Do You still have Your First Boat?

[Rumdog]

Super Hawaii!
Nope. I think it was sold at a garage sale. I was too young to understand electronics well enough, anyhow. Sure was fun, though.
The boat I've owned longest is a second hand Rico mono that had been smashed up pretty badly being raced by the previous owner. Mark, or Mike Martin. Can't recall.. Has been my favorite boat to run, and has countless different setups I'm her.

[flraptor07]

Don't recall the first Radio Shack one I put R/C car stuff in but my first real one was a MRP FastCat that had twin 540's, it has been long gone. BUT,,,my first serious build was this beaut'

[ATTACH=CONFIG]116730[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]116731[/ATTACH]

I still have it. All the above was old school Nicd stuff

Now that's a cool old boat!

[ron1950]

man ..... first boat was a skdadle 60 with a rossi marine 60 with a reed radio.....for those that don't know what a reed radio was..u are luckey...in my case u start the motor and launch and the boat goes where it wanted to even though u thought u had it under control.....that boat is long gone sense I was 17 and now 63.....thank god for spektrun radios :)

[PowerDemon]

My first real hobby grade rc boat was a Traxxas Villain EX. I loved that boat. Its gone now though :thumb down: . My first real FE boat is a Traxxas Spartan. I love that boat also. And many many toy grade ones in between.

[srislash]

Now that's a cool old boat!

That is really a nice boat!
Yeah, when I think back on those Nicd days, I feel so lucky that I have lipo batteries and BL motors, makes me all the more appreciative of the advance in technology and those serious hobbyists who TIRELESSLY pushed the envelope!

Graupner Portifino. Has a series/parrallel switch and bilge pump,LOL. Thanks for the compliments guys

[BHChieftain]

Jim's boat inspired me to have one built for myself by Craig Bradshaw, but it was my 4th boat.

My first boat (my son's really) was a Proboat Fastech, I wish I kept it!

Chief

Actually, now that I think about it, our actual first boat was a Traxxas Blast, and I do still have it as a rescue boat
8^)

Chief

[revoltrunner]

back in the mid 70s my first rc boat
was a dumas SK Daddle with a cox 049
and a heathkit single channel radio for the rudder.
it was a lot of fun but she's been gone a long time.

[Fluid]

My first was an all-wood 33" Dumas PT-109 I built in 1962. Powered by a Dumas 6-volt brushed motor on a 6-volt lead acid battery and controlled by a Controllaire single channel radio with one push button, no wheel or stick. It contolled a "Boatamatic" combination servo/"speed controller". It was a heavy pig, went a whopping 2 mph - but that was the scale speed and it looked 'way cool. At that time the fastest nitro boats went about 30 mph. Sadly, long gone now.


.

[T.S.Davis]

It wouldn't shock me if my first boat is still in the attic. My first RC car is still up there in a box.

First boat was an MRP Excalibur. Crashed it into a light pole in a parking lot during a rain storm. I was 17. Many moons later I swapped out the Mabuchi for a 10turn double. Threw 12 cells in there. Went like stink for about 30 seconds. Then the gear box exploded and the lamp wire with Tamiya connectors the local hobby store sold me melted into a puddle of goo. But it was soooo pritty.

[tlandauer]

Now that I can think a bit better, the first boat I had as a child was this:
I took the wind up motor out and but a Mabuchi 540 motor with a sheet metal motor mount taped to the floor of the hull and ran it as a free running electric boat. I used 2 "C" cells and was debating if I should run it in parallel or series, @3v it was quicker but I wanted longer run time!
I was living in China and this boat was the envy of my friends, it was in much better condition that this one in the picture. Sadly I don't have it and I regretted "converting" it to electric ever since. Lilliput sold a cheap Chinese imitation in the 1990's but it wasn't the real thing for me, although even that is somewhat desired these days as it was a limited production with serial numbers on the certificate.

[NativePaul]

No. My first was an own design plywood construction deep V mono about 20" long, it was powered by a silver can 540 bushed motor, on 1200mAh sub C Nicads, through a 3 way resistive speed controller, it had a 4mm solid shaft, submerged drive with a crappy nylon RAM prop in front of a brass rudder. I was just a kid of 10 or so and knew nothing about boat design so I copied the hull bottom from my memory of a glow powered OMRA offshore boat I had seen at a show and it had quite some hook to the bottom which made it hugely stable, but also rather slow. I learned a little (dangerously little), glassed it and took the hook out, but I added far too much weight in glass (you could have used it as a club and beaten trolls to death with it) and that killed what little performance it had and I think I only ever ran it once or twice afterwards and chucked it a year or 2 later. It was an unmitigated failure of a modification, but also probably the best thing I have ever done!

