RCU Forums (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/)

- RC Boats General Discussion (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-boats-general-discussion-77/)

- - New to RC boats (https://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/rc-boats-general-discussion-77/11700227-new-rc-boats.html)

I’ve been in the RC hobby for 30 years. I race off road nitro. A friend of mine just bought an electric boat. I was amazed at what I saw as he ran it on our local lake. I would like to buy one. However I don’t know what to buy. I want quality and performance as well as parts availability. Any suggestions? I’d greatly appreciate it. I can’t believe what I’ve missed all these years.I’d prefer a nitro

This is a complicated question for us to answer. Let me explain why you've had 40+ views and no replies:

You have limited yourself to nitro power. Could a larger gas boat or an electric work as well? Each has its own benefits and drawbacks
What kind of hull would you prefer? This is one that you really need to look at since there are basically four kinds of hulls you could be looking at, that is, if you really want to stay with nitro. These are vee hulls(which can be subdivided into deep or shallow), catamarans, sport or scale hydroplanes and racing outrigger hydroplanes
What kind of drive do you prefer? You have two choices, an inboard or outboard engine, using the appropriate drive setups to go with it
Are you looking at RTR(ready to run), assembling a kit or building from plans?
How large of area is the lake or pond you're looking at running on? Does it get rough or is it normally fairly flat? Is wind an issue?
Do full sized boats run on it and if so, how fast? Do people swim in that lake anywhere close to where you plan on running your boat?
If you stick with nitro for power, did you know they need to be tuned differently than a car or plane?

As you can probably tell, it's not easy to answer your general question since you really need to answer these 7 questions, and maybe more, to narrow things down a bit.

Thank you so much for your reply. I know absolutely nothing about RC boating. I am open to electric. I would assume that it would be good to start out with an RTR as my first boat whether it would be nitro or electric. I was looking at the Geico electric boat on a main as well as horizon hobby. Is that a good choice for an electric?

Are you talking this one:
Attachment 2271943

Pro Boat Miss GEICO Zelos 36" Twin RTR 6S Brushless Catamaran Boat w/SLT3 2.4GHz Radio

You do realize that is a $700+ boat?
As far as whether it's "good" or not, if you do the required maintenance and keep it out of salt water, it will be a good boat to learn with and fast enough to be fun.

Yes I’m aware….lol I’ll give it a shot. I Can’t thank you enough for all of your help!

One word of advice, however. If you buy it, get an extra prop, if they are plastic or CF. Send it to Mark Sholund and have him set you up with a set of B/C or stainless props. Plastic props tend to bend, costing speed while the CF props tend to splinter. Mark runs his own prop company called Props-4-U. His website address is
https://props4u.net/