I recently got bit by the RC boating bug this past year with several glow and electric powered sport boats in my dock. Each of these boats impressed me at the time I acquired them as one was faster and better looking than the other. My nitro boats were all faster than the electric ones, but the electrics are easier to use and require no tuning, thus resulting in less swimming adventures than with the glow models. As a sport boater, I thought I was perfectly content.

Then I was introduced to the Super G by Warehouse Hobbies. The Super G is touted as sport boat for the beginner/intermediate enthusiast that wishes to get into gasoline boating.

First things first, for those of you who do not know of Warehouse Hobbies, they are the pioneers and leading manufacturer of fiberglass racing hulls for the RC Boating industry. They are a full service shop selling hulls in kit form to complete ready to run models that even have the radios installed. At WH you will also find tons of support and hop-up equipment as well as today’s hottest RC boat engines.

After browsing through their website and looking at all the different models that they had, I was convinced that I would have to spend onwards of $1500 to get into a nice gasoline powered boat. Then I made a quick call to Tony Castronovo, owner of Warehouse Hobbies, and he introduced me to the Super G. The Super G is based on the Enforcer Gator, which has been a proven boat for many years and some would argue that it was the best sport boat of all time. It comes with the new Zenoah G230RC air cooled power plant. With a retail price of $799 that includes everything minus the radio, I could not resist. Tony assured me that I would not be sorry!

Model: Enforcer Super G
Type: Gas-powered monohull
Manufacturer: Warehouse Hobbies
Length: 46"
Beam: 14.5"
Hull Construction: Hand-laid fiberglass
Engine: Zenoah G230RC air-cooled 23cc gas engine (already installed)
Fuel: Unleaded gasoline with 32:1 2-stroke oil mix
Radio Required: 2 Channel with a standard servo for throttle and a quarter scale servo for steering.
Radio Used: Futaba 3PK transmitter, with PCM receiver. Hitec HS-475HB on the throttle and Hitec HS-700 for steering.
Battery: Cermark 1100 mAh NiMh 4.8 volt (for receiver)
Price: $799 (ready to run, minus the radio)

I remember my first impression as I opened up the box was WOW! This is no where near the same caliber boat as the glow and electric models that I own. Without even touching it, it leaves you in awe. Every inch of the Super G is constructed and finished with the same exacting standards as Warehouse Hobbies top-of-the-line race boats. The Super G was designed to get beginners into gas powered boating fast.

The Super G’s hull is 45 ½” long with a 14” beam and comes completely ready to run (minus the radio). The hull and deck are joined at the factory and the hand-laid fiberglass work is second to none. The two hardwood engine mounts are fiberglassed to the hull and begin at the transom and extend forward to support the fuel tank. The heavy duty radio box is attached to wooden mounts just forward the transom. The hull is finished in a high gloss gel-coat paintjob that is available from the factory in yellow, white, or red.

The Super G comes fully assembled with the engine, radio box and fuel tank already installed and is available with or without a radio system. My boat came without the radio as I planned on using my Futaba 3PK radio system with a PCM receiver and fail safe programming and Hitec servos.

The radio box is large and can accommodate just about any brand of servo that you choose. There are cutouts already in the mounting plate for a standard size throttle servo and a ¼ scale steering servo. I used a Hitec HS-475HB standard ball bearing servo for the throttle and a Hitec HS-705 quarter scale servo for the steering. A Cermark 1100 mAh 4.8 volt battery powered the receiver and was controlled by a heavy duty switch with build in charge jack, also from Cermark. I wrapped the receiver in a plastic bag and sealed it with a rubber band then I wrapped the battery and receiver in foam and installed them in the openings on the servo tray.

The throttle pushrod comes completely installed and connected to the carburetor of the engine. All that I needed to do was install the EZ connector to the servo arm and adjust the throws so the servo fully opens and closes the throttle.

Before I could install the steering pushrod, I needed to install the XP Drive unit. The XP Drive comes with the flexible cable, rudder assembly and even the propeller already installed. According to the manufacturer, the prop is completely balanced and sharpened from the factory. To be sure, I removed the prop and placed in on my Dubro Prop Balancer and was pleased to see that it was perfect.

Before assembling the flex cable into the stuffing box I coated it with a liberal amount of lithium grease. When it comes to lubrication of your drive system, you can never apply too much. The flex cable slides into the stuffing box until it engages the clutch unit. It was necessary to rotate the prop a bit to align the rod end into the coupler in the clutch housing. I fastened the XP Drive unit to the cast aluminum standoff on the rear of the transom with 4 socket head cap screws. The leading edge of the rudder comes sharpened to provide maximum responsiveness in the water. Considering the power and speed of the model every little bit of drag that is removed yields better performance on the water.

With the XP Drive installed, I was ready for the steering pushrod. The 4-40 rod comes with a threaded end to which a clevis is installed. It is necessary to slide the pushrod through the rubber boot in the transom as well as the radio box. I applied a bit of petroleum jelly to the pushrod which made this task much easier. I attached the clevis to the rudder and set it straight by eye. I then made a mark on the pushrod where I would need to cut it and solder on the threaded coupler. Be careful with this step to ensure that you do not cut the rod too short. I soldered the threaded end on the rod using a soldering pen and silver solder. Once complete I installed a clevis and attached it to the servo horn and performed a final check of the controls making any adjustment necessary before I sealed up the radio box.

The radio box comes with a smoked Plexiglas lid with a hole in it. The hole allows you to place your finger inside the radio box to reach the receiver switch. The cover is sealed in place using ½ inch tape around its edges. I used another piece of tape to cover the switch access hole before I put it in the water.

