Which is faster?

[beetleman]

I assume this has been asked already.. Which is faster/fastest from the following, and what are their top speeds?

1. Traxxas Nitro VEE
2. AquaCraft SuperVee 27 Nitro
3. AquaCraft Nitro Hammer GP Vee

Which is the best buy? Does the price difference suggest the quality/speed?

Thanks

[Ron Olson]

Aquacraft Super-Vee 27 Nitro on all accounts.
Price has nothing to do with quality. You can spend a lot of money on a clunker boat.

See my video of the SV 27 N in the other thread. It only was on it's second tank of fuel when we shot the videos and should be faster once the engine is broken in and I find the right prop for it. I'm running a larger one now than I thought that it would take and it's acting like it wil take a lot more.

[beetleman]

Thanks Ron,

Hmmm.. now I am unsure of what to get. On one hand, I am a junkie for speed, on the other, the Nitro Vee has both a return-to-shore system and a prop idle when stopping feature. If I understand correctly, it is the most advanced of the three, but according to your input not the fastest. What do you think?

Also, is the smaller the prop the faster the boat goes?

Thanks

[Ron Olson]

The RTS system works when it wants to and is slow if it does. It won't do you any good if the boat flips or gets hung up in weeds. The problem is that if you want speed, you have a boat there that is loaded down with too much gear, the RTS and the onboard starter add a lot to an underpowered boat. The clutch is there more for the RTS as you really don't want to idle on the water otherwise you don't get any water cooling ot the head.
A prop is like a single-speed transmission. The idea is to find one that won't allow the engine to over-rev by being too small or too large to put too much of a load on the engine.

[beetleman]

Wow, you really don't favor the Nitro Vee, to say the least... So does the Super-Vee 27 require a separate starter?

Say, you seem very knowledgeable with RC boating, can you please read my other post on my Academy Sea Dart? I asked for help there but nobody seemed to know much. Thanks!

[Ron Olson]

the SV 27 N comes with a pull-starter but a belt can be used to fire it up.
I never said that I don't like them but you read between the lines! :)
The Nitro Hammer was plagued with a few problems also, there were a few reports of broken crankshafts by the intake port that appeared to be a machining problem.
I'll look but I'm guessing that it's an electric boat with Academy in the name.

[beetleman]

Are there any other Nitro boats that are recommended, apart from the 3 mentioned above, in the $200-$300 range?

[Ron Olson]

Aquacraft also has the Miss Vegas if you have almost flat water to run on. 32-35 MPH out of the box and up to 45 MPH with some mods.
For another $50.00 you could look at the ProBoat Thunder-Cat 31 or Shockwave 36, both at $349.95 .

[beetleman]

Are the ProBoat Thunder-Cat 31 and Shockwave 36 a step up from the Aquacraft SV Nitro? I see that they both have .32 engine while the SV has a .18. Also, they do not have an onboard starter which I understand is better?

What speeds can they do out of the box? Which of the two would you choose? Are there any more boats that are recommended?

Sorry for all the newbie questions... I am truly clueless as none of these boats are available in Israel and I would be ordering my pick from eBay or elsewhere on the net...

[Ron Olson]

OK, to avoid any more confusion, the Super-Vee 27 Nitro, the SW 36 and TC 31 don't have onboard starters but the Traxxas Nitro-Vee does. These two boats are getting easily mixed up.
All of the boats that you mentioned will run at about the same speeds and all are capable of more than how they come out of the box with just prop changes.
the proBoat boats are larger and will do better if you run in rough water.

[abx131]

OK, to avoid any more confusion, the Super-Vee 27 Nitro, the SW 36 and TC 31 don't have onboard starters but the Traxxas Nitro-Vee does. These two boats are getting easily mixed up.
All of the boats that you mentioned will run at about the same speeds and all are capable of more than how they come out of the box with just prop changes.
the proBoat boats are larger and will do better if you run in rough water.

As with any RTR you need to understand you will be constantly tinkering with these. Proboat seems to get bashed pretty good on this site but lets face it, all RTR's are made with cost in mind and ALL HAVE THEIR WEAKNESES. The ability to run it right out of the box out weighs most shortcommings in mass production. Do expect to put money in to upgrades with any of them. I look at RTR's as an intro to the hobby and if you like it you will most likely want something bigger and faster and should look at a scratch built later on. I love the hydros but as mentioned earlier, calm smooth water is a must.

[beetleman]

Thanks for the input.

I have recently ventured into the world of nitro buggies (I got the GS Shadow with .18 engine - great car). However, the experience got me very concerned about nitro boats. Unlike my electric cars, the nitro engine tends to shut down many times. A lot of tweaking and tuning must be done in the field, and no matter what you do it will die from time to time.

Even my faithful OS .46 of my RC plane dies occasionally, and forces me to land with a glide.

You can probably see where I'm getting at... I have no wish whatsoever to swim to a dead boat or even to try the old tennis ball and fishing line trick to retreive it. No long run time or sweet engine sound is worth standing on the shore trying to figure out how to retreive the boat.

Therefore, I'm thinking about going for the SuperVee brushless.

I would really like to hear input regarding this. How do people cope with dead boats in the middle of the pond? Does this happen a lot?

Cheers,
Eitan

[Ron Olson]

Even with an electric motor powered boat you still need a way to get it back if need be. If the boat flips or gets hung up in weeds or other junk in the water, you still need a way to get it back somehow safely. With one drowning last year and one already this year, swimming is not an option for most people. For less than $50.00, you can pick up a 2-man inflatable boat with oars and a pump from Wal-mart. For less you can go for a fishing pole but they only work if the boat is within casting range.
Yes, it happens a lot regardless of what kind of what I'd call a fast boat.

[beetleman]

Well, that's all true, but you must agree that the probability of engine cut is much higher with nitro than with electric.

Regarding the inflatable boat idea, I just have to show off mine (see pic)... But to be honest, it's a lot of work to set up and I don't want each trip to run the RC boat to become a pain...