I quote: "
The financial investment and experience required to try nitro RC boating just is not conducive to attracting new boaters..."
And this is. (I'm not trying to be rude)
OK. Your prices are generic prices. Now let's take a look at a tax and shipping cost that a new boater would incur.
By the time someone buys a lower unit ($250 OS/Lawless) K&B ($90) and the K&B will soon be gone too, and an engine ($100) Tuned pipe ($60) The mount/conversion kit ($100) Collet ($25) we are already at the cost of a new OS without having to beg for ten years for info as to where to get the parts, and we still haven't bought the prop and correct rotary carb (Rossi carb $60) prop ($40).
Now, a new boater trying to build this set up would be lost, because the parts are not on the shelf at the local hobby shop and no one to help. <main reason the hobby is dead. $600 so far, the OS is already cheaper.
RC Buggy is huger, even huger than onroad because the hobby stores cater to it. The newbi or person looking to get into rc boats will go to the hobby store and see a very very small offering, ok now they do buy a rtr hydro or something in nitro. Only to find out in a month when something breaks the parts are unattainable.
If you remember back in the day the ABS Hot Shot and K&B was a huge success in getting people into the hobby. $120 for the kit, and 100 for a new outboard, and 60 for a radio, and one could go race it. Simple kit to build at a cheap price that could run with the best hulls. There was another "PTI (I think) that had an ABS tunnel and that was a great boat, just not marketed in hobby shops.
Now a Tunnel costs 400 for just a hull, with no rigging.
The engine is really not the issue, the hull cost is. Most new people are afraid to build a wood kit, and see an empty hull for 300 to 400. Now if there was a 3.5cc tunnel (Non wood) with the rigging for lets say in today cost of living for 250 shipped and an engine for 250 shipped that would be a way to get people interested but hobby shops would have to stock them and the parts to support them.
Even Prather hulls are still available $250 shipped, bare hull in primer, but without the rigging.
It's a complete kit with high quality Dubro and the like parts that will attract the new person at a doable price.
Aquacraft, the fiberglass is so thin they are 2 year hulls, the parts are so cheaply made the screws strip out and such. Whereas a old Dumas kit still runs today 30 years later.
I live in Ohio, I went down to Dayton thinking ok the hobby shop is near a boat club so they should fuel, and parts. Nope nothing, blew my mind. Most don't even know about boats as a hobby because the hobby shops don't stock the stuff. There wasn't even a club flier for someone to read up and get in contact with.
Keeping that in mind when a new boater steps in to start buying the parts, will he/she get the help needed sourcing the parts?
This all being said, I know you try to make boating affordable and simple and you do a great job too.
the issue there is a lot of reasons why boating is dying, not just nitro but the boating (PWR) side, is not just with the boat or cost, some rules could be changed to keep the new boater in the hobby. I said it before, a beginner/intermediate class of racing so someone with subpar skills is not racing against ppl who can run with their eyes closed. A 40 year vet with a slow 3.5cc boat can win against a newbi with a faster 7.5cc boat simply because the vet has 40 years exp piloting a boat.
Remember Al's hobby, sure ya do. They had all the r/c boat stuff and high end optional parts on the shelf even from private vendors. very rare for that today. in Ohio, I can't even walk into a hobby store and walk out with boat fuel, or even 0% for that matter. Let alone find a prop on the shelf.
But at any rate your setup is already a higher cost in general than an OS. Not to you, but your not a new boater, new boaters would have to start from the ground up.
I keep saying it, a class for beginners and intermediate would really help the hobby/sport although it would take time to get established.
But you do have a awesome idea just not that feasible for a new boater.
Perhaps, a Prather class of racing (Tunnel/Offshore Deep V)?
Your boats being top notch kits at an affordable price, some are afraid to build a wood kit, and a hydro is not the easiest boat to trim for the newcomer that is. Prather is just about the cheapest boat to build and easiest to run out there.
There are other ways to get the sport back up to par. Although for a class the 28 buggy engine outboard would be cool. You peaked my attention!!