Model Forum / Radio Controlled / Water Models / May 2008

This is in the for what it's worth department.  I recently
bought a white, Brushless AquaCraft Super Vee.  There are a
lot of good things about the model (it is fast and the
hardware is of good quality), but there are a lot of things
I am not happy with.

1.  There is a shortish turn fin only on the right side.
Why not put one on the left side too?  The nitro version of
the model comes equipped that way.

2.  The color is not a gel coat, as I had expected, but is
only paint.  On arrival, there were two 1/8" x ½" patches on
either side of the bow where the paint had rubbed off in
shipping.  Then, when I went to paint my model, I found that
blue Scotch Painter's tape, had a tendency to pull bits of
the white paint off.  It would have been a real mess if I
had used the stickier automotive striping tape I usually
use.

3.  The radio box is well waterproofed where the wires come
out, but there is no waterproofing where the ESC cooling
tubing enters and exits.  Worse, the tubing exits near the
bottom of the box, the first place water will go.

4.  The groove where the hatch cover rests collects water
and there is nowhere for it to drain except into the hull by
way of the cockpit cover's latch, because the lip that is
supposed to keep water out of the hull has an unnecessary
gap where the latch is located.  The transom should have
been designed to let the water drain.

When I spend almost $300 for a model, I expect it to be well
designed and constructed.  I had a good bit of work to do to
correct problem areas before I felt comfortable running the
boat.  Yet, it is fast and the drive hardware is of good
quality.  Oh, did I say it was fast?

Randy