Hi guys, Some buddies and I are looking to start this hobby so we are looking into all the aspects we can. We are in South Dakota near the sodak/Minnesota/Iowa border. We haven't found any clubs or groups by us but don't mind starting a group ourselves. I've lettered some members here already and have learned quite a bit like what units and stuff are but we still have loads of questions. I was told by a few that it's always best to see if u can drive someone's boat first and have them teach you but if nobody is around us we aren't left with that option so my question is realistically how easy would it be for guys who don't have much background in rc things other than driving rc cars as a kid to start this hobby with building and following the guidelines. Also if we do start a group ourselves I've noticed that different clubs exist but do they all follow a global rule book and if we differ from these what would be the cons to that? Also I've seen some rules saying you have to follow scale water displacement and where your waterline on boats are but nowhere to say what those specs should be so where do we find things like this. The Bismarck I think has a "stringer" option I've seen in other posts which seems like it could be a great defense bonus but where can we see if others have this too? My questions feel a bit random but our only help so far is reading online and nothing actually in person. I've also called and visited our local hobby town shop but the guy said they only have speed boats and couldn't even help me with figuring out what mind of controllers we would need so that was a bust to Any help or suggested sites and maybe vids to watch for us?
Welcome! You're starting off just like I did. I had nobody close enough that I could go to for help, so this forum became my lifeline. Believe me, the people on this forum are your friend! When I started out, I had no idea where to start, how everything worked, where to get stuff. So I started reading on here. Everything from builds to electrical reviews. At that point, I wasn't a member so I couldn't ask questions. After I got the general feel of how this hobby worked I became a member and started to look into possible ships. I started my first ship back around April last year, and am nearing completion. Anyway, to answer some of your questions, I would recommend borrowing your first ship that way you have something to battle with while you build your first ship. I'm not sure if there are people near you of not, but if there aren't, it's OK to just build your first ship. That's the way I started. Like you, I had no idea how motors, ESC's, and servo are all put together to work properly, but with the help of the people on this forum and Youtube, I managed to learn quite a bit. There are quite a few different clubs that have different rule sets. IRCWCC, MWC (they have the same rules, different names) Treaty, Big Gun, and Battlestations to name a few. Generally, the IRCWCC members are in the North, the MWC people are down South, Treaty is in the Northwest, and Big Gun is mostly out West. But that doesn't mean you have to be up North to be in the IRCWCC, or vice versa for the other clubs. If you have plans for a ship, they should show where the waterline is. When you have the hull done, you can mark the waterline and weigh the boat down to it. Then you can take it out of the water and weigh it, that is the weight required to get it down to the waterline. It's as simple as that. Stringers are put in where armor bulges and such were locate of the original ship. The reason that they are there for is to allow you to glue balsa on to the sharp angles. Here are the IRCWCC's rules. http://www.ircwcc.org/files/Bylaws_Rules/Rules_2013.htm MWC rules. http://www.mwci.org/rules.shtml Battlestations! rules. http://www.battlestations96.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=59&Itemid=55 Treaty rules. https://rcwarshipcombat.com/threads/treaty-rules.441916/ I'm not sure where to find Big Gun rules, so somebody else will have to pitch in there. Hope this helps,
The Port Polar Bear guys (http://www.portpolarbear.com/) are up in Minnesota, they are part of MWC, are a VERY active group and are hosting the MWC NATS (weeklong battle over the summer) this year. You are probably much closer to them than most of the people that will be attending that event. Anyway I highly suggest getting in touch with them contact info is on their website, that is probably your best bet in terms of getting in the hobby the fastest/easiest and having other people nearby to battle with.
You would not be the farthest west of the PPB guys. Ames lives out in western SD. I live in the twin cites near our battling pond in Chanhassen, MN. The north metro got 20" of snow last night, but the pond is currently open. We plan to have a battle 4-27-14. We might have a battle 5-10-14. We have not picked a date for a June battle yet. If you can make either of those dates let me know and we'll make sure to have a couple spare ships for you. I'll send a PM to you on the forum with more contact info.
Hey Igtex, I'm new to this hobby as well, but unfortunately (besides spelling) i'm in Georgia, so we may not be able to battle each other. I do look forward to seeing the ships that you build, and I will share mine as well.
