Brainiax

hello rc folks, new guy here from RI. i've been doing some research on rc boats (both electric and nitro) and i think the Proboat Shockwave 36 is one of the better looking and performing boats for the money. i have a couple stupid questions that i was hoping some of you kind folks could help me with. what are the pros and cons associated with gas boats vice electric besides the obvious cleanliness and reliability aspect? (i have this fear of my boat dieing in the middle of the pond and not being able to retreive it.) what else will i need to make the boat functional besides batteries for the radio and receiver, fuel and glow plug igniter? lastly, can you reccomend a reliable shop to purchase from, there's so many on the net with different prices its hard to choose one. thanks very much. Brian.

4wheelinrevo

the fear of dieing int he middle of the lake happens with both electric or gas same issue, you learn very quickly to get used to it.


have you looked at the proboat thunder cat 31? everything is the same as teh shock wave 36 except it is a catamaran hull in stead of a deep vee, so it will handle better out of the box, with the shockwave you will need to set tabs and evrything


yes all you need is nitro, a glow plug ignitor, and i would pick up several glow plugs, especially if you do not have a hobby shop near i woiuld pick up 5 or 6 atleast since you will probably go thru about 3-4 of them during break in, rule of thumb is have a glow plug for every tank that you need to run for break in, u most likely wont use them all but it has happened to me before, better be safe then sorry, and batteries

Brainiax

thank you for the quick response. what do you do when it becomes necessary to "swim" out to retreive your model? i don't know but the deep V's are so sharp looking although handling is important too. i don't mind having to make adjustments, its an educational experience.....[sm=teeth_smile.gif]
any reccomendations for a good, reliable fair priced shop to deal with?

NitroBurn1

When my boat dies in the water, i use a fishing reel with a rubber ball attached to the line, and throw the ball over the boat to reel it back to shore.

Brainiax

Holy crap! you must be a good lasooer...LOL. not a bad idea but i'll surly need to practice that.

ByronRC

My Feedback: (2)

For the SW 36 I'm still on my original glow plug. Granted I don't get to go out very often. Maybe once a week for a couple of tanks. It's very reliable and coming from a beginner myself, it's a great beginner boat. Very durable and I've beat the hell out of the engine and all it does is say thank you, can I have some more. For the money it's a good boat

Brainiax

i'm glad to hear that. i've heard/read nothing but good things about this model and am getting more excited about owning one. can you guy's please tell me where you purchased yours and your experiences, thanks.

saleens7

well, like most RTR's there will be some bugs to work out....just some things i would do before running

-Add flotation, the foam block in front will keep it afloat, but the back end where all the electronics are will be submerged
-Cut a 1/4" long peice of fuel tubing and using needle nose pliers, try to fit it over the fuel tubing, do this on all the fuel lines as to keep them a better hold on the nipple.
this pic will explain

http://i86.photobucket.com/albums/k8...1/DSC00091.jpg

you can see where i added the 1/4" peice of tubing

-Make sure the radio box is seale well, the thin clear cover will need to have waterproof tape applied to it to keep it on in a flip, mose other tapes will lose their ability to adhere when submerged in water..

-Make sure that there is nothing blocking the cooling system

-Check all the nuts and bolts to see if their tight

-Lube the flex shaft with some cable grease (should be at the hobby store)

im sure i missed a few, and besudes these, make sure you follow all the procidures described in the maunal..

a reliable place to purchse this boat from is

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...rodID=PRB2050T

you may also want to check out

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products...ProdID=PRB2750

and another boat to check out is the Supervee 27...its an electric boat and smaller, but runs on a brushless setup that can push it close to 40mph...but youll want to go over to the electric forum if you have any questions about this....

EDIT:

my experiences with the SW36 have been mixed...it ran geat for the first few tanks, then it just started to run bad, i tried to adjust the needles, checked the fuel lines for leaks, etc. etc....i ended up completely gutting the boat and im converting it to electric...

Brainiax

thanks for the valuable info. one other thing is how do you control a nitro boat while idling? does this boat have a clutch system to make it possible to idle and not run away from you? seems to me this should be a standard feature.

4wheelinrevo

that is dangerous for your enginge to keep running the same glow plug you did when you broke the engine in, there are alot f little particles that get sti=uck in the coils and can becoe lose and scratch you sleeze up.

its always a good idea to change your plug a couple of times during break in, its just a precautionary step

Brainiax

thanks for all the helpful info guy's but i had an epiphany over the last 24 hours and went and bought an electric instead. it was either that or the nitro vee that has some very nice fearures (clutch and rts system) but the stick radio made me decide against it. i bought the Traxxas Villain EX 14.4 deep V. the reviews are fantastic and i'm really looking forward to it. i guess i'll be movibg to the electric forum now.......

gooycheese

The Villain Ex will do about 20mph out of the box, don't go crazy turning (the boat will turn on a dime). Doing this will cause the U-joints to break so take it easy on the hard full speed turns


Paul

mavness

My Feedback: (9)

There is a lot of info about the Villain on Traxxas' site here:
http://monster.traxxas.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&f=24

That boat looks like a lot of fun in chop water.

saleens7

you should have got the supervee 27!....

its only 270$ and can do 35+ mph....people have even got it over 40mph before too and it uses a BL motor...

mavness

My Feedback: (9)

Supervee 27 is definately nice, but I think the Villain EX will do better in choppy waters.

From what I've seen of the Supervee 27, it seems a little unstable at higher speeds.

It really depends on where you boat and what you want out of it.

saleens7

didnt know you were running in choppy water, that would have changed everything....well, i hope you have the most fun you get out of that boat.[sm=bananahead.gif][sm=spinnyeyes.gif]

Brainiax

yep, definatly going to be used in rough water. where i go gets awful busy with boat wakes and PWC activity. the Villain has a good reputaion when in this kind of water. i appreciate the tips, thanks.