Which electric cat models today are fast/reliable?

[PORT]

Hey guys

For Christmas I am looking to buy my 15 yr old a a nice fast electric RC boat, what is a good cat model? He has a gas blackjack boat now, and most of the time it's a pain in the ass to run, so I figured we'd switch it up and go battery. (Running in salt water)

[pyro]

I have the electric Blackjack 29. It's fast, but dangerous. It's very fun and tame on smooth water and 4s power. On 6s, it's a serious blowover risk, especially if there's any little waves. Mine has ran over 55 mph. When it goes over, the canopy tends to crack or break, and they have NEVER stocked replacements since they day they came out almost 2 years ago. Raise and modify the strut and tube for more height and more negative thrust angle, keep the packs forward, and it becomes a bit more tame, but then it's a stuffing risk.

A friend has the HobbyKing "Apparition" boat and it seems very well-mannered. Not too expensive either.

Lipo batteries require special care. Buy good ones like Hyperion (they're expensive.) Store them discharged, don't leave them charged for long, use voltage monitors and alarms, don't over-discharge, etc.

[tux974]

Frank, good info above!!
You can also get with Tom Foley on here he know all about those RC toys. He is a kid at heart and races them!.....:D

[obrien]

The pro boat miss geico is a pretty good boat with room to grow

Or you could just build one. I would do it with an Aeromarine mean machine with the same power that is in a miss geico on 4s. That will get a boat that will run about 50 mph and will turn great

I would be very careful regardless of what you choose though. Fe and salt water don't go well together

[pyro]

The Miss Geico and Blackjack 29 are the same hull. I'm not sure if they have updated the MG, but the BJ29 is 6s capable out of the box, and with an offset rudder. They both usually need some hull blueprinting to get the best performance.

My all-stock BJ29 has ran 58.1 on the stock prop with some sharpening and balancing.

[obrien]

I was thinking he was running the older black jack hull since he has the nitro version

[specboatops]

What about any of the V hull boats, are they any good or do you really just want to stick with the cats ?

[pyro]

Yeah, Vees are less prone to stuffing and blowing over. They're more friendly in chop.

[fichrman2]

Yeah, Vees are less prone to stuffing and blowing over. They're more friendly in chop.

Unless its a Seadunker - Er, I mean Seaducer :D

Please be very careful with Lipo's and Salt water - I would suggest at MIN a Lipo bag and Ammo case for storage- OUTSIDE of the house.
PORT - If F/E is the way you wanna go , sign in over on Offshore Electrics and do a little poking around first, also talk to Steve Vecarro (sp) that runs the sight and also an F/E online store- good people :cheers:

Tux- GoFast Foley is a Nitro nut like me- when it comes to F/E , well yeah, not so much :D

[PORT]

I really appreciate all of the good advice. I was just going to go with a cat because of the looks. I am going to go to the above site and see what he suggests
Thanks

[obrien]

Andy you have forgotten what I have been racing the last few years

granted I did make a nice smoke show at the herb Stewart race this year

[fichrman2]

Andy you have forgotten what I have been racing the last few years

granted I did make a nice smoke show at the herb Stewart race this year

You know, I forget you boys are on the REAL boat site as well :rolleyes:
Thats something for him to consider as well- an F/E Tunnel would be a TON easier maintenance / cost wise
and still be plenty of bang for the buck and a TON of fun to actually drive, yes drive-
a mono is point and pull trigger-
a cat is pretty much the same cept you lift a little if it fluffs :D
a Tunnel you drive ;)

BTW Jeff, my camera is ALWAYS with me at the races - lmao :cheers:

311563

[fox88gt]

The Aquacraft Lucas Oil is a great catamaran for the money. 1800Kv motor and 60 amp ESC stock, you'll need two 2S packs in series because one pack fits on each side of the motor. I would recommend an upgraded flex shaft and a better prop right away. The boat is a ton of fun to drive and the handling is great. It also doesn't have any bad habits like the I've heard about the Miss Geico and BJ. I've blown mine over and stuffed it and it seems to be built very well, no stress cracks or anything.

[obrien]

awesome andy! it was even still smoking! that's what I get for being cheap and running old batteries

[johnmiffco]

the aquacraft lucas boat is a great starter boat for speed and attidude,,,
as stated upgraded flex shaft and a good worked prop hauls and affordable
also the joysway wildcat boat is a good starter,,,,little longer and wider
and dialed in will run 50 range also

[mikej]

I bought my 6 & 8 year old the Lucas Oil boats and they have been a blast and pretty good over the last 4 months. So far so good and they have been hard on them.