Do you spend a lot of time at the lake in warmer weather? Do you desire a marine-based RC, but crave speed and top-fuel styling? If so, then Proboat may have your answer in the form of the Miss LLumar, a 1/12 scale RTR hydroplane.

The Miss LLumar is a scaled replica of the T-4 hydroplane made famous by Mark Evans while racing in the Unlimited racing classes. It combines sharp looks, with a well-handling package designed to run fast and provide some intense water-borne thrills. Since most of us will never be piloting a full-scale hydroplane, this is the closest we'll ever come. If the looks are any indication, I imagine that running the Miss LLumar will be the next best thing to the real experience.

With Old Man Winter behind me, I set out to see exactly what it takes to get this hydroplane from the box to the lake. However before I start it up, I guess I need to send someone to move those overly-relaxed fishermen out of the way. Because here comes the Miss LLumar, and she's ready to speed across the water leaving a wake and plenty of airborne spray behind her.

The Proboat Miss LLumar comes with a very well rounded set of documentation to cover the basics, and to get you up and running. First of all is the manual for the JR Python radio. While the radio is a basic AM radio, all general operational issues being covered in a written manual is still a definite plus. This is especially true for those who may be new to the hobby.

The other two manuals cover issues pertaining to the hydroplane itself. One deals specifically with the motor, covering topics such as break-in and tuning. The other covers the boat as a whole, and gives you general operational tips as well as a run down of maintenance procedures. As you might guess, water can present a whole new set of things to consider when you're storing your model between runs. If you aren't used to the lakefront side of the hobby, some of these maintenance procedures may not be so obvious. However the manual will help you understand what's essential, and how to perform the necessary maintenance.

The Miss LLumar is a radio-controlled boat, but more specifically, a hydroplane. Hydroplanes are easily recognized by their streamlined sponson-based design. This design is optimized to help the vehicle cut through the water as efficiently as possible, as the design causes it to skim across the top of the water more than riding down in it. While the real Miss LLumar is pushed forward to triple digit speeds via a turbine engine, the model uses a more conventional propeller-based approach.

The hydroplane arrives fully finished, and achieves the realistic looks it strives for. The LLumar window film sponsor stickers stand out well against the yellow fiberglass hull, just as the decals on the hydroplane do. Up front you'll see a realistic looking cockpit, and right above it is the air intake. The intake is functional, although don't expect it to consume quite as much oxygen as the real Miss LLumar does!

When looking at the underside of a hydroplane such as the Miss LLumar, I immediately think of lobsters! The front end of the boat, with its sponsons, really resembles the ocean-borne creature, at least to my eyes. Towards the rear of the hydroplane, you'll immediately notice the propeller and rudder. A little closer towards the front of the boat you can catch a glimpse of the hydroplane's turn fin, while on the opposite side of the boat as the fin, you can just make out the coolant's exit hole.

Just as with the full-size LLumar, the air intake supplies the hydroplane with fresh oxygen to help it produce power. However, since the model version of the hydroplane needs less air, the intake is blocked with a piece of tinted lexan. The lexan has a series of holes cut in it, allowing air to flow in as needed. The holes, as opposed to a large cutout, help to prevent any airborne spray from entering the carburetor housed inside the cowl piece. To the right of the cockpit you can see the antenna. Out of the box it is taped to the boat, but before we take the Miss LLumar out for a spin we'll need to install the antenna in its proper resting spot. I'll be covering that procedure later.

The resting spot for the tuned pipe that handles the exhaust duties is cleverly housed in the exhaust cover that replicates the real Miss Lumar's power source. This helps maintain the realistic look and feel to the hydroplane, while allowing the motor to be coupled to a tuned pipe. The tuned pipe is necessary for proper operation of the two-cycle nitro powerplant. The end of the pipe is secured to the boat by an aluminum bracket. Two cap head screws hold the bracket to the boat, while a button head screw keeps the pipe fastened to the bracket. A small access hole, at the top of the pipe, provides you the ability to separate the bracket from the pipe when it's necessary.

The rear of the LLumar boasts several noteworthy features. Arguably the most important item is the propeller, as it's what moves the hydroplane through the water as you're running it. The plastic Y534 propeller is driven by an extended flex shaft that provides you a diverse selection of propellers to use, should you desire to stray from the stock one provided with the LLumar.

Just behind the propeller, you'll find the rudder. It resides on a mount at the rear of the hydroplane. A rod, connected to a JR Z250 servo inside the LLumar's cockpit, controls the angle of the rudder. Just in front of the rudder, and close to the top, you'll see the pick up for the liquid cooling system. It's cut at an angle, which helps force water into it while the LLumar is moving. The water then moves through the tubing connected to it, and flows through the head of the Dynamite .15 motor.

On the left-hand side of the rear of the boat, you'll find a drain plug. This aluminum plug is pushed into a rubber housing, which holds it securely in place. If the hull starts to collect some water from the overspray rushing over the boat, you can pull this plug and drain any water out when refueling.

If you're wondering where the water, used as a liquid coolant, exits the LLumar you need to look no further than the left-hand side of the hydroplane. You'll notice a small hole, and it's from this hole that you'll see a steady stream of water flow out of when running the boat. Since very little air reaches the motor, the coolant is charged with the task of keeping the motor cool while the boat is being operated.

The cockpit cover protects most of the important parts of the LLumar, including the electronics and the Dynamite motor. It also helps maintain the realistic look and feel of the motor that powers the full-scale Miss LLumar. The front of the cockpit cover fits down into the hull, while at the rear of the cover two large cockpit securing nuts hold it in place. These nuts are sized in a fashion that makes removal and installation very easy.

With the cover removed, you can get an incredible glimpse inside of the hydroplane, clearly showing you the heart of the Miss LLumar. As I come from a land-based RC background, the motor looks familiar but still foreign to a small extent. The block is familiar to those like me, but the head is of a design not used for land-based vehicles. Since a marine vehicle of this nature will not have substantial airflow across the head, a different approach must be used. So the water pickup mentioned earlier allows the same water the boat is running in to be pushed through the tubing and into the motor's head. The water provides the motor the method to stay cool, and after it rushes through the head, it runs through the tubing on the opposite side of the head and then out of the side of the hull.

The Dynamite .15 motor is a side-exhaust design, and is equipped with a manifold that routes the spent gases to the rear of the boat. On the rear of the motor, a flywheel turns the flex shaft which drives the propeller. On the opposite side of the motor, you'll see a pullstart which provides the ability to start the motor up. You