PSA- The R2 Cat hull is NOT like the HOTR

[FighterCat57]

PSA- The R2 Cat hull is NOT like the HOTR, Skunk, Apparition or EKOS.

It is a cheap, flimsy, warped and poorly assembled fiberglass hull. It also does not have the cups in the sponson transom overhang that the other hulls do. The seams are poorly done and messy. The hull hatch does not sit on the hull.

I emailed R2 about these issues, they contend there is nothing wrong with this hull.

I've heard a few people talk about it as if it's the same. Hoping to help save someone else the disappointment. Not hating on the hull, I'm sure some may find nothing wrong with any of the above and completely enjoy it for it's cheap price tag...

All good, just wanted to make it clear.

[v-spec]

It must be really bad then because most of those other hulls are pretty terrible as well.

[sailr]

Guess ya got what ya paid for. Cheap is as cheap does. Everybody expects a silk purse for the price of a sow's ear.

[FighterCat57]

Guess ya got what ya paid for. Cheap is as cheap does. Everybody expects a silk purse for the price of a sow's ear.

No. Much less.

I didn't expect much and really just ordered it on a low ball bid whim. ($53) I really didn't expect to win. There were not other bidders. Now I know why.

The problem is, it's SO low quality, I'm not even sure it will work at all, which makes the entire purchase a waste. It's already stress cracked and hasn't even had hardware mounted, much less bounced around on the water.

It's only a few more $$ for the HOTR hull, which has been an awesome hull BTW. The EKOS hull for Tower members is only like $120 with their discount codes. Just sayin... if ya got to choose... This one's probably not the best choice.

[Flying Scotsman]

Guess ya got what ya paid for. Cheap is as cheap does. Everybody expects a silk purse for the price of a sow's ear.

but I still try to find a bargain, pretty slim pickings and to be honest, some of these Chinese RTR and bare hulls which are not sold by US distibutors have cheap motors and ESCs and by the time you buy decent stuff, it has cost you more than a well built hull with good stuff from the get go, and you can not get your money back.....ship a 40" hull back to China/Hong Kong and see how much it costs you.

Douggie

[hazegry]

I have a R2 mono the arowana Its a good hull needs a bit of work to be good. I fiberglassed the bottom and put in a transom doubler after that it did pretty good in racewater with some gas boats.

[v-spec]

While China does have and can definitely make very good products, people don't wanna pay for it. They make what people ask for and people in the US ask for CHEAP. I've spent a whole lot of my life all over Asia and they have got some VERY good stuff made in China as well as other countries in SE Asia. People just don't wanna pay for it.

With that being said, Fightercat I see you spend a lot of money on all this cheap stuff you obviously enjoy it but your money would be so much better spent on some high quality parts.

It's nice to tinker with some cheap stuff you get from China but after a while I think for some it becomes a habit and they end up spending more money on cheap Chinese parts than they would have on some high quality stuff.

Again China has some great products not just toys and boats it's just they end up shipping what people ask for here which is what you got with this purchase.

[FighterCat57]

While China does have and can definitely make very good products, people don't wanna pay for it. They make what people ask for and people in the US ask for CHEAP. I've spent a whole lot of my life all over Asia and they have got some VERY good stuff made in China as well as other countries in SE Asia. People just don't wanna pay for it.

With that being said, Fightercat I see you spend a lot of money on all this cheap stuff you obviously enjoy it but your money would be so much better spent on some high quality parts.

It's nice to tinker with some cheap stuff you get from China but after a while I think for some it becomes a habit and they end up spending more money on cheap Chinese parts than they would have on some high quality stuff.

Again China has some great products not just toys and boats it's just they end up shipping what people ask for here which is what you got with this purchase.

Yeah. That's a lesson learned for sure. There are some good Chinese made parts, but I'm running into quite a bit of junk lately. IMO the HOTR 32" cat hull is nice, the Genesis hull is nice, the Apparition hull is nice, but the "joys way" and "r2 hobbies" stuff has been complete junk compared.

I've stocked up on a bunch of boats/hulls/parts to build away for a while and not buying any more cheap hulls... I've certainly become a fan of Castle, Neu and Jeff's wire drives.

Figure the best way to appreciate the fine quality is to work with some junk for a while first.

[johnf]

FC, have you been having good luck with the Castle ESCs? I'm assuming speed controls is the reason you mention castle in your last post. I am considering a hydra 240, but there is so much negativity on the hydra line it seems.

[FighterCat57]

FC, have you been having good luck with the Castle ESCs? I'm assuming speed controls is the reason you mention castle in your last post. I am considering a hydra 240, but there is so much negativity on the hydra line it seems.

I had one problem, but I'm pretty sure it was my fault. They swapped a new one and no problems since. I run the MMM's in buggies as well. I think there is a fair amount of negativity about every ESC... they burn up so easily in boats.

I would certainly buy another.

[dana]

thanks for the warning. i was actually considering one of these, now i think ill go for the HOTR or EKOS hull instead.

[ozzie-crawl]

its strange they changed hulls as they were the first selling the apparition hulls
thats were my first couple came from

[FighterCat57]

its strange they changed hulls as they were the first selling the apparition hulls
thats were my first couple came from

I don't know, they seem to be on a quest for cheapest... I added a couple of ESC cooling blocks to the order... turns out they are only 25mm wide and are made from hardware store aluminum stock drilled out. The guy there recommended I enclose the ESC entirely in silicone.

This is the recommended ESC setup FROM THEM. (not my photo!)