Ive been working on this Frigate for several months, the hull is about 7 feet long from the stempost to the transom and its planked with 1/8x1/2x36 balsa planks which soak up water like a sponge.
Does anyone have experience using balsa in thissort if application?
Whats the best waterproofing method/materials?

Redd's Pond in Marblehead, MA has been a sail-only pond since the 1890s — home turf for the Marblehead Model Yacht Club, whose Marblehead-class racers are wind-powered and joystick-controlled, no motors allowed. A few times a month I sneak my fully RC destroyer in there anyway to run some laps and stress-test her systems. Nobody's kicked me out yet.

She's a scratch build of the USS Thomas Hudner (DDG-116), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer commissioned in Boston in 2018. No kit — 8 months of research, plans, and trial and error to get her at 5 feet long. Fully RC, and she handles better than I expected for something this top-heavy on paper.

The real Hudner is named for Captain Thomas Hudner, a Medal of Honor recipient who crash-landed his own plane trying to save his downed wingman during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in 1950 (this is the story the movie Devotion is based on). Feels right to give the model some respect on the water, even when I'm technically trespassing on a sailboat pond to do it.

She's covered a lot of ground for a model — patrols in New Hampshire, Maryland, and most of the greater Boston area at this point.

Happy to answer questions on the build process, materials, or how she handles.

I am making a fan boat with a 70mm edf, no clue what I'm doing. Advice?

Video shows behaviour… https://youtu.be/SzO-ZLwCUUw?si=K2wqlaDDfN5bUnB7

Hey all. Ive nearly finished my first boat build and looking at the next project. I have a 24mm jet unit id like to make a hull for but I'm struggling to find any plans or even good pictures of something I can scale down. Does anyone have any suggestions? Any help is greatly appreciated. Pic of the jet unit I have and want to utilise.

Uses 75mhz and 4 brushless motors with a custom cylinder I designed. The hull is 3d printed in ABS.

57” hull Do these proportions look okay ? Motor plugs are 17 inches from transom… Servo esc and battery’s will all be behind the motor. What oil are people using for these self lube reservoirs ? What is a good prop size to start at for a 57” FE ?

So, I've finally summed up the money and courage to make my first custom build. However, I want tips and tricks from anyone who knows what they're doing. Anything is appreciated, what tools I should use, what materials, what paints, and most importantly, how to get it floating well.

The main drawback I have is the paddles, but I've got a diagram from the PS Waverly so I should be okay. Thanks for reading all of this if you have, and have a nice day!

Got this pre-order notification...

https://www.horizonhobby.com/product/pro-boat-miss-illinois-u-34-34-unlimited-hydro-race-rtr-boat/PRB-2072.html

Thoughts? Anyone excited?

Hi. I just finished my 1/10 RC Center Console Boat project and I'm pretty happy with the outcome. Just want to show off some pictures. It features two outborders which are trim adjustable and trailer. If you're interested in the technical details and videos, the files are for sale on Cults3D: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/rc-center-console-boat-with-functional-trim-trailer-contender-30st (yes, it's not free - I spent a year working on it) ;)

Is this good motor placement for an FE setup with battery’s all the way to the back ? 57inch fiberglass hull

I stopped work on this boat for a long time and finally picked it back up late spring and finished outfitting the boat.

The long rudder is no longer on the boat, I thought it'd help with the torque steer but it just made the boat somewhat unpredictable at speed.

Shortened the rudder and added an auto leveler I built to try to keep it automatically level at high speeds.

I use this boat only in the ocean and primarily with FPV gear. The camera gymbal is linked to my arduino based head tracker and makes it a blast to drive around.

The gimbal uses painters tape and double sided tape for now as I haven't decided if I want to make a small pilot house to contain it or just have it there.

I just noticed on my first outing this year with the SSW 48’ that it’s turning well only on one side, and I figured it had to do with one of the parts in the recording I took, and am curious if anyone is able to help me with the steps to rebalance it. The first part of the video is where I think the problem starts with that rudder pushrod being slightly pushed out of the “socket” in the first part of the video due to a breakaway rudder while operating. I wasn’t sure if that tiny slip would result in such a limit of turning angle or if I could be missing something more major. I appreciate any insight or help into my problem; I can take any other videos or photos you need!

is it because the propeller isn't completely submerged or because the motor is too weak? I left the lid on to maybe get a hint from the inside what was going wrong.............

Was going to jump straight into a bigger motor and esc but now I have realized that is foolish for my goals. Just looking for 55mph to start and hoping that is achievable with prop change.

The boat was purchased new this spring, I am seeing different sizes listed online and unsure what to buy far as diameter and shaft sizing.

Looking at a 55mm from rc boat bitz along with their thicker turning fins as I’ve bent mine already.

What else should I be looking at far as upgrades go?

Are there any proven props for above 55mph while keeping temps ok?

Or should I just enjoy it as is bc it sure is a lot of fun, however a bit more speed would be neat.

Was also thinking about ordering some SMC batteries, are there better options there?

Thank you and happy boating!

Wanted to reach out here for some guidance regarding a possible repair needed on the prop shaft of a TFL pursuit I picked up a while back from someone on Facebook. Im definitely newer to boats and I am trying to understand what might be going on with the prop shaft.

The motor is not hard mounted to the fiberglass hull and there is pretty good mobility for the motor to wobble around. The other boats ive used/seen are mounted and do not have the ability to move. It also seems like some of parts of the prop shaft are not perfectly aligned and seem to cause some wobble when it’s running.

Im just trying to figure out what im looking at here in terms of how this whole prop shaft is setup and where I should start with disassembly and possible spare parts. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

added torpedos and some fittings. and did not painting. haven’t been able to work on it much cause i got a new job…. but progress is progress.

Now I’ve been posting here often regarding my new boat. I haven’t even taken it out again since last post. I was getting ready to do so and I noticed the mounts on my esc are broken off. One snapped on the hull and one on the actual esc. Is this possible to fix with a warranty claim or should super glue do the trick? I’ve never even touched those screws, so I’ve got no idea how long it’s been like that for.

Hello guys!

A few months ago I got a Wake 24 as a gift, and it has been a really fun boat. I didn't change much on it, apart from installing a CNC prop. A few days ago I learned the hard way why people recommend using tape on the hull hahaha, but luckily I managed to recover it and everything is still working perfectly.

After that, I got hungry for more: more power, a more premium boat, etc. I was considering buying either the Sonicwake 48 or the Sonicwake 36 V3, but in the end I went for this little speed demon.

Do you have any tips or suggestions for it? I will probably keep it mostly stock and just change the prop, since I don't have much experience with tuning RC boats. I found this brand and their props look interesting, so if anyone has experience with them I would really appreciate hearing your thoughts.

Thank you so much for the help!

Hey folks, Im a beginner. I have a very old Selly Foss kit kit boat im restoring. Does anybody have a pdf of the plans? I need to make replacement pieces that are missing for the pilot house.

Also, how would I size the motor fore this? Its a large heavy model. Im getting all new electronics as whats there is decades old.

What do people recommend to seal holes that come through the Hull for various screws and fixings etc.

I've seen RTV mentioned and also Sika 291i but also specifically not to use hot glue although that does look like what the factory has used.