I really like this boat, so much in fact that after my first one wore out, I bought another one.  That is why there are two separate construction articles.  The boat features a stepped deep-v hull which is fairly light weight. It uses two motors running though a 1.8 ratio gearbox to turn a single prop. An earlier version ran 4 motors though 2 gearboxes but the factory dropped this design some time ago. The boat is designed to be run off standard RC battery packs and can carry two or even three running in parallel to increase the run time.  Out of the box, the gear box requires some attention to prevent premature breakage.  Once the gearbox problems are fixed, the boat responds well to modifications.

This hull has two separate compartments. One for the engine and drive train, the other for the batteries and radio equipment. These compartments are easily made water tight by taping them shut and are covered so the tape does not show.  This boat is very watertight and this is one of the few boats that I would (and have) run in salt water.

ABC Hobby makes several optional upgrades for this boat including a bearing set that replaces the standard bushings, a water cooled motor plate, a high strength drive gear (a must have), an aluminum gear box plate and a prop shaft bushing to allow you to use aftermarket propellers.  I've tried most of these upgrades and found them to be useful.  The construction section has more information on them.

Conclusion

I really like this boat because it responds so well to easy hop ups and really looks good.  Even with the original motors and propeller, it runs at a decent clip yet is very controllable.  It's one of the few fast electrics I own that is totally water tight and I take advantage of this by running the boat in the ocean.  With all this going for it the boat is unfortunately hampered by a design flaw in the gearbox that will cause the main gear to self destruct if the flaw is not corrected.  The problem is easily fixed but you need to realize it is there before damage is done.  It's a shame as this is such a fun boat and would make a nice entry level kit.

If you are willing to fix the design problem with the gear box, I would not hesitate to recommend this boat to you.  You can run it anywhere and it's fun to modify this boat for ever increasing speeds.  I have yet to outgrow this boat and don't expect to find the hulls limits anytime soon.

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