racing boat

[shannon87]

Hi all im still desciding on which boat to get to start me in racing i want to make sure its going to be the right boat and going to last i have always liked the spartan but i was worried about its durability at race speeds and on race water compared to a fibreglass boat.

Anyways i will do the cooling mods such as a new pickup such as transom style maybe running two from kintec as well as larger diameter lines and new motor jacket all on 4s lipo. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated

[dag-nabit]

Hi all im still desciding on which boat to get to start me in racing i want to make sure its going to be the right boat and going to last i have always liked the spartan but i was worried about its durability at race speeds and on race water compared to a fibreglass boat.

Anyways i will do the cooling mods such as a new pickup such as transom style maybe running two from kintec as well as larger diameter lines and new motor jacket all on 4s lipo. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated


If you are looking at getting into organized racing, check the rules, there are restrictions on what you can run in each class and you should purchase/build your boat based on what class(es) you want to race in. (this is very general info, I don't know the details, so do some research if you are headed this direction)

If you are just looking to race casually with a few buddies, the Spartan may be an OK choice, if you are willing to eventually upgrade all the electronics. (unless Traxxas actually gets there stuff together and introduces an appropriately upgraded version of the Spartan)

The Spartan tends to get unstable at high speed (chine walk), a few of the guys are starting to get the problem sorted out, but this should be considered in your decision if you are looking for a speed demon.

Personally I think there are better choices, as much as I have had fun modding and running my Spartan, I would have a hard time recommending it, in it's current factory stock configuration.

Kevin

[wilsta67]

if a fiber glass boat hits a spartan we all no which one will come out on top.

[shannon87]

hi thanks heaps for the advice the club i am joining is just starting out so i have spoken to them and he said i can pretty much run any off the shelf boat as some of the guys there run them but i think ill stick to my orginal choice of an aquacraft motley crew and yes hopefully traxxas bring out an updated fibreglass spartan if so it would be a wicked choice for a second boat

[dag-nabit]

hi thanks heaps for the advice the club i am joining is just starting out so i have spoken to them and he said i can pretty much run any off the shelf boat as some of the guys there run them but i think ill stick to my orginal choice of an aquacraft motley crew and yes hopefully traxxas bring out an updated fibreglass spartan if so it would be a wicked choice for a second boat


That is probably highly unlikely, we are all hoping they just get reliable electronics in it so newcomers to the sport/hobby, who buy it as their first boat, don't become discouraged and walk away.

The biggest problem with plastic isn't necessarily with strength, done properly it can have higher impact resistance than fiberglass. The problem is when it fails, it cracks and/or breaks and can be very difficult, or pretty much impossible, to repair back to original strength. Fiberglass will often "bruise" on impact and is reasonably easy to repair back to original strength with some resin and fiberglass cloth.

That said, most boaters, myself included have a preference for fiberglass.

The AQ MC is an interesting boat. Our first boats were AQ SV27's they have been super reliable and are still fun to run.

Here is another possibility, new to the market from Pro Boat. They claim it is sort of "semi hopped up for racing" right out of the box. Nice that it comes with a decent prop.
http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=PRB4075
http://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/showthread.php?t=25508

Only problem is, it won't be released until June, and it sounds like the RTR version will be released even later. Check it out though as a possibility.

Whatever you settle on, have fun!

Kevin

[shannon87]

hi thanks again my first was the rio lol kinda a big mistake coz its sitting around gutted waitin to get an f/e conversion lol and yer thanks for that ill check it out i was thinking the geico for along while but i like the layout of the motley better and the water feed from the motor back to the esc is interesting might have to run another pickup and so both sides have fresh cold water and another exit out the back to balance it out anyways cheers.

I just checked it out n wow i must say im impressed looks like another competitor for the motley and a new and improved geico not that much needs improving lol but with a fresh paint job thats stylish but not too out there with an offset rudder already higher rated esc and 1800kv motor hopefully no wah wah lol i think im just gunna wait for that because that just shook me up and blown me away lol mystic here i come!!!!! lol