edmkills

There is a lot of smack talk about proboat products and I am interested in what boat you have and your experience with it. I own a shockwave 55 ss and bought it just before freeze up (excellent discount) and only managed to get a couple of hours on it. I had no trouble with it but because of the short running time and babying it during break in that may not be worth much.

In truth if I had found this forum before I bought the boat I likely wouldn't have after reading so many negative things about proboat products. I am curious to see how many owners have had good/bad experiences with proboat products.

MsDarla

I own the Shockwave 55 SS and the only thing that happened after about 10hrs of runtime the muffler melted in half which was probably caused by the pick-up being clogged.

crazyotto

My Feedback: (2)

i had a pro boat 1/8 bud boat , fun boat to run it was just hard to make it fast , but i hear horror stories about the other ones , one big thing is their crappy electrical box ......get it better proboat!!!

Resident Dawg

I own 3 pro boats, Miss bud, Blackjack 26, and the Blackjack 55. I have really not had any serious problems with any of them. A few minor glitches here and there, but nothing that would keep me off the lake.

saleens7

I have a proboat Shockwave 36...its been OK to me, but there are some problems...

The first few breakin runs were OK, but when i started to lean it out more, it but it got worse...the fuel ine leaked, so i had to get a new one..a lot of the lines werent secure on the nipples, so i had to ziptie most of em...the pressure nipple on the exhaust kept unscrewing, so i had to locktite that...Then the fuel tank started leaking fuel in the boat, so i needed to get a new one, the new one had a leaky cap, so the exhaust pressure kept on leaking through that...unded up adding a rubber lining to the cap and its fine now...the the flex shaft broke and i got one of theose better prather ones....and thats only after just 6 runs....havent had the time to run it in over 2 months due to school...but YAY, its christmas break!!!!

AZGASBTR

A buddy of mine had the Miss Bud 1/8 hydro. Once the engine was broke in we leaned her out a little and could never keep it on the water. No adjustments were avaliable other that installing custom shims that never worked. Return on investment sucks in my opinion, money better spent elsewhere.

We were out running some hot laps one day and he was having radio problems coming out of turn 2 he cut me off unintentionally and I ran over his boat. Lets just say there wasnt much left of his boat and I only ended up with a tweaked rudder.

His proboat hydro Never ran again.

edmkills

Come on there is more of you out there!... I know that most here prefer to build (and they have inspired me to do the same) but RTR is an attractive option to the newbie who doesn’t have the time, ambition, or knowledge to do a build. Besides just being curious I was hoping this thread would help newbie boaters searching the forum for information on proboat products with first hand accounts. Like I said in my first post there is a lot of smack talk out there (allot of it second hand) about proboats and if the information good or bad comes straight from the horses mouth what better way is there for the newbie to make an informed decision. Nothing will put a guy off more than spending more $$$ than he had to or wasting it all together!

saleens7

i think their scared...[sm=drowning.gif] of my fists of fury!! HAYA!!! [sm=punching.gif]

Ok, seriously, where is everybody??

Davcruz

My Feedback: (1)

Your sig cracks me up Saleens7.

saleens7

funny thing is I was there when i happened...may have not been the right prices, but the boat was a real expensive nitro catamaran...luckily it was stuck on idle and stalled out after 10 seconds

70SS

I own a Shockwave 55 ss and just purchased mine in late summer. Less than 45 minutes on boat in very calm water and transom is cracked around one of the trim tabs. Proboat sent me another thin junky hull, but I feel that i will soon have hull problems agian. I bought my boat before I discovered this forum but did not put it in the water until after I started reading the post here. I was shocked at the damage after just a short time in water. If i did it over again I would have bought the WHH stuff which I have looked at and the quality is far superior to what i have now.

2manyhobbys

I copied my response from the gas forum just in case it was missed

Ok I was given a 1/12 miss bud stock old straight shaft model didn't want nitro but fell in love with the rpm I learned tuned learned tuned somemore little thing runs fine could it be improved of course but for under 300.00 retail I think its fine next I bought a 26 Blackjack Very unhappy with the U-joint shafts broke 9 of them before sending the boat back to HH then sold it when it returned however that being said it ran like greased lightning 30 mph out of the box and handled well for a small cat again under 300.00 so you get what you pay for and HH stood behind the product sending shafts over and over for free. Then I bought a Thunder cat 31 the boat runs well starts smooth handles well I have not had any problems with it or the miss bud they are not 50+ mph boats but that is not what I purchased so overall I got what I paid for If you want top of the line then build it yourself thats the only way you will get the upgrades and speed, but beware sometimes you dont get the speed even after spending all that money anyway now I run with the dawg on the weekends and his 55BJ has some hokey things on it but for a ready to run its stable (let off in the turns ) looks good runs well so let the buyer check the boat before they buy it proboat is producing rtr boats cheap and is allowing more people to learn and explore the hobbv how many of us bought a buggy and left it alone, new shocks, new clutches, new tune pipes, differant gear ratios or is it just me?
Just my thoughts Drive it like you stole it

Justaddwata

My Feedback: (3)

I guess I have shared my share of Smack on the Proboats. I based most of my comments on the experience others at a local pond have had with their boats (mostly Miss Duds) but as an owner of a now (permanently shelved) miss Dud I have seen first hand the clear lack of skill and effort that has gone into making the boat what it is today.

