4DRC S2 High Speed RC Boats with LED Lights & 2 Batteries, 30+ mph Remote Control Boat for Pools and Lakes, Capsize Recovery, Low Battery Reminder for Boys Girls Adults (Grey)

Before saying anything else, a word of warning. This boat is fast, very fast. Being small it gives the impression that its speed is far greater than it actually is. The listing doesn’t seem to know whether it’s capable of 30kph, 30mph or 90kph, all I know is it’s fast, with incredible acceleration. With such speed I wonder how well this boat would stand up to a head on collision with a rock or other hazard in the water? With a rather insubstantial rubber nose cone I don’t think it will offer much protection to stop the boat shattering in a crash. I’m sorry, but it’s not something I want to test, so I’m keeping to wide expanses of water with plenty of room for manoeuvrability.The boat isn’t watertight. There is an ill fitting seal (by design, not a fault) for the control wire where it passes through the hull. There is a double hatch cover arrangement. Both have rubber seals that fit well, but the inner one is useless. There is a square hole directly in front of the inner hatch cover which allows water directly into the engine compartment if the outer hatch cover is breached.The hand controller works well and is very responsive, but it looks and feels cheap. I wouldn’t want to drop it on concrete.At £109.99 I think this offering from 4DRC is overpriced. Although the water ingress issues are easy to resolve, it still leaves the quality of the hand controller and durability of the hull. Yes it’s good fun, yes it’s fast but both features are available on far cheaper boats.

The media could not be loaded. This is my second 4DRC S2, so I already know how fast these boats are. I've not had as much chance as I'd hoped to race the green one, but was really pleased when this silver one was offered to review as it gives me the option for a friend and I to take them both out. Although I have a few other boats, including some from the 4DRC range, this is the best of them all, in my opinion, due to size and power.The RC mechanics are all fairly good on these, with professional brushless motors, water cooling and outboard steering, etc.Sadly, I have encountered some build quality issues with this silver one. The rear hose, for example, is squashed. I couldn't see any water movement through it in testing, even when squeezing the tube open. Perhaps it'll open up more in open water use? The boat also sits a little lop-sided, possibly due to the battery tray being a little angled to the left at the rear. From recollection, the other one was straight, so this may explain it. There's also a nasty smell from inside, possibly from excess water sealing. When you put the boat in the water for the first time, there's also an oily substance excreted into the water.The RC transmitter isn't that great a quality, as I'd previously noted. It's quite cheap and light feeling, although does work well with proportional steering and throttle. The boat doesn't turn on until in the water and emits a drone-like noise when turning on. The transmitter suffers the same problem that the green one has: the +'ve up battery fits very tight in the bay and can have connection issues. The only way around this is to scrape away at the plastic inside the battery bay as all AA batteries are like this.Speed is good and you get 2 x 1600mAh batteries included for a decent run time. I've found you can get a good 10 mins+ out of these on a full charge, with heavy use. Just be mindful of run time when using on a larger lake, although there is a warning for low battery.Battery charging is also not overly quick, so make sure you leave plenty of time to charge from flat before going out.With all the issues aside, this is generally a good boat and will provide plenty of enjoyment. It's quite pricey compared with the green one though, which makes no sense as they're essentially the same boat.