Newb needs advice

[wanabedriver]

hello,
i want to get a R/C boat. i am not new to R/C, i have a RC10T, mini z and Emaxx (1 reason i wana get involved). i know i want a deep Vee for the stability, but thats almost all i know.
there is a lake behind my house (Lake Wilson, Wahiawa), and i want to take advantage of it. what kind of boat should i get as a budget and play boat? i was leaning toward the traxxas nitro vee because of the RTS feature, but i dont know how good of a boat it is. any feedback will be greatly apreciated!

[RickE]

Since you already have car-style batteries and a charger, you might want to go electric. Boats like the Super Hawaii, CEN Racing Grey Thunder and Aqua Jet (the 775-motored versions) and a handfull of full-kit boats from companies like Blew By You, etc., are all good ways to get started in fast electric R/C boats.

If you're really wanting a nitro boat, checkout the posts on the CEN Racing nitro-engined Grey Thunder-it might be what you're looking for.

Hope this helps,
RickE

[laxmasta2039]

BBY ovalmaster offshore is a good elec deep vee.
if you want some first-time speed that will last for a long time and will be upgradeable, gas is a good way to go but you gotta fork over alot...AC laser with a G23 or G260 would be the best bargain.


Joe

[wanabedriver]

yea, the gas boats seem the best way to go, but not for me. im a teen right now, and dishing out a grand for a boat doesnt really apeal to me. also, if i get an electrick boat, and run it until the battery dies of the electronics go poof, how do i get my boat back? also, does anyone know the range of the MX-3 radio?

[RickE]

To retrieve your boat either get an el-cheapo one-person blowup raft from Wal-Mart or you can just tie a tennis ball to a fishing rod and reel and learn to cast-over your boat and drag it back to shore. All of today's surface radios have more than enough range for the average R/C boat-just make sure you run the RX antenna as upright and as extended out of the hull as you can and you shouldn't have any range problems.

RickE

[wanabedriver]

im thinking that you think im going to 'drive' it in a bond. well, the lake is a LITTLE BIGGER than that. I think i could easily drive a quarter of a mile away and still see it very well. can all radios handle this? i know that the traxxas one can only go 1/4 of a mile, and im wondering how far a FM radio can go.

[DavidJ]

I believe the quarter mile range is a law placed on the radios, so unless you get a special black market radio it will have that same range. Also unless you get a huge boat you would never be able to tell what it was doing a quarter mile away.

[eeyore65]

I have a rescue boat that is kinda large and if i go out about 300 feet i have a had time seeing what's going on .
Also , don't run the boat till the batteries are dead , it can damage the cells .

[wanabedriver]

u say NOT to run it until the cells are dead? i dont have NIMH, so my NICDs get memories. I always read in RCCA (r/c car action) that you are suppost to discharge the bateries all the way...
also, you guys are probably true about the range. i might make my boat run ashore :eek:. thanz for all your help so far!

[laxmasta2039]

why do you need a 3-channel radio?? [thats what an MX-3 is right?]
i'm 14 so $$'s an issue for me too, still i've got several badass [okay, IMO badass] nitro racing boats and club membership to race them and two more on the way! you just have to know where to look and buy used as much as possible, if i were you i'd get a 6/7-cell electric vee, plastic or ABS hull, Fuller's fast electric or similar hardware, whatever radio you've got, and Octura prop. buy 3 or 4 plastic ones of the right size range and find out which one it "likes", then get that one in metal, balanced and sharpened. props are a good thing to get used because they're usually already balanced and sharpened, and a few good pics will are you it isn't damaged before buying, as long as the blades arnt chipped or bent. of the right size. another option that's a little more expensive but faster, bigger, looks cooler, makes more noise, and can be a b--- to tune [ya just gotta take that chance and try to get an experienced racer in you're area to help you if it is] would be a nice easy sport .21. get with marty knox [aka hammerhead] for one of his OS .21 pullstarts, get a 28-32" ABS or fiberglass deep vee hull, get a MAC tuned pipe from tower of the right size, any generic .21 mount, good metal hardware [strut, rudder, flexshaft, turn fin, maybe trim tabs if your boat needs 'em], and prather 215 or an octura of the right size for prop. you can get the hull, hardware, prop, mount, and glow plugs on ebay or used from somewhere else, just make sure they're in good condition and not homemade and DONT get a used engine. .45 is another good sport vee hull size, but hammer's .21s are a great bargain @ 100 bucks shipped new and .21 hulls are less expensive being smaller.

Joe

[wanabedriver]

i need the MX-3 for my emaxx, and it will be by best radio after that, so i figured, why not?

as for the rest of the stuff you said..... :confused: :confused: :confused: . but thanks anyway, ill decifer it, and try to figure it out...:confused:

[eeyore65]

The method for conditioning nicads has always been debated .
some say completely discharge after every run , others say only once a week or something like that .

I'm just saying i don't think it's a good idea to run the packs dead when they are in the boat . I like to let them cool some before i put them on the discharger and i don't discharge them after every run , i don't think it's necessary .
Also i've seen where the cells got too hot and melted the hull .
And i've heard of NIMH venting hydrogen in a sealed hull and the motor arc igniting the gas and BOOM .

[wanabedriver]

two pretty funny scenarios:
1) you're 'driving' your boat in the middle of the pond, then for an unknown reason it begins to take in water and sink :D.
2) you're racing along at full speed at the beach, u dont worry about water getting inside your water tight hull. then BOOM!!, theres a huge explosion. everyone scatters, thinking that we are getting attacked by another country or something... :D.
Completly stupid ideas, but funny.