Am I evil for liking the new RTR boats?

[fox88gt]

Hi guys, I'm having a bit of a moral dilemma here. I'm typically not a fan of RTR RC products. I feel that it takes away from the most satisfying part (in my opionion) of the RC hobby, which is the building/customizing of a vehicle and then running something that you built. I get this same satisfaction from 1:1 scale cars and boats as well. I'm a do-it-yourself type when it comes to all types of work, from car repair to home roofing and everything in between. I love taking on a new project, learning, and getting the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

I've raced RC road course cars for a few years (mostly Formula One and 17.5 Sedan) and always build my own cars from kits. Never RTR. Built my first RC boat with my dad when I was kit (Dumas kit) and built my first RC car with my dad (RC10T) when i was a youngster as well. This fun and satisfaction is something I hope to pass down to my own kids someday.

Last year I bought my first RTR (and my first FE boat), an Aquacraft Revolt 30. Wanting to know what makes it work, I dissassembled and rebuild the whole boat before it ever got wet. Doing so allowed me to correct a stuffing tube misalignment and a few others things as well. This is not a knock against Aquacraft....in fact just the opposite....this boat got me hooked! I was super impressed with the performance and the value-for-dollar presented. There is no way I could have built that nice of a boat for the same money if I had sourced a hull, motor, esc, servo, 2.4 radio, hardware, and everything else separately.

Saturday I'm at the local hobby shop (we race RC road course in the winter up here on saturday afternoons) and there she sits, a brand new Aquacraft Lucas Oil cat just screaming "buy me!" The boat looks great quality-wise---I'll give it the same treatment as my Revolt just to make sure though. Again, I dont think I could build a boat that nice myself for the $. Not to mention, my hobby time has been drastically cut as my wife and I just purchased a house and are in the process of moving in and making a few changes/updates to our new house.

So heres the thing...should I feel BAD about buying another RTR? I have 2 other boat build projects on the back burner (restoring/repowering the Dumas Coast Guard boat my dad and I built when I was a kid) and a big Dumas 55" Scarab 38 KV. My wife thinks I'm a little crazy wanting 4 RC boats but understands my addiction.

What do I do????? If I skip the Lucas Oil cat I know I'll have more time for my other two boat projects. But I want this cat! What do I do?

[Fella1340]

Buy the boat. You will have fun with it and there are always upgrades you can do along the way to it. Just do a Google search on the boat and you should find all kinds of upgrades done to the boat. Some good, some just asking for trouble. Having a couple boats to run while you build is great!

[NativePaul]

Have a good look at it in the model shop the build your own version from wood.

[ron1950]

buy it.....its a fun boat...I still have my first rtr proboat miss giego and it runs fine

[Luck as a Constant]

yeah you probably couldn't build a boat that good for the coin, but for a little more coin, you can build a boat that will eat those things…. just saying…

not to knock the rtr's, which are pretty cool no doubt

[Luck as a Constant]

also, why not check the for sale section here?

[forescott]

scratch the itch........... and four boats is just the beginning.

[flraptor07]

Four boats is nothing, I'm up to 13 and I've been messin' with RC boats for less than a year now. If you like the boat buy it, you can have just as much fun modding a RTR as building one from scratch!

[Darin Jordan]

I'm going to boast JUST a little here, on behalf of both myself, and Mike Z.

RTR boats are what keep RC boating viable, and, frankly, they have provided a VERY healthy boost to the RC Boat Racing world as well, especially in the Electric side of things.

The current crop of RTRs available in the 4S sizes, from both Aquacraft and Pro Boat, are exceptional values. The boats are fun, fast, reliable, easy to use, and can certainly be competitive on a race course in the proper hands and with the proper tuning. For under $500.00 you can be on the water and racing. You simply can't do that with the average quality self-build.

As long as you accept them for what they are, there is nothing wrong with LIKING RTR boats. In fact, I take quite a bit of pride and pleasure in doing things with RTR setups that most think can't be done... Pushing them and tweaking them to be competitive on the race course.

So, LIKE away!! :)

[T.S.Davis]

I like my Mystic. Super fun drive. I own 45 boats at least.

Revolts finished first and second in our clubs offshore class last season. We have some fast guys too and they still won. They didn't "dominate" or anything but they did win. No denying that. It was close right down to the last race of the year too.

So like away.

[fox88gt]

Thanks for all the replies fellas! The RTR's really are a good way to get into the RC boating hobby, especially when you have guys like Darin and Mike Z developing the products. The winners are the consumers. I'm gonna pick up the cat this week. I had a few friends curious about RC boats looking at the Impulse 31 and the Miss Geico and my only response was..."you really cant go wrong" with a hobby-quality RTR in the 4S range from Proboat or AQ---the value and performance is great for a first "real" FE boat. These aren't walmart toys! And if you want to go bigger/faster/newer, they still hold good value on the second-hand market.

I only wish I had picked up a Stilleto when they were still available. An outboard tunnel hull will be next :D It appears I have a fever, and the only cure is more boats.

[T.S.Davis]

Yeah, that's how it starts. haha Next thing you know you have boats all over your house.

[Darin Jordan]

Yeah, that's how it starts. haha Next thing you know you have boats all over your house.

NONE of us will EVERY top Pags though... I don't think that Glorious SOB has EVER sold a boat! He described his warehouse of RC stuff to me and my jaw just hit the floor! Simply awesome.

The Stiletto was a fun boat. The first one I ever developed for Pro Boat. It's nicely done. Unfortunately, it's a victim of interest. Just not enough of them sold and it was expensive to make. It also is difficult to make something like that in mass production and keep it light enough to be competitive.

Still... I have mine all setup and stored away for safe keeping, and I have a second one here that I'll finish up one of these days just to play with. Though about making it into a Nitro setup, just for fun. Or maybe one of these newer small-sized Gas motors...

[gsbuickman]

Buy the boat. You will have fun with it and there are always upgrades you can do along the way to it. Just do a Google search on the boat and you should find all kinds of upgrades done to the boat. Some good, some just asking for trouble. Having a couple boats to run while you build is great!

+1 . I was eyeing the Lucas cat & the revolt in the Tower catalog yesterday. The first kit I built when I was a kid was the Tamiya Fox

[RandyatBBY]

Yeah, that's how it starts. haha Next thing you know you have boats all over your house.

Ya just do not let it be a diseased, I am afflicted with the I gota go race disease. But I am all most always happier when I go.