A man on a grassy bank holding a transmitter while five model sailboats race across a blue lake

Which kind of boat should you start with?

Power, more power, or wind

Pond CruiserA small brushed electric boat, 12 to 14 inches long, that tops out around 15 to 20 mph. It is cheap, tough, self-righting, and fits a neighborhood pond or a large pool. This is where most people start.

Start here

Find a pond or a quiet cove with a clear bank and no swimmers, charge both batteries, and run slow figure eights close to shore until the steering feels natural.

Fast ElectricA brushless boat 16 to 25 inches long that runs 30 mph or more on a lithium polymer pack. It needs a real lake, careful charging, and maintenance after every run. Pick it if speed is the whole point and you have open water nearby.

Start here

Read the manual's section on greasing the drive shaft before the first run, then look for a powerboat club pond near you. Clubs run a rescue boat, which matters when a three-foot hull stops in the middle of a lake.

North American Model Boat Association

RC SailingA radio sailboat with no motor. It is quiet, runs for hours on a set of AA cells, and is welcome on ponds that ban powered models. Pick it if you like the idea of reading the wind, or if you want to race, since club racing in sailing is easy to find.

Start here

Look up the nearest model yacht club and visit on a race day. Most skippers will hand a newcomer a transmitter for a lap, and you will see which class the local fleet sails before you buy.

AMYA Find a Club

Open a card for its first step. Each card also puts that kind of boat and its extras into the pond bag.

What to check before you buy a boat

Picking one puts that boat and its extras into the pond bag and takes the other two out. You can still switch any line in or out from the kit.

Ready to run.

A ready-to-run boat includes the transmitter, motor and electronics already installed. Kits and bare hulls are for a second boat.

2.4GHz radio.

It gives 300 feet or more of range and lets several boats run at once. Toy boats on older radio bands glitch and drift out of reach.

Self-righting hull.

A flipped boat that rolls back over on a blip of throttle saves you a swim. Most small deep-V hulls do it. Catamarans and large fast boats often do not.

Water cooling.

Hobby-grade powerboats pick up lake water through the rudder and pump it around the motor. A boat without it overheats in a few minutes of hard running.

What is in the box.

Small boats usually ship with a battery and a USB charger, and the better ones include two batteries. Boats much over two feet long often ship with neither. Read the listing so you know.

Hull length against your water.

A 12-inch boat is happy in a big pool. A 30-inch boat needs a few hundred feet of open water to turn around at speed.

For a sailboat, a one-design class.

A boat from a popular racing class has cheap spare parts, free tuning guides, and a fleet you can join later without buying again.

A blue model racing yacht on a display stand, its long white keel fin and rudder in view — A model racing yacht on its stand, keel and rudder showing

Your first day on the water

Tick these off as you go

Before and after every run

BeforeCheck the propeller nut is tight and the blades are not chipped. A nicked prop vibrates and can crack the hull's stern fittings.
BeforeBlow through the cooling line. If air does not come out the other end, the pickup is blocked with weed or grit.
BeforeTape the hatch, even on a boat sold as waterproof. Tape is what keeps a flip from flooding the electronics.
AfterUnplug and remove the battery first, then leave the hatch off so the hull can dry overnight.
AfterSpray a water-displacing corrosion inhibitor on the motor, bearings and any bare metal. After salt or brackish water, rinse with fresh water first.
After, on a fast electric boatPull the flex shaft, wipe it clean and re-grease it. A dry shaft overheats and snaps, and it takes the propeller to the bottom with it.
After, on a sailboatLoosen the sail tension and store the boat with the rig up or the sails flat, never folded.

