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Radio Controlled Boats - Toy or Hobby Quality?
The world of radio controlled boats is a family-oriented hobby that allows people to come together and have fun racing their radio controlled boats. There are many types, shapes and sizes of radio controlled vehicles to accommodate anyone's interest and budget. However this article is about how radio controlled boats are often divided into two large categories..."toy" quality or "hobby" quality. What does this mean and how should it guide your buying?
There is a gray area in this world of radio controlled boats. There is a type of radio controlled boat called "toy" boats. Now these are often not marked as "toys" by people who sell them as it makes it sound like they aren't worth buying. And it does not mean that these boats aren't great fun it's just that they may not run for long before needing recharging, it may be prone to rolling over, or it may not go very fast. Toy radio controlled boats can generally be found in the low price segment...say below $50 and even that is complicated as $50 may be low or high for different people. They tend to be self contained and often you are unable to easily get at the workings of the boat as they are not designed to be worked on by the consumer.
On the other side of the coin is "Hobby-class" radio controlled boats. Higher quality hobby class boats offer better performance standards. They got this name because they are designed to have more of a sustainable performance that you can use weekend after weekend - a sustainable hobby. Unlike "toy-class" boats, most "Hobby-class" radio controlled boats are engineered for maximum performance with sophisticated power systems and rudder control. They are made to be durable so that they can stand up to the extra abuse that results from their higher performance capabilities.
Many manufacturers (Traxxas being one) pre-assemble and adjust the model for you at the factory often pre-painting the body and sometimes putting electronic self starters into their nitro boats.. A simple push of a button is all it takes to fire up the engine - as opposed to having a separate starter mechanism that you have to buy. As a result these are often referred to as "ready-to-run" (RTR) although that term is used very loosely...sometimes "ready to run" can mean only after you add boat batteries or fuel and transmitter batteries.
Hobby-class radio controlled boats can reach speeds over 40mph and have fully adjustable systems that operate just like their full-size big brothers. They are designed to be maintained by the owner with some basic hand tools. The materials used in manufacturing are very durable and can withstand crashes or rollovers - although some things do break given enough punishment.
So when you are looking to buy bear this information in mind. Often people will start with a "toy" class boat as that will teach handling and give a taste of what the sport/hobby has to offer. Have fun on the water.
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