1/8th Scale Unlimited Hydro

I'm looking to buy a 1/8 scale hydro to run in the namba district 3 scale unlimited class. I recently purchased a proboat Miss Bud (not to race) to see how I liked 1/8 scale and I was not happy with the way it handled. I want to build a boat I can race competitively. I am leaning towards a fiberglass hull. I do like the MHZ Miss Bud. Will a fiberglass hull be competitive against the scratch built wood hulls? I could go either way. I am new to racing but i have been building boats for many years. primarily in my younger years but I'm back and now the sky's the limit. I like to build high end high performance machines. I started out modding RTR boats, but that just didn't do it for me. I got the building buzz, but not the speed rush. Well my point being I'm all ears to any suggestions. Right now I'm just doing the research to find a hull to start with, then hardware, then engine, so on and so forth. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

tampa1330 said:

I'm looking to buy a 1/8 scale hydro to run in the namba district 3 scale unlimited class. I recently purchased a proboat Miss Bud (not to race) to see how I liked 1/8 scale and I was not happy with the way it handled. I want to build a boat I can race competitively. I am leaning towards a fiberglass hull. I do like the MHZ Miss Bud. Will a fiberglass hull be competitive against the scratch built wood hulls? I could go either way. I am new to racing but i have been building boats for many years. primarily in my younger years but I'm back and now the sky's the limit. I like to build high end high performance machines. I started out modding RTR boats, but that just didn't do it for me. I got the building buzz, but not the speed rush. Well my point being I'm all ears to any suggestions. Right now I'm just doing the research to find a hull to start with, then hardware, then engine, so on and so forth. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Phil Thomas T-5 great boat mills slow then the kiss of death at the start 06 IMPBA NATS CHAMP. Henry Velasco builds a sweet ride also. Then you have RC BOAT CO right in your back yard. I build a round nose.........

tampa1330 said:

I'm looking to buy a 1/8 scale hydro to run in the namba district 3 scale unlimited class. I recently purchased a proboat Miss Bud (not to race) to see how I liked 1/8 scale and I was not happy with the way it handled. I want to build a boat I can race competitively. I am leaning towards a fiberglass hull. I do like the MHZ Miss Bud. Will a fiberglass hull be competitive against the scratch built wood hulls? I could go either way. I am new to racing but i have been building boats for many years. primarily in my younger years but I'm back and now the sky's the limit. I like to build high end high performance machines. I started out modding RTR boats, but that just didn't do it for me. I got the building buzz, but not the speed rush. Well my point being I'm all ears to any suggestions. Right now I'm just doing the research to find a hull to start with, then hardware, then engine, so on and so forth. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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Being new to 1/8 scale, I would suggest that you start with a glass hull. Lots of great builders out there. Phil Thomas, Doug Shepherd, rc boat co, ect. Race for a year or two then make a wood hull with some well earned knowledge and your own modifications. Just my 2 pennies...

Bigbird

"Right now I'm just doing the research to find a hull to start with, then hardware, then engine, so on and so forth."

Tampa 1330,

Have a look at www.rcboatcompany.com . This builder/owner, Steve Gualtieri, is located in District 3, and races actively. www.accu-techrchardware.com makes hardware for the hulls. Steve is racing one of his hulls as the U-6 Miss Dewalt. He makes a variety of Unlimited hulls - Budweiser included. Have a look at his we site. CHEERS !!! Bob Johnson

Thanks for the input. So far I have two hulls to choose from that suit my taste. I have a vague idea of what engine I want to use but I'm still not sure. CMB, MAC, Kalistrotov are a few I've been told are good choices. Again I'm new so I don't know the +/- of each different one. Right now I have an AXE Rossi .21 in one of my RTR's that ran good. But really I haven't even had a chance to get it run in yet. I've only run it twice. I'm still running it high on the rich side, under propped and taking it very easy. I 've been told that breaking in the engine is a slow process and must be done right to get the max performance. I want to run my .21 a few more times before I move up to the 1/8's. So in other words I have a lot to learn. Thanks again for the suggestions. Keep'em coming!

"CMB, MAC, Kalistrotov are a few I've been told are good choices."