A red and gray model fireboat tug with tire fenders under way on green water — A model tug under way

What trips beginners up

Run times are short. A small boat runs 8 to 15 minutes per battery and takes over an hour to recharge. Two batteries make an outing. One makes a drive home.
Steering reverses when the boat comes toward you. Everyone turns the wrong way for the first few packs. Practice slow passes straight at yourself until it clicks.
Weeds stop everything. A strand around the propeller feels like a dead battery. Stay out of the green patches, and check the prop before you assume something broke.
The boat will get stuck out of reach. Carry a retrieval line every time, and stay upwind of a shore you can walk to so a dead boat drifts back to you.
Running until the battery quits ruins it. Lithium packs are damaged when drained flat. Come in at the first sign of slowing.
Full throttle in a turn flips the boat. Ease off before the corner and power out of it.
Sailboats will not go straight upwind. You zigzag toward the wind in a series of tacks. Expect to spend the first afternoon stalled, pointing into the breeze, before it makes sense.

Safety and where you are allowed to run

Never swim after a boat. Cold water, weeds and distance have drowned people retrieving models. Use a line, wait for the wind, or borrow a kayak.
Check the rules for the water. Many city park ponds, reservoirs and wildlife areas ban powered models or all models. Look for posted signs and check the parks department website. No license is needed for the radio itself.
Keep clear of swimmers, paddlers and wildlife. A propeller at 30 mph cuts skin, and chasing ducks or geese with a boat is illegal harassment in most places.
Keep fingers away from the propeller whenever the battery is plugged in. Radios glitch and throttles get bumped.
Treat lithium polymer packs with care. Charge them only with the charger made for them, inside a fire-resistant bag, on a hard surface, while you are in the room. Never charge a pack that is puffed, punctured or has been underwater.
Take a soaked boat apart before it goes in the car. A wet lithium pack or speed controller can short hours later.

The two US powerboat bodies

A white radio control speed boat with a whip antenna throwing a backlit plume of spray across dark water

Where to learn more

A club pond first, then the forums

The quickest teacher is a club pond. Powerboat clubs run a retrieval boat and will tell you which propeller and battery your hull actually wants. Model yacht clubs race most weekends and are famously willing to lend a transmitter to a visitor. Online, forums are where setup questions get answered: search your boat's name before you post, because someone has already had the same leak. Sailors should also read a class tuning guide before the first outing, since a sailboat set up badly out of the box will not point into the wind no matter how well you steer.

Free forums, club finders and tuning guides

How the kit is put together

The kit starts with the boat, and which boat depends on the direction you chose above. Choose Pond Cruiser, Fast Electric or RC Sailing and the matching boat and its extras are added. A pond cruiser is the whole purchase on its own, since it ships with batteries and a charger. The fast electric boats here include a battery and charger too, so that direction adds only a charging bag and shaft grease. A sailboat needs a set of AA cells. The lines every boat shares are small ones: hatch tape, a corrosion spray, hex drivers for the tiny screws, and a retrieval line for the day the boat stops out of reach.

Black and white photo of a model sailboat with F1 on its sail heeling across rippled water — A model sailboat heeling in a breeze

Pack the pond bag

Hatch tape, a corrosion spray, hex drivers and a retrieval line start in the bag. The three boats and their extras stay out until you pick Pond Cruiser, Fast Electric or RC Sailing, here, in the kit or from its card above. Compare the options, set your tiers and check out from the kit. Clicking a card selects it there, and clicking the selected card takes that line out.

Waterproof hatch tape

essential · Consumables

A strip around the hatch seam keeps water out of the electronics when the boat flips or takes a wave over the deck. It peels off clean after each run.

budget

Renfrew Scapa Clear Polyflex Shin/Sock Hockey Tape, 1" x 30m

4.6(99)

$5.89

RC Boats

Which kind of boat should you start with?

What to check before you buy a boat

Your first day on the water

Before and after every run

What trips beginners up

Safety and where you are allowed to run

Where to learn more

How the kit is put together

Pack the pond bag

Waterproof hatch tape

Water-displacing corrosion inhibitor spray

Metric RC hex driver set

Braided line for boat retrieval

Ready-to-run electric RC boat

Brushless ready-to-run RC speed boat

Fire-resistant LiPo charging bag

Marine grease for the drive shaft

Ready-to-run RC sailboat

Rechargeable AA batteries with charger