Going on vacation to an island and taking RIO along. How will it handle in the sea?

Hey guys, new guy here. I've owned two rc boats in the past but sold them but now I just bought a Rio Ep and I am taking it on holiday with me. I will be running it in the sea, mainly in the lagoon, not in deep sea with big waves. I also have a Traxxas VXL brushless ESC and motor lying around and I want to drop that in the rio to really wake it up. I just want to know if this boat will handle the small choppy waves with the brushless system in it or will it capsize and sink? I am aware that salt water is not good for rc boats so I will have my WD-40 in hand to fight off the rust. Looking forward to your responses. Thanks.

Well, the idea of putting a BL motor in has been around for awhile, I have done that as well. The problem with this operation really depends on how much modification you are prepared to embark. The motor mount in the Rio is a clamp screwed into two ABS plastic bumps---platform if you want to sugar coat the term. lol... Here is the issue, there is not really any room left on the motor for the clamp to clamp down---especially if you have a cooler jacket the length of the motor. I was lucky because I had a Proboat BL motor with their cooler which is on the short side. I slide it as far back as possible and used electrical tape to "increase" the motor can dia. slightly for the clamp to grab hold of the motor. Note I was unwilling to do drastic modification because I wanted to have the option to return to stock config.
I have not run that boat in choppy water, but the BL motor really wakes up the boat and she handled the higher speed beautifully.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCSzhyfHF3w

Take a look at the pictures in Post #14, https://forums.offshoreelectrics.com/...ue+boat+RIO+EP that's how the motor is clamped down, it is not a permanent solution but it has held up nicely. I have also left the radio box untouched, in fact, the original ESC is still in there, everything is done to make it possible to revert back to stock set up. I had used it as a rescure boat, therefore I wasn't sure if that was needed.
You can certainly gut the stock mount and put a better mount in it, rip the radio box out and gain some space in there. I ended up putting the ESC on top of the motor and as you see the batteries are on the side, COG is correct. The boat is heavily laden due to the extra "cargo" on board.
WD-40 and rinse out the cooler jacket and ESC cooling lines. Do not over look at all the fasteners, have fun on your vacation! Oil the bearings as well.
For your info: CorrosionX works great! http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/pro...hp?prod=corr-x

Attachment 115525 This is how it is today.

:beerchug: