71
winter 2003
70
minisµs
Get Wet!
MICRO BOAT GUIDE
BY MATT BOYD PHOTOS WALTER SIDAS
4 splash-and-dash pool pounders
∑ ∑ ∑
>> MEGATECH H2O >> HOBBYZONE ZIG ZAG >> DANVO MINI STAR>>ACE SPORT CRUISER
PROGRESS IS A GOOD THING. When it
comes to RC, progress in microelectronics is a very good thing. It has spawned
a new breed of cars, boats and airplanes that are smaller, faster, more
reliable and more affordable, and when
you’re talking about boats, you can add
a healthy dose of convenience as well.
More than with any other type of RC,
boats rely on an appropriate location;
they aren’t much fun if you don’t have
enough water! But these mini boats are
small and nimble enough to be enjoyed
in a medium-size swimming pool, so
any local duck pond or swimming hole
will have more than enough room.
Don’t let their size fool you, though;
these little guys can be fast, and they
handle rough water amazingly well.
Driving them is easier than you might
think; even beginners will have a blast!
Who would have guessed that so much
fun could come in such small packages?
As I said, progress is a good thing!
Get Wet!
MICRO BOAT GUIDE
73
winter 2003
GET WET MICRO BOAT GUIDE
WATER LOG
The Sport Cruiser’s emphasis is definitely on cruising. It
trundles along at a walking pace; it doesn’t compete with
the others in top speed. Turns are plenty sharp; since the
rudder angle is all or nothing, you have to pulse the steering input if you want a wider arc. The Sport Cruiser sits
down in the water like a real boat and bobs and rolls with
the current. This is fun to watch, and at the speeds the Sport
Cruiser travels, it doesn’t present a danger of flipping over.
This would be a good choice for younger boaters and
for those who value style and building-quality over
all-out speed.
HobbyZone Zig Zag Racer Megatech H2O
Easy fun is the name of the game with HobbyZone’s Zig Zag.
If you can master inserting AA batteries into the included
radio and plugging the included power-pack charger into the
wall, you’ve handled the technical aspects. Now, all you have
to do is drive! Don’t worry if you’re new to RC boating
because the Zig Zag is darn near impossible to sink. If you flip
it, the self-righting-hull almost always rolls upright in a second or two. The electronics are well sealed against water, so
there’s no need to worry that a short will shorten your day.
The hull is made of rugged plastic, so the occasional collision
between enthusiastic racers won’t pose a problem. The 380
motor has plenty of power for a boat this size, and we were
surprised just how quick these little suckers are.
The Zig Zag comes with three floating buoy balls so you
can set up a racecourse, and there’s even a bumper attachment for buoy retrieval. If you detach a buoy’s anchor weight,
you and a few other Zig Zags can use it to play water soccer.
The boat comes with a wall charger and one battery pack;
extras are available from the manufacturer.
WATER LOG
These little boats are definitely big fun! They are fast,
nimble and very durable. On
smooth water, the boat is
foolproof; it rides super-flat,
and you couldn’t flip it if you
tried. On rough water, it is even more fun as it bounces and skips along. You don’t
have to worry about wiping out; if the boat takes a tumble, just wait a second for
it to roll over, nail the throttle and you’re off again.
It steers so easily that someone who hasn’t ever driven an RC boat can pick up
the technique in only a minute or two. The throttle is fully proportional, so you
can go as fast or as slowly as you like; remember, though, that at slow speeds the
rudder doesn’t have as much water flowing over it, so the response will be softer.
Overall, the Zig Zag offers a lot of fun in a small, affordable package.
72
minisµs
data center
MANUFACTURER: HobbyZone
DISTRIBUTOR: Horizon
Hobby Inc.
MODEL: Zig Zag Racer
BEST BUYER: anyone; beginners
to experienced boaters
LENGTH: 15 in. (381mm)
WIDTH: 5.75 in. (146mm)
WEIGHT: 16 oz. (454g)
POWER: 380 electric motor with a
6-cell NiMH rechargeable battery
pack
RUN TIME: 10 to 15 min.
PRICE: $79.99
HORIZON HOBBY INC.
(800) 338-4639; horizonhobby.com.
data center
MANUFACTURER: Megatech
MODEL: H2O
BEST BUYER: Those who are looking
for the ultimate in small-space
maneuverability
LENGTH: 9 in. (229mm)
WIDTH: 4.75 in. (121mm)
WEIGHT: 9 oz. (255g)
POWER: 280 electric motor with a
5-cell NiMH rechargeable battery
pack
RUN TIME: 15 or more min.
PRICE: $99.99
MEGATECH (201) 662-2800;
megatech.com.
Now we’re talking micro! This little race vee-hull is only 9 inches long,
although when you add in the length of the rudder, it ends up being
slightly more than 10 inches. The H2O’s deck styling is more advanced
than you’ll find on some of the other micro boats, and underneath that
deck is a truly innovative way to seal it from leaks. The deck pops off to
reveal a fully enclosed main hull; access to the internals is through a
hatch that clips on much as the lid on a plastic butter tub does. This is a
very simple, effective and reliable way to keep water away from the electronics. If water does find its way into the hull, the radio and the speed
control (both included and installed) are also individually encased in
waterproof jackets.
The H2O relies on a 280 motor and a 5-cell battery for power. This is
smaller than the power systems in the other micros, but since the H2O
weighs less, it really doesn’t suffer in the performance category. In terms
of handling, the H2O has a leg up; its rudder is substantially larger than
those used in the others, and it is the only micro boat that features
adjustable trim tabs.
WATER LOG
Looking at the size of the H2O, I was afraid it would be at a serious disadvantage in performance. Boy, was I wrong; this little bad boy hauls!
