, a boat for which i didn't even bother driving as i feel it will fall apart without the suggested hop-ups. :eek:

[billyp]

i'll take that miss bud from you if you don't want it,my'n is almost all stock and runs circles around hammers all day long.but i'd also like to see that mean machine run.i'm sure it's alot more stable than the bud boat.

[lovinnitro]

I don't know if you all remember a guy who went by waterzub on the board for a while, real nice guy got to run a few times with him and he even bought my mommas scoot when she was ready for another, anyway, he had a miss bud and that thing never did go right. beat the hell out of it trying tho! :D
he ended up getting a seriously bad hydro from one of the big builders and that thing screamed!! first day he ran it he tried it in my pond behind the house nice enough to putt in but a little to small for a 65 mph boat. I thought his wife was going to drop a biscut when she saw him hit the bank at about 50 mph!!! :eek: :eek:
Still I always really liked the look of the miss bud and witht he mods I heard that they run good as well.
Sorry done rambling and reminiscing.

[FlyerCAN]

The rambling is what i come in for. I like reading those stories. Don't have any buddies here to go rc-ing with, all alone here. :(

[lovinnitro]

Hey Flyer, How you been my man? I still gotta convince momma that I need to take a world tour to go RCing with you and Double. :cool:

[Ron Olson]

I've had one of the Mean Machine's (actually 2) in my fat little fingers and you'll wet your pants at this boat! The 1st prototype and a pre-production version. There isn't ANY RTR or RTF boat out there with the quality that this has got. It will raise the bar for others to try to match. The hardware is beautiful. Aeromarine hulls, say no more. Their rep for building one the best hulls is well known. A radio box that shouldn't leak. Speeds in the 32 MPH range. No word on what radio yet but my guess is a low-Dollar Futaba. Remy didn't have a TX with the one that I pawed. The motor is advertised several ways. One time called an OPS, another with the Aeromarine brand. I suspect that it's also known as a CEN Racing/Kyosho .18, that's what was used in the first boat. The only shortfall that I saw was that the header is too long to really make use of the tuned pipe, a problem because it has to go around the radio box. His first version used a Miss Bud tuned pipe and header.
Upgradable? Possibly. The hull is the same size as their .21/.45 Cats so that you KNOW that someone is gonna drop a bigger motor in there!
I might have to unload a few boats to make space for one myself!

[water dog]

Oh boy !!.Now you got me interested in one of those babies Ron O .

[Ron Olson]

Terrible ain't I! :)
Here's a shot of the transom. It's about the best that I could do with the crowd around the Aeromarine booth in Toledo.

[CFRACR]

i'll take that miss bud from you if you don't want it,my'n is almost all stock and runs circles around hammers all day long.but i'd also like to see that mean machine run.i'm sure it's alot more stable than the bud boat.



FUNNY EVERYONE THAT I SEE RUNNING A MISS PUD IS EITHER DOING ALOT OF SWIMMING OR PADDLING. THE HAMMERS THAT YOU HAVE BEEN RUNNING CIRCLES AROUND MUST HAVE HAD ALMOST BLOWN OUT ENGINES, WITH SOME CRAPPY DRIVERS. :confused: I THINK THEY ARE POPULAR BECAUSE OF THE LOOKS. BECAUSE WHEN SOMEONE SHOWS UP AT MY LAKE WITH A NEW MISS BUD, THEY GET SCHOOLED. :D
WANNA RACE BILLYP????

[RCGUY76]

Whats the length on the mean machine?

[Ron Olson]

29" long, 9" wide. Total weight 5 pounds. I find the advertised weight as sounding heavy. I would guess at least a pound lighter. Maybe that's shipping weight with the radio.

[Watercadet]

WANNA RACE BILLYP????
I will race you with my Miss Bud :D :D Mine is not quite stock though...
Maybe you want to be embarassed by my Fire Fighter .12?

