***NEW*** - Pro Boat River Jet Boat - 23"

[skeeler]

Separated at birth?

[Rafael_Lopez]

Separated at birth?

The boats, yes. Me and drivers, no. But I'll take the compliment :D

[Rafael_Lopez]

Rafael, thanks for the detailed explanation. I understand now. The change in footprint makes sense.

I must point out that the "regular" steering on this jet boat is thrust vectoring. By adding the trim servo, you add another dimension to the thrust vectoring.

As I said, this boat looks pretty fun, and it opens up new opportunities to run. I'll be looking to get one of these in the spring/summer. I hope enough of these sell that ProBoat decides to offer a 30-inch version.

I guess I should have explained it as multi axis thrust vectoring, but glad you got the idea

[fweasel]

The boats, yes. Me and drivers, no. But I'll take the compliment :D

If I had better photoshop skills, I'd slap a black helmet and goggles on you with an orange polo and the discussion would be over. I'm still laughing at the comparison. Too funny.

[skeeler]

fweasel, I'm glad I could bring a little joy into your life. Now we need someone with photoshopping skills.

[skeeler]

I saw on the product-announcement video at Horizon that Rafael said the boat doesn't have a reverse gate. Is this something that's required to operate in reverse on a jet boat? Does that mean there's no reverse on the River Jet?

[Mxkid261]

Yes it's probably like a jet ski reverse gate. On my Honda aquatrax there's a reverse lever when you pull it up there's a plastic scoop that comes down over the jet pump exit to direct the water from the pump downward which = reverse

[skeeler]

Thanks. The product video shows the exhaust nozzle to be below the waterline, so is there a reason you can't run the motor in reverse to pump water backwards through the boat? It wouldn't be as efficient as running forwards, but I'm hoping it could still nudge the boat backward slowly. I can see why the reverse gate on the jet ski is cheaper and easier to make than a reverse gear, but electric motors run in reverse without any additional hardware.

[Rafael_Lopez]

The motor will run in reverse as it is instrumental in the self right feature. The boat will move backwards if you operate reverse slowly, but you can not steer it. Adding a reverse gate with a servo to operate it would have raised the price of the boat and would have put us out of our target price range, and honestly it just would not have fit since the space accessible inside the hull is very tight as it is.

[skeeler]

Rafael,

Thanks for your reply. I understand a reverse gate would have caused a cost overrun. All I want is a little slow reversing in case the boat gets nosed into shore; I don't need speed or steering in reverse. (My son is only learning to drive RC cars and boats now). It sounds like this boat will do what I need.

[Rafael_Lopez]

Well, even a pro will need to learn how to drive a jet boat if you have never driven one, RC or 1:1. Main thing to remember is no power, no steering. And you have to learn how to blip the throttle at the right time to get it to turn the way you want to. Like in my street run video, I was using full throttle to tightly spin it around. I used to had Yamaha SX230 and still had to learn how to drive this thing, lol.

Also, remember that the pump is very powerful. If the boat runs on shore, don't operate the throttle or it will suck up loose material if it's sitting on the ground, which can damage the pump's internals. Again, I learned that the hard way with my 1:1. Debris becomes shrapnel as it's being sucked through the pump, which can/will damage the stuffing tube support and the impeller.

[DBJr]

Boat is now showing as in stock at Horizon. I just ordered mine.

I also grabbed a Glacier 4S 3300mAh 30C lipo to run in this. I've had excellent luck with Glacier packs so far.

[MADRCER]

[QUOTE=Rafael_Lopez;685487]Well, even a pro will need to learn how to drive a jet boat if you have never driven one, RC or 1:1. Main thing to remember is no power, no steering. And you have to learn how to blip the throttle at the right time to get it to turn the way you want to. Like in my street run video, I was using full throttle to tightly spin it around. I used to had Yamaha SX230 and still had to learn how to drive this thing, lol.

Also, remember that the pump is very powerful. If the boat runs on shore, don't operate the throttle or it will suck up loose material if it's sitting on the ground, which can damage the pump's internals. Again, I learned that the hard way with my 1:1. Debris becomes shrapnel as it's being sucked through the pump, which can/will damage the stuffing tube support and the impeller.

Rafael,

Looks like you developed an AWESOME boat! What is the speed difference while using 3s vs 4s in this boat? Pro Boat claims 25mph....is this on 3s or 4s? I am assuming it will be around 6-8 minutes of runtime with 3200mah? Mine shipped yesterday and I can't wait to test it out! Thanks!

[Rafael_Lopez]

Madrcr, 25 mph is on 3s. 4s should get you closer to 30. Run time is 3-7 minutes depending on how heavy your trigger finger is.

[DBJr]

I'm just curious, about how many amps does the system pull on 4S???

Something tells me the 90A ESC should be more than enough though.