farknben

I looked through the threads here and coulndt find anything to ansewer my question, so any help would be great.

Im a total noobie to boats. Ive been in and out and in, to electric rc trucks and cars for about 20 years. So my electrical knowledge is pretty good. I got my first nitro truck about a year ago and Im still kinda a newb at nitro. But Im starting to prefer nitro over electric now.

For a while now Ive been thinking about getting a boat and stopped at the LHS today to see what he carried.

Now Im not sure if I want to go nitro or electric. Would one be better for a first timer at boats?

Theres a couple nice sized ponds around here where I can run. Id say one that about 200' x 300' and one about 100' x 100'. Also I would like to take it camping with me where there are some rather large lakes with some small(1 ft max) wave action.

My options at the LHS are either a Shockwave 36 or Traxxas Villian. Id like to stick with the LHS as I like to sponsor local businesses. But if neither of these are of decent quality please let me know.

So my question is, considering Im a newb and prefer nitro but really know electric and the size of those pounds I will be running. Which boat would you guys and gals(you never know) recommend for me?

Thanks for your time and any replies you may have for me

jetpack

My Feedback: (1)

Whatever boat you choose, if it is a nitro...look into one of them big closet storage tubs to keep it in. Fuel seems to get onto everything, especially if you're going to be filling the car up with camping gear.

BrooksSteam

How is the noise tolerance at your ponds? Nitro boats are much louder than electrics, of course. Be a shame to build a nitro, and then discover that you could not run it at the ponds most convenient to your location.

farknben

There both OK with noise. Secluded and away from houses and such.

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

Going either way is no big deal if you've got experience with both eletric and nitro, just on nitro you run the needle richer. The amount of maintenance is about the same if not less as I used cto run both nitro and electric trucks.
If you ever decide down the road if you'd like to try your hand at racing, you're in a prime area with lots of clubs on that side of the state. One of my favorite sites is on the west side of Saginaw, not that far from you considering the distance that I have to drive.

farknben

Thanks for the advise guys.

Ron, I have a customer who races over there in Shields. Russ is his name. Ive been talking to him a bit the last few days. It looks like Im either gonna go gas(2 cycle) or electric.

Ive heard some people have had problems running Spektrum systems. They tend to lose signal or something over water. Is this common?

jetpack

My Feedback: (1)

Might want to check out the Gas Boat forum for electrical noise comming from the gasoline versions from the spark ignition. I don't know if this is a problem with certain radios or not or what they do to supress it.

LtDoc

"Ive heard some people have had problems running Spektrum systems. They tend to lose signal or something over water. Is this common?"
No more than any other radio system. They did have a problem when first introduced, but it was remedied. Their biggest draw back is the price, and those 'sub' guys can't use them. I think the range is something like 1/4 to 1/2 mile. Which, all things considered, isn't something most boaters have to worry about, I'd think...
- 'Doc

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

There were a lot of problems in the beginning, Some were from carbon fiber hulls or tuned pipes reflecting the signals. I saw two signal losses last year. One lost signal less than 200 feet away but the failsafe kept kicking in. The other was in an Eagle SGX outrigger. We thought at first that is was signal loss but later found out that it was a dying Rx battery pack. Hopefully the newer systems don't have ther problems associated with the older versions. I'm not ready to plunk down the cash for one yet, my FM radios are doing fine for me.