[billyp]

CFracr,you are not in my area or even close but my miss bud runs 37.3 from a gps along side her on 20% and an m435 prop i havent tryed 30% yet.if you can beat that then god bless ya,and you are rite about them, they dont' run for sh#$ if they're not tuned rite but i think this one is getting there

[Ron Olson]

An M435 prop? Never heard of one. M445 and M447 yes, I have both of those. Maybe a Y535 or X435?
37.3 MPH? down what waterfall? :D
Sorry, I HAD to get in on this one! Forgive me it's getting to that time of day.
Get serious and dump some 50% in it. I did this to a friends boat that was running some lightweight 10% in his boat and it went from tame to barely driveable!
Billy, do some work on that lame tuned pipe like shortening it or swapping it out for a Mac pipe and you should see some more speed. Try to get it down to 7" from the glow plug to the wide part of the pipe and it'll start doing what a tuned pipe is supposed to do. Hang on to your shorts! :)

[CFRACR]

Exactly What He Said ^ :)

[CFRACR]

BILLYP-Oh Yeah, Since I'm Not In Your Area Or Even Close. How Come Your Miss Bud Does'nt Do 57.3 Mph :D . I WILL SAY FROM WHAT I HAVE EXPERIENCED YOU BETTER HAVE A SERIOUS MODDED TURN KEEL CA'D ON THERE SOMEWHERE :eek: , OR I WOULD BE ROUNDING A BOUY AND HALF WAY BACK WHILE YOU WERE MAKING THAT WIDE, ON THE OUTSIDE TURN THAT THEY NEED TO DO. :)

[BoatDoc]

i have owned both a miss bud and a nitro hammer. and i will say this...it's easier to get speed out of a hammer. i ported/polished/ and everthing else to my bud and my hammer was still faster. now...my hammer is no slouch...i've done a lot of work to it too. but i will say this...given the same amount of work, the hammer is faster than a bud any day of the week!!! strike me down with lightning if i'm wrong!!! here's the part that i like...my nitro hammer cost at least $75 less than my bud after mods. i'd challenge all the bud owners but my hammer is down for a surface drive conversion at the moment. once i'm done with it...my hammer will still be cheaper and faster than a bud.

[Watercadet]

What about my Buddie CFRACR? I would put it against your hammer. Want to put your hammer against my FF. 12, with a Sirio .15 5 port Turbo head?

[CFRACR]

Watercadet, Actually That Would Be A Good Race. Ff's Are Nice!!
Would Be Cool, Wish There Were More People Around Here With Something Smaller Than A .21 That Want To Get It On!! :)
I Like To Run Smaller Boats With Some Attitude Sometimes. If Theres A Little Chop, Really Makes Things Interesting. :)

[wakeracer]

32MPH Mean Machine! This sounds too good to be true. I'm sure glade i already put one on hold at my LHS. I can't believe i was thinking about getting the Pro Boat Shock Wave over this boat. I can't wait for it to come in. I'll let u guys know how it runs when it arrives at the end of Sept.

[billyp]

Ron,the m435 is new from octora,it is a cut down x435 for a 1/8 shaft and its a 3 blade,and no it wasnt going down a water fall it was running next to my seadoo jetboat,i guess you have to see it to believe it,CFRACR,funny you should say htat about the turn fin cause i just cut one out yesterday out of t6 3/4 wider and almost 2" longer i havent had a chance to try it yet caus of the weather,now, watercadet i just,i just got a hold of 1/12 miss bud with an o.s. .21 and you seem to be a good sorce of info you and hydrojunkie so i'll be throwing you guy's some questions some time in the near future if you dont don't mind.CFracr if you ever get up north look me up i've got a huge pond to run on and it's always flat, if anyone else is in my area let me no

[Ron Olson]

OK, I just haven't heard about that prop yet, I might have to get me one to try on one of my boats. Gary Preusse was telling me that Octura had a lot of new props coming out but what I didn't know. I was kidding about the waterfall thing if you didn't notice. :p

[CFRACR]

BILLYP, SOUNDS LIKE YOUR REALLY MODDING THAT THING OUT. FROM WHAT I HAVE SEEN AND HEARD, THATS WHAT IS NEEDED TO GET THAT BOAT RUNNING GOOD! - TURN FIN OR TURN KEEL?
IS THAT THE MISS BUD WITH THE OS .21 OR IS THAT A NEW PURCHASE?
CAUSE NO PROBLEM RUNNING WITH YA, BUT .21 IS OUT OF CLASS!!!
IF YOU ARE RUNNING THE DYNAMITE .15 THATS STOCK IN THE MISS BUD, I THINK YOU WOULD GET BEAT, PRETTY SURE OF THAT.
:confused: AS FOR YOUR POND BEING FLAT I THINK BOATS RUN FASTER IF THERE SOME CHOP/RIPPLE, KEEPS THAT SUCKER OUT OF WATER DRAG.

