funcentric

It's junk when you get it in the mail. So many people have reported that the Skytech H101 RC boat was dead on arrival. The components are what you'd expect from a $45 budget RTR RC boat. However, there was an issue with the assembly from the factory. Symptoms are a stuttering rudder and/or one that immediately veers to one side at startup. Source of the problem? The servo isn't centered. Here's how to fix it in about 10 minutes. There's reset sequence with the transmitter that isn't well published. The tutorial awaits!


QUICK REVIEW
Once you go through the fix, this boat is pretty good for the price. It's frustrated so many people who found that it wasn't truly ready to run. Sad b/c that steers people away from the hobby or boats in general who just got their first one only to see it make a bunch of buzzing noises and not operate correctly. I'm sure there's been more than a few upset parents and disappointed kids.

The steering is the major concern by reviewers. Once we have that taken care of, the boat operates just fine. It actually turns quite sharply if you want it to. The hull doesn't let water in once you figure out how to close the lid properly (see video). The transmitter does seem very poor quality with the fake buttons and hollow plastic feel to it. But also note that it comes with throttle trim which most entry level RC boats won't have. They typically only have steering trim.

Water cooled motor. It's also got a battery alarm cutoff. The transmitter will sound once your cells are at 3.60v.

The all important self-righting feature is included too. Works quite well (see video of a demonstration) and happens quickly and easily. Surprisingly easily. Unless you're looking for a boat that goes much faster (rated at 30kph), this boat has a lot of the features you'd want. Gotta center that servo first though!



If you're wondering why you shouldn't get the blue H100 model, it's because it's older. The H100 has less than half the run time that the H101 offers. The speed rating on the H100 is also less. Stick with the red H101 if you can get it from Aliexpress for $52-55 USD. It's worth the extra $10 over the H100.

MODDING
If you're planning on using your own transmitter, that ain't happening. The H101 uses a proprietary 2-in-1 ESC receiver combination with small white JST connectors. By the time you swap out what you need to swap out, the effort and the extra bucks aren't really worth it.

So you want 3S? That's not happening either. This is an entry level RC boat that does the job on a budget. I'm very happy with it once I figured out the solution to the steering problems.