cdnNick

I'm looking into getting my first RC boat, but I can't figure out what is the best way to go (information overload). What's the easiest way to get into and not too hard to learn and take care of? Should I go with a battery powered or gas powered boat? My budget will be around $200 and I will be using this boat in the local ponds and maybe the odd time at a small lake.

What kind of running time do you get with battery powered boats? Can gas powered boats be run for a few hours at a time while just refueling or do the engines need to cool down?

Thanks in advance!

Ron Olson

My Feedback: (1)

Not easy to choose a first boat is it? We've all been there from our first to the next one.

OK, you`re not going to find a new nitro boat for under $200.00. If you do it`s going to be a really bad one like those nighmare Dolphin/Stingray's.
For a $200.00 budget there are a lot more choices in the electric boats. You can buy them with everything that you need to hit the water. Aquacraft and Pro Boat are 2 of the better brands that I'd look at. Tower Hobbies also has a low-buck boat RTR in your price range also.
If you find something that you might like, please feel free to ask here before plunking down your money and we`ll give you honest replies.

To answer your other questions about nitro boats, yes, you can run them all day long with just a refueling and maybe fresh batteries for the radio system.

cdnNick

Yes, it's not the easiest thing to get into when you don't know what all the terms mean.

What's the difference between nitro and gas boats? I do like the idea of being able to run for a few hours without having to wait for the batteries to charge up.

I was looking at the Nitro Hammer GP Vee RTR series, which is close to my budget at $230. How much work is it to maintain a gas engine?

Dan S

Nick,

Nitro Fuel is also called Glow fuel, it is a mix of Nitromethane and Methanol mixed with Castor or synthetic oil.

Gas is the same thing we use for our cars, right from the pump. (you probably knew this already, why did I explained this?? I must be getting old. LOL)

For you $200 bucks the Hammer EP or Nitro is a lot closer to your budget and if you save a bit more you could go with an SV27 EP or Nitro or a Vegas (nitro).

You will not find a Gas boat for $200 dollars, just a NEW stock 26cc Zenoah gas engine will be over your budget.

Dan.

platinumjason

All depends. I personally wont deal with electric right now because of the fact that the nice ones that are fast require 2 batteries and I dont have the kind of money to dump into nice batteries nor do I have the patience to wait for them to charge. My very first boat I got about a week ago is a Pro Boat Miss Llumar. I like it alot but with the wind around here with the large open pond I run on its too much chop for it so the next day I went down to my LHS and got a Pro Boat Thundercat for cheap.

[Edied because of a for sale ad in the forums.]