svpracer

I got a race coming up on july 4th with family and friends ( probably 10 to 12 boats ) with a few gentlemen's bets going on the side. None of us have raced boats before and I might be the only one with any RC racing experience at all.


I am looking at the Zonda Cat as my first boat. It will be purchased RTR.

Its got all the flashy bits being carbon and twin motored? But other than that, I dont know whether this is a competitive boat to run. Are the motors (SSS 3674 2075kv) and props ( dont know the pitch ) Rudder length ( 125mm ) built out for any type of water ? or do they build em to be driven in flat calm duck ponds.

There are no rules except it should be a Cat. Its the delta river we are running on ( slow moving wide river ) in a marina, but it can get pretty choppy as the day goes on and tide shifts. I figured a 39-45inch boat should do ok, but i really have no idea here.

The rest of the field is going to be filled out with the Traxxas cat and a couple of Pro Marines.

Open to suggestions for a different boat all together based off of the water I am running on and my experience level ( 0 with boat 10 with RC cars )

I would add that the budget is within reason. I am not really looking for an A 1st place finish, think more B main podium finish. I dont think I am going to need to work to hard to beat these guys, I just dont want to get out there with something that wont even compete.

roadrashracing2

What are peoples budgets, do people have boats now, do people have batteries now, is this just going to be a one time deal? If you are looking at the traxxas boats that $400 just for the boat then you at least need 2 batteries to run it at will give you 4-6 of run time, you would at least want to have 2-3 sets of batteries, so 4-6 batteries per boat. You could be into one boat at least $6-700 at least per boat depending on what people have.

svpracer

Thanks for the response, but I dont know if you read what I wrote or maybe I wasnt clear.

Im looking at the Zonda RTR and was hoping to find out if that set up is good enough to walk a few traxxas and a couple pro marine MTR.. all are RTR.

and will it handle a river with a little chop or is it understood that these boats are really only good for running in flat water.

I mentioned being open to suggestions if the Zonda is not the boat to do what I need it to do under those conditions with those boats.. but any suggestion has to be a Cat.

SteveM

iTrader: (165)

That hull is 41 inches long and with the right setup can do 80 mph on the water. That's ideal conditions of course and calm water with maybe a few light ripples.

Running in a larger body of water with any size waves will slow you down, but cats are very stable and handle rougher water better than most hull types. Best bet is to try the hull box stock first to see how it runs, turns and handles the water conditions.

As with anything RTR, be sure to go over all the hardware to check for any loose bits.

Slo_E4

iTrader: (62)

There's a lot to be discussed about when it comes to FE boats. The zonda would not be chosen very often by experienced boaters. I'll just tell you that much. You wanna make things easy? Grab an aquacraft Lucas oil hull. Upgrade motor and esc to 1800kv and a suitable esc, and run 5s in parallel. You should place just fine. You wanna make things hard? Go grab a cheetah hull and build it from ground up yourself, for damn near the same price.

svpracer

Thanks Steve and Slo for the info and advice. Im going to take a look at your suggestions. I do appreciate tip on the Zonda not being a racers boat.

I will look at the aquacraft..if I am feeling up to the challenge I will price out the Cheetah. Im pretty sketched about trying to build a kit boat for my first boat.