[Watercadet]

you seem to be a good sorce of info you and hydrojunkie so i'll be throwing you guy's some questions some time in the near future if you dont don't mind.
Fire away bud;) I know Clay A.K.A. Hydroracer has an FF.12 as well and he knows a lot about the small stuff (under.21 as well as bigger).
Adam

[Hydro Junkie]

I'll answer what questions I can, though I tend to lean toward the large 1/8th and 1/6th scale boats. Someone else you might want to pick the brains of would be Hydromania. He has wrecked and rebuilt a nitro Bud and gotten it to really perform. I'm sure he could tell you plenty. First thing I will say is having that hot .21 in there has me concerned about stability. With the speed potential of that engine, you may not be able to keep it on the water. Could you show us some pics so we could have a look?

[Watercadet]

With the drive angle fixed as the stock bud is, it would blow off no doubt. I think that the one he has is set up like mine with the hardware off the back and a flex shaft.
Adam

[Hydro Junkie]

I hope so, otherwise he will be spending more time chasing and retrieving than actually running

[billyp]

CFRACR,i have a stock(well kinda)1/12 and now i have a 1/12 with an o.s. .21 and yes junkie my main concern right now is keeping on the water,but i s saw a websight somewere a while back were a guy was putting the .21's in these boats and claimed to be getting 50-55 mph's out of them but he was doing something to the canard to keep them from flippin over so i'm thinking it's got to be adjustable some how,maybe a servo on the canard mixed into the throttle to push the leading edge of the canard down which inturn would put down force on the bow keeping it in the water,i came real close to a flipover with my stoc bud last week but i was running into 25mph gust's,oh yea cfracr,when i say flat i mean for big boats,i have a 31' trojan with a flybridge that i use for a base it's almost like have a shop right on the water with me so i can fix almost anything that breaks right on the water and be back running again without running back and fourth,and it's great running from the bridge because your not looking at a roostertail 1/2 the time.My other concern is room,there's not enough,as for the pics i take as many as you want but i cant get them small enough to post on this sight.well anyway the ?'s will be comeing soon,i'm just trying to get the boat together enough so i can get it in the water before the water cool's down to much(you no the shinkables)hopfully this weekend if all go's well i'll let you guy's no what happens until then and after

[billyp]

http://hometown.aol.com/bchbugy325/page1.html best i can do on the pics right now

[Hydro Junkie]

Let me tell you what I see, and there are several:
1) The hull will need to be reinforced around the engine mount to use the starter I saw in the pic due to a thin factory lay up job
2) You need to put some kind of heat shield inside the cowling to protect the cowl from exhaust heat. Those headers DO GET HOT
3) The kink in the exhaust coupler is causing severe stress on the coupler and will break it after a few runs. You may need to rethink the setup
4) The canard needs to be either removed completely or removed and reinstalled with a slight nose down angle to help prevent blowovers
5) The rudder bracket looks good, but may need to be closer to the prop. With the speed and power potential of the .21, you need to pull the rudder to turn right, not push, to prevent pushrod bending and also install a clevis of some sort as a bent or "Z" kinked pushrod won't handle the stress
I may have more for you later, when you start putting the rest together

[billyp]

man you are good,you see this stuff in pics but it's worse in the flesh, i'm gonna start from the 1 and work my way down the list,i'm hoping to get 1-2-3-5 done by the weekend but how am i gonna pull the rudder?theres not much room on the transom

[Hydro Junkie]

I see a two part fix on that one. You will need to move the rudder fairly close to the prop without getting behind it. The second is to run a new pushrod from the rudder servo to the rudder arm, which needs to be on the right side of the rudder. Be sure to plug the existing screw holes in the transom with epoxy or RTV to keep from flooding the hull. I'm going to leave all the planning to you as to how you want to do this, as not everyone likes to do things the same way.