Issues I have seen first hand.
* Weak/thin glass work throughout the boat and canopy (many cracks).
* Inadequate servos used in factory setup.
* Very flexible pushrods used with rudder (with the weak servos it is compounding the issues she has in turns)
* Very inadequate turn fin (about as long as a rudder) which further compounds turning issues.
* Rudder is poorly constructed (bad design)
* Most alloy used in the build is of low grade - either soft or brittle
* Fuel tank of low quality
* On off switch worthless
* radio box as factory fitted water leaks (keeps those inadequate servos cooler I guess)
* Inadequate floatation from factory
* Factory box job delivered more broken boats than any other boat I have heard of
* Factory pipe worthless by design. Yes it keeps the pipe in the boat but a basic WTC would give some performance gain and be a lot longer lasting.
* Aerodynamics of the boat are wrong. Boat is designed to flip over and does so effectively in factory form at around 35mph. With the weak glassing the boat does not stand up well to crash damage.
* No way to adjust the strut.

I guess overall this boat was designed to sell more boats. If it was delivered without damage it stood a good chance of crashing on her first run due to 1 moisture in the radio box. 2 Inadequate cornering hardware / setup. 3 Flipping and breaking and or sinking.

It is amazing that a "RTR" boat that retailed for $1200+ also came with so many factory fitted problems. I have seen a few other proboats and heard about others. For those that have them and have had luck (and the others who just dont know any better) I wish you well. I think the boat has nice lines which certainly helped them sell. It did come with a Zenoah which is something. But it was by no means built well or built to last.

As a rule. I make comments based on experience and first hand knowledge. I have owned, run, seen, and experienced more than most in the hobby.

edmkills

Thanks for contributing to the thread J.A.W. and if any newbies stick around for a while they will find out in short order that you’re a very credible person in the Rc boat game. This thread is a reap what you sew kind of deal for proboats [>:] and if any newbies do a search here for info they will get it straight up from those who own them.

As for poor packaging, i couldn't agree more if you do a search for "Shockwave boat" on ebay you will see a NEW busted up shockwave SS for sale every week, I've seen a 1/2 dozen already all offered by the same seller he must be liquidating them for proboats.

Resident Dawg

I have a bit more to add here....

As with ANY product or industry, whether it is Pro Boat, Aeromarine, Seducer, Aquacraft, Ford, Chevy, or Dodge. These companies produce their products is mass quantities. It is almost impossible to have 100% quality control. Show me a person unhappy with Proboat, and I will show you one unhappy with Seducer, or Aeromarine. It goes across the board; I hate McDonald’s service, while Mr. X over there loves it.

The point is, perhaps pro boat could step it up a little with their quality control, but regardless, in an industry such as this, any manufacturer is going to put less than perfect product out there at some point.

EXAMPLE
2manyhobbys, spoke in this thread about the BJ 26 he bought and was unhappy with. Pro Boat sent him a replacement boat for his troubles that I purchased from him. I could not be happier with the boat. He broke several drive shafts on that boat sometimes 2 or 3 in a day. Now I own it, and after several tanks of fuel, I have finally broken ONE (it broke at the drive collet not at the U-joint). The first boat maybe had a design flaw somewhere; Proboat addressed it, and corrected the problem, obviously.

For an entry level boat, and to keep a few bills in your wallet I think proboats are good. Their product support is second to none, well except for Tony at Warehouse Hobbies. For the minor issues I have had with my boats, Pro boat as addressed them and corrected the problem in a timely fashion.

BTW......2manyhobbys...I look forward to see the NEWLY TWISTED OUT TC 31 on Sat. Mike just got all his Twisted stuff for his Shockwave 36 as well; we are hitting the lake tonight after work.

Regards

RD

TERBObob

My Feedback: (21)

Wrongo .....

