RGrew176

I am a newbie to this forum and a relative newbie to RC boats. I currently have a ProBoat Blackjack 26 electric. It is a lot of fun. We have a small RC club and we meet as often as we can. The electric boat runs fantastic when I put in the LiPo batteries. In fact the first time I ran with the LiPo's I flipped the boat over when I gave it full throttle all at once. I've now learned to gradually hit the throttle.

But, that's not my question. I am looking to branch out. I have pretty much ruled out nitro. One of our club members has a nitro boat and it is very challenging for him to keep it running so I have decided to go with a gas boat. This is what Iam looking at buying next spring and I would like some opinions from some experts.

http://www.rc-hydros.com/Products/Su...ProdID=PRB2350

What do you all think. Thanks in advance for your responses.

cheesewizz69

Only my opinion after looking at that boat first hand. WALK AWAY..... Did not like the looks of the boat at all. Build material not the best as far as I am concerned.

You are better off with a boat from Tony at Warehouse Hobbies if you just getting your feet wet. He has a few specials going on right now. http://whobbies.com/

Look at this thread fourteen pages and going http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_33..._1/key_/tm.htm

joe2011

Warehouse Hobbies all the way i have 2 boats from tony . they both run real nice . and easy to keep up.

RGrew176

Thanks foryour response. If you don't mind my asking what about the build material is in your opinion not up to par. Reason I ask is I currently have a ProBoat Blackjack and I have not been gentle with the boat. I have flipped it twice, run into a seawall and so far nary a scratch. Granted I have only had one hands on look at the ProBoat 48 Hypersport and it seems to have similar construction to my BlackJack. I have been told in conversations with other people I run into at the hobby shops the Zenoah engine is one of thebest engines available. The thread you directed me to about the Super G's was full of great information.

As I spend the winter researching boats I will appreciate any advice. My dilemma is that I am on a limited budget. I will have between $750 and $800 to spend so for now that puts the Super G out of my range. I prefer to purchase new as opposed to used. I will keep in touch with wear house hobbies and see if anything goes on sale. I will also continue to research hobbyshops in my area. This will give me something to do this winter.

I would like you to post more clearly your reasons to walk away from this boat. Thanks.

cheesewizz69

[/quote]
Thanks for your response. If you don't mind my asking what about the build material is in your opinion not up to par. Reason I ask is I currently have a ProBoat Blackjack and I have not been gentle with the boat. I have flipped it twice, run into a seawall and so far nary a scratch. Granted I have only had one hands on look at the ProBoat 48 Hypersport and it seems to have similar construction to my BlackJack. I have been told in conversations with other people I run into at the hobby shops the Zenoah engine is one of the best engines available. The thread you directed me to about the Super G's was full of great information.

As I spend the winter researching boats I will appreciate any advice. My dilemma is that I am on a limited budget. I will have between $750 and $800 to spend so for now that puts the Super G out of my range. I prefer to purchase new as opposed to used. I will keep in touch with wear house hobbies and see if anything goes on sale. I will also continue to research hobbyshops in my area. This will give me something to do this winter.

I would like you to post more clearly your reasons to walk away from this boat. Thanks.
[/quote]

I have no problems with the Zenoah engine.

1)As for the build material is concerned it's too toy like for my taste.

Other things that cost money to fix or replace.
2) The three pro-boats that I have witnessed first hand at our lake have all had problems with cracks on the decks and hatches, Blackjack's and Shockwave's. Material looks to be the same with this boat.
3) They have also had problems with the hardward, very weak rudders (break where the shaft connects) with contact instead of kicking up to prevent damage.
4) Grenading clutches, bad bearings from what I found.
Not sure if these were addressed with this latest boat. Anyway those are MY four big concerns with these boats. Again just my opinion and observations.

Regarding your budget and WHH http://9x4br.64n2f.servertrust.com/P...Code=SUPERGKIT $549 gets you the Gator if you dont have an extra radio setup add another $130 and it still leaves you some money for upgrades.

