Radio-Controlled Boats...

[Wozz]

Could anyone offer any advice on radio controlled boats please?
My son has asked for one for his birthday next month.
I don't know anything about them...

It doesn't need to be anything insanely quick as he will only be 10. It would be nice however to have more than a few minutes of battery life before it needed recharging etc..

I'm going to pop into any shops in the area which stock radio control type toys to get some advice, but i thought i would also check on here to see if anyone had any pointers or recommendations.

Cheers for any advice you may be able to offer folks.

[maebach]

not sure really. But here at radioshack and the source (by Circuit City) they sell RC boats for like $35-40. They're plastic and have stickers on them for colour. They work pretty well, and are great for kids. It's not really that fast, but its still fun to play with. We had one, but a family frind of ours (10) drove it into my sister when she was in the pool, and the propeller got stuck on her hair. SO when we cut the hair it was still wound areound the proppeller and now it doesnt work :\

[S!X]

I'd go to a hobby store and get a decent one with some power to whip around so it doesn't get lost in wind/wake depending on where your son plans to run this thing.

[100%]

I saw a hovercraft radio controlled one which can also goes fast over over land and water etc
cant remember where i saw it, but it seemed like the smartest idea.

just did a google
all of them around the same price £24.95

It has a top speed of a mighty 15kmh, and naturally works on both flat ground and water.

http://www.paramountzone.com/hovercraft.htm

and this one

http://www.iwantoneofthose.com/steal...aft/index.html










and this one

http://www.urbanjunkie.co.uk/product.php/191/0/

[Wozz]

Ouch,sounds painful Maebach. Bet your sis wasn't too impressed about having to have her hair cut to remove it either lol. Cheers i'll have a gander and see if we have anything similar.

He plans on using it on the canal Linkin. We often walk the dogs alongside local canals and we also own a narrow-boat, so spend plenty of time on the canal. Should be easier to retrieve if/when it cuts out also, compared with using it on a lake anyway. As far as i'm aware there aren't any reasons why we couldn't use it on the canals, but we need to look into this... Could use it ahead of us as we go along on our boat.

He might actually like that 100%. The thing is i don't think he would get to use it on the land much. Unless he does end up using it on the lakes.(Sorry, should have pointed out we intend to use it mainly on the canal, no banks etc.)
The reason my lad might like it though is as the one he originally asked for goes on land,water and flies! I've seen one of these in action on u-tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TSt-eIw3Qlg ,its called a Hydrofoam. There are a few clips of them on there.

They do look fun, and i can see why he would want one..but i've pretty much talked him out of it. Can see it ending in tears, seconds after getting it into the air... Far too easy for it to crash into a tree or smash into the ground methinks...

I might have to have a look at that hovercraft though anyway, cheers.

The site states that the battery lasts for 15mins, i wonder how long they take to charge? The site for the 2nd boat seems to be having some probs atm, so i can't get any more details for that one on there yet. Prices are better than i had expected though, thought they would be starting at £60+. I know some of them are seriously expensive... Think these might make a nice starter boat for a child though, see if he actually does enjoy them before spending 3x (at least) the coin.