Hi Mike

Electric is less messy, no fiddling with carbs, and quieter so you can find more places to run - e.g. ponds near peoples houses.

How big is the lake you want to run on, and is it near houses?

You can find a "starter" boat for around $150-200 + $50-100 for batteries and charger, but if you like it you may find you are bored after a month, especially if you start off with a brushed motor boat. At that point the cost of upgrading will be significant to get something noticably faster, and you will be pulling out nearly new motors and speed controllers. Examples include the ProBoat Shockwave 26 EPmonohull and Apache catamarn. These boats are typically ABSand can be a bit more durable than fiberglass when it comes to bumping into things at first.

If you want to keep to about $300 all in, the Aquacraft Wildcat EPmay be your best option. Its ABS, comes with a brushless motor and you can buy the boat for around $220 and a single battery and basic lipo charger for about $80.

A "good" boat you can learn with and grow into will be closer to $300-350 and maybe $100 for batteries and charger. Popular examples are the ProBoat Mystic/ Geico/ Blackjack catamarans and Impulse monohull, or Aquacraft Motley Crew cat or Supervee/ Revolt monos. These boats are typically fiberglass - stiffer but more fragile than ABS.

Another alternative would be to consider buying a second-hand "good boat" to bring the initial outlay down.

-yellow-bird