[porschefan911]

is this the mean machine that you're talking about?

http://www.rumrunnerracing.com/feforums/showthread.php?threadid=13251

[Hydro Junkie]

You totally lost me on that one. Which boat are you referring to?

[CFRACR]

I Don't Know How A Thread On The Aeromarines Mean Machine Got To, 1/2 Pro Boat Miss Bud Overhall But I Guess That The Way The Ball Bounces.

Hydro Would'nt He Need A Stronger High Torque Servo For The Rudder As Well???

[Hydro Junkie]

Not knowing which radio he had, I didn't bring it up. The servo he has may work, but it will stress the heck out of it. A good high torque servo would be a good idea. Something with around 100 inch pounds of torque would be ideal. It's just a matter of finding one that will fit the mounting rack in the boat.

[billyp]

the boat didn't come withe radio gear so thats not a problem,as for the rudder:after i really looked at the boat i found that i can use the existing holes for push rods and just turn the controlhorn around and i can use heavy wire and metal clevis's or ballliknks for push rods,and CFRACR;you started the bud boat stuff not me i was just stateing a fact, :D :D :D :D

[Hydro Junkie]

Now let's not get testy. Don't use heavy wire, use 2-56 or (preferably) 4-40 pushrods. Heavy wire usually doesn't have the strength to handle the shock and vibration a purpose made pushrod will. Also, you can get the pushrods threaded at one end or fully threaded, giving more flexability in how you mount them. Either the clevis or ball links will work, just make sure you get a heavy duty variety.

Almost forgot, What is "up north"? I live about 75 miles from the Canadian border and about 40 miles north of Seattle. You can't get much further north unless you move to Alaska or New England without crossing the border :)

[CFRACR]

i'll take that miss bud from you if you don't want it,my'n is almost all stock and runs circles around hammers all day long.but i'd also like to see that mean machine run.i'm sure it's alot more stable than the bud boat.

2ND POST HMMMM.................... :eek:

[Hydro Junkie]

CF, what do you mean by 2nd post hmmmm?

[billyp]

sorry about that CF.junkie cfracr lives in fla.and i live in pa.and that is up north to him.i am now working on the engine mount trying to decide on building a mount or buying one.what do you think?

[Watercadet]

Billy I don't know about your hull but mine is already beefed up arround the motor mounts. I think HJ is talking from things that he has heard on here not what he has seen. (don't mean to step on toes HJ ;) ) I say modify the mounting plates and use the wood blocks as is.
Headders get hot. As long as there is no contact, I don't think heat shield is needed.
The kink WILL make it blow out.
The canard is neutral on mine so I think it is OK as is. The strut deapth and angle is where the speed and stability is.
Careful moving therudder closer to the prop as it is the stock placement won't allow for very large Dia. props. X440 on mine is limmited on strut height because the prop will hit the control arm.
Adam
Oh I use 4-40 rod (with clevis and spring) and it works fine with a stock (Airtronics)servo. I would guess that mine is high 30's - mid 40's depending on the water conditions. That is baised on the RPM X Pitch / slippage =mph formula.

[CFRACR]

CF, what do you mean by 2nd post hmmmm?


NO BIGGER, BILLYP SAID THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT THE BUDS FIRST. I JUST QUOTED THE 2ND POST IN THIS THREAD FROM BILLYP BRINGING THE BUDS INTO IT.

BILLYP>WHEN YOU GET THAT MISS BUD ALL RIGGED UP. MAYBE I'LL TAKE A TRIP TO PA AND BRING MY SCORPION WITH ME. :) THAT WAY WE CAN HAVE A GOOOOD RACE.

