rigelkent09

iTrader: (46)

i need some help picking up my first boat, im thingking of the traxxas spartan, would it be the best choice?? if not, any recommendations??thanks..

roadrashracing2

what where you looking to get out of a boat, and how much are you looking to spend?

kobiwan

iTrader: (12)

I too need help picking my first boat. I was almost ready to buy the Traxxas spartan but the more I researched it the more I started having second thoughts and here is why. I quit racing touring car a few months ago. I was really into it. I had some of the best equipment. I ran xrays, had Futaba 4PKS radio, you name it I had it. But I Just got burned out. It no longer was fun for me. I seemed more mad than happy when I went to big races. I work swing shifts whch doesn't help with racing either. So I wanted to stay in the hobby but do something that wasn't competitive, something I could just have fun with when I had the time. The traxxas says to obtain speeds of 50+mph use 6S lipo set-up. But when I went to the forum on the traxxas web site everyone said you have to replace the drive line and pretty much all the internals to run the 6S config. I'm done spending a crap load of money! I just want something that I can have fun with and will do what it advertises without spending more money. So I have been looking at the Aquacraft UL-1 Hydro. It boasts speeds of 65+mph with 2 2S lipos and a aftermarket prop. So from what I can tell so far it seems to hold up to what Aquacraft says it can do. Does anyone have any knowledge of the Aquacraft UL-1? Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

turbonutt

if you're looking for a V hull I'd look at the Revolt or Impulse 31. You get the fiberglass hull and a standard 3/16 prop shaft so you can use props that are readilly available. Th Spartan on 6 cell is fast, but we have a guy with one at our pond, he runs an extra water pick up just for the esc and it still doesnt last on 6 cell. The Spartan is really a 4cell boat, they replaced the electronics with Castle, which they should have in the first place, and bumped the motor up to an 1800KV, definately not a 6 cell motor

kobiwan

iTrader: (12)

Is the Rovolt as fast as the 6S Spartan? I want something that runs at least 50mph.

8ight-e

iTrader: (58)

Revolt is a great boat. From what I've seen, just got one myself but 40-45 with optional props seems to be the top with stock motor and electronics. Could swap esc for a hobbywing seaking 120amp and run 5s for a nice extra kick.

kobiwan

iTrader: (12)

I'm pretty much over the spartan. I heard too many bad things about it. Now it is between the Aquacraft Revolt 30 or the Aquacraft UL-1 hydro. I love the look of the hydros, but noticed in youtube vids you can't turn them as sharp as the v-hulls and heard they don't like choppy water. Well no boat likes choppy water but I heard hydros like it the least. In your opinion, what would I have the most fun with a v-hull or a hydro. I think the UL-1 is faster though. The web site boasts 65mph. I want speed!! LOL. What do you mean 5s? Just one 5s lipo? I thought it takes dual lipos?

turbonutt

The Revolt can run a single battery or dual battery set up. The UL-1 will actually turn on a dime, and turn at a higher speed than a mono, as long as the water is like glass, a little chop and they become scary. And to do 65mph with a UL-1 will take a nicely massaged prop.

kobiwan

iTrader: (12)

What do recomend for my first boat. A v-hull or the hydro? Also, does runing dual batteries make it faster or just longer run times? What would I have to do to achieve 50mph with the Revolt spending the least amount of money? (if that's possible)

turbonutt

personally I would recomend the v hull, just because it will run in rougher water than the UL-1. The UL-1 is a nice boat, just a little finiky. Running 2 batteries can give you more run time depending on what they are. Most people will run 2 2 cells as a 4 cell, which is what is recomended for the boat. Or you can run 2 x 4 cells in parallel which will increase the run time but make the boat heavier. To do 50 in the Revolt will probably take a pretty hot prop and some good batteries, I wouldn't run anything less than 40c. And when you start propping up only run it for a minute or two then pull it in and check the temps. These are running on the edge and a little too much prop can smoke the esc or puff batteries pretty quick

kobiwan

iTrader: (12)

How fast is the Revolt out of the box using 2 Thunder Power 2cell 50c 5200mAh packs. Thats what I have at the moment. I used them in my touring cars. Does it matter that they have bullet connectors? or are deans recomended? If get it, how much faster would it go if I had same batteries, but put a Seaking 120amp esc in it and the next size faster motor?

turbonutt

I believe out of the box it'll do high 30's to low 40's with the prop balanced polished and sharpened. Bullets are fine, deans I would stay away from, they won't handle the amp draw. They get hot enough to un-solder the wires in high amp draw situations as they are only really rated for about 60 amps I think. I use EC5's, a lot of people run 6mm or 8mm bullets. As for how fast it will go with a different motor I couldn't tell you. If you're getting into electric boats join offshoreelectrics.com, ton's of info on FE boats. There is also a speed calculator on the site that can give you approxomate speeds to expect by imputing motor, battery and prop specs.

8ight-e

iTrader: (58)

I'd expect 36mph no changes out of the box. If you 'prop up' to a Grim L45X68 you can expect around 45mph (just changing the prop $20). I run bullets off the ESC direct into the lipo's if they are that type. If you have wires on the lipo's the EC5's are easily the best option, personally my second choice if I had to use connectors would be the traxxas ones... but the ec5's are WAY better.

kobiwan

iTrader: (12)

I noticed on the Aquacraft web site the the UL-1 comes with a 2030kv motor while the Revolt comes with a 1800kv motor. Could I put the 2030kv motor in the revolt? If so how much faster would it be? Would I have less run time? I currently have 5200mAh packs. What would my approximate run time be? I was thinking about going to 6400 or higher for longer run times because i know I will be going all out most of hte time.

8ight-e

iTrader: (58)

That motor is drop in, not sure if it will like the stock prop or not though. Faster rpms, less torque.... May have to play to find the sweet spot. I'd expect less runtime any time u gain speed

Maybe better off with a 5s stable esc and 5s lipos with stock motor.

Keep us updated, I have both motors as well but have yet to play with the 2050