The Basics

Because this is a very High performance boat I place a very high emphasis on quality hardware and fasteners. I make my own hardware for this boat, but Fuller's Fast Electrics has excellent pre-made hardware.

Beef it up

The Maus hull is very durable, however there are a few places I feel need some reinforcing. This is not unique to the Maus hull, I highly recommend the following procedures for all  1/16th scale hydros. There are 3 main areas I am concerned with. The transom, back of the right sponson and underneath the motor. I have epoxied in pieces of 1/8th inch plywood in each of these areas to stiffen them up. You can see the piece under the motor mount in the picture to the right.

Put in the Parts

The placement of the Motor, Servo, Speed Control, Receiver and Batteries are a result of a combination of factors. Most importantly is Center of Gravity (CG). Ready to run the boat should balance out at 1 1/4 inch behind the sponson. The location of the electronics need to take into account the (CG) but also need to be carefully placed in order to keep radio interference to a minimum. See photo above and to the left to give you an idea. With that in mind I'll give you my measurements:

• Motor to transom: 7 1/4 inch
• Servo to Transom: 5 3/4 inch on left side
• Receiver to transom: 1 inch in right rear corner
• Speed Control to transom: 9 1/2 inches on right side
• Batteries: in front of motor

Dialing it in

The sponsons on the Maus have a very flat angle of attack (it's why it handles so well). Because of this it is important to move the strut (the thing that holds the prop shaft) up as high as possible. This is known as strut depth. Mine actually touches the hull at the nose piece. The angle of the strut is even more critical. This is what makes the boat run like a prop riding hydroplane. You will probably want some positive angle in the strut around 1-3 degrees (positive angle is when the back of the strut is lower than the front) Too much positive angle and the transom of the boat will bounce violently on it's tail. Too little positive angle and the back of the boat won't get off of the water. This dragging around the pond is hard on equipment. The motor can't unwind so it overheats and eventually will fail, plus the boat will be dog slow. I always error with a little too much positive angle, it helps the boat get through the corners faster. See the photo to the right.

Skid Fin

Very important! If your going to overdo an area, make it the skid fin and bracket. The stiffer the better. The depth of my skid fin is 1 1/2 inches measured from the bottom of the sponson. The overall dimensions are 2 inches tall by 1 7/8 wide at bottom. Make sure your skid fin runs parallel with inside edge of the sponson. It should also be angled in at the bottom about 5 to 7 degrees. See photo to the left.

Rudder

Rudder depth is 2 inches and is located 1 1/2 inches to the left of the strut. Mine is positioned fairly neutral.