HomeBound

[photographicman]

I have
been pouring over different sites that have to do with RC. I was injured
in a deer/motorcycle accident which has rendered me to my home,for a long time.
I live on a lake and well have a lot of time on my hands. I always wanted too
get into RC,now i have the time.Any suggestions with what I should start with?
Now the lakes frozen,and summer nears.
thanks, photographicman

[taylormg]

Your options are: Scratch-built, kit, or RTR. RTR is the quickest way to the water, but you do get a lot of satisfaction out of building/modifying your own. If you decide to build, you will learn a lot in the process. Pour over these forums, magazine articles and vendor/dealer sites for the best information. Depending on the slant of your local hobby store, they may or may not have expertise in boats. Some good dealer sites are:
www.offshoreelectrics.com
www.funrcboats.com
www.finedesignrc.com
Plus, places like Tower Hobbies and Horizon Hobby will have some of your major brand-name RTR boats.
Your power options are electric, nitro, or gas. I only run electric currently, so I can't say much about the others.
I've learned that MPH is bought by the dollar. The faster your boat, the more it costs.
My son has a stock Hobbico Aquacraft Hammer EP. It will run in the neighborhood of 12-14 MPH on a 7 cell battery. The boat was RTR and requires virtually no maintenance.
I own a MRC Triton Catamaran that is sold as a kit or RTR. I had fun starting out with a basic kit and then adding faster components to achieve higher speeds.
Off Shore Electrics offers some great boats that are modified for speed and sold as RTR. Based on what I've spent building my own, I could have bought of of his and been fast on the water in no time.
Good luck with your decision and have fun - MT