Tampa1330 (in Tallahassee),

- Have a look at numerous threads on this site about the availability of engines, and the parts to support same.

- I don't know about the availability of Kalistrotov (K Motors) or what kind of parts support they have. Friends that have run them in the past now are running CMBs.

- The MAC is not available and has no parts support.

- Soooooo - - about the only show in town is the CMB 67 Green head. Parts are available, the newest version I have seen has a bar stock carb on it with low speed needle. Numerous OS Max 9B carbs have been installed on the older CMBs, but it appears that their new carb will work fine. The large volume CMB pipe seems to run well in Florida with a www.rumracingproducts.com tip muffler installed. There are certainly other tuned pipe options - - some are available, some are not. CHEERS !!! Bob

Is anyone familiar with the HydroMarine 1/8 bud hull? I'm not sure if it meets the hull requirements for 1/8 scale hydro.

tampa1330 said:

Is anyone familiar with the HydroMarine 1/8 bud hull? I'm not sure if it meets the hull requirements for 1/8 scale hydro.

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If your going to run scale you should purchase a known legal hull like the ones mentioned other wise you may get a white elephant

Go w/ what Mikey says. Proven designs. RC Marine Designs (Phil Thomas), RC Boat Company ( Bill Fritz molds I think, and the craftsmanship looks excellent), Doug Shepherd, to mention a few. On the motor, either do a CMB ( good motor, parts available now) or if you want to wait for Andy to get the Macs out, then buy a used CMB, OS, etc... on ebay or on this board. I've seen some OS 65's go for as little as 175.00 online New in the Box. Tower still has parts for them. The OS is a very dependable motor and easy to dial in. It is not as powerful as the newer engines, but if you focus on driving and finishing, you'll win your fair share.

My 2 cents!!!

Rich

hi,,this guy i think makes a good fiberglass kit also,, http://www.thunderboats.toys4bigboyz.com/

mrgary said:

hi,,this guy i think makes a good fiberglass kit also,, http://www.thunderboats.toys4bigboyz.com/

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He makes some really nice boats. The only problem is that they are pollyester glass and you may be waiting a loooong time for a boat. You can also try a Joe Moceri boat from St Louis. He has a proven race hull that makes the 91 Bud and with a few mods will make the tony tiger boat , 91 Miss Madison among others. He is almost finished with a new mold that will make almost any Unlimited from 05 to 07. [email protected]

http://www.rcunlimiteds.org/ ...there's wooden one for sale on the RC Unlimiteds website in the "for sale" section, on the left side of the page - good example of a nice, complete hull. Looks like it might almost be "too nice" for racing... wicked paint job :huh: . Also, look in the "our boats" section, for photos of all the different boats - nice stuff. I tried building my own hull, and it seemed like it took forever to find all the little details, paint colors, graphics, etc ----frustrated, finally gave up and bought a complete '93 Miss T-Plus, built by Doug Shepard. Might be a good idea to be patient, and wait for a complete boat that has already been registered / raced in a district. ! ... my 2 cents.

yamaha74 said:

<a href="http://www.rcunlimiteds.org/" target="_blank">http://www.rcunlimiteds.org/</a> ...there's wooden one for sale on the RC Unlimiteds website in the "for sale" section, on the left side of the page - good example of a nice, complete hull. Looks like it might almost be "too nice" for racing... wicked paint job :huh: . Also, look in the "our boats" section, for photos of all the different boats - nice stuff. I tried building my own hull, and it seemed like it took forever to find all the little details, paint colors, graphics, etc ----frustrated, finally gave up and bought a complete '93 Miss T-Plus, built by Doug Shepard. Might be a good idea to be patient, and wait for a complete boat that has already been registered / raced in a district. ! ... my 2 cents.

