Recommendations - Smaller RC Boat

[evan9hunter]

Hey all...

LOOOONG time lurker here. Finally got around to actually getting an account created. COVID-19 has certainly left me with some more time on my hands. Odd that one of my first posts here is about a boat, but what can you do? This thread seems to be pretty active so I thought what the heck?!

I was extremely into the RC hobby from 2010-2014. Life happened (marriage, a first house, etc.) and it took me out of things until late last year. I'm trying to get back up to speed on some things. Wow, have the times changed!

While I'm primarily a trail truck/crawler guy, the community pond behind my house has certainly peaked my interest in boats again. I had a Aquacraft Revolt 30 and an Aquacraft Minimono back in the day. I believe both of those have long since been discontinued. My Minimono took some damage during one of my moves, and it looks like parts are pretty slim to come by. However, I loved the size and performance that little boat put out.

Anyone have any opinions or ideas on a current "smaller" RC boat? I'd prefer something 18"-24", Lipo-ready, and preferably brushless. Lastly, self-righting is a must as my recovery boat is long gone and I'd prefer to keep the swim recoveries to a minimum.

It looks like Pro Boat has a couple of decent options out there:

https://www.horizonhobby.com/boats/...self-righting-brushless-deep-v-rtr-p-prb08022

https://www.horizonhobby.com/boats/...ico-17-inch-catamaran-brushed:-rtr-p-prb08019

Does anyone have any experience or opinions on these, or anything similar? I don't mind tooling around with crawlers, but I'd prefer my boats to be a little more "plug and play" as they are just for dinking around with more than anything else.

Thanks all!

 

[Panther6834]

I don't have any experience with those specific boats...but, as luck has it, after running helis many years ago, drones over the past 6+ years, off-road racers & bashers over the past couple of years, and crawlers working the past year, I recently decided to "head to the water". Although, in my case, I was looking for something a bit larger (36"). Honestly, there aren't a lot of options with 'self-righting' (also known as a flood chamber). Before I continue, forget about the Veles...it's a catamaran, and catamarans doesn't have any 'self-righting' ability.

If you feel you need self-righting, the Recoil is an excellent choice...kinda like a "baby brother" to the SonicWake I got. Speaking of which, if you're willing to go up a little (by 10") in length, and can afford to spend a little more money, the ProBoat SonicWake, or TFL Pursuit w/ Flood Chamber, are both outstanding options. After a lot of research, and plenty of suggestions/recommendations in the OSE & RC Groups forums, these were the two most recommended choices, especially as a "first boat". Even those with plenty of RC FE experience love them (although, they usually get the Pursuit version without the Flood Chamber, which also happens to be one of the most recent boats in its class in NMBA).

I got my SonicWake in the water for the first time a few days ago. Running completely stock, on 4S only (she's 6S capable, unlike the Recoil, which is only 2-3S), got her up to 31.7mph. after a prop swap (to a 4514), I'll be taking her out today, for her 3rd & 4th runs. I'm guessing, I should easily break 40mph, and might even break 45mph...again, on 4S (will be ordering some 3S packs, for 6S runs, later today).

Whatever you decide to go with...Recoil, SonicWake, Pursuit w/ Flood Chamber, or something else...I'd HIGHLY recommend ordering it through Offshore Electrics (www.offshoreelectrics.com). When it comes to FEs, Steve is not only a master of his craft, he also provides incredible customer service, and VERY fat shipping (much faster than Horizon Hobby, with customer service that's an good as Amain, Apple, & Amazon). Additionally, OSE carries almost every boating-related upgrade you can think of.

If you have any questions, just email them at info@offshoreelectrics.com, and then get back to you before you know it. Most replies come directly from Steve, as he loves to make personal connections with all customers & potential-customers. Although OSE doesn't list a phone number of their website, if you happen to be closer to Chelsea, MA, you (and others) can always stop by OSE's showroom...although, not sure if it's open to the public at this very moment, considering the COVID-19 matter.

