Which entry level boat?
 

Alright my buddy wants to get into electric boats and hes wondering which of these is his best choice. The Traxxas blast,The Hammer ep, and the Tower hobbies Turbo Vee. I know that the blast is faster than the others but it doesnt have water cooling. The Turbo vee and the hammer look kinda similar. He wants a reliable boat and says he wants to keep it all stock. Have any of these boats had a major problem? I think I heard from someone that the hammer had glitching problems but its already fixed. Is this true?

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

I have a hammer and a turbo vee II. Both are good boats, the hammer is a little bigger, but basically the same setup.
same motor, esc, propeller etc. If you take care of the boats they will last a long time and it will be easy to find replacement parts when things break. Both will do about 14-15mph with a 7 cell battery pack and everything else stock. Its not racing speed, but fast enough to have some fun. You can always upgrade these boats and have them running closer to 18-20 mph. A lot of guys will rip on these cheaper boats (I also have a nitro hammer, a 14 volt cen wave shark and an electric tunnel hull), but all boats are fun, and for the money, you will have tons of fun with either the turbo vee or the hammer. The hammer comes in more colors and a wide choice of frequencies. All of the turbo vees are yellow, not sure on the frequency in case you wanted to run more than one at a time. I cant comment on the traxxis blast, since I have never owned one.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

Thanks for the info man. I think hes narrowed it down to the turbo vee and the hammer. Its just his preference now I guess.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

I like the hammer, it has dual rates on the radio and enough room for 8 cells flat across. They are also on 75 mhz if it makes a difference where as the turbo is on 27.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

He just told me that he ordered a hammer on tower. Thanks for all of yalls help.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

Getting a boat eh?

I dont think I would get a vee, the hammer is pretty much awsome:D

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

Not me my buddy is, but if I like it then you never know since theyre cheap.:D

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

well the turbo vee and the hammer are good beginner boats

but... if you want a better faster boat then get a CEN. they dont cost too much more

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

just get wot u prefer m8.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

I had a Blast. Awesome boat. Sure it doesn't have water cooling, but you can get a kit for $15 and it's easy to install.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

Ok my buddy got his hammer and we took it to the lake and all I can say is AWSOME. We were jumpin some wake and it was gettin BIG air! It was awsome. It moves pretty quick but if I had one I would want more speed. Just so I know in the future if I got one,IF,:D which one should I go for? I like CEN boats but I dont want to have to use two batteries at a time with the 775 version of them. so my question is, would the CEN wave shark 550 version(just one battery) be faster than a stock hammer? Also I like the blast a lot for its price but it doesnt have water cooling which I know you need if you wanna go fast. Is the water cooling kit hard to install? What exactly do you have to do? Thanks guys.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

the 550 size motor is the same size as the hammer's motor. the wave shark is bigger and heavier than the hammer. so the 550 wave shark is slower than the hammer. its not a hassle to use 2 batteries at a time. the blast is about the same speed as the hammer. the wave shark 550 and 775 dont have water cooling either but u wouldnt need it unless you are using 16 cells. i would just go with the 775 CEN boat. you will go about 20-22 mph stock as compared to your friends 15-16 mph stock. plus its very easy to upgrade to make it go 30+ mph

water cooling doesn't really effect top speed that much just your motors life etc. 20 runs 40 runs 60 runs. your motor just lasts longer with water cooling. plus for about 5 dollars you can buy what you need to easily install water cooling on any boat.

www.offshoreelectrics.com they have an article on how to install water cooling i think

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

Ok thanks man, Well if I got one since I would be using two batteries, would it be wise to maybe get a used villian IV on ebay for cheap or just stick with the CENs? Because I need something that can handle some rough and my buddies hammer was goin through it pretty well the other day but it got a little too wet inside. Could the wave shark handle it? Also one more question. If I got a CEN which one should I go for? I really like the grey thunder better than the other two and I think it could handle a little more rough than the others. does anybody even have a grey thunder? Thanks,sorry for all the questions, I just want to do it right the first time.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

Hi,

If you read the posts on the CEN boats, here and on the Offshore forum, you'll see the Aqua Jet is the fastest and most trouble free boat to run, the Grey Thunder can deal with chop a bit better, but is somewhat slower and the steering outdrive isn't my favourite (high wear and binding issues).

Both boats with the 700 motor ofcourse, the 550 versions are boringly slow.

Regards, Jan.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

the grey thunder can deal with chop, however the WAVE shark is the king of the waves. all you have to do is tape the hatch, install the rider, velcro down the batteries and the wave shark will right itself if it capsizes-no swimming to get it before it sinks. if your talking about chop that is under 3 inches, then the grey thunder or aqua jet is fine. but for big waves such as jumping a wake of a boat (6-15 inches of water height) then you definately want a wave shark hence the name.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

What with the [awaiting approval]? CEN is a good brand. I would rather get a CEN over my SW26.

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

Bombers 410 is on Moderated Status. Why, I don't know because it could have been because of something outside of my jurisdiction. So far I have approved all of his postings. I only have powers in the boating forums only. Outside of here I'm a mere mortal.:D

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

oh ok. Having a righting hull would be nice. I know of another boat that also has a righting hull. Doesn't Reef Racer and Zig Zag 1 and 2 have righting hulls? Just a thought. Matt

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

yes the reef racer and zig zag have righting hulls, but they are toys. they are fun for a beginner boater, but only go 12-14mph

RE: Which entry level boat?
 

Ok guys then the wave sharks for me then. I problay wouldnt be jumping boat wakes with it but it would go through some wind chop...the lake I go to gets pretty rough...sometimes it gets up to the 4ft range but of course I would never run my boat in that. Yeah, I thought the aqua jet wouldnt handle it as much...cause of the semi-vee hull. Thanks for the help.