Sorry , but not ALL manufacturers MASS produce . And there ARE some that DO back their products 110 per cent ( and then some )
Granted , there are slackers that simply throw some fibreglass and gel in the mold , rip it out , and WHA-LA ... finished product ... but NOT all of them take such LITTLE pride and send out JUNK as does PROBOAT .
( and for those interested .... Those AEROMARINE hulls are NOT the manufactureres I am referring to for doing a top shelf job either ! )

Resident Dawg

A little definition for you.....!QUOT! MASS PRODUCED!QUOT!......means that they reproduced numbers of the exact same thing. The quantity at which they are produce them is where the perceived problem lies.

If a company mass produces 3 boats a week Vs. a company the dose 300....the quality control in the 300 per week company would be more difficult.

I have yet to deal with a company that does not back their product 110%, including proboat. IF there is one out there I am surprised they are still in business.

I know there are Pro boat haters out there, every one is entitled to their opinion. But as stated, they do fill a niche in the hobby industry.

gasfreak

My Feedback: (13)

What sucks about a boat like that is,They are targeting the first time boater and with such piss poor quality and all the problems they have with broken parts and such,That really leaves a bad taste in the customers mouth and my never buy another boat and get out of the hobby all together.I have several buddys that I fly with and they bought the Miss Bud boat when it first came out and had a hell of a time with them and I caught hell for recomending them to buy a boat I DID NOT RECOMMEND THEM BUY A PRO BOAT that is just what our LHS had on hand.to make a long story short they still fly airplanes.This is by no means a cheap hobby and you will be better off saving more money and get something better,by the way I thought this forum was for learning about this hobby from people that had been there and done that listen to some of the advice given instead if getting mad or arguing. Just tring to help the people that do not know

Hydro Junkie

In my case, I didn't even have to run the small Pro Boat hydros to know they are junk. I had read a glowing review in RCBM, so I figured I would check one out. A few weeks later I found a solid shaft Miss Dudweiser at the LHS and, after asking if I could pick it up, found the following:
1) The deck flexed by just touching it(not a good sign)
2) The rudder linkage was 2-56, not 4-40 like it should have had
3) The radio switch was totally exposed to water, which also let water into the radio box
4) Nothing was adjustable(skid fin, rudder and prop depth)
5) There was serious slop between the stuffing box and the lightweight drive line(another bad sign)
6) Lots of areas that water could collect during running with no way to get it out
7) The balance point was no where near where is should have been, so getting any speed out of the boat would result in a blow-over
8) A cheaply made and very thin prop(can we say dangerous if a blade was thrown on the beach)
9) A fuel tank with a flip top. There is no way to get tank pressure to work reliably
10) The skid fin was just a soft stamped out piece of metal with an approximate 90 degree bend for a mount. (yet another bad sign)
11) All of the bottom surfaces were rounded at all corners and edges. This just sucks a boat down, rather than letting it get up on plane
12) A pair of slow to use thumb screws to hold on the cowling. In the time it takes to install and tighten down the cowl, the engine would be on the verge of overheating
13) Molded in twin tails is asking for a trashed hull due to possible blow-over damage and vibration induced cracking at the deck/tail seam

After seeing all of that, There was no way I would WASTE my hard earned $$$$$$$$ on one. When the big 1/8th scale gasser came out, I found that with the exceptions of having a Zen G230 under the cowl and an actual flex shaft with strut, all the problems in the little boat were in the big boat. It took me less than 5 minutes to know they weren't anywhere close to being worth the $1200 being charged for them. Then, of course, there are the cosmetic errors that I won't go into.

In closing, YES, I'M A PRO BOAT BASHER AND PROUD OF IT. IF AND WHEN PRO BOAT/HORIZON DECIDES TO PULL THEIR HEADS OUT OF (you can fill this in yourself), AND BUILD QUALITY PRODUCTS, I MIGHT RECOMMEND THEM, BUT NOT UNTIL

darklord

Just got the blackjack 55,two weeks ago.Picked the boat up on saturday and ran it sunday,after five minutes the clutch backed off of the shaft!Dead in the middle of the pond.The screw that holds the clutch to the crank is not tight enough,after repairs ran for another hour till the clutch bell broke off!!All from the screw being loose,do not run till you tighten that screw!!!!Took it out this sunday (with a new clutch)ran for two minutes flipped the boat,too much steering input;turn down rates.Floated upside down for two hours did I mention the ice?Anyway it sat high in the water and did not go down very far at all,the radio box was full but the engine was dry only water was up the pipe.Water is freezing over now so will have to wait till spring.

edmkills

Darklord there is a thread in the forum "Blackjack 55" that talks about that same issue. It will be interesting to see if this is a trend!

Resident Dawg

I posted in the Blackjack 55 thread as well. I own a 55 as well......same issues....I even posted in there to check the tightness of the clucth screw in to the crank shaft. For me, it only took till the second lap to flip mine. When it flipped it did float rather high, I used my fishing rod to retirieve it, was upside down for a good 20 minutes, no water intrusion in to the radio box, I dialed my steering rate down to 50%, No worrys now.