It lags behind the others slightly at the top end, but its compact size
and crisp handling allow it to make up ground in the corners. It bounds
over waves; watching it climb and then plummet off 18-inch wakes is
hilarious, and not once did it seem in danger of capsizing. It looks cool,
too, and the little battery will run all day. If you have a small pool, or
if you just like the idea of a runt that can run with the big dogs, this is
the pick of the litter!
data center
MANUFACTURER: Ace Hobby
Distributors Inc.
MODEL: Sport Cruiser
BEST BUYER: beginners who are
looking for a stylish cruiser for
pond or pool
LENGTH: 14.75 in. (375mm)
WIDTH: 5.75 in. (146mm)
WEIGHT: 16 oz. (454g)
POWER: electric motor with a
6-cell rechargeable battery pack
RUN TIME: 10 to 15 min.
PRICE: $79.99
ACE HOBBY DISTRIBUTORS INC.
(949) 838-0088; acehobby.com.
As you can tell from the photos, the Sport Cruiser is definitely the beauty queen of
the bunch. Its vacuum-formed deck allowed Ace to work a lot of realistic detail into
the design. Equally impressive is the equipment layout; all of the running gear is
securely anchored in a molded interior and sealed against water. A nice touch for
first-time boaters is the battery setup; the Sport Cruiser comes with a 6-cell
rechargeable battery, but a battery adapter tray is also included so that owners
without a charger can run their boats on 6, conventional AA alkaline batteries. The
top deck is held by two screws and features a rubber on/off switch that protrudes
through the deck. This allows the Sport Cruiser to be turned off without removing
the deck; it’s a feature that none of the other minis offer, but all manufacturers
should take heed.
The Sport Cruiser’s control system is less sophisticated than those on the other
mini boats, and that somewhat limits its performance. Neither the throttle nor the
rudder is proportional; the throttle is either full on or off, and the rudder is either full
right, full left or straight. This makes precision driving quite challenging. The Sport
Cruiser does have reverse though, and it’s the only mini boat that does. This greatly
improves its maneuverability in tight spaces such as swimming pools.
Ace Sport Cruiser
SKILL LEVEL
COOL FACTOR
PERFORMANCE
everyone intermediate advanced
min.
max.
min.
max.
SKILL LEVEL
COOL FACTOR
PERFORMANCE
everyone intermediate advanced
min.
max.
min.
max.
SKILL LEVEL
COOL FACTOR
PERFORMANCE
everyone intermediate advanced
min.
max.
min.
max.
74
minisµs
Think about what an advantage it would be if you knew that
every time you tossed a coin, it would land heads-up? You’d
never have to buy the next round or give up the last piece of
pizza, and your team would always get to receive the kickoff! The HobbyZone Zig Zag and the Danvo Mini Star give
you a heads-up in the world of mini boats—one that can
save you a chilly swim or the hassle of rowing to a capsized
craft in the middle of the pond. You see, these two are selfrighting hulls, and that means it’s just about impossible to
strand them upside-down. The concept is pretty simple: put
the weight as low as you can in the hull, seal it so that no
water can leak in and change the weight balance, and make
the deck smooth and rounded. Think of it as an aquatic version of a Weeble Wobble toy! When the boat rolls, the
weight of the running gear is suspended well above the
waterline with the air-filled upper deck beneath it and no flat
surface on which to settle. The deck tries to resurface while
the hull tries to resubmerge. They quickly swap places and—
bingo!—you are upright and on your way! #
WATER LOG
The Mini Star accelerates briskly, and the
brass rudder tracks well at any speed. The
two smaller boats tend to porpoise more than
the Mini Star—probably because of the battery position and the resulting center of
gravity. All three bounce around a little,
which is a lot of fun and not at all difficult to
control. If you flip them over, the boats right
themselves in a second or two.
The Mini Star probably offers more
performance than any of the micro boats. It is
the fastest in a straight line, and because you
must supply your own speed control and battery, you can opt for more power if you wish.
As long as you have the know-how to pick
the parts and install them, it will be hard to
beat the Mini Star.
data center
MANUFACTURER: Danvo
Racing Products
MODEL: Mini Star
BEST BUYER: boaters with
one or two models’
experience
LENGTH: 13 in. (330mm)
WIDTH: 5.5 in. (140mm)
WEIGHT: 14.5 oz. (411g)
POWER: 380 electric motor
(included); 6-cell NiMH
rechargeable battery pack
(not included)
RUN TIME: 10 to 15 min.
PRICE: $99.99 (radio system
not included)
DANVO RACING PRODUCTS
(440) 779-7003; danvo.com.
Danvo’s were among the first mini boats on the market, and they
remain some of the smallest. The distinctive barrel-back shape and
low center of gravity allow this boat to right itself almost instantly
from even the most spectacular tumbles. Performance-wise, the
Mini Star is a real winner, thanks to the included 380 motor and
driveline. It requires a bit more experience to assemble, and you’ll
have to supply your own speed control, servo linkage and radio
gear. The Mini Star doesn’t have a separate, sealed electronics
compartment, so you’ll need to seal it well with waterproof tape
each time you run it. For these reasons, buyers should already have
a boat or two under their belts. We spent most of our time on the
Mini Star, but even smaller boats—the Micro Star and the Jet Ski—
are available, and they share the same characteristics.
Danvo Mini Star
SELF-RIGHT-EOUS!
GET WET MICRO BOAT GUIDE
SKILL LEVEL
COOL FACTOR
PERFORMANCE
everyone intermediate advanced
min.
max.
min.
max.
Even when the hulls are dragged well under water, their natural buoyancy pushes them back to the surface so forcefully that they leap as much as a foot out of the
water! The weight distribution ensures that they always land right-side up and ready to race. We tried this stunt 20 or 30 times in a row, and it worked every time!
Loading...