Fast Electric Boats
Power up
Electric… Quite a lot of model boats run on batteries, the exceptions being sail, steam and IC. However this section is about ‘semi-scale’ fun / race boats – a.k.a. Fast Electric.
We don’t hold any MPBA racing at SMBC, so owners run their boats for fun. The boats will generally be running high performance brushless motors powered mostly by Lipo batteries. If you seriously want to race, head over to the MPBA website where you will find info on class of boat – there are around seven or eight classes – and race locations in the UK
What we do race every year are the small Club 500 boats. The club has a lot of regular participants in the Club 500 races, held Sunday mornings from Spring onwards. The concept is that all Club 500 boats are equal, they are not very fast – probably 10mph tops – and it’s all down to the drivers! Boats all have the same unmodified 500 motor, running off a 7.2 volt Nimh battery. The only differences are the colour schemes and race numbers. Why not come down and watch?
Races start in April, with usually 1 race each month, finishing September. During a race, we have several helpers, some for lap counting, some for course infringements(wrong way round a buoy) & wildlife spotters (though once the race is started the ducks and geese are happy to watch from the sidelines). Results are then calculated after each session so the competitors can see who’s doing well and who needs to improve.