Hmmm..Aquacraft?Help

[nitro_newbie]

Saw a used Rio 51 in perfect shape so i did some research and some of the big websites like rcuniverse did reviews on them and they said there a great boat.Now when i went on a few fourums, mostly everbody said it was awful. And also alot of people say that aquacraft just sucks.I'm confused:ghost::yell: I KNOW rtrs are to be shund upon by all the rc boating experts, but I'm a begginer at boats. I am pretty fimiliar with gas or nitro though. I just want to get into boating too because theres so many lakes and ponds around me..And i love boats.haha

 

[Fuel Crazy]

The NEW Rio51Z is fine since it comes with a Zenoah 260. The original Rio51's came with some Fuji engine that was pure junk. First the headers would break.. then the exhaust port would break off the engine..and sometimes the entire cylinder would crack in half.


If you check out the Rio 51 review on RCU.. that was a old friend that did the review. I was actually the one driving the boat in the video.

The hull's qaulity is decent, and the hardware is decent. With a Zenoah swap & better pipe, and a X472 prop they ran quite well. The new Rio51Z should be just as good, without having to do an engine swap.

 

[Ron Olson]

Although I'm a little jaded with boats as I usually like to build my own as in pick the hull, engine, hardware and radio system myself, there is a place for RTR's.
OK, they're not perfect but people could pick apart my boats and say that they might do things differently. The RC 4-wheeler crowd is now full of RTR cars and trucks yet most need aftermarket goodies to make them reliable. Some people who want to get into RC boats may not have someone to stand by them and help out and there is only so much that can be done to help out over the Internet. The right boat can teach you a lot about what does what when you make an adjustment and how things go together.
The first Rio 51 had its share of bugs from the terrible Fuji 28 and headers breaking off. Now, the newer Rio 51 Z has been upgraded with a Zenoah powerplant and the Tactic 2.4 Gig radio system. Early reports were that the engine rails were breaking loose from the hull so that would be one thing that I'd check on them.
I've known the designer of the boat, Mike "Grimracer" Zaborowski for about 11 years now, I'll see him again in April at the Toledo show in the Tower/OS/Futaba/AquaCraft/etc. booth.

Fuel Crazy, you probably know me from over on RCU as I was a boat forums Mod over there for 4 years.

 

[nitro_newbie]

ok thanks guys, do you guys know of any cheaper engine?lol, but if i were to get this boat, what eles besides the enigine would i have to worry about? sorry I'm kinda a newb, and I'm on a fairly small budget($400)..yea i know that wont get me anywere in the rc world.hah

 

[Fuel Crazy]

gas engines arent too cheap. Cheapest good gas engine you are gonna find is a Zenoah G260PUM @ roughly $200 or so.