Shunbo Phantom 1000mm RTR RC Sailboat

Assembly is a major project. It wouldn't be too bad except the instructions are completely inadequate. The fuzzy grey pictures are no help.Example, the boat comes with a stand. The stand has 18 parts (as far as I can tell) here are the complete instructions for building the stand with these 18 parts; "Put the aluminum pole into the slot, you can get a beautiful stand."The feet for the stand (I have to guess what they because not mentioned in installation at all) do not fit. So I have to choose between forcing them or wonder if these feet are supposed to be used somewhere else.I'm sending it back.

My neighbor talked me into buying this sailboat after talking me into getting into radio controlled model airplanes five years ago. I bought it because it was big and inexpensive for its size from another source. Despite my concern about a large number of bad reviews here and elsewhere, this has turned out to be a great starter boat that sails well and extremely realistically in a variety of wind conditions.The maiden voyage was in winds of 8 mph, gusting to 25 and the little boat got knocked down numerous times and dismasted once forcing us to retrieve it with a fishing pole. Fortunately, I didn't lose the mast step and I was back in the water in minutes. The problem was mine...I had forgotten to close the eye snaps and the wind pressure on the sails caused the open snaps to slip out of their eyes. This was not a problem with the boat or its equipment. Once repaired, the little boat sailed beautifully for the next two hours despite the flukey heavy air. At one point my neighbor and I were sailing side by side on the same course with the same sail-set and our speeds were identical as they should be with a one-design boat. This boat sails very much like a real one and a real sailor should have no problem sailing it.I made no modifications to the boat other than adding the required weight to the keel which i filled completely with #8 birdshot then sealed the filler hole with epoxy. There have been complaints about the quality of the rigging but I've had no problem with it. Eventually, I will replace the standing rigging with stainless steel fishing leader and the running rigging with dacron which is slicker and less inclined to foul. The deck fittings likely will need to be replaced with metal ones. When they do, I'll also add turnbuckles for more precise sail adjustments. The mast does need to be raked forward, especially in heavy air, because weather helm can overpower the ability of the boat to steer away from the wind. This is normal and the same adjustment must be made in real sailboats as well. In light air the mast needs to be raked back to create a fuller sail to capture more wind, again, just like a real boat.The biggest problem we encountered were the absolutely minimal instructions which left much to the imagination. There were no instructions whatsoever about setting up the electronics but our experience with RC model airplanes helped out there. Information on rigging was also useless and we had to depend on our previous sailing experience to know what to do. While this is an excellent starter boat for people with prior sailing and RC experience, it definitely is not a beginner's boat. With decent instructions, it could be.

OK Here we go !I purchased the HK Phantom in January with the obligatory "christmas money"I need to note that I already have and sail an Aquacraft Vela1 that I purchased last year in much the same fashion.For quite some time, I have been puzzled by the way people put down this boat. I was astounded by the way people would say, "save your money and get a better boat" and other such things.I mean Hey, I got in at about 350 with my Vela1 and thats a "cheap boat" in alot of peoples eyes.So I got the HK Phantom. And I could immediately tell that the deck fittings were not going to last. Those got replaced straight away with Aluminum T rails from Peakbe. One 10 inch rail divided in to three equal parts, replaced the side stays and the jib rail.The boat took on a 2.4 6 channel reciever from Tactic. Its what I had laying around and it interfaces nicely with my spare Tactic 650 transmitter.The boat received a 6volt LiFe battery and was set to sail.I pulled the foam crap lame attempt at a hatch seal and replaced it with self adhesive weather stripping secured with medium CA glue.The lines are GARBAGE. I was told the same thing about the Vela, and I sailed her with the stock lines in-place several times before I upgraded. So I figured "what the heck" and took her out. I attempted to sail in 8mph wind with the stock lines and nothing would stay put. The Jib that was quadrupedal knotted came loose and I nearly lost my boat. I should have used CA on the knot, but I planned to redo the lines anyway and figured it would last in less than 10mph wind. I - WAS - WRONG.So I took the boat home and reran every single piece of line with Spectra and turnbuckles. I use a huge spectra line rated for something like 80lbs or some such crap. I do this because I wanted the line to run through pulleys on my Vela and not get fouled. And since I don't race, I don't care if the shroud lines are 1mm thick. Over kill? Ya, but it doesn't matter to me really.So Finally yesterday, March 20th at about 5pm with winds rated at about 5mph to 8mph gusts My son and I took the Vela 1 and the HK Phantom to the local water feature and put them to the test.Vela hits the water and takes off in the hands of my 11 yr old son. I get the Phantom in the water and unlike the previous experience, it stays upright. And it begins to tack. But thats when I notice something unexpected. The Vela on an equal tack, in the hands of an 11yr old who has sailed maybe 5 times, departs from the presence of the Phantom as if it has a turbo jet engine installed under the waterline.The phantom sails like garbage. Junk, refuse, asbolute trash. This is a complete and utter waste of 100 USD.We sailed out to some bouys. Ok he sailed, and I bobbed along fighting wind and wave. He makes it to the buoys and I arrive after him to see the Vela doing Figure 8s around the two that he was supposed to go between. And suddenly I have no rudder control. Well in the direction I want to go anyway. I let the sails out to right the boat, no good, I pull them in to get velocity to turn. No good. Finally I make a left turn 270 degrees to go to the 90 right that I wanted. Eventually after much frustration Im able to get the boat to sail in the general direction I wanted.Now with all this frustration and down talking, I have to say that this is about a 300% better experience than the one we had on Saturday. Remember that was 7mph gusting to 12 according to the local anemometer at the end of the lake as reported by wind alert on my Iphone. This is a app that reports the SailFlow web-site data. Ya other than the jib coming loose, the Phantom just lay on its side in 3-4 inch waves under the wind. Oh the Vela in the hands of mr inexperience? Ya he sailed up and down the beach and got so cocky he started to try to coach me and tell me what I must be doing wrong.So verdict on the budget boat? Absolute Garbage. And here's the worst part. I got this boat so that others could go with me when I sail my Vela. Whats worse about that? Well this boat is so much garbage that I couldn't let anyone sail it but me. If I want any "friend" or child of mine to have fun sailing with me, I'll have to let them sail the capable and functional Vela while I sail the craptastic POS Phantom. So ya, every time I want to have a friend along to have fun, Im stuck with garbage.

For me, I have had this sail boat for 2-3 years. Still using the same lines. Servos the same. On my medium size park pond, easy to sail, good speed and control. Hull has an excellent shape. I don't use in higher winds of 15+. We sail weekly in the summer. Leisure. For improvements, the rudder needed to add a plastic extension to increase control in winds. Packaging tape and milk carton cutouts worked ok for me. Plastic rails are nice for show, but not break off so just remove them. One day, I had to replace the rudder shaft from plastic to using a hobby brass tubing. The plastic sleeve leaked water. Easy fix with normal hobby material. Also, I drilled a drain hole in the back to empty easier. I seal the hatch with black tape but others use window foam seals. I added a plastic cover above the rudder servo to keep the line from touching. Cut it from packaging material. My cost new was about $130 thru Hobby King or similar place. Prices listed seem too high. Keep looking. No radio receiver but plenty of FM ones around my place. Shared with friend for the lead shot to fill the ballast. Junior level skills but I recommend this sail boat over the others I see listed.