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Amen, To build a scale boat would probably cost over $1500 easily with a new C.M.B.. Be patient save yoursef a couple hundred hours of labor. ...My 2 cents, Glenn

glenng said:

yamaha74 said:

<a href="http://www.rcunlimiteds.org/" target="_blank">http://www.rcunlimiteds.org/</a> ...there's wooden one for sale on the RC Unlimiteds website in the "for sale" section, on the left side of the page - good example of a nice, complete hull. Looks like it might almost be "too nice" for racing... wicked paint job :huh: . Also, look in the "our boats" section, for photos of all the different boats - nice stuff. I tried building my own hull, and it seemed like it took forever to find all the little details, paint colors, graphics, etc ----frustrated, finally gave up and bought a complete '93 Miss T-Plus, built by Doug Shepard. Might be a good idea to be patient, and wait for a complete boat that has already been registered / raced in a district. ! ... my 2 cents.

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Amen, To build a scale boat would probably cost over $1500 easily with a new C.M.B.. Be patient save yoursef a couple hundred hours of labor. ...My 2 cents, Glenn

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With todays prices it hard to build a good glass scale boat for under $2500.00 with Hull, Hardware and paint Decals A paint job and new CMB-67 could cost over $1000.00 The guy that is building this new DPS 07ELam will have will over $2500.00 in this scale

Also, check you're district to see what scales are already running / registered there. Bud hydro's are cool / popular, but what if there are a few already running in you're district. Probably a bit better to find a hull that is'nt being run in you're district... also makes the resale value a bit better. Another idea, might be to start with a Sport 40, if they are being run in you're district. Scales are cool... but if a crash happens, they can be a lot of work to fix / matching paint / re-doing decals, etc

Here's some good pics of some of the sport 40's on this site http://www.intlwaters.com/index.php?autoco...t%2040&st=0

I think I'm gonna pick up a PT super sport 45. That seems like a good place to start. And I really like the PT hulls. I'll hold off on the 1/8th until I get some track time on a sport 40. I'll keep my eye's open for a 1/8th I like though. There seems like a lot that goes into the 1/8ths like hull specs, scale paint and other requirements that really take some prepared planning. Thanks for the help. I'll post pics once I get the setup ready to race.

tampa1330 said:

I think I'm gonna pick up a PT super sport 45. That seems like a good place to start. And I really like the PT hulls. I'll hold off on the 1/8th until I get some track time on a sport 40. I'll keep my eye's open for a 1/8th I like though. There seems like a lot that goes into the 1/8ths like hull specs, scale paint and other requirements that really take some prepared planning. Thanks for the help. I'll post pics once I get the setup ready to race.

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If you build it exactly per Phils instructions, which are VERY good you will have a boat that is fast and handles good right off the board, I thoroughly enjoyed putting mine together and racing it. I have a Mac in mine....stick a CMB in yours.......at least you can get parts, and they are great engines!

mrgary said:

hi,,this guy i think makes a good fiberglass kit also,, http://www.thunderboats.toys4bigboyz.com/

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Nice website! Who made that ? It is my old website for Dick Caspari. Dick has been struggling last year. Hope he is doing better now. I will in the upcoming months build a new website for him.

I hesitate to add my two cents here as there is a lot of good information- maybe too much- already! But here goes anyway...

My own learning curve for becoming in any way competitive in R/CU has taken a five year investment. Some get there quicker, but I think that this is an average time frame. The reason for this, I believe, is that there is so much that can go wrong with a scale hydro that it takes a long time to learn how to sort one out to optimum performance- which is certainly a requirement for the competitive result you seek. It also takes many laps to become a good driver. you may have a lot of laps already in your .21 hydro, but this is something different. So it is a process and it is perhaps a good idea to think of it that way and develop your program accordingly.

Having made wood, carbon fiber and fiberglass hulls myself, I think that making your own wooden hull is the best way to get started. I say this because there is wood in most all of them anyway, somewhere, and wooden hulls are the easiest to modify and repair. Plan on tweaking sponson shapes a few times until the boat really gets to optimum speed and ride characteristics. Wooden construction also forces you to scratch build and, if this has any appeal to you, I think this is the most instructive way to learn the fine points of hull set up, systems management and construction. Contrary to popular myth, wooden boats are every bit as fast and any other type. IN R/CU, many of the very fastest hulls are wood. I like the Roger Newton plans from Newton Marine. They worked very well for me. Besides, Rog needs the dough (he is flying down to Florida to race with his buddies again, I hear).

Good luck!

Marc