Two trim tabs are factory installed and set on the transom. These are no ordinary trim tabs. They are constructed of high grade aluminum compete with an adjustable threaded rod in the center making them easy to adjust at the lake to fine tune the boat for various water conditions.

Warehouse Hobbies provides an excellent manual with the Super G. The 24-page book walks you through every step of the models final assembly. It includes detailed instructions on radio installation, engine operation, and maintenance. There are a lot of helpful suggestions including waterproofing the radio box and storing the boat for the off season. Even for the rank beginner, they do not leave many questions unanswered.

It was a beautiful day with a slight ripple on the lake when it was time for the Super G’s initial run. We brought a kayak with us in the unlikely event that the engine quit or the boat capsized off shore.

I fueled the Super G with 32:1 gas/oil mix. I used 2 cycle oil from Zenoah. It is the same stuff I use in my G26 airplane engine. I heard rumors that a full tank on this beast will yield 45 minutes of run time. Coming from an airplane background, you never hear of 45 runtimes of anything so I was a bit skeptical and would be sure to check the tank every 10 minutes or so. I turned on the radio and verified that I had is set to the correct program. I gave the engine a couple quick pulls after priming it and she came to life. The idle and transition were spot on right from the get go. Being that this is the first boat I owned with a clutch, I was happy to see that prop sitting still while the engine was at idle. Before setting the Super G in the water, I wanted to perform a quick range check. I paced out 100 feet with the antenna collapsed there were no signs of glitching which satisfied me.

We placed the boat into the water and slowly advanced the throttle. I guess I was concerned and a bit nervous about relative size of this boat with all this power that I had on my index finger. When I got out of the bay and into the open water I ran a couple laps around the lake at ¼ - ½ throttle to get a feel for the boat. After about 10-15 minutes, I brought it back to shore to check the fuel. To be honest, I did not see the level in the tank go down at all. Man this engine is efficient. This time I was getting more comfortable so I decided to open it up on the straightaway. I was darn near blown off my feet. The Super G performs like no other electric or glow powered boat that I have ever seen. It seemed as though a rocket was ignited on the tail of the boat. At full throttle 95% of the hull is out of the water and the engine is pushing for more.

The Super G had very good handling qualities in the turns at half throttle. Above that and you had to be really gentile on the rudder. Too much steering will cause it to spin out. I found that high speed turns were more stable to the right that to the left.

The engine was surprisingly quiet even at full throttle with the stock muffler. With the lake that I run at being mostly residential, I was glad to know I would not be too much of a nuisance and I honestly think the Super G as quieter than the average jet ski.

We were wondering how fast it was actually going and kept a running bet. Warehouse Hobbies claims that the boat will reach 38 mph out of the box, but I was sure that it was faster. Luckily, there was a local police officer taking a lunch break at the boat launch. I asked him if he had a radar gun and if be could settle a bet for us. He was pretty impressed with this boat as well and was happy to help. I made 3 separate runs in search of the top speed. The first run was about 1500 feet straight across the lake and the radar gun read 39.1 mph. The second run recorded 41.2 mph. The third run however hit 43.7 mph. Needless to say I won the bet. I could not believe it, 43.7 mph from a ready to run entry level gasoline boat! Amazing!

I had been on the water for over 30 minutes by now, so I decided to check the fuel level again. I still had half a tank left. I would say that 45 minutes to over an hour is possible on a single tank. I wanted to give it one more run before nightfall. This time I wanted to see how well it came up on step from a dead stop, so I waited till it stopped moving and punched full throttle. The first thing you hear is the low roar of the Zenoah power plant spooling up followed by a huge rooster tail. In a blink of an eye the boat darted out of the water. Very impressive! I ran around the lake for another 15 minutes or so before calling it a day. Over an hour of fun on less than $1 of fuel - how can you go wrong?

Having been my first gasoline powered boat, I did not know what to expect. I was completely blown away of the performance as compared to my electric and nitro powered boats that I have owned. Nothing even came close to the quality, power, and speed from the Super G. The added simplicity of an air cooled power plant makes that boat that much easier for the beginner to get involved in the hobby. With less than 1 hour from box to water you really can not go wrong if you have been contemplating with getting into gas boats. The sleek looks complemented by the massive power of the Zenoah G230RC engine is sure to give you a little shock and awe factor at your local boating spot. Looks like it is time to put my other boats in the RCU Marketplace.

Warehouse Hobbies
1180 C. R. 621 East
Lake Placid, Florida 33852
TEL: 1-800-444-1995
FAX: 1-863-699-0360
Website: www.warehousehobbies.com
Email: whobbies@strato.net

Futaba Corporation of America
Distributed Exclusively in the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico by:
Great Planes Model Distributors
P.O. Box 9021; Champaign, IL 61826-9021
Website: www.futaba-rc.com
Products used: Futaba 9CAP Transmitter, 7 Channel R-127DF Receiver

HiTec RCD USA, Inc.
12115 Paine St.
Poway CA, 92064
TEL 858-748-6948
Website: www.hitecrcd.com
Products used: HiTec HS-5625, HS-5645 Servos

Dubro, Inc.
480 Bonner Road, Wauconda, IL 60084
Phone: 800-848-9411
Website: www.dubro.com
Products used: 4/40 Pull-Pull system, Misc. Hardware, Axles

Cermark
9830 Bell Ranch Drive
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
TEL (562) 906-0808 (Information only)
1-800-704-6229 (Order only)
E-Mail: customerservice@cermark.com
Website: http://www.cermark.com
Products used: Heavy Duty Switch