Boat for 3s 2200mah

[Tom M]

With there being a very slim pickings of boats available, I?m looking for a smaller boat to run off the plethora of 3s 2200mah packs I have. These are common for planes so as a result I have 10 of them.

Anyone have any good options to run off this sized battery? I was leaning towards the Tenshock Mini Mono, but if anyone has any other input or options please let me know

[NativePaul]

If you want an RTR, that is by far the best one out there. If you want to fit one out yourself, there are alternatives, but unusually it is still one of the best Monos of that size out there. as standard they come with a 2s motor though so you will have to ask them to swap it to a lower KV 3s suitable one

Naviga Mini Mono and Mini Hydro classes use that size battery, so if you are not tied to an RTR there are a bunch of very good European and Asian hulls available.

[Tom M]

Thanks Paul. I’m not confined to a RTR, and have no problem building something. I’m just leaning towards a Hydro or mono. After that, I’m very open minded at the moment

[Dr. Jet]

I have one of these: https://www.mhz-powerboats.com/shop/...mm-17-gfk?c=59 and it would be a good fit for that size battery. The hull is a high-quality layup and quite light. Native Paul just about has me convinced to buy another to fit a motor I have lying around.

[bhorowitz]

That's what I run in my Zipkits Mini Sprint. It's a little rocket.
Bob

[HTVboats]

https://zippkits.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=71&products_id=797

The 26" Zip with a 28-29mm motor on 3S is fast (45-55mph)and seaworthy. 2 2200ma 3S in parallel gives 4400ma for a decent run time. Inexpensive build/
Mic

[NativePaul]

Here are free plans for the KEPS and JAE Mini Hydros.

Zippkits have also sold kits for the JAE mini for $99 including hardware which is a great deal, but they are not on the website at then moment, not sure if they have stopped making it, or are just out of stock.

RBC also sell a kit for the Fast4ward hydro.

That is all for the kits or plans that I know of, I am not aware of any good mono kits or plans in this size.


There are a bunch of composite hulls available, I will list them as hulls only but some of them are available as ARTRs in limited numbers on request. Generally they have the advantage over a wooden boat of self-righting, via a flood chamber. Which allows you to run a small boat in any conditions. Often these come fitted especially with monos, but sometimes you have to make and fit them yourself, as is common with the riggers.

Ecomaster sell a bunch, as well as the aforementioned Tenshock Mini Mono, the Mini Slider is also great, and while the Eraser2 is brand new and is as yet unproven in public hands, the first eraser was very good and I fully expect the 2 to be top level. As well as those Monos he also sells this Mini Hydro, and he has another in testing that has not been released yet.

ETTI make a few Mini Monos, Phoenix for rough water and the Mini Envoy for smooth water. They also make the Mini Outcast and Mini Angel riggers.

Hydro & Marine make the Mini Mi rigger (this is the only composite boat listed that I don't know can be made self-righting).

MHZ make the Harpoon mono, and Miss Madison hydro (needs additional salt water snorkel for self righting).

I am a big fan of these mini sized boats that natively fit the batteries you have, they are cheap to fit out, and their small size makes them look and act faster at lower outright speeds carrying less energy, so they can be hooned about in any water, at or over their limits, without regards to their safety, but as Mic said there are also many larger boats that can use 3s 2200mAh in 2p or 3p, see this post for links to a few if that interests you.

[Tom M]

Wow this is quite the list! I’m very interested in building an MHZ hull based on quality. What kind of hardware and electronics (motor, esc) would I need for the Miss Madison? I see the Harpoon comes as an ARTR with hardware already, so i would just need electronics for that guy.

Thanks for all the suggestions!

[Panther6834]

Not trying to 'hijack' the thread, but I do find a lot of the boats/hulls mentioned "interesting". Although over only been involved in FE for a few months, I'm finally at a point where I'm starting to feel 'comfortable' about the idea of building a boat from a hull...preferably a "hull & hardware" package, but separate hull & 'complete hardware kit' are also a possibility if the hull & 'complete hardware kit' are from the same vendor.

Unfortunately, almost everything listed above (ie. the provided links) is from European websites. Can those who've already shared links, as well as anyone else, share some from U.S.-based links? While I don't mind ordering from "across the pond", if much prefer ordering stateside, especially considering it's less confusing not having to deal with currency conversion...plus, many European hobby websites won't even ship to the U.S.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[NativePaul]

No need to worry about quality for any of the composite hulls I have listed, there is none of the thick brittle gellcoat or vinylester resin, or air bubbles associated with rhe popular RTRs. They are all at worst vacuum bagged epoxy glass hulls.

