Has anyone use an electric RC Boat for retreival. If so, what boat, size, power and what sort of hook and drag configuration.

Yes, what ever you want that will pull it, obviously you need one with decent range and pulling power, not a Radio Shack or Tyco toy boat. Some people have madde really interesting retrival hook systems.......

The best thing I have seen for an electric boat is to tie it to your fishing rod. Let the line out, drive the boat to circle the plane, and lock the reel. Wind in as the boat returns.

Not a cynical remark, but be sure you have a man-carrying boat on hand. If there is disassembled wreckage, or if the disabled plane (or Boat) floats into the God-forsaken snake-infested briar patch, you'll need to ride out to pick stuff up with your dextrous little fingers.

Hi

Reading this thread just had this idea for a retrieval boat 2 similar boats with a fixed link bar between them at the back of the boats, both boats on the same frequency and controlled from the same tx.

The boats are spaced wide enouph apart to go either side of the floats.

Could even be adjustable spacing to fit the plane your intending to retrieve.

The inside of each hull and the bar can be foam covered to prevent damage to the floats

If the plane has a water rudder then push from the front of the floats

also using 2 boats will provide lots of power

Simon

Like a Catamaran?

I built this wooden boat from plans just for that purpose. It's called the Cobra 21, RCM plan 739, 30" long, 9" beam, Graupner Hydrospeed 7022 drive unit, 6 cell nicad car pack. I tape the hull shut with some coroplast. On top of that, I attach a chunk of foam that's higher than the float cross strut and lower than the bottom of the fuselage. Manouver the boat between the floats and drive everything home. Easier said than done if your plane is floating way out there. Other drawbacks...more stuff to haul down to the water, extra batteries and transmitter to keep charged, kids will run the boat and kill the batteries while you're flying!

Hi

Yes like a catermaran.

Simon

Since very few of my float fights end with a 'just' a dead engine floating around 'out there', when they are 'out there' I want to get to them quickly and be able toi keep things from sinking, which an RC retrieval boat won't do. Therefore, my retrieval boat is a 14' Alumicraft with a 15 HP Honda on it as well as a trolling motor. Depending on the serverity of the 'landing' and how far away it is, and what boat traffic has been attracted by the plane (usually a lot) I use either motor.

OK, I'll post this one again,

Jim - Can I recommend a barber to you?

Hi jim

How stable is that?

I would have thought just boards on it to make it like a platform would be better?

Simon

I don't know anything about that boat. It's just a picture I stumbled upon somewhere in the internet.
The distinguished gentleman in the Alabama ensemble is not me. I'm a Gator Fan, anyway. And I am MUCH chubbier while being more, shall we say, "attentively" groomed.

I will point out that in the state of Alabama, even a trolling motor renders your boat "powered", thus it is required to be registered. There are no registration numbers on this "powered" vessel. A shockingly blatant violation!!

ha! that's funny i knew better, as i seen this picture some years ago on boating site.

jim, maybe it's time for a hair cut

j/k with ya

Here's the one I used for a little while... but nothing beats a full size boat, wheather its a 12' aluminum or a 6' blowup dingy.. This one is modelled after a dozer boat we use here on the Northwest Coast for pulling log booms.. The arm out front was on some of the real ones.. And on mine it's operated off a servo, so you can grab a float stut (or what ever) and pull... No rudder either, It has a cort nozzle so it can manouver in reverse just as good as forward.. The problem I found is if ou have to retrieve a plane that's far out, your depth perseption becomes a little off and it's hard to get the boat to the plane, let alone push it back to you..

I carry a spinning fishing rod. 6 1/2' long with 10# test line and a LARGE floating lure with the hooks SHARP.

This rig can pull in anything on the surface, upside down.----Use a boat if this fails.