OR YOU COULD EVEN PAY A VISIT HERE TO S.FLORIDA. THERES A BIG LAKE WITH LOTS OF GUYS THAT ARE ALWAYS LOOKIN TO RUN. THAT IS IF HURRICANE # 2 THIS MONTH DOSEN'T NAIL US GOOD! :eek:

[Hydro Junkie]

I call them as I see them, Watercadet. You obviously see it differently, and that's fine by me. Differing opinions is a good thing, and no, you didn't step on my toes. I just took what I saw in the pic, as well as what I've seen on the boats at the LHS and gave my recommedations. I still wouldn't buy one, and again, that's my opinion too :)

[aquajetruner]

Hey BillyP,
Where in PA. My Parents live in Blue Bell( south east) and I live in Delaware. I'm a rookie but I can't find anyone in Northern DE to run/learn with. I play in a nice quiet pond in the woods but it gets old with no boats to loose to !

[billyp]

hydro;you are rite ,i would'nt buy one at full price either thats why i like to buy used stuff becuase you will end up making changes to it anyway in order to get the boat to it's full potential,thats what i see from most of the rtr's out there,with the exception of the meanmachine and i'm sure even that would get a bigger engine down the road,but you have look at the manufactture's side;they don't want someone that doesnt no what they're doing, running a 45-50mph r/c boat around a lake or beach full of swimmers and pleasure boaters or wadeing fishermen,that would be worse than school of hungry paronna,anyway if the .21 bud boat doesnt work out i'm wondering if i can get just the meanmachine hull for a good price?well back to work

[billyp]

aqua;i lve in erie,about 3 minutes from my boat and another 5 across the bay to the marina lake which is were i run,and theres only a hand ful of boats that run there

[aquajetruner]

BillyP, That figures. I was there about 2 weeks ago. My dad grew up there. My uncle has a condo on the lake. I have a bunch of family still there.

[abx131]

Anyone got any links or photos of the mean machine? It has got me curious to what this is. Maybe I will dump my miss bud.

[Ron Olson]

Go to the main page in http://aeromarinerc.com/ and scroll down a little for more info.
Here is one shot that I have of it with the hatch off:

[aquajetruner]

hey billyp....clear out your PM box so I can respond!!!

[wakeracer]

Does the mean machine come with auto bailers?

[Ron Olson]

Why yes, yes it does! :)

[scottericsonon]

sorry about that CF.junkie cfracr lives in fla.and i live in pa.and that is up north to him.i am now working on the engine mount trying to decide on building a mount or buying one.what do you think?

where in pa billy?
reading pa here

scott

[billyp]

scott i live in erie.do you ever get up this way?

[Chris LaPanse]

erie in which state?

[scottericsonon]

erie pa chris

no i dont billy youre like 8 hours from me

scott

[ejp]

So, does anyone own a mean machine??? Are they 29" long and 11" wide just like the hull I just bought?

[Ron Olson]

OK, yes, they do have the auto-bailers installed.
Yes, they are 29" x 11" just like the .21/.45 Cats, just the 'glas in bent differently.

[ejp]

I got the mean machine hull.

[ejp]

Anyone heard anything on the mean machine???

[Doubledog]

yeah ! You'rs seems to be the one getting all the attention. :)

[Ron Olson]

I'll see Remy in a couple of weeks at the Toledo show and ask him what's up with the boat. If Chris Fine has been getting the bare hulls, I don't know why the RTR's aren't out yet.

[Thundercat]

yo i just got a thundercat31 for 359$ at crown hobbies . i can tell you that no one can biuld this boat with 359. the thing is awsome great stability . 31"long 11"wide .31marine engine with electric start.

[Ron Olson]

You should have shopped around. It normally goes for $10.00 less. There is a seller on ebay who is selling them for $349.95 and is including shipping plus almost $100.00 worth of extras!

[Pagemaster]

We just got a truck load of the mean machine nitros in stock.
Still working on the webpage, they should be up tomorrow night.


Steven
www.OffshoreElectrics.com

[Thundercat]

i am wondering do you think the mean machine is as fast or faster then the thundercat 31 . can it handle a little ruff water not to ruff. and if is not faster do you think is possible to drop a .31 marine engine in there?

[Ron Olson]

I'd like to see a video of it on Steve's site if and when he gets the chance if he hasn't already done it.

[Thundercat]

so is it faster then the thundercat 31????

[Ron Olson]

The MM 18 was advertised as being able to run 33 MPH and the T-Cat 35 MPH. It would be cool to see a side-by-side run of these two, especially that Steve is selling the MM18 for a comparable price.