I also had to replace the clutch, Not a big deal. Pro boat sent me a new clutch and I have about 3 tanks of fuel through it after the new clucth, seems fine now.

As for this thread and the PROBOAT issuse.....while there is some room for HH and PB to improve their product, they still make a good boat. My Mrs. Bud runs like a scalded dog, as does my BJ 26, and now that the bugs are worked out of my BJ 55 she is a pleasure to run as well.

To be completely honest, I like working on my boats, that fact the probaots require a little more atttention is a draw for me.

This hobby is not for the ummechanical, there will be times for tweaking and replacing. If you want a 100% no issues boat stick to electrics( even then, they are not 100% trouble free).

As for the proboat haters....it is all good, no worrys.

TERBObob

My Feedback: (21)

A-hem ......

( first , quote is spelled with the E on the end )


Next ... me thinks , you might need to re-iterate before jumping the gun on things said , and make SURE you know your "definitions" before stating them .

QUOTE "Large volume production of the same basic product or product line based on the type and timing of demand and facility design and capabilities, which can be for either finished goods or lower level items.
www.bridgefieldgroup.com/glos6.htm

mass production refers to the process of manufacturing in the world outside school where products are made in there thousands. This requires the use of machines as well as people. Increasingly people are being replaced by machines that are computer controlled and can work 24 hours per day without rest.
www.primarydandt.org/learn/glo_0000000330.asp

The manufacturing of products on a large scale, usually through the use of machines.
regentsprep.org/Regents/global/vocab/topic.cfm

The large-scale production of identical goods on a continuous basis. The process requires high automation almost always on an assembly line basis. The labour required is usually unskilled to semi-skilled. Orders are seldom received in advance. Suitable for products like cars, golf balls, biros etc.
http://www.business2000.ie/html/reso...glossary/m.htm

System in which low skilled workers use specialized machinery to produce high volumes of standardized goods.
http://www.csus.edu/indiv/f/freemand...ey%20terms.htm

the production of large quantities of a standardized article (often using assembly line techniques)
wordnet.princeton.edu/perl/webwn

Mass production is the production of large amounts of standardised products on production lines. It was popularised by Henry Ford in the early 20th Century, notably in his Ford Model T. Mass production is notable because it permits very high rates of production per person and therefore provides very inexpensive products.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_production

Mass Production was an American funk/disco musical group, best known for their 1979 hit, "Firecracker". Based in Richmond, Virginia, the ten-piece group had a series of minor R&B hits in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mass_Production_(band)"


Seems they ALL refer to it as LARGE quanties being produced kinda fast .... ( to sum it up and put it in laymens terms )

And , sorry ... JUNK is JUNK ... no matter how you throw the dice . It still comes up JUNK .
And , there's LOTS of it around .
At the prices they charge ... you would think they would take a "little" bit of American "pride" and put into it FIRST ! ! ! Rather than continuously crank out their "junk" just for the all mighty dollar .
If they were TRULY concerned , and/or wanted to , they COULD do a little research and find out FAST , that what they are "cranking out , is not worth the monies they are getting for it and FIX the problem(s) .

pyro2

My two cents on this topic.... I feel sorry for the people that spent (to me at least) a lot of money on what was billed as RTR boat only to find that it was filled with problems and flaws. Not everyone makes the progressive steps up to a gasser from say an electric boat...put me in that group, I went right to the big boys from not having been involved in rc for close to 20 years, and the last "toy" I had was a Grasshopper. Prior to that I had a nitro powered trainer/glider. This is a wonderful hobby and for the brief time that I've been involved it has been a blast! However, buying something and being dissapointed is the fastest way for someone to drop the hobby forever, and we as a community all lose when that happens. I got lucky and bought an Enforcer Magnum 57, not the fastest for sure, but you could mount guns on the thing and take it into battle! A LHS near Pyro1 told him the horrors they had when they attempted to sell gas boats(no idea what brand)...one poor guy had his catch on fire and had to dump a jug of laundry detergent on it to put it out. Accordingly, they stopped selling gas boats... again the community loses. Pyro1 is trying to convince them to become a dealer for Tony's boats, let's hope that happens.

Granted there is tinkering involved with any of them, and for me that is fun (I need help[sm=spinnyeyes.gif] ) , but give me gas at $2.25 a gallon vs. $20-30 for nitro, and an engine that is easy to start, not some persnickety, hyper little PITA glow engine!

Happy New Year to All!

Brian

jimmy77433

So...if you were to recommend a good gas hull in the 41"+ size range to a newbie builder who wants more than a RTR electric now what would you choose???
I've been looking at the Pro Boat but I have also seen all the damaged ones on E bay...