Setting Up an Entry-Level Racing Class

By Jay Turner

Running a fast electric boat can be a lot of fun, but after a while it loses some of its appeal if you are running alone. What is needed then is some competition, some informal racing with other boaters to keep up the interest. This is one reason why boaters join clubs, so that they can run with others. The problem with this is that if the new member has a kit boat which is not competitive when racing against the club racers’ high-tech race boats, he will not be too happy always losing with almost no hope of a win. How can this situation be remedied so that the new boater stays interested and can progress to faster boats?

The Anchorage Model Boat Club recognized this problem five years ago, and we chose the Crackerbox as our entry-level class. By staying with the rules for this class adopted by the three FE boating organizations, all boats were very similar in performance. To insure enough boats to make a class, several "old" club members ran them too. While the class was reasonably successful, it proved frustrating to new boaters because the CBoxes are prone to flip over in competition. Frankly, it proved frustrating to experienced boaters too.

We finally chose the TurboVee kit boat as our "spec" entry-level class. We specified that the boat must use a six cell pack, can use either the stock motor and prop or the Trinity Sapphire 17-turn motor and the Octura 1435 prop. With the latter setup the Turbos were quite fast, inexpensive, and performance is virtually identical. When this model was discontinued we chose the Kyosho Viper as the new "spec" hull, allowing the same Sapphire motor and an Octura x431 prop. With these inexpensive, simple and reliable models the club gained quite a few new members, and racing was much closer and more interesting. These models can still flip over ( not as readily as the Crackerboxes did ), but they offer rougher water ability, more speed and better handling.

Faster speeds can be attained with more cells and hotter motors, but run time decreases, maintenance is more involved, and past a certain speed the boat will become unstable anyway. If fun racing is the goal, these boats on 6 cells and the mild mod motor provide exciting racing at speeds beginners can handle on a crowded racecourse. We’ve found them to be excellent entry-level boats.

[ A few tips to increase the performance and reliability of these boats may prove helpful. Replace the motor brushes with hard serrated brushes and heavy springs, and advance the timing by 1/8^th to 3/16^th inches. Keep the motor bearings and prop shaft lubricated for longer wear and better performance. Also, the mechanical speed controllers which come with these boats are okay for awhile, but they will wear out, and perhaps overheat with the improved motor. An ESC will work much better, but be sure to waterproof both it and the receiver. ]