It lead to me wanting a more powerful motor to push the extra weight and my stumbling across John B Marine, a proper bricks and mortar FE work/shop with resident owner/guru/designer/racer John Brinkler and semi resident racer and record setter Paul Williams complete with 32 cell rigger in the window and certificate on the wall, we talked to the gods all day and the next week we went back to purchase a Firecrest hull (18" semiscale Hydrolift CR-24 racer) which I emptied my savings account for and my dad agreed to pay the rest, but that kick started my work ethic as I now had this beautiful hull with race potential but no gear to put in it so I began washing cars/windows cutting lawns around the neighbourhood to buy a flexshaft and strut, I made a motor mount, I saved for a rudder blade and horn, dad made the rudder brackets, then I swapped the motor cells ESC and servo over and I had my uber FE boat or so I thought, I put it in the water and it wasn't any quicker than my old boat, another day pestering the the Gurus at JB Marine had my head full of prop theory, following a week of afternoons doing jobs to pay for a it I had a bigger and decent carbon surface drive prop and my beautiful boat was now really an FE a propper hobby grade fast rather toygrade fast, I was chuffed to bits with it but still wanted to learn more and why my first boat wasn't as good how to design a better one I went back again and a gain pestering the gurus, one day they offered to take me to a race that was happening on Sunday and I snapped up the offer, when I saw the racing I was taken aback by the insane speed these boats had, and my own boat was looking pedestrian again, I knew I had to race, and to do so I needed a modified motor an ESC, a gearbox and a metal prop. John gave me a stainless steel prototype prop that he had designed but could not get cast well enough for commercial purposes, it needed a LOT of work, but I was very grateful as it would have been at least a week to earn enough to buy an Octura, I had a birthday and everyone in my family clubbed together and got me an ESC (not the 30A AStec boat unit I wanted but a Hitec 380(BS)A car unit) I saved for a colt gearbox and when I had enough and bought it one of the Gurus gave me a used factory modified motor they had grown out of an lo, I was racing with the big boys! Later I helped out at JB Marine, got paid in parts, I gave dad my old boat, we had some great times racing together with our Firecrests, I will never forget those times or that boat. When my dad passed on I got the boat back and I still have it, I treasure that much modified and battle scared old heap far more than I do my last championship winner. If I ever have kids it will be their first boat, and if not I will take it to my grave with me.

[Darin Jordan]

Yup... My first boat, purchased for $30.00 from E-Bay, then highly modified over the course of the 2006 race season, was a Robbe Colt. I had it setup for O-Sport Hydro. 8-Cells, Nemesis 8L motor, and lots of FUN!

Still sitting up on the shelf.


Darin_Jordancopy.jpg

[flraptor07]

No. My first was an own design plywood construction deep V mono about 20" long, it was powered by a silver can 540 bushed motor, on 1200mAh sub C Nicads, through a 3 way resistive speed controller, it had a 4mm solid shaft, submerged drive with a crappy nylon RAM prop in front of a brass rudder. I was just a kid of 10 or so and knew nothing about boat design so I copied the hull bottom from my memory of a glow powered OMRA offshore boat I had seen at a show and it had quite some hook to the bottom which made it hugely stable, but also rather slow. I learned a little (dangerously little), glassed it and took the hook out, but I added far too much weight in glass (you could have used it as a club and beaten trolls to death with it) and that killed what little performance it had and I think I only ever ran it once or twice afterwards and chucked it a year or 2 later. It was an unmitigated failure of a modification, but also probably the best thing I have ever done!

It lead to me wanting a more powerful motor to push the extra weight and my stumbling across John B Marine, a proper bricks and mortar FE work/shop with resident owner/guru/designer/racer John Brinkler and semi resident racer and record setter Paul Williams complete with 32 cell rigger in the window and certificate on the wall, we talked to the gods all day and the next week we went back to purchase a Firecrest hull (18" semiscale Hydrolift CR-24 racer) which I emptied my savings account for and my dad agreed to pay the rest, but that kick started my work ethic as I now had this beautiful hull with race potential but no gear to put in it so I began washing cars/windows cutting lawns around the neighbourhood to buy a flexshaft and strut, I made a motor mount, I saved for a rudder blade and horn, dad made the rudder brackets, then I swapped the motor cells ESC and servo over and I had my uber FE boat or so I thought, I put it in the water and it wasn't any quicker than my old boat, another day pestering the the Gurus at JB Marine had my head full of prop theory, following a week of afternoons doing jobs to pay for a it I had a bigger and decent carbon surface drive prop and my beautiful boat was now really an FE a propper hobby grade fast rather toygrade fast, I was chuffed to bits with it but still wanted to learn more and why my first boat wasn't as good how to design a better one I went back again and a gain pestering the gurus, one day they offered to take me to a race that was happening on Sunday and I snapped up the offer, when I saw the racing I was taken aback by the insane speed these boats had, and my own boat was looking pedestrian again, I knew I had to race, and to do so I needed a modified motor an ESC, a gearbox and a metal prop. John gave me a stainless steel prototype prop that he had designed but could not get cast well enough for commercial purposes, it needed a LOT of work, but I was very grateful as it would have been at least a week to earn enough to buy an Octura, I had a birthday and everyone in my family clubbed together and got me an ESC (not the 30A AStec boat unit I wanted but a Hitec 380(BS)A car unit) I saved for a colt gearbox and when I had enough and bought it one of the Gurus gave me a used factory modified motor they had grown out of an lo, I was racing with the big boys! Later I helped out at JB Marine, got paid in parts, I gave dad my old boat, we had some great times racing together with our Firecrests, I will never forget those times or that boat. When my dad passed on I got the boat back and I still have it, I treasure that much modified and battle scared old heap far more than I do my last championship winner. If I ever have kids it will be their first boat, and if not I will take it to my grave with me.

Paul, That's a awsome story, this is what this hobby is all about!

[B Neal]

Back in 1975 built first boat and Jack Oxley saw my build prior to first run and talked me out of running it and return everything. He said I would be frustrated with what I had and would probably quit the hobby before really even starting.

I was 12 1/2 years old.

He suggested I get this and build it. K&B was releasing the motor the same week.

Bought two motors, and two kits, still have one in the box.

Thanks Jack you were correct, 39 years later, not frustrated :)

Brian

[Doug Smock]

Cool stuff guys!
My first boat was a air boat I made out of blue foam. My little brother and I both made them. They were powered by OS 46s and 10/7 props as I recall. My first electric boat was a scratch built mono contraption to recover them. Had a fire truck cab, working lights, siren, and boom. lol
Still have it in the basement. Man things have changed.