RC Sailboats are a lot of fun:
Create or buy your own dream sailboat model with all the details, whatever it is (America cup wind racer? 3 mast schooner? Pirate ship? Anything you want...)
Relaxing while you watch them cruise by and still have the time to enjoy the scenery and ducks paddling by
Learn or show somebody the basics of sailing while standing on land. (especially good with children if you want to show them the sailing basics but in a fun & playful way)
Racing your RC Sailboat against others and trust me you get that racing fever very quickly
4 Types of RC Sailboats
To get started on your boat selection, there are basically four construction types of remote controlled rc sailboats. Which one you choose depends on your handcraft skills and the amount of time you want to spend between unpacking and heading to the next stretch of water.
Ready to Run RC Sailboat
Come completely build out of the box. You plug in the battery for the controls (and engine if it has one) and you are set to go. Those are often Toy RC Sailboats for children or some really expensive finished build model for your display.
Almost Ready to Run RC Sailboat
The number of ARTR model sailboats is steadily increasing. They come with everything you need (except batteries) and just have to plug and screw some parts together. Usually this doesn't involve any need for glue and can be done in less than 1 hour. The promised 10 minutes from most suppliers should be taken with a grain of salt, but setting up a new mobile phone takes much longer and is a bigger pain.
The RC Sailboat Kit
The supplier provides you with a full kit and instructions and usually guidelines for the radio control equipment you need. Those kits can be anything from very simple to highly complex, mainly depending on the amount of details your ship will have. A simple dingy compared to a perfect replica of a 17th century warship just take different amounts of time to build.
RC Sailboat build from scratch
This is for the true masters or people who really want to challenge themselves. Building a RC Sailboat from scratch mostly based on some real life boat plans is not an easy task, but can be the most rewarding because she is really unique. Before you start a word of advice: Model sailboats usually need to be adopted to cope with the much stronger winds and waves in comparison to the conditions their originals have/had to face. I will soon have some more information about that on my website.
 Single 10mm Block Metal Sheave Shackle RC sailboat model yacht  US $14.00
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The 3 important questions to ask yourself:
What do I want to get out of the RC Sailboat?
Just some quick fun on the lake? Something fast to compete with others? Something you can put on to display?
The answers to those questions will quickly determine what kind of boat and what construction type you want.
How big is the trunk of your car?
No kidding. You will need to get your model sailboat somehow to the water and it isn't much fun if you have to dissemble and reassemble most of it every time.
Where are you going to let your RC Sailboat sail?
Water depth and wind conditions determine the size of your boat and especially of the keel. If you only got shallow waters or water filled with sea grass you will have to look for a multihull.