SYMA 22" Blazingly Fast Balaenoptera Musculus Racing RC Boat

I was heading for a friends cabin on a lake and felt a new toy was needed. As usual the Amazon shipping was excellent and it came in two days, in plenty of time before the trip. I wasn't looking for anything too serious so after reading many reviews I settled on the inexpensive Musculus.The one I got was a solid yellow but the color didn't really matter to me. I charged the battery at home and set the boat up for a quick test to ensure it worked. I encountered no issues. At the lake it was just a matter of putting it back together and dropping it in the water off the dock and away it went like a rocket! This thing turns on a dime and hits a pretty fast top speed in a second. It could have used a minor trim to steer exactly straight but for 10 minutes of fun its no big deal. You're going to be yanking this thing left and right all the time anyway.Battery charging seemed to take 3-4 hrs. I looked for an extra battery but all I could find were NiCD not NiMH like the one which came with the boat. I don't believe you should interchange these battery types on the same charger so I bought nothing more.Per other reviews I did encounter some water in the boat on the first run so I taped off some of the seams for subsequent runs. Very little got in after that.The antenna mast wouldn't stay in on its own so I added some tape around the base which worked fine. When the mast first fell out/over in the water the range was drastically reduced. Had the boat been out at the limits I would've had to go out to get it, or at least close enough to get back in range.The first thing we tested was the range. To do this we stood onshore by about 30 feet and drove straight out until we lost it. At that point we just walked to the edge to reacquire and turn it around, Our estimates were that it was least 200 ft out, possibly as far as 250. Impressive.At the end of the weekend we had made 5 or 6 runs without issue so I decided to leave it behind for other cabin guests to enjoy. About one month later I was told the boat worked flawlessly for another weekend of fun on the water, so for $40 this thing has been worth every penny even if it never floats again.

. . . We bought this as a Christmas present for our 14 year old son. We bought it in November and wrapped it to put it under the tree. On Christmas day, a little less than a month after the boat arrived, my son opened it and tried to use it. It didn't work. The controller functioned up to about two feet away, but not beyond that. We tried a new set of batteries but got the same result. I then tried to unscrew the antenna to reattach to see if that was the problem. The antenna broke at that point. I contacted rctoyvillage and explained what was happening. They told me the antenna was the problem and they would send a new one. That came about a month later and made no difference. I then tried a third set of batteries, but no go. I wrote back again and got no response. I waited a couple weeks and wrote to them and told them I was about to write a negative review but wanted to give them a chance to send a new boat first. They wrote back and said that it had been a long time and that I should try to fix the boat rather than complain about it. I wrote back and told them we tried everything we knew to do, but the boat was a dud and never worked from the very first. I asked them again to make this right. That was several weeks ago and I got no response. I understand they have a 14 day return policy, but the boat should have worked out of the box. Needless to say we are not happy with this company and would not recommend the product. If you do buy from them, make sure you don't wait more than 14 days to test it. Better yet, buy from a company that at least guarantees the product will work out of the box. My son would like to write a stronger review. He was really excited to be getting the boat and is really frustrated by the runaround from rctoyvillage. We'll not be back to this company.

When we received this boat, we tried it out in our back yard swimming pool. It was so fast, it jumped completely out of the pool. We were amazed at its speed. The boat only has one speed - fast.We tried it next on one of our city park lakes. It was fantastic. Fast, maneuverable, and just out right fun. We set out a race course around brush and buoys in the lake. Took turns timing each other around the course. It was great fun - while it lasted. My eight & nine year old grandsons controlled it with ease (except approaching shore to fast). My teenage grandson also liked it. Of course, I thought it was a fantastic entry into the higher end (over the backyard swimming pool putt-putts).The biggest drawbacks I thought was the lack of speed control. It is either on or off. Fast or stop. Perhaps a variable speed controller would be better. The only other drawback was the short battery (race) time. On a new charge, the boat flew, within a few minutes (5-7), the speed was noticeably slower. After 10-12 minutes, the boat just was at idle or crawl.I went to our local battery shop and they made me a duplicate battery. Now when the first battery slows to a crawl, we just change the battery and we are off again. When we are done, I just recharge both batteries & we are ready for the next time. Age recommendations - I recommend it for 14+ without adult supervision, but 7+ if adult supervised. I base that on the fact my eight year old was able to operate it, but could not understand the battery connections, etc.I highly recommend this boat for a excellent remote control boat, above the cheaper backyard pool boats. I am a RC helicopter enthusiast and thought I would try my hand at boats. EXCELLENT CHOICE !Grandfather in second childhood.