The current climate of R/C boating?

[Tim Kish]

I think three threads show the current issues. .

IMPBA Nitro Nats Canceled

2014 NAMBA Electric Nats

2013 World Cup

Some types of events get canceled for lack of entries and some run into their entry limits. Times are changing.

Lohring Miller

Not a lot of truth in what your trying to say Lohring

Nitro events have been very well attended through out the entire season, the IMPBA Nats were canceled 100% because of very poor timing and nothing else.Just take a look at the numbers for the Fall Nats and Hobart and you will see.

Tim

 

[Grimracer]

Spot on Tim!

 

[Tim Kish]

This is what we need to see more of in our hobby

 

[dwilfong]

Here is another problem. Look at the price of a eng.

If you want to get started in the hobby most will start with a .21 as there are some very good inexpensive eng out there.

Then there are those that run car eng in a boat.

But you find out real quick that it is hard to tune a small eng and get frustrated and give up.

There are some .45 eng that are around $100.

But no one promotes them as thy are not top performers.

All you here are people talking about the $500 eng.

I think there needs to be acceptance of the cheaper eng in are hobby.

This will bring in more people and help the hobby grow.

Here is one example of a great starter eng.

https://mecoa.biz/shopdisplayproducts.asp?catalogid=425

No starter needed. In the right hull it would be a very inexpensive option.

Design a JAE style boat kit around this and it would be a blast to run for a beginner.

Easy on the fuel and easy to tune on 25% nitro.

Dose not have to be a state of the art racing boat to have fun.

 

[Ron Olson]

Is nitro dying off and being replaced by gas and FE's? I look at the price tag on nitro angines and know that I can buy a modified Zenoah or RCMK for the same price. Hull and hardware prices are that much different. I'm buying a $3.25 spark plug that will last me a long time as opposed to a nitro plug that $7.50 and might last a heat. Even with running Coleman camp fuel and Honda HP-2, it's cheaper than a gallon of low-percentage nitro. Set-it-and-forget-it needle settings takes care of one more problem.

Lots of us would like ot see more classes where they are more low-cost but as I've seen from the gas boaters is that even those spiral out of control.

 

[Grimracer]

Nitro Rigger for a beginner?.. I have seen more people get out of the hobby tying to make a rigger run well then ANYOTHER hull style.

BUT.. I am open to free thinking.

Grim

 

[Ron Olson]

Mike used to make a very good low-cost boat for a beginner, the Wild Thing .12. You could drop in any air-cooled .12 motor in, cheap radio system, hardware, etc. and have a surprisingly fast little boat. I've still got mine. Jerry Crowther also has a .12 Seaducer.

 

[Randy Cartright]

Look at the way RTR has gone nothing for the beginer.

 

[Zach Vought]

You know what I see right now? I see what's needed happening. It has to e discussed to ever come up with a solution. My first boat was a rigger with a wore out k&b that wouldn't run for nothing. We're not all like me though. I wanted that darn thing to run and I finally got it too. Do I thing a rigger is the way to go? NO. Not as a first boat. I don't think some of these rtr rigs are either. Gas boats and FE really are convenient. No extra field gear to tote around etc... Cheaper is a novel idea. I like the little .12 boats and would love one of those little wild things. More than anything, we have to continue to discuss it and find ways to improve it.

 

[Blair Warren]

Years ago when first starting out with the R/C boats, my dad and I joined the Oakland R/C Boat Club. The club had a pretty cool idea...a "club boat". It was a Hughey 21 with a stock K&B engine, same prop for all the boats, and they had club races. The boats weren't terribly expensive (or fast), but they were a ton of fun. It was a good place to start for a lot of guys, most went on to bigger, faster boats and sanctioned races, some were content to race at the club level for fun. I know times are different now, and this sort of thing probably wouldn't fly in this day and age, but it seemed to work. If your club has enough members... a .12 boat for a club boat....???

I know that the engines now seem expensive, but they have always been expensive. Here is a Tidewater Price list from Dec 1986, look at the prices...but remember it's all relative. The prices look cheap compared to todays, but the price of P67 (1 pc case) $145.00 was a LOT of money back then.

The first boat I ever built was a Dumas Dragon Fly 40, the second was a Crapshooter 40 with an OPS40. Then it was too late...we were hooked.

My dad and I raced District 2 for a lot of years, had a lot of fun, made a lot of friends. But in model boat racing, as in life you are going to run into a few individuals that take themselves and the hobby way to serious, and that is not good. A few buttheads can mess up a good thing.

I have not raced competitively in a long time, but that will change next year.

 

[David Bryant]

funny, I remember those TideWater ad's (back in the days when magazines, and mom & pop hobby shops, still drove the hobby). You would send 50 cents or a dollar in the mail to get a catalog representing a manufacturers product line (K&B, Octura, Dumas, Futaba, Airtronics, etc.,...). Even though we're now in the web-age, there really are'nt as many respective rc boat related manufacturers present as there were back in the pre-internet days. These days, it seems, it's more of a giant "flea market", with sites like eBay and Amazon. And almost word-of-mouth in regards to aquiring specific items (ie. custom made metal fuel tanks for example).

Moreover I feel it's all about "exposure" in regards to growing the rc boat hobby (or sport). If there were many more local sites in the suburbs more folks (kids and adults) would be naturally "exposed" and interested in getting involved. How could you not be enticed by the sites and sounds of experiencing a few (nitro powered) boats running? Instead most active rc boat sites are on the edge of un-incorporated zone, or much more rural area's, way out of the way. The action needs to be more easily accessible. But I guess, at the same time, it's probably difficult to aquire more localized ponds or lakes due to regulations and local laws/permissions.

