JCAustralia

Hello all

I am thinking of buying a mini hydroboat to add to my collection and is undecided between those 2 boats:

1. The MHZ Shovelnose

http://206.206.85.209/xtdoc/Details....S&store=mhzusa


2. The Tenshock carbon fibre Mini Bat.
MiniCat Racing USA does sell the fibreglass version know as Micro Bat under their own brand.

http://www.tenshock.com/Aspde__EnProductShow.asp?ID=90

http://minicatracingusa.com/Micro%20Bat%20Page.html


I’ll use the boat mainly for sport boating. Not really concerned with speed but durability, built quality and quality of hardware are very important.

The Mini Bat looks great being made with carbon fibre. Is carbon fibre more suitable/superior that fibreglass for a boat, being rigid and stronger? Or is fibreglass more suitable/superior for a boat being more flexible?

The MHZ Shovelnose looks great also. It has a lot of potential in terms of customising the look. I’m thinking of adding a scale driver, a scale engine and some decals to make it look like original in the past. Loves the retro look.

Both of those boats are unique in their own way that gives them a lot of personality and presence.[)]

MHZ is a well respected brand in Europe and elsewhere and have been around for some time. Not sure about Tenshock, being a fairly new company that started in 2006 (as per their website). However the Tenshock products are very innovative with the use of carbon fibre at affordable prices.

Can you please give us some feedback on those 2 boats if you own any of them or both? I’d especially would like to hear feedback about:

1. Durability
2. Design
3. Quality of material used
4. How the boat handle in the water
5. Upgradeability
6. Customer support from the seller.


Thanks a lot

JC

pompebled

Hi JC,

I can only speak for the mini shovel, as we run that boat ourselves, currently on a speed 480bb and 800AR Nicads, but a Brushless update is on it's way.

Due to the size, the running conditions are limited, smooth water is the best, as soon as the wind picks up and the water gets choppy, driving this little boat becomes a real challenge.
Very often we don't complete the runtime with the right side up... I'm not sure if this (old) shovelnose design will handle the extra brushless power well, it's easily flipped as it is.
Durability is good, taped shut it copes with being run over by other boats without damage (epoxy and glassfiber hull).

Judging from the video's, the Minibat is quicker, due to the brushless and Lipo power.

I added two pics, smooth and rough conditions.

Regards, Jan.

martno1fan

heres a vid of my lads minibat these things are ballistic !!,we keep flipping it in wind and chop but also its back heavy due to the fact we have a normal size servo as the mini one died,my fault dont ask lol.anyway she does handle some chop(ripple) and wind and im sure once shes balanced better she will handle it better.as for upgrades i wouldnt bother she pulls wheelies if you gun it from standstill which is pretty impressive to see [X(].
[link]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MAeZbMIXJj8[/link]

JCAustralia

Jan

Thanks. Pictures look great [X(][8D]

Good luck with the upgrade.

What do you think about the quality of the hull and hardware? Is the hull a strong one?


Martno1

Saw your video yesterday. Looks great.

Actually I started considering getting the shovelnose after seeing your build thread of the gas one. This has been on my mind since then……. [)]Wanted a gas one but I don’t have your building skills…… [] Would probably make a mess of the building kit……


JC

martno1fan

This little thing is awesome the speed from standstill is scarey that vid doesnt show it off to its best as it was very windy and we hardly got above 3/4 throttle most of the time .As for the shovelnose hydros you cant beat them foor looks,if you ever decide to try the big zippkit you wont regret it its easy to build.The instructions are fantastic too with plenty of pics [)].
Mart