Pro Boat Stealthwake 23 Deep-V RTR Boat w/Pro Boat 2.4GHz Radio, Battery & Charger

The Pro Boat Stealthwake showed up packaged safe and secure in its box, with foam holding it tightly in place. The hull is made of ABS plastic, and is thick enough to provide exceptional rigidity to the hull, with no flimsy feeling to note. I really like the graphics setup on this model; the hull is all black with orange decals applied. The cockpit hatch has a windshield graphic with faux bolts to simulate a real offshore racer; this hull definitely looks the part! An ABS stand is included to cradle the Stealthwake when sitting in dry dock.

Hanging off the transom are a pair of aluminum turn fins and trim tabs, a plastic rudder standoff and breakaway plastic rudder, and a non-adjustable stinger drive. The turn fins are not breakaway and the trim tabs are fixed and not adjustable without bending them. Based on it's performance, I can honestly say that no adjustments are needed to any of the components; they're set just right from the factory.

Let's discuss that rudder: the standoff is 2" long and bolts to the transom with a pair of machine screws and lock nuts on the inside. The rudder is known as a breakaway design that will pivot back and sheer the breakaway pin if it strikes a hard object in the water. This is by design, and saves the transom in case of a hard hit.

The propeller is made of plastic and is 1.6"x2.5". It works well for this size hull and power combo, and has held up to a few accidental beachings as we piloted the Stealthwake very close to the sandy shore on Lake Erie. The prop shaft is solid steel and exits the hull via a brass stuffing tube with brass bushings on each end. The prop shaft attaches to the motor through a brass coupler with a pair of grub screws. There was plenty of marine grease inside the stuffing tube, but make sure to buy some extra grease to keep the shaft and bushings lubricated after every session.

Inside the hull, you'll see a brushed 15-turn 550-sized motor, a 60a esc, and a Spektrum steering servo. The motor is mounted securely to the plastic support structure that runs back to the transom and provides a secure mounting location for the esc, receiver, and steering servo as well. The plastic support structure is glued to the inside of the hull and shows no signs of pulling off. The esc is a 60a design that's switchable between LiPo and NiMH cutoff, and has a reverse lockout in case you want to race it in IMPBA or NAMBA sanctioned events. The steering servo is a waterproof Spektrum analog S603.

On the bottom of the hull is the water cooling pickup; it utilizes the boats forward momentum to force water through the cooling tubes, around the motor's watercooling coil, and out the side of the hull. Brushed motors generate quite a lot of heat compared to brushless motors, so cooling is essential; the cooling system works well and I could always see a steady stream of water exiting the left side of the hull.

A 7.2v NiMH or 7.4v LiPo will fit nicely in the battery cradle on the left side of the hull. It comes with a hook-and-loop strap and rubber base to prevent the battery from moving around inside. The Stealthwake comes with Dynamite EC3 connectors installed, but I changed it over to the XT60 connector only because I use that connector on all my batteries as personal preference.

The Pro Boat Stealthwake includes an ECX 2.4GHz transmitter and a Dynamite 7.2V 2400mAh NiMH battery and wall charger. The transmitter is a no-frills unit; it works well, has plenty of range, and features the standard steering and throttle dual-rate and trim knobs, as well as steering and throttle reverse switches. Pro Boat includes 4 AA batteries to help get you in the water faster.