Gas or Electric

[stewartvp]

New to the sport having just has santa deliver 2 basic RTR boats for xmas. My son is now excited about building his own. But should I choose gas or electric. we will probably build a hydro.

[scorpien boats]

Let me start of by saying,
WELCOME to the boards!


whats size do you want it to be?

If you are building it together I think you should go with nitro...

my first boat (that I built) is a Dumas hotshot sprint 3.5 tunnel hull with a k&b outboard.

[Hydro Junkie]

Size was my question too. And are you talking wood or glass, electric or nitro. There are lots of options, so how far are you planning on going in the building?

[stewartvp]

The size I am looking at is probably around 30 inches. My preference is for a Hydro but my son has a preference for a Deep Vee (but what does he know he's 10). We intend to build the hull from scratch using wood predominantly balsa (may be even design it ourselves, I have some experience building a manned tunnel based on an F1).
The thing that concerns/scares me about gas/nitro is they seem far more complex than Electric. But on the other hand I like the idea of just needing to refuel.

[CFRACR]

New to the sport having just has santa deliver 2 basic RTR boats for xmas. My son is now excited about building his own. But should I choose gas or electric. we will probably build a hydro.


IMPO if you recieved two boats for yourself & your son shows interest & wants a vee WHY NOT! If you want a hydro build one, for a 10 year old a hydro may just not be the best starter boat. (Your son may know more than you think) :D

If you want to build, there are plans out there you could use to build from. The Wild Thing mono vee is a good one. A good performer, and can be scaled up or down.

As for power, electric would be easier for him to operate. But then again he sounds pretty smart! :D You would have to gauge that one for yourself.
You could always set it up for electric & change it over to nitro down the road. If you have NITRO experience this would be what you would want to do for him once he gets to become a good driver & interested. If you have no Nitro experience start getting some, Because it takes time to get the hang of it so to speak.

[scorpien boats]

Nitro isn't that much more complex... (the fastest rc boat is electric)
you just have to break in the engine right and tune it right... If its a quality engine it shouldn't give you any problems

[stewartvp]

What are the run times like on fast electrics?

[Chris LaPanse]

That depends on how fast they are, but for sport vees that do around 20mph, probably 15min. The faster you go, the shorter the batteries last. Most racing boats could only go for 3-4mins or less.

[stewartvp]

Our current boats give us about 10mins they run twin 380 motors I think. This is just barely enough time so may be gas/nitro is the best option for us. Thanx for every ones input.

[Ron Olson]

Ten years old isn't too young, my son started racing trucks at 6 but started racing boats at 12, only after he got one of my hand-me-downs.
Balsa isn't a good choice to do the whole boat in, we use mostly Lite Plywood. There are plenty of kits available for reasonable prices for both electric and nitro.
Decide which route you want to go with, both have their pro's and con's. A mono hull is the easiest to run and set up for most builders, hydro's are a little more difficult to set up properly.

[stewartvp]

As stated I look like I am set on a non-electric motor. However I am now confused about OPS, Gas and Nitro. is there a good source that explains the differences?

[dannyUAL767]

Well, OPS is a brand of nitro engine. Nitro, aka model engine fuel, is a mixture of alcohol, oil and nitromethane. You'll have to buy it at your local hobby shop or mail order it. Gas engines use the same fuel that your weedeater uses-a mix of pump gas and 2 stroke oil. Most gas boaters run a higher mix of oil than what your weed whacker calls for; up to 16:1!

[kevin28]

At 30" gas may be out of the question.
Most gas boats start at the 43-46" range and move up from there. Its just a matter of the size of the engine (look at a weedwacker). A nitro would fit nice though.
Good luck