Older rigger boats, worth buying?

[Big roy]

Ok you rigger guru's here is a question for you all. I know we have lots of new good boats out there everything from Hawks to Roadrunners. These had to warp up from other boats and designs, what were some of the older boats and how did they fare to the new stuff? My son runs a older .45 Coyote that runs like mad, (not bad for a $145.00 ebay boat, RTR) . I am asking this because over the deep freeze here I may look to add another or even two more boats to the armada already in force. Never know what will be sitting there for a new home.

 

[Chris Wood]

personally.. i would look at the newer stuff. not saying the older is bad.( i guess i would have to know HOW MUCH OLDER )

but if it is in the years that are no longer produced it may be hard to find parts and such

hope i helped

chris

 

[Bill Gibson]

Roy, it all depends on what you want to do with the boat.....if you are just running for fun and are on a tight budget, than running the old riggers (coyote, hughey, etc) can be a blast!! back in the day most of the older boats were set up at angles that allowed them to run "lighter" on the water, as the older engines did not have the power output that the newer engines have..the older hulls tend to run more on the ragged edge which is exciting, BUT you also have to accept the fact that you will probably have more blowovers! I still race a 20 year old 20 coyote from time to time,not because its fast because it certainly is NOT, but because it has a nasty habbit of finishing heats.....If you want to race competitvily you really do need a modern hull, or be willing to make many changes to an old hull which may cost you more in time and money than if you simply got a modern hull. I have some old boats that I will never part with just because its still fun to remember how it was done "back in the day"!!Bill

 

[Ron Zaker Jr]

Ok you rigger guru's here is a question for you all. I know we have lots of new good boats out there everything from Hawks to Roadrunners. These had to warp up from other boats and designs, what were some of the older boats and how did they fare to the new stuff? My son runs a older .45 Coyote that runs like mad, (not bad for a $145.00 ebay boat, RTR) . I am asking this because over the deep freeze here I may look to add another or even two more boats to the armada already in force. Never know what will be sitting there for a new home.

Just because boats are older does not really mean they are not competitive. If the older boat was ahead of it's time,then it would still be competitive today. I have boats sitting in plastic bags that are still very strong,I just moved on to other "brands" for various reasons. Hope that helps.

Ron Jr

 

[Josh Stollfuss]

I have an older .45 Road Runner, that I use mostly as a play boat. I put it together with spare parts from other projects. I have raced it a few times. It's not as fast as a crapshooter, or an eagle SGX, but it usually finishes heats. I bought as a cheap way to see if I liked running riggers. It's all fun. Josh-

 

[Bill Gibson]

I have an older .45 Road Runner, that I use mostly as a play boat. I put it together with spare parts from other projects. I have raced it a few times. It's not as fast as a crapshooter, or an eagle SGX, but it usually finishes heats. I bought as a cheap way to see if I liked running riggers. It's all fun. Josh-

I think that just about ANY properly set up roadrunner could be competitive with most anything out there today...i dont own one (wish i did) but ive seen enough of them raced to know that they appear to be a VERY good race boat!!

 

[Josh Stollfuss]

It's an OLD road runner, I bought the hull used off I/W 3-4 years ago (Cheap) put an old Picco 45 in it. an old pipe, etc, etc, I figured I had around $225.00 in it total. I named the boat "Spare Parts" because that's what it was built with. It runs ok, I've never really spent the time with it to get it set up totally correct. I race it 2x this year, it's more of an "also ran" type boat. But hey it's all fun.

Josh-

 

[Bill Gibson]

It's an OLD road runner, I bought the hull used off I/W 3-4 years ago (Cheap) put an old Picco 45 in it. an old pipe, etc, etc, I figured I had around $225.00 in it total. I named the boat "Spare Parts" because that's what it was built with. It runs ok, I've never really spent the time with it to get it set up totally correct. I race it 2x this year, it's more of an "also ran" type boat. But hey it's all fun.
Josh-

EXACTLY! 225.00 in a 40 hydro? Thats my kinda boat!!Im the first to admit that im a cheap ass, but no matter how hard folks try to justify it, its still hard to deal with the fact that that to be competitive with a 20 or 40 hydro one might have to spend 1000.00 to 1200.00 dollars unless one has money to BURN!! And more power to those that do, im just not one of em!!

 

[Big roy]

I am kind of the same way at times, and could not justify $1000.00 I might not win, but if I finish I would be happy.

 

[norm j]

remember guys.the fastest boats are not always winners! you have to have a steady heat racing boat! roadrunners are good for that,even a hawk set up properly is good!

from norm

fmbc

 

[Josh Stollfuss]

Yea $225.00 not counting the radio gear and servos, The I paid $125 for the hull shipped. it had the rudder and strut, I made the motor mount. it was missing the radio box lid, and the cowl was in bad shape. The motor was a $60 special off Ebay, It's an old Picco .45 that must have kicked a rod at one time as the botttom of the case was aluminum welded. The motor has run great, I put an old Carl Brey carb on it, the reast of the parts came from left overs from other projects. I've had allot of fun with it for the small amount I've invested into it. So IMHO there is nothing wrong with an old rigger if all you want to do is have some fun for a small investment. Heck, slow and steady is all it takes to win a race sometimes.

Josh-

 

[katman]

I have a 60 cobra I will pull out and race from time to time.

Allways finishes, and of trophied a ton with it. Ron is right,

if a rigger is set up right it can be competitive. It never fails

for someone to come up to me at a race and ask if that is a wagner

hull and how good it runs.

Keith

 

[Bill Gibson]

I have a 60 cobra I will pull out and race from time to time.Allways finishes, and of trophied a ton with it. Ron is right,

if a rigger is set up right it can be competitive. It never fails

for someone to come up to me at a race and ask if that is a wagner

hull and how good it runs.

Keith

Cobras were then and still are now just plain MEAN lookin boats.... always liked them.. good in rough water too, ill bet.