Living on the Grand River offers me some new RC opportunities to explore–RC Boats! I've had the 24" Atomik Barbwire XL 2 Brushless Race boat for two years now (which are no longer available), but rarely had opportunities to run it. After taking my Alpha Patrol Boat out on the water last week, I knew I needed to charge up the 3s Venom Lipo battery that came with the Barbwire XL 2 and get it out on the river. Being on the river offers a challenge I didn't really face at the other places I ran the boat–a current.
I wasn't too worried about the current with this boat because it has a self-righting feature that allows you to right the boat when it flips over which would allow me to save it before it floats away–or so I thought. More on that later.
I charged up the battery and took the boat down to the river for it's first rip here in Michigan. The boat is definitely the fastest one I've owned and at 24" it handles very well in small chop. After a few minutes of running it and getting the feel for it again, I finally flipped it. No worries though, right? Wrong! The side hole in the rear that lets water in to weigh down the side and allow it to self-right didn't seem to be taking in any water and it wasn't allowing me to pin it full left and self-right. I tried multiple ways and even holding throttle to try to wiggle it around and get water in.
As I kept trying to right it, I noticed it caught a faster current and quickly hit stop on my recording and dove in after it to rescue the boat. I wish I had a GoPro with me and could've filmed the rescue from the water, but I didn't. The current isn't fast, but there is definitely some power behind it. The swim and walk back to our property definitely gave me a workout. I didn't feel exhausted, but it left me breathing heavy.
I continued to film from underneath the willow tree where I had jumped into the water and got some flow motion footage of the Barbwire XL 2 in action, then did some vertical video I could use on Instagram Reels and TikTok. During this time, I managed to flip it again and had to jump in to save it again. I know you will also tell me to get a rescue boat or kayak, and I will say that we have been actively looking at them.
Overall, I had a blast running the Atomik RC Barbwire XL 2 and plan to get a few more RC boats to run out back. I've been actively looking at a few Pro Boat models and the Thrasher V3 Jet Boat. More water adventures to come!
Looking to buy an RC Boat? Here are a few places to look. The links are affiliate links that help support CCxRC but don't cost you any extra.
RC Boats From Horizon Hobby: Click Here
RC Boats from Amain: Click Here