reduca

Irecently became interested in RemoteControl Boating and am trying to decide which boat to purchase as my first boat. I've done a lot of research and am trying to decide between something like the Pro Boat Mini-V EPRTR or something larger like the Pro Boat Shockwave 26 Brushless. I'll be running the boat on various sized ponds and maybe a lake. Any advice would be appreciated.

Visual Perfection

I have both that you mentioned (well a Mini-C, not V...but same thing)


The Mini is fun for in the pool and small pond and does maybe 10mph at most.. it is very tiny

I like using it for when I am sitting by the pool or going somewhere and I can just throw it in the car and bring it along in case I see some water etc..

The shockwave 26 brushless looks big next to my Mini-C lol...but it is a MUCH more fun boat. It does about 23-24mph on a 7.2v NiMh battery and on a 2s Lipo it will do about 30mph. With the shockwave you will need a new prop as the stock prop just doesn't hold up, other than that I truly believe for a first boat you will be MUCH happier with the Shockwave...it was my first boat and now I own 5 boats and have been in this hobby for a little more than a month.

Mini-c is fun to skip around the pool with, Shockwave is a blast to open up and drive in the open water!

Here is a video of my shockwave:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=irrxxvKeBKQ[/youtube]


And a Video of my Mini-C

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cruvNcwkTQE[/youtube]

Hydro Junkie

I would have to agree, bigger is better TO A POINT. A little boat like the Mini-V is not going to be any good in a lake or pond that gets any sort of chop. Going to the other extreme, such as a 40" or larger nitro boat isn't going to work for you either as they are hard to haul, hard to handle and much more work than what most beginners want to deal with. I myself am not a Pro Boat fan, but of the two you mentioned, the Shockwave is the better boat

reduca

Thanks to all for the advice. You've raised a fewmore questions now.

1) Is there a particular NiMh battery that you'd recommend that would give me a decent amount of run time, but would not be too expensive?

2) What would be a good/quick battery charger (AC or AC/DC) that would be compatible with the recommended battery?

3) Other than the Shockwave, what boat(s) would you recommend that would be comparable?

nothinbetr2do

please delete my post.

Visual Perfection

1.) I am not sure if you are asking in regards to the Shockwave or the Mini..so I will just answer in regards to the shockwave... I was running Pro-Match racing 6 cell (7.2v) 4200mah NiMh's in mine, they were like $25 a piece I beleive and gave decent run time. I would recommend a 5000mah for the best run times. With that said, since you are new and will be needing the bateries and charger I would STRONGLY advise going with Lipo batteries. I went NiMh when I started a month ago...since then I have changed chargers twice and now have lipos and feel like I wasted my money on the new NiMH's

You can get 2s Lipos 5000mah for the shockwave for $20 a piece from hobbyking.com Probably get 4 of them shipped to you for around $100. A Lipo charger, that will charge all batteries including NiMH, and Nicd packs. I got the Thunder AC6 charger you can find if you google it ($55) They have other chargers from hobbyking for cheap as well. The lipos will give you more speed, more punch etc.. just like you can see in the video I posted above.

2.) Talked about the battery charger above..

3) depends on your price range..you named a $100 boat and you named a $240 boat that requires a couple batteries, and a charger, and decent prop..so more along the lines of a $300+

I personally am a fan of Proboat, for the simple fact that their customer service from horizon hobby is amazing. Any problem I have had or part that breaks, concern etc.. they fixed for me right away, sent me the part I needed etc.. no questions asked. This alone led me to purchasing 3 Mini-C's and a Formula Fastech from them.

Honestly for speed, price, ease of use, and the fact you only have to run 1 battery..the shockwave 26 brushless is a grat beginner boat and I think you will be happy with it. like I said..order yourself a x435 sharpened and balanced prop from here: http://cmdracing.com/updated/main.htm and then get yourself some batteries and a charger and your boat will be all set.

You can find more info in the fast electric section of this forum also.

Also if you decide to go with the shockwave, a member found them new from a site for $185 SHIPPED! If your interested I can check again where it was

JawzSS

I am a Shockwave owner as well and love it! you will be very pleased if you decide to go this route. To answer your questions:

1. NiMh batteries are no longer as popular as the up a coming lipo batteries. Lipo batteries provide greater performance and have become very popular in today's rc world. There are many different brands that come in 1-6 cells also known as 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s etc... If you go with the shockwave it is compatable for a 2 cell or 2s lipo battery stock. I have a 2s Venom Li-power battery which are great batteries and reasonably priced. If you were to go with a 2s battery with 5000-5500 mah you would get about 25-30mins of run time.

2. Again there are many battery chargers as well, however, for lipo you are going to want a charger/balancer combo. I have the Electric Fly Triton EQ which you can pick up for around $115-$120.

3. As far as other boats there are many..As an owner I am obviously biased to the Shockwave, however, you can check out some other boats here.. www.horizonhobby.com, there are many other great boats... Some others will hopefully chime in that own other entry level boats.

Visual Perfection

Jawzss and I seem to post in every thread with this boat lol...we are the shockwave recruiters I think.

I just wanted to comment on his 20-25 minute run time with 5000mah Lipo, as that is a little off. (he unfortunately hasn't had the privelage to enjoy his boat for full runs yet do to some complications so it was a fair guess by him)

With a 5000mah lipo you should see about 10-15 minutes of run time...as that is about what I see with mine. With a 4200mah NimH pack I was seeing about 8 minutes run time going wide open almost 100% of the time.


Now if you aren't going wide open the whole time the run times will go up...but what fun is that? haha

JawzSS

very true lol... i stand corrected.. then agan this is what the "all knowing" guy told me at my locol hobby shop who also told me not to put a metal prop on the boat and to run only with the stock prop..oh yea, which brings me to my next point:

Reduca: you are going to want to order a new prop..an Octura 435X will do you wonders..the stock plastic prop will not last but a few minutes.. visual and I have both experienced the same issues when it came to the prop.

tropheus29

You also might want to check out the Aquacraft line of boats. IMO they are better quality and a bit faster with a product line that you can grow with. Try the Supervee brushless. Cool little boat that can do +40 mph if you tweek it. Check out a vid of it on 4S http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsIZS...eature=related

Bumpermankc

Hey JawzSS,
I am also looking to buymy 1stdecent RC boat and am considering the Shockwave, if you could find out where the other poster got theirs for $185 I'm in! Please send a link if you can.
Thanks

patti66

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patti66

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