[Thundercat]

ok do u think is faster the the miss bud?

[Thundercat]

Also Since It's Only 29''long And 10'' Wide Would It Still Run When It;s A Little Windy

[Ron Olson]

Yes, it's faster than the Miss Bud. Jerry Dunlap himself has a Miss Bud and even he couldn't squeeze more than 27 MPH out of his.
I don't see why it wouldn't run when it's a little windy. Any boat will have problems in windy conditions.

[Thundercat]

overall do u think it's a good cat . that wont give to many problems and will last? i also wanna know if i can take out the .18 and put in a .32 marine that i have . about how much money would i have to spend.

[Ron Olson]

Aprt of the problem lies in how they did the motor mount in the MM 18. Had they used engine rails in there instead of the molded mount, it would make swapping engines a lot easier.
Honestly, as far as dropping any .32 in there I feel would be a waste of a lot of work as I don't feel that it would be a big improvement over the .18 as they both are still considered "Sport" engines. A good .21 would be what it really needs in there.
I may be wrong as it sure wouldn't be the first time by a long shot but just my feelings on the matter.

[Thundercat]

QUICK QUESTION woild you rather have the shockwave 36 or mm .18

[Thundercat]

also on my thundercat 31 u know the little piece on the pipe wich takes air to the gas tank well it came a little lose so i tried tighting it but it wouldn't how do i fix this

[Ron Olson]

If you're asking me, it's not much of a secret that I'm not a ProBoat fan if that answers your question. When I looked at the T-Cat last week I felt that it is an improvement over their other boats though. The Sullivan Tiger Drive has been improved a lot since its introduction with the cast dust cover instead of the formed plastic ones that preceeded it. I don't know if they did anything with the bevel gear and shaft that go inside the engine as the first ones were only a press-fit so if the engine was flooded it would come off making it useless. If your engine does drink some water or too much fuel, pull the glow plug to clean it out.
I have to look at the boats as to what kind of people are going to buy them and if I would if I were in their shoes. Some models would leave a new boater frustrated once they got past the "Golly, gee whiz" factor. How the expereinced boaters build a boat and how a RTR mass-produced boat are made are 2 different things. I do see where I would make a few little or no cost changes and wonder why this wasn't done when they were made.
When I saw the MM 18 pre-production boats I was very impressed with the overall quality but wanted to wait to see what was going to hit the market as I knew that it wasn't going to have a custom Dean Werges paint job on them. Not having an Octura beryllium prop on it either lost a couple of points in my book but can understand why they come with a plastic prop instead. The quality again is what got me with a radio box that will keep out water, very nice hardware hanging off the transom and a hull with a reputation of having a good 'glas lay-up in it.
With it being made overseas, I'd have to see one in person but I just feel better knowing that it's coming from a manufacturer with a good reputation.
I'm not trying to dodge your question in any way as any boat has its good and bad points and a lot of those come from your personal preferences.

[Ron Olson]

On your other question, I've used a spot of JB Weld to hold the tank pressure fittings in place if the threads get stripped. There isn't a lot of material for them to grip to.

[Thundercat]

i dont understand y the mm 18 brings a plastic prop when the box says it's brings a bronze prop?

[Thundercat]

is enybody here from florida
??

[Ron Olson]

The Octura props are made outside of Chicago and the boats are made overseas. I can see where they went with plastic as it doesn't have to be sharpened and balanced.

[Thundercat]

so when i buy this boat it's gonna come with a plastic prop?

[Thundercat]

also do you know where i might get a video of the mm18

[Ron Olson]

Not yet. I'm hoping that Steve will make one once he gets some time.
Aeromarine is welcome to send me one to review and videotape if they wish! :D

[Thundercat]

question ? will putting the pro that the shockwave 36 brings on the thundercat 31 make the thundercat speedeir with no porblems?

[Thundercat]

also the line that goes from my tank to the pipe well the little thing that connects to the pipe came off. some one told me that if i drill a little hole into the pipe i can just connect the line to the pipe .and since it's silicone it wont melt?

[Thundercat]

pro my bad prop