Whatever you do, whatever you buy, whomever you purchase through, glad to hear you're getting back into the boating aspect of RC...and, most importantly of all, have a blast (just don't buy a (Traxxas) Blast...or any Traxxas boat, for that matter.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place [emoji1690]

 

[TheLetterJ]

I had similar criteria to yours, just wanted something plug n play, fast enough to be fun, and self righting. I also wanted something that could handle rough(er) water so as not to limit when/where I could run it. I spent a couple months casually reading reviews and other message forums (mostly offshoreelectrics) comparing the ins and outs of a handful of models until I was comfortable with my choice.

I got the Proboat Recoil last month. I've only had it out once so far, but it worked exactly as I'd hoped. Runs 25-30mph and is super stable. I'm sure it's typical of boats, but I was blown away by how sharp it could turn at full speed. You could be running full speed and cut the wheel all the way to make the boat 180, momentarily dive under, then come back in the same line it left from! I could see making some changes to pick up speed, but honestly, it's a very balanced setup as is.

This video may have been the one that ultimately sold me:

https://youtu.be/-26PCWgiFDM

I had also considered the Atomik Barbwire XL2 and the Proboat River Jet, but there were a few small things that turned me off of them. A minor difference is that the Atomik uses a flood chamber for self righting, so it's not quite instantaneous like the gyroscopic method Proboat uses. The river jet seemed like it ticked all the boxes, but I came across a disproportionate amount of people saying the quality of components was sub par, or just the general execution was lacking. The river jet seems like it would be a cool boat to have in the line up, just not as your only boat.

Coming from a crawler background, you shouldn't be too concerned about parts availability with any of them since boats don't have a lot of model specific parts besides the hull/canopy. You can fairly easily just make something fit.

 

[Panther6834]

Well...got the SonicWake in the water for her 3rd & 4th runs. In my first post, I forgot to mention the allowed of the first 2 runs on the stock prop - 31.3mph & 31.7mph. Anyway...with the 4514 prop, I didn't quite break 35mph, but I did get closer - 33.7mph & 34.4mph. Again, I'm still running 4S, and, other than the prop swap, nothing else has been changed. Not sure if that'll help you make a decision, but just thought I'd share, just in case you start considering anything larger than the Recoil.

~ More peace, love, laughter & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place [emoji1690]

 

[evan9hunter]

@Panther and @Letter J, thank you so much for your replies! Definitely helpful feedback from both of you and I sincerely appreciate it.

I love hearing feedback about a particular place like OSE. Customer service today is such a huge thing, and often missed by a lot of folks out there. Plus, having someone who genuinely cares, and is okay answering questions and helping the less-knowing tune in a setup is priceless. Regardless of what direction I go, I know for sure I’ll be going to OSE.

The sizing of what I was looking for was really around two things. First, for whatever reason I’ve always been fascinated with the smaller scale RC stuff. I had an old Losi Mini-T as one of my first vehicles and I loved it.

Side note, I’m absolutely buying one of the re-makes that were recently released. I grinned ear to ear when I saw my first love was getting updated!

Secondly, my parents have a little 1/2 acre pond that a bigger boat just outruns too quickly. The community pond behind the house is probably 3-4 acres but my end is a little smaller and tighter. No doubt those bigger boats can turn on a dime, but there will be more turning and less hauling the mail on my parent’s pond.

The self-righting thing is really more about the community pond. I’d didn’t want to be swimming out in that nasty thing unless I had to, and wanted to avoid bringing my Traxxas Blast/PVC snowplow recovery boat Frankenstein I built up from my folk’s place. That’s the only reason I’d ever buy a Traxxas boat. Prop/rudder combo made maneuvering a little easier.

You guys are kind of selling me on that Sonic Wave! LOL! I will look into that TFL Pursuit. I hadn’t heard of that one before. I’ll be sure to post back whenever I figure out what I’m going to do. But this has been awesome. Thanks for your help!!