Boat upside Down

[KingofKings]

Does anyone know how to get a boat back to shore? :confused:
:mad:
Need some good ideas. :cool:

[CG Bob]

Simplest and cheapest way is a tennis ball and fishing reel. Attach the tennis ball to the end of the fish line, throw the ball out over the boat and reel it in. A variation is to use a bow and arrow.

Make a model of a towboat, the Vac-u-tow (http://www.vac-u-boat.com/Vac-U-Tow.htm) is good. Run the towboat out and push the disabled boat back in.

[Doc]

You have three choices, go get it, send someone/something to go get it, or wait for the wind to blow it to shore. There are good reasons for any of those choices, just depends on your abilities or needs. Seems like you may have already tried the 'wait on it' choice and aren't too happy with it. So, that means you get to go get it yourself or send someone or something after it. There are quite a few retrieval boat options. Almost anything can be used for a retrieval boat as long as it's powerful enough to move it's self and another boat, doesn't make a habit of sinking, and is fairly reliable. Ending up with two boats dead in the water is a real P.I.T.A.! A matter of what do you have, what can you afford, what would you like to use. [I won't get into sending someone else after it (dogs = 'someone'), just to wormy for word$.] Going after it yourself is another one of 'those' wormy things. Where I sail, I ain't getting any of that stuff ~on~ me, much less in me (everytime I've ever been in water I've ended up tasting it, and considering what's in the water here, just ain't gonna happen)!
A few other 'send after it' things include fishing poles. The draw back there is how far away the boat is. Or hand thrown lines. Or almost anything else you can think of. Or training it to return on command...
- 'Doc

PS - There are no 'set in stone' answers, but lots of imaginative ones.

[BoatDoc]

just don't swim for it!!!! fishing reel is my personal choice, but recovery boats are probably better.

[Ron Olson]

I use a 2 or 3-man inflatable boat. you can get them on sale with oars for under $30.00 . I have a truck with a cab-high cap on it so it's no big deal for me to haul it along inflated otherwise it doesn't take but a few minutes to inflate one pondside. You just have to watch for sharp objects like props and rudders when bringing it in.

[Mike Jackson]

How long has the boat been adrift? or is it stuck in some branches or moss?or has it come home yet? the the mandingy is a cood idea ,even one man can paddle one.If it hasn't come home yet good luck ,let usknow how it goes,i'm curious ton know for my own reference later.

[sportmaxx91]

Kool THread ill put in my inout. I have 4 boats. A little AA boat which stinks, a sailboat, a nikko tiger boat, and i just bought a Traxxas nitro vee. B$ i used the AA boat but it was very slow. SO now that i bought my nitro vee i am goning to gear down my tiger and put a flat board on the front so if my sailboat or nitro vee get stranded i can bring the bow up alongside it and bring it in. I have used a fishing pole b4 too. If u get a sailboat stuck a fishing pole really helps bcuz most model sailboats have a lot of little hand rails and fences for the hook to catch onto.

[Ron Olson]

I'll stick with my inflatable. Two weeks ago I took one of my latest creations out for a test run and I got a little heavy-handed on the throttle. The boat reached for the sky coming down transom first. When there is only the bow sticking out of the water, there isn't much for an R/C retrieve boat to latch onto.

[sportmaxx91]

the bow was the only thing sticking up??? :rolleyes: I guess my retrieval boat wouldn't do much there. In that position i trhink i would have either gone swimming or gone home and got my inflatable dingy.

[Fluid]

...In that position i trhink i would have either gone swimming....You'd be foolish then. :( I know of at least three deaths by drowning in the last ten years resulting from modelers swimming for their R/C boat, and a few close calls. One drowning last month happened when a guy used an inflatable boat to get to his model, but he drowned when another R/C boat punctured the raft - he couldn't swim. It may seem easy to swim out to get a boat, but it can and has been fatal. Be smart - no toy boat is worth a life! :eek:

[sportmaxx91]

well the lake that i go to is rough river and i swim in it all the time. i don't run with other boats and i can swim. THe other local pond is manmade and is only like 3-4 feet dep at max. I would probably just get some long pants and water shoes and wade out. LOL thanx for the warning though. We rc people must be constantly reminded that this can be a dangerous hobby.

[Ron Olson]

Yes, it was sticking straight up in the water. Even though it had a lot of floatation under the deck, it was still slowly going down.
Where I ran, the lake was getting weed-choked already which usually doesn't happen until late July. I HATE swimming in weeds plus the water is still cold yet, so anyone trying to swim after a boat would have gotten hypothermic and drowned, even in a short distance.

[macleod]

Yes, it was sticking straight up in the water. Even though it had a lot of floatation under the deck, it was still slowly going down.
Where I ran, the lake was getting weed-choked already which usually doesn't happen until late July. I HATE swimming in weeds plus the water is still cold yet, so anyone trying to swim after a boat would have gotten hypothermic and drowned, even in a short distance.

As Ron knows:
Dont swim for it, the boat is not worth dying for. If you have to use a large boat (either motor or paddle), if the other methods dont work, then PLEASE wear a life jacket. I mean everyone not those who cant swim.....
Also tell someone you are going out onto the water, and for them to watch you till your back on shore.
Plus make sure no one is still running their boat be it large or model types.

As everyone says: Boats can be replaced, but your life cannot be replaced...

[buck0123]

for a rescue boat i had good luck with the zig zag racer 2. put the scoop on the front and push them back to shore, it has worked good for me so far.

[Ron Olson]

I tried the ZZR also but always ended up by running the battery pack dead by playing with it instead! I attached a cup hook towards the bottom of the transom and used one of the included balls to grab onto the boats.

