There are dozens of types & classes of RC boat kits. Mainly organized by engine and hull types.

Race: Established at National and International levels.

Fast Racing Boat

• Circuit
• Straight line

Engines:

• Electric Motor
• Glow Plug
• Flash Steam
• Gasoline / Petrol

Hulls:

• Mono
• Hydro
• Cat
• Outrigger
• Eco, a self righting jelly mold shaped hull

Classes are further divided by:

• Engine CC
• Battery Type
• Deep V Mono
• Stepped Mono
• Sub Surface
• Surface Piercing Prop’s
• and more

Power
boats are typically Fast electric or Internal combustion type. With a  few enthusiasts still operating Steam Powered  ower plants. The power  is commonly used to turn the propellers, which in turn provide the  thrust to move the radio  controlled craft.

Power boats typically have two controls, the rudder, outboard motor or stern drives with throttle control. Some powered scale boats will have additional remote control functions to improve realism. Such as the sounding of fog horns, lights, rotating radar antennae and more.

Even though some RC boat kits don’t include remote controlling of such things as fuel and air mixture, some find it a great addition for thoroughbred racing boats, builders just love adding their own gear!

Various styles of racing include circuits of different shapes that are laid out on the water using buoys. One of the most common courses are the 1/6th mile oval that consists of 330′ stright sections followed by a 70′ diameter turn set. The International Model Power Boat Association (IMPBA) http://www.impba.net as well as the North American Model Boat Association (NAMBA) http://www.namba.com/content/default.asp have specific rules and regulations to address the course style, racing rules, and type of formats used.

In addition to the oval style racing setup there are straight-a-way (SAW) races. This entails seeing just how fast you can get your boat to go in a stright line. Timed events are held where the boats go through a set of starting lights and end  through a set of ending lights. The speed is calculated by the timed difference from start to stop vs the length between the start and end lights.

Some enthusiasts will race in the open sea controlling their radio controlled craft from a pursuing boat known as the “Chase Boat”. Most courses will usually be a few miles in length and the competition will be judged against the clock to find the fastest in class. Within the various styles of racing there will be a number of competing classes depending upon engine size and types. Ocean and river going boats tend to be powered by internal combustion engines and even steam engines may be used.

Sprint type races and electric races are usually held on calmer lake waters ran on clear days. Electric boats for racing that are capable of speeds up to 60 miles per hour and run times of less than 10 minutes. Electric boats will also race in (SAW) and have held the 100 yard sprint record against the rival IC power-plants since the year 2000.