Don't misunderstand my comments I am not bashing Proboats. I just think you will spend a lot more after purchase money on it. Best advice would be to find someone in your area or club that has one see for yourself. You could also search the forum for Proboat and see what others have said regarding issues 3 and 4.

Leo

RGrew176

Thanks foryour response. If you don't mind my asking what about the build material is in your opinion not up to par. Reason I ask is I currently have a ProBoat Blackjack and I have not been gentle with the boat. I have flipped it twice, run into a seawall and so far nary a scratch. Granted I have only had one hands on look at the ProBoat 48 Hypersport and it seems to have similar construction to my BlackJack. I have been told in conversations with other people I run into at the hobby shops the Zenoah engine is one of thebest engines available. The thread you directed me to about the Super G's was full of great information.

As I spend the winter researching boats I will appreciate any advice. My dilemma is that I am on a limited budget. I will have between $750 and $800 to spend so for now that puts the Super G out of my range. I prefer to purchase new as opposed to used. I will keep in touch with wear house hobbies and see if anything goes on sale. I will also continue to research hobbyshops in my area. This will give me something to do this winter.

I would like you to post more clearly your reasons to walk away from this boat. Thanks.
[/quote]

I have no problems with the Zenoah engine.

1)As for the build material is concerned it's too toy like for my taste.

Other things that cost money to fix or replace.
2) The three pro-boats that I have witnessed first hand at our lake have all had problems with cracks on the decks and hatches, Blackjack's and Shockwave's. Material looks to be the same with this boat.
3) They have also had problems with the hardward, very weak rudders (break where the shaft connects) with contact instead of kicking up to prevent damage.
4) Grenading clutches, bad bearings from what I found.
Not sure if these were addressed with this latest boat. Anyway those are MY four big concerns with these boats. Again just my opinion and observations.

Regarding your budget and WHH http://9x4br.64n2f.servertrust.com/P...Code=SUPERGKIT $549 gets you the Gator if you dont have an extra radio setup add another $130 and it still leaves you some money for upgrades.

Don't misunderstand my comments I am not bashing Proboats. I just think you will spend a lot more after purchase money on it. Best advice would be to find someone in your area or club that has one see for yourself. You could also search the forum for Proboat and see what others have said regarding issues 3 and 4.

Leo
[/quote]

Most appreciative. 3 of our club members including myself are running ProBoats currently. All are electric. Each of us has had an encounter with the seawall at the pond where we run. Only one of us suffered any significant damage. The boat I am looking at is supposed to have a kick back rudder, at least according to the video. If I understand the video correctly this model is a direct drive with no clutch. Based on your knowledge would having a clutchless model have fewer problems than a model with a clutch?

Also, the boat guy at one of the hobby shops who is recognized by some people I have spoken with says that the problems in earlier ProBoat models have been addressed in this model. Of course he is selling ProBoat so that has to be taken into consideration. Another consideration is the noise factor. Based on your experiences is an exhaust that is muffled with water quieter than one which is not?Is this what they mean by wet exhaust vs dry exhaust?

As you can see I have much to learn about gas boats. Thanks again for your advice.

cheesewizz69

I think the Shockwave and Blackjack were also marketed as having kick back rudders. The issue is they would break more often than not instead of kicking up. The rudder on the HyperSport does look like a diffrent design. There are many debates regarding clutch vs no-clutch. On a fun boat I prefer to have a clutch, I however run a 57" Apache clutchless. By removing the clutch it one less thing to go wrong and ruin your day at the lake plust you gain a few MPH

As for the boat guys recomendation you are wise to take his recomendation with a grain of salt for that matter do the same for anything I write. I wish some other members would jump in and post with suggestions and comments.

In general a wet exhaust (water injected into the pipe) will be quieter than a dry exhaust that is un-mufflered.

Still learning myself....

RGrew176

Thanks again for your response. Fortunately I have time to continue looking. I am inclined to go with a wet exhaust on whatever boat I finally do purchase. Listening to the video's and having listened to a couple of gas boats the wet system is noticably quieter. When I am out in my boat with other boats in an anchorage I don't want to be so noisy where I would bother other boats in the area. I will try to get a decible rating from the manufacturer of the various boats I am looking at.