RE: Brushless and Reverse
Here is a direct quote of instruction for the UL-1 racing boat:
if you operate your boat at “less than full power” for the full duration
of the run, you might likely experience an ESC failure. The
extra voltage the batteries deliver is being managed by the
ESC and can cause the ESC to get hot enough to fail.
You'd be better off using a big graupner with a low kv as already stated.