 

[David Bryant]

 

[shoboat]

Fellas,

I can only tell you from my business the past 12 years that my propeller business

has grown into possibly a full time job. I have way more work than I could possibly

ever do. As far as the cost of model boating I just bought O'Donnell plugs a few weeks ago

for $2.08 each on EBay thru Phil's Hobby in Fort Wayne, IN. Glenn Quarles our Nova Rossi

Dealer has great quality engines starting at $165.00 for a nice 12 motor or $215.00 for a 21.

What I am going to do in district #2 this year is to try and establish a little 12 hydro series for boaters

who don't want to spend a lot of money and still compete and have fun. JAE boats in my opinion have

really helped out our nitro hobby a ton in the last five or so years. The economy is starting to grow again

slowly so hopefully we can keep playing toy boats well into the future. Electric boats I believe are going

to be a bigger part of our hobby in the future, as I see this as the biggest new entry level for new people

in our hobby. Electric boats have a lot less drawbacks and are plenty fast enough for most beginners.

We live in a Plug And Play society pretty much, and this is just what the electric models bring to the hobby.

Now for me, I am still a nitro guy who really enjoys testing: 12,21,&45 Hydros mainly, when I am not working

on a bunch of propellers so we can all have a lot of fun. This is the Best hobby for me and I plan on doing

Whatever it takes to make it still grow so we can all have fun together. So district #2 members get those

Little 12 Hydros ready for a little four race series in Michigan next year.

I gotta get back in the shop and get some orders out today!

I Would Like To Thank:

Glenn Quarles w/Nova Rossi Engines

Joe Petro at Zipp Kits

Rod Geraghty and his JAE Development Team

David Hall

Martin Truex Jr.

For Helping Us All Enjoy Our Hobby!

Thanks For Reading,

Mark Sholund

 

[Ken Webb]

I like the idea of rtr boats,but their cost is getting a bit high.Most people don't know that it's a pretty good deal for all you get. I would like some of the manuf. to supply boats only w/o hardware so a newbe could enjoy some installing of needed parts.

 

[Ron Olson]

The RTR's are a relly good buy as most of us couldn't put one together for the price. That's what disapponted me when I raced 4-wheelers though as that's when the RTR's were just on the rise. People buying them didn't know how to repair them because they don't know how they went together. They would pay the hobby shop $30.00 an hour for them to fix what was broken.

 

[Bill Gibson]

Lots of really good thoughts shared here....Really! I tried to think back to 1979/80 when i got into this HOBBY and compare it to how it is now, and....

1)The overall cost is way higher overall compared to those days! I thought about what i made back then, and what i spent on the hobby on boats, motors, hardware, nitro, etc., and i see a HUGE difference!...no average kid with average income parents could possibly afford this hobby today..maybe because some of us have tried to turn this hobby into a sport??? I still find that to be an absolute JOKE!

2)This hobby is full of just FANTASTIC people who are courteous,polite, congenial...and they would do just about anything to help each other, or more importantly A NEW BOATER out in any way they could!! Sadly this hobby also has more than its share of egotistical, HOT TEMPERED, inconsiderate, morons who really could care less about anything or anybody except for themselves and that BLESSED ALMIGHTY TROPHY and the bragging rights that go with it...ive seen GROWN MEN bumping chests, and using language that would scare any kid, or they're PARENTS away from this hobby in a second...to me these are the 2 most important things that need fixing for this hobby to have a chance of growing...ive taken a break from boating for now, and am doing some things that have nothing to do with competing, and cost alot less....i have to say that im really enjoying myself, but i do hope to run boats again soon...it is a great hobby with lots of great people!

 

[David Bryant]

I think the .12 hydro class series race is a great idea (great entry-level rc boat experience)

 

[Zach Vought]

I like the 12 boats

 

[Randy Rapedius]

I've been pushing my theory for years and years. We have used this theory in IMPBA D1 with some veery good success.

What we need is to get people to the ponds and on the water. Telling them they MUST have this style of boat or that type of motor is NOT the way to get them active. Let them race in a ''Novice Class'' with whatever they have. Let them run the old Prather LapCat tunnel they bought on eBay or the old Dumas Atlas Van Lines Sport 40 they picked up at a garage sale or even the new ZippKit Gas Crackerbox they put together on their own. The idea is not to make the racing field even. The idea is to allow them to run whatever they have with other beginners regardless of age in a more relaxed and fun atmosphere. The Class would be geared towards kids and those adults who are just starting out and require some experience. There is only one rule in this class HAVE FUN. Once a new racer feels confident, they can start racing in other classes. Getting them on the water and having fun is the key. As seasoned racers our job is to help them out as much as possible.

 

[Blair Warren]

Another factor that may be influencing the lack of participation may be the online gaming options that are available today. Most homes have some sort of highspeed internet service, and the kids can get a game and play online. They don't have to load up the car or van and drive to the pond to participate.

I raced in leagues online using Nascar 2003 for many years, we had voice chat and made friends all over the country.

You guys probably have seen this site: http://www.iracing.com/

Join iRacing and you can race cars online against people from all over the world. It is a subscription service and can be somewhat pricey depending on what you decide to race.

This is just one example of what is available online..