First off, I'm a newb to RC boats...not RC. I first got involved in RC approximately 40 years ago, with a gas-powered car. About 12 years ago, I got involved in RC helicopters (three, from a 250 4-channel, to a 650 6-channel), which I replaced 7 years ago with a DJI Phantom. The Phantom was replaced 3 years ago with a Typhoon H (which, two days ago, I've decided to sell). I finally got back into surface RC about 2 years ago, starting as most people do...with a Traxxas vehicle (my first Rustler 4x4, which had since been 'converted' into a "true" stadium truck). Since then, I've acquired two more Traxxas vehicles (including another Rusty 4x4 that's being converted to a 1/8 e-buggy Lite), 4 off-road race vehicles, an on-road USGT, and (so far) 4 crawlers (in various stages of build, from still-in-box, to fully operational, including one Class 3 comp rig). I belong to several RC forums, and have been quite prominent in the of them for a while. Like I said, not an RC newb.
Now...it's time to "get wet" (so to speak). I'm looking to purchase my first boat, and I'm hoping to get some suggestions/recommendations. For a "first-timer", I don't want to get outrageous, getting something that's too powerful, to difficult to control, something prone to easily flipping over (ie. as cool as it might be, no ProBoat UL-19...at least for now), or any other 'mistakes' newbs topically make. I'm not looking for something that's designed for a "kid", but I don't (yet) need a comp-grade boat. Also, I'd prefer something that turns left approximately as easily as it turns right.
Over the past several days, I've been doing a fairly decent amount of research (being temporarily out of work, due to this coronavirus crap, I've got plenty of "free" time on my hands), and I've come up with a few possibilities - ProBoat Sonicwave 36", Traxxas Spartan, Traxxas DCB M41, ProBoat Veles 29" & ProBoat Miss GEICO Zelos 36". NOTE: I'm not a "fan" of Traxxas, although I will admit they have excellent customer service...but, so does Horizon Hobby (at least 5 of my current vehicles are Horizon Hobby brands). This does NOT mean that Traxxas & ProBoat are the only brands I'm willing to consider...I would greatly appreciate suggestions/recommendations from other brands. Unfortunately, I'm not familiar with other brands. Through my research, I have uncovered others, such as TFL, but I haven't been able to determine what other boats would make good "starter" options.
Again, I don't want, or need, something aimed specifically at those who are completely new to RC. I've got plenty RC experience...just no experience with boats. I'd prefer something fast, but I'm not interested in something that is competition-fast. I want something fairly "stable" (not going to flip over extremely easily, such as the aforementioned ProBoat UL-19), but I don't want anything aimed at "total RC newbs". While I do see a very-string probability of fiberglass/carbon fiber I'm my (hopefully, not-to-distant) future, I'm somewhat certain (tho, not entirely) that starting with such a boat might not be a smart/good idea. I'm not saying I want to completely eliminate fiberglass/carbon fiber boats from contention...I am willing to consider the possibility...just that they might not be the best/smartest way to start in RC boating.
The final 'requirement' for anything suggested/recommended - price-point. I'm not looking for anything "cheap" (by that, I mean low-quality, as well as low-proceed), so anything less than $200 would probably qualify as a "toy". At the same time, funds are currently somewhat limited (due to temporary loss of work), so I'd prefer to keep it below $500...below $400 would be even better...with a 'ceiling' around $600 (these are pre-tax amounts). Suggestions/Recommendations can be RTR, or ARTR, as I probably won't be using any included Tx/Rx for longer than a few weeks...just long enough for me to replace any included Rx with one from Futaba (obviously, if much prefer to continue using a single Rx for all my RCs).
Let the suggestions/recommendations begin. I'm not in an extreme rush...but, at the same time, the sooner a decision can be made, and the sooner I can purchase, the sooner I can get out of this house, and have a little fun. Stay safe...but have fun while you're at it.
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