Don't take this as a diss against MHZ, but amongst this company their quality is middle of the road, the Stinger and ETTI are better, H&M and Tenshock are comparable, and while Ecomaster Eraser and Mini Hydro are as well moulded individually. They are not joined wet on wet meaning that they do have small seams and I would rank them lower.

A motor weighing about 70g (2836 ish inrunner or 2816 ish outrunner) with 3000kv, 30a watercooled or 50a uncooked ESC, and 30- 32mm low blade area cnc prop will give you 5-6 minutes runtime in one of these on 3s 2200mAh, or with 50A watercooled ESC and 34-36 mm prop you can do sprint style for limited run times.

I don't think mini classes are raced anywhere in America so there is little call for them there. NAVIGA members are mostly in Europe and Asia so that is where most are made. Tenshock and ETTI are both in Hong Kong.

The only one I know of in America is Oxidean Marine who sell the tenshock Mini Mono as their Mini Dominator. Though I would read up about their customer service before buying from him rather than importing, he's charging more than Tenshock or Ecomaster do, so needs to offer good customer service at least.

I know Ecomaster, MHZ, H&M, and ETTI ship to the U.S.

I know at one point Tenshock had an exclusivity deal with their U.S. dealer minicatracing and wouldn't import privately but as sailr posted here that he was retiring and trying to sell the company a while back, I have no idea if that is still in effect. He may also still have some stock of the older Tenshock mini products he sold.

[Dr. Jet]

I have purchased several hulls from H&M and MHZ. My experience is the MHZ hulls seem a bit lighter in layup than the the H&M hulls, but you can specifically request a lighter layup from Oliver if you don't mind waiting a few extra days. The MHZ hulls also have sharper edges on the surfaces and require less finishing work to get everything sharp and flat.

Paul has more experience than I with the ETTI boats and I would take his motor/hull suggestions as an excellent starting point.

A friend recently purchased a TFL Cheetah, and while it LOOKS really good, the ride surfaces will need a LOT of work to make it competitive.

I'm currently working on an H&M hull and there may be another MHZ hull in my future.......

[Panther6834]

First, not interested in racing something this small...it would be a "just for fun" boat. For racing, I'll be running a Skater X2 for P-open, and a CF Pursuit for P-Limited. If I decide to get into Hydros, I've already got some ideas, but still undecided. As for Oxidean Marine, no worries there...I'd never buy from him. Let's just say they're a lot of 'bad blood' written about Bill Oxidean, Mr. "I'm the greatest thing since sliced bread".

To give those reading an idea of my current pleasure boats, I'm running a ProBoat SonicWake that's been upgraded with a Seaking 180A ESC & Leopard motor (for true 6S, without any 'danger'), a ProBoat ShockWave (my "rescue boat", which is about to undergo a dual-rudder mod), and an Atomik Barbwire 3 (which I just rebuilt, from an empty hull, with a Seaking 60A ESC & Dynamite 2950kV, new brass stuffing tube, larger diameter prop shaft/flex cable, and Octura coupler).

I greatly enjoy building off-road vehicles (heck, I think I might actually enjoy building them more than I enjoy racing them), which is why I want to try my hand with boat building. However, unlike off-road kits, which include everything inside a single box, I don't see the same types of 'offerings' where boats are concerned.

I did recently build my first off-road vehicle...a Class 3 comp crawler...completely from scratch, siding with just a cage/chassis. But, I'm not ready to completely build a boat from scratch, nor do I feel I'm I ready to purchase just a hull, and completely build...besides, I don't think I'd know all the parts needed. However, I feel I am ready for a kit where all parts are packages together (including the aforementioned "hull" & "complete hardware kit" type of purchasing configuration).

That's why I found this thread of interest...and, what led me to asking about any US distributors. I know minicatracing is all but gone, thus other sourcing choices would be needed. Yes, I'd prefer ordering from a US distributors...but, I have no problem ordering from elsewhere. I only brought up European distributors because I know that some will not sure to the US. Some don't ship to the US, period, while others currently don't ship to the US due to COVID-19. The same currently forward for some Asian distributors. While others are still shipping to the US, shipments are taking longer...but. I'm ok with that.

My primary "concerns" are 1) a complete kit (either everything packages together, or the 'hull' & 'complete hardware kit' packages separately but purchased together); 2) purchased from a US distributor, or from a European/Asian distributors that ships to the US; and 3) most importantly, is 'quality' (hull that isn't likely to "fall apart", aluminum, brass, & steel parts that aren't "garbage" (for example, no crappy-quality "stainless" steel screws that rust).


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[Dr. Jet]

First, not interested in racing something this small...it would be a "just for fun" boat.

My sentiments exactly.

I only brought up European distributors because I know that some will not sure to the US. Some don't ship to the US, period, while others currently don't ship to the US due to COVID-19.

No problem, they are shipping.

In what part of California do you live? It it were close enough I might suggest ordering 2 Miss Madison hulls from MHZ and amortizing the somewhat expensive shipping between multiple hulls.

We could do parallel builds (although I'll probably go with a 2S setup). Steve has most, if not all, of the needed hardware here in his store. I'm still waiting to hear from Native Paul regarding photos/drawings/descriptions of making the Miss Madison self-righting.

[Panther6834]

No need to worry about quality for any of the composite hulls I have listed, there is none of the thick brittle gellcoat or vinylester resin, or air bubbles associated with rhe popular RTRs. They are all at worst vacuum bagged epoxy glass hulls.

Don't take this as a diss against MHZ, but amongst this company their quality is middle of the road, the Stinger and ETTI are better, H&M and Tenshock are comparable, and while Ecomaster Eraser and Mini Hydro are as well moulded individually. They are not joined wet on wet meaning that they do have small seams and I would rank them lower.

A motor weighing about 70g (2836 ish inrunner or 2816 ish outrunner) with 3000kv, 30a watercooled or 50a uncooked ESC, and 30- 32mm low blade area cnc prop will give you 5-6 minutes runtime in one of these on 3s 2200mAh, or with 50A watercooled ESC and 34-36 mm prop you can do sprint style for limited run times.

I don't think mini classes are raced anywhere in America so there is little call for them there. NAVIGA members are mostly in Europe and Asia so that is where most are made. Tenshock and ETTI are both in Hong Kong.

The only one I know of in America is Oxidean Marine who sell the tenshock Mini Mono as their Mini Dominator. Though I would read up about their customer service before buying from him rather than importing, he's charging more than Tenshock or Ecomaster do, so needs to offer good customer service at least.

I know Ecomaster, MHZ, H&M, and ETTI ship to the U.S.

I know at one point Tenshock had an exclusivity deal with their U.S. dealer minicatracing and wouldn't import privately but as sailr posted here that he was retiring and trying to sell the company a while back, I have no idea if that is still in effect. He may also still have some stock of the older Tenshock mini products he sold.

In what part of California do you live? It it were close enough I might suggest ordering 2 Miss Madison hulls from MHZ and amortizing the somewhat expensive shipping between multiple hulls. Steve has most, if not all, of the needed hardware here in his store.

SF Bay Area...South Bay. As for the MHZ Miss Madison, interesting proposal.

I have to admit, I do like the Mini Mono that Tom (Op) initially mentioned. I also like the ZippKits mentioned by bhorowitz & HTVboats...especially considering they offer "complete hardware kits"...but, they don't appear to offer anything 'small'. Getting back to the suggestion made by you (as well as Native Paul & TomM), I do like the MHZ Miss Madison...but, I also like the Micro Iceberg (a 17" cat), which can be set up with single, or dual, motors, and is also less likely to flip.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

[Tom M]

SF Bay Area...South Bay. As for the MHZ Miss Madison, interesting proposal.

I have to admit, I do like the Mini Mono that Tom (Op) initially mentioned. I also like the ZippKits mentioned by bhorowitz & HTVboats...especially considering they offer "complete hardware kits"...but, they don't appear to offer anything 'small'. Getting back to the suggestion made by you (as well as Native Paul & TomM), I do like the MHZ Miss Madison...but, I also like the Micro Iceberg (a 17" cat), which can be set up with single, or dual, motors, and is also less likely to flip.


~ More peace, love, laughter, & kindness would make the world a MUCH better place

Might as well buy them all at that point, and build them as your heart desires. Fiberglass doesn’t go bad :D

I’m personally going to build one of those Boats listed above during the winter. For the time being I’m gonna get a delta force vortex hydro hull from Steve. I’ve heard people using 28-45-2960 Leopard motors, any reason why a 28-35-2700 Ammo realistically won’t work? Purely going for sport, so if it hits 40-45 i’ll be thrilled on 3s