[gray]

What i do is use a cheap electric boat i bought of ebay and tie my fishing line to that and run it out and around the stranded boat and bring the electric back to shore then all i have to do is wind in the line and ive caught a boat.Also if your boat is sinking just with the nose sticking out i would be trying to put some more floatation in it.

[Burkey1000]

Just a quick post, i find it hard to listen to words such as, oh its ok i can swim, oh its only so deep, do you have any idea how heavy a boat is full of water, how many people have drowned because the water temp was so cold or they got cramp and couldnt swim. To have an attitude that its ok to do because you can swim boils my blood. We nearly had a guy drown doing that same thing at our lake, he wasnt a member of our club, and yes he could swim, he just jumped in got cramp half way there and couldnt swim no more. So what happend next, he started to go under, so to cut a long story short, there ended up 5 of us in the water to get him out, the water seemed warm but when ya in there it doesnt take long to kick in. Yes we got him out alive but only just, and risking our lives at the same time. So yes it p****s me off big style when stupid people say its ok to swim etc, and it only does harm for the hobby and gets us banned from lakes, i dont care who i offend by saying what i have and you can all ban me from here, but it has to be said. We nearly got banned from our lake because of it, and it was in the press in no time. So dont be a Dumb ass and go get a raft and life preserver, your death wont worry us, but you actions will if it all goes wrong and will affect us all. Sorry to this thread and anyone who knows the reason why, but it has to be said in a way that it may just sink in to people. YOU DONT SWIM FOR A BOAT. :mad:

[Ron Olson]

Just to show you that even an inflatable boat has its flaws when stupidity kicks in, here is a story of someone who drowned Memorial Day weekend, a day after our Fun Run. Seeing this has made me think long and hard about what we do. This is the reason why no boats are running when the retrieve boat is on the water:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/email/news/breaking_news/14695770.htm

[BoatDoc]

i run in a pond that is only 4 ft deep at it's deepest point. however, there is 20 some-odd feet of muck to worry about. at one end, where the water is roughly 1.5 feet deep, the muck is waist deep. you could easily get trapped in a pond like that. just re-stating the fact...DON'T SWIM for a boat. i figure if enough people hear us say that, they'll start to listen.

[Hydro Junkie]

I haven't hear of anyone drowning in my area yet, but I was present when something similarly stupid happened. At a scale hydro race, we had one of the boats sink around 20 yards off the beach. Someone there claimed to be a licensed diver and went in after it, equipped with only a mask, fins and a snorkel. Don't remember if he found the boat or not, but I do remember the problems it caused with the parks department and the resident ranger. That one incident almost cost the use of the site by all boaters, which include two scale hydro clubs, one sail club, not to mention the time traps that are run there. The legal repercussions aren't worth it either:(

[mjmsprt40]

I have to say that the idea of an inflatable boat sounds only slightly better than swimming for it, which is to say not much. Even if you can get all other models not to run while the retrieve boat is out, there's too much chance of snagging the inflatable on shore debris and creating a leak. That will give you a job keeping the boat inflated at the very least and I for one don't need the extra work and hassle. It's much better to use a solid-hulled boat, or our favorite fishing reels/tennis balls when the dead model is close enough.

About swimming for the models: Even assuming nothing goes wrong, it's already been mentioned how heavy a model that's loaded with water is. It can be a real bear to drag that thing, and swimming with it will be next to impossible. Save yourself a bunch of work, not to say the risk of dying over a toy, and get some proper retrieving equipment.

[Burkey1000]

That is why in my post i said use and inflatable and buy a life preserver too. Not all can use a solid hull boat nor transport one. Yes i think if you can get one use one. But the cheapest way is an inflatable, but you wear a life preserver with it, otherwise like you said above could, and will happen at some time. If someone gets wet wearing a life Preserver its no big deal, when someone drowns threw not wearing one and using an inflatable, well they have been warned of the risk. Buy a life preserver i mean one that you wear and is strapped to the body. Good point above. :)

[sportmaxx91]

any new ways to retreve a boat. I made a retreval raft that i will temperaraly tie onto the stern of my tiger and go in reverse fo retreval. Its jsut 2 peices of foam shaped in a U

[Old Sloppy]

At WalMart I bought a Coleman 1 man inflatable for $10 and a seat cushion style life preserver for $7.
It works....and it is leagle too.
In our lake an average of 13 persons drowned each year.
I have lived here 18 years now.

[Blackmanba]

I purchased a very little inflatable boat for that purpose from the local discout sports wearhouse for cheap after I had to swim in deep fresh water lagoon in mid winter. What I didn't buy was a "Life Jacket". I am now going back to that shop and will buy one. You guys absolutely right. Model boating isn't worth for risking our lives. It's just another hobby, isn.t it?

[sportmaxx91]

well. thats why i have built my RC boat rescue raft. It connects to my tiger and i go in reverse, pick up the stranded boat with the raft and bring it in.

[adkrevoracer]

I'm new this boating, (have 2 Revos though) and I swam for my Traxxas Nitro Vee. It was the first day i used it. After playing with this thing and trying to get it to do anything besides overheat and not go ,I wished I had just left it there. It would have saved me from throwing it to the dump. I do have a buddy that retrives his with a fishing rod with a heavy sinker and hook. :rolleyes:

[Old Sloppy]

I'm new this boating, (have 2 Revos though) and I swam for my Traxxas Nitro Vee. It was the first day i used it. After playing with this thing and trying to get it to do anything besides overheat and not go ,I wished I had just left it there.

If it is overheating, it may be running to lean.
This can cause heat build up.
This is a slight adjustment, use finness here.
Do you have the origional prop, or have you installed a too large prop ?