Sunday, January 27, 2013


Black Jack 29 RTR Review

I recently purchased a Blackjack 29 RC boat by ProBoat from Fantasy World Hobbies. From what I found, the Blackjack is a newer version of the Mystic 29. I also own a Miss Geico 29 so I will be using the Miss Geico 29 for comparison.


The Black Jack comes ready to run out of the box.  The only additional items that need to be ordered are your choice of batteries,  shaft grease, and electric motor oil for maintenance.  I decided to buy two Speed Pack LIPO 3s batteries 5300MAH with a 50C discharge rate. They plug right in with the EC3 connectors that come with the boat. Once you plug the batteries in your're ready to run with a 6s setup.



The Miss Geico boat is running two Onyx 2s 5000 Mah 25C batteries.

My first run I was amazed at how fast the boat is. I always make a first pass to check the cooling system and see if water is flowing out the through hull. My next pass I checked the maneuverability. The Blackjack doesn't turn nearly as sharp as the Miss Geico 29, since Miss Geico’s rudder is directly behind the prop Miss Geico has very responsive steering. Blackjack’s rudder is offset to one side which is better for top speed. The Blackjack boat has reverse unlike Miss Geico which is a nice feature even though its rare I use reverse. Both boats have the catamaran design which is very stable compared to the monohull design of the Traxxas Spartan that doesn't have as good of lateral stability.





I put the GPS in both boats, the Blackjack Ran 43 MPH and Miss Geico ran 34 MPH. Both boats are plenty fast. Due to Miss Geico’s 60 amp ESC it is limited to only running 4S. The option is available to put a bigger ESC in Miss Geico and run 6S if you like.

A couple things to watch out for, I ran Blackjack a little harder during some later runs.  The components do get a lot warmer than Miss Geico since I’m running more voltage and amps.  I would be cautious running the boat continuously at full throttle and try to keep the boat in motion to keep water flowing through the cooling system. After I’m finished running the boat I always gently run more water through the rudder water pickup with a water hose so the motor and the ESC don’t heat soak. After I’m finished running either boat I always open the hatch, turn off the power and UNPLUG the batteries! The LIPOS will eventually drain if you do not disconnect the batteries and you will be left buying new batteries from the hobby store.

These boats are both great choices! ProBoat offers good customer support if any questions arise. If you want speed out of the box I would buy the Blackjack with the 6S setup and if you're looking for maneuverability, still with plenty of speed, Miss Geico is a good choice. Remember to grease the shaft after ever few runs and add a few drops of electric motor oil every 10 runs or so. I actually grease the prop shaft after every run on the Blackjack because of the higher RPM’s I’m turning with the boat. Use a liberal amount of grease.

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