dont know wat sort of race to get

[Tomass]

im thinking of getting into rc boat racing, i dont want to spend a mint on a begginer boat. At the moment i have a Kyosho Airstreak GP version so i know how to use a boat properly, at the closet club though there is no class .15 sized motors, any way i was thinking of buying the O.S outboard and a hydroplane hull although im unsure about the hull.

[Chris LaPanse]

A good place to look is www.bbyracing.com
They have good racing hulls at reasonable prices

[Hydro Junkie]

Tomass, are you talking hydroplane or tunnel hull? Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've never heard of a class for outboard hydroplanes. I have to agree with Chris about BBY, but also look at Aeromarine Laminates(don't know the address) and the R/C Store if you are talking about a tunnel. One piece of advice is go to as many races as possible and REALLY CHECK OUT THE BOATS AND TALK TO THE OWNERS. You might find the boat you thought you wanted isn't what you really want.

[Chris LaPanse]

www.aeromarinerc.com

[Ron Olson]

Try to find some races nearby and see what you like. Yeah, you'll see the 1/8 scale hydros, outrigger hydros and some big, bad, fast boats but concentrate on the smaller .21 powered boats, the monos and OB tunnels. They are a great place to start, good competition and almost any club race will have a lot of these so there's no shortage of racers.
The IMPBA does have what they call the ABS class, .16 motor max, pull start only, mufflers only, no tuned pipes and of course a plastic hull. I haven't seen any club use this class, but if you can round up enough of them to hold a class, a club may let you run them.
Most RTR or RTF boats are not really in any class because of their engine sizes. A .15, .16 or .18 powered boat would have to run in the .21 class and you would be seriously underpowered with these boats.
The IMPBA has redone their "A" class boats and raised the size limit from .119 to .129 so that we can use the .12 engines from the car, truck and buggie crowd. Don't hold your breathe on them to have classes for the "Tweeners", between .13 and .20 unless there again you can talk a club into having a class for them.
As far as I know, NAMBA has no classes for anything under .21 but don't quote me on this.
FYI, there is going to be a new bad boy coming out soon that will run in the 3.5 OB stock class that will put the ones out now to shame with a price around what a new K&B goes for and less than the O.S.! He is also going to market an inboard version later on.

[Watercadet]

Ya Ron that Irwin looks like a sweet deal. I hope Iwaters members get first crack ;) HJ there is an active class for OB Hydroplanes.
"This is off the IMPBA site.....

CLASS D O/B HYDRO
NAME TOMMY LEE
SECONDS 3.229
MPH 69.681
DATE 10/23/1998
PLACE HUNTSVILLE , AL
HULL DUMAS
ENGINE K&B
PROP OCTURA
FUEL/CELLS O'DONNELL
RADIO FUTABA
"
There are B and C ob hydros too.
Adam

[Hydro Junkie]

That's why I said correct me if I'm wrong. The only classes of outboard hydros I've seen are the little 6 to 8 footers you actually ride in. I would love to see some pics of the boats these guys are running. I'll bet they are modded riggers

[BoatDoc]

prather makes a couple of o/b riggers. although i i think they cost a little more than they're worth. i think the .21 size is something like $250 for just the hull. i thought about getting one until i saw the price tag.

[Tomass]

sorry bout the confussion guys, i meant tunnel hull. i think i'll probaly go for a O.S .21 outboard because they seem to be a reasonbly price for a good motor. ive got no idea what to do about a hull, i was looking at the Prather cat 1

[Watercadet]

The OS is a little over priced here in the States as there is only one distributer and they jacked the price to $350!! The K&B's like the SS and the SX are way less and will run with the OS in terms of quality and speed.
Also the Prather Lap Cat I is am older hull that would be great for sport use but not to race competivly.
Adam

[Ron Olson]

The Lap Cat's are outdated hulls. Keep in mind that this boat has been around for a good 20 years. There has been a lot of progress in that amount of time.
Are you just going to play around or eventually race it? Look around and when you see something that you like, let us know.