Winter Project...opinions, suggestions?

[Boogie]

Looking to start a new project this winter. Considering either a DF 29 or 33, or a BBY Oval Master 29. I guess I'm looking for the pros and cons of those three hulls. Obviously with the DF33 it will need a bigger power setup, but I'm just weighing the various options of cost and handling, etc. Anyhow, starting with the hull first, then going from there to hardware, electronics, and all that goodness.

[Jesse J]

well, we need to know the typical things when addressing your query for help:

1) budget
2) water conditions most common
3) scope of project: what you have on hand (esp. batteries)
4) scope of performance: sport vs race, and speeds required

I am certain that this issue has been discussed amply on here, some poking around and pointed questions will get some of the gurus into helping you.

Help us help you.

[Boogie]

Budget, trying to stay reasonable I guess. Not looking into high end electronics or anything like that. I've already got the radio gear and a high speed steering servo. The BBY hull is the cheapest of the three that I'm initially looking into, but I'm curious how it handles compared to the DF29, if it has any particular quirks or if it's pretty much WYSIWYG.

Water conditions, calm most of the time with maybe a little bit of chop, all inland lake/pond running. Would be nice to be able to handle rougher water, but as long as it can handle a little bit of chop, no biggie.

Scope of project. As mentioned above, I already have a radio system and servo. I also have several 2S 5000mah 30C lipos, so I'm looking to run at least a 4S setup, but I also want to be able to move on up to 6S, so I want to get an ESC and motor that will handle up to 6S with ease. Will need to get the hull, running hardware, esc, and batts.

Performance. I know there's no magic bullet per-se, but I'm not looking to race. I would love to, but there are no clubs or anything of that sort anywhere around where I live. Mostly running at the local lakes and big ponds. Speeds, the faster the better, but still want to retain reasonable handling and reliability. It's more for sport, ripping around the pond and having fun, then being able to pack it up and do it again the next day/week.


I have owned a couple boats in the past, a BJ26 and a Hammer EP. The BJ26 left a bit of a sour taste in my mouth for cats since it took so many mods and work to get it to handle remotely well. That being said, I don't mind doing work and mods, but I didn't expect to have to do that much to an "RTR". If I'm going to do that much work on one, I'd rather build it from the ground up, thus the segue to this new project. The one thing that's changed my mind about the cats is the reception to the new Miss Geico, which seems to be doing very well. However, I'd still like to do a project like this to help spread out the cost as well as get everything set up exactly how I want it versus buying another RTR. I will say that if I do happen to run along a Miss Geico hull or similar cat hull for a decent price that has a rep for handling well, then I will consider one.

[Boogie]

Anyone? I'm not asking the typical "which one should I get?", just looking for someone who's had experience with both the DF29 and the Oval Master 29 to give me a bit of a comparison, what handling quirks they have, if one has any particular advantage over the other, etc. All else fails, guess I'll join the growing Miss Geico crowd.