RC Boats

[Maxf]

Hi Modellers

I'm thinking of buying, or maybe building a RC boat. I quite like the idea of a sail driven boat rather than propeller, as I think it would be more of a challenge to master.

I don't want anything super fast, or mega expensive. Any tips? Maybe £200 to spend (although I'd sooner buy second hand if I get more for my money).

Thanks
Max

[gmarks1]

I'd suggest having a look at www.westbourne-models.com They have a range of kits and ready to run boats. I personnally would recommend Robbe or Graupner for electric powered boats. My main recommendation would be to not underestimate the amount of work, time and skills needed to build one of the kits; if a Tamiya rc car takes you a weekend, even a simple model boat will likely take several months of evenings and weekends. However, the sense of satisfaction and enjoyment you get makes it worthwhile. Remember you'll need to budget for running gear (Tx/Rx, batteries, motor, wiring, speed controller etc - from around £100 all in)

If you do choose a kit, a GRP hull wil make the process quicker/easier.

How about these



With her streamlined hull and integral keel fin the elegant Comtesse is capable of an impressive turn of speed even in just a light breeze.
However, the boat can still be sailed safely in stronger winds, as the deep keel makes it near impossible to capsize. The boat handles nicely balanced, making it easy for the newcomer to model sailing to trim it accurately.
As you would expect, the Comtesse can cope with all headings from tacking into wind right round to sailing before the wind, which means that it is possible to sail the boat to any pre-determined point and then back again.
The model is controlled by rudder and simultaneous adjustment of the mainsail and jib settings, i.e. all sailing maneuvers can be carried out using a simple two-channel radio control system and a sail servo .

The kit includes a moulded Plura hull, and all the other parts are pre-fabricated to ensure a short building time.

Specification:
Length: 950 mm Width: 230 mm Height: 1500 mm Total displacement: 3200 g Ballast weight: 1800 g
Mast height: 1200 mm Sail area: 30.00 dm2 Draught: 210.00 mm


Or

Schutze High Speed Mine Sweeper



Schutze was built as a high-speed minesweeper of the "Schütze" class these were commissioned in the German Federal Navy in 1960.
The armament consisted of one 40 mm cannon, plus comprehensive special equipment for mine seeking and sweeping.
The model:
The Schütze is a new version of a vessel which has been part of our model boat range for many years, and since its ´decommissioning´ more of our customers have enquired about this boat than virtually any other model.
Since we did not want simply to resume production of the ´old´ model, we decided to carry out a complete revision of the entire kit.
The geared motors formerly used have been superseded by powerful direct-drive motors. The high level of pre-fabrication of the detail parts and fittings make the Schütze a great choice for any modeller with relatively little experience in building scale models.
When the robbe ´Schütze´ cuts through the water at high speed, it is almost indistinguishable from the full-size vessel.

Kit contents:

• GRP hull with pre-cut openings
• CNC-trimmed plastic deck and superstructure components
• CNC-machined bulkhead set and internal supports for electronic equipment and power system
• Complete three-blade rudder system
• Small hardware items
• Multi-colour decal sheet
• Multi-lingual building instructions

Specification:
Length: 1200 mm Width: 200 mm Scale: 1:40 Total displacement: 6000 g

[slartibartfast]

do a search for micromagic made by graupner, they're abotu £130 and very popular on the racing scene, we race these in my model boat club and are very competitive.

heres a pic of mine

Paul

Edited by slartibartfast on Tuesday 31st March 07:11

Edited by slartibartfast on Tuesday 31st March 07:12

[Roop]

I bought this last year. Slightly different take on the r/c boat theme. Fitted with Futaba 2.4GHz r/c gear and powered by a 13.5t brushless motor with high-torque rudder servo and LiPo battery. Also installed is a custom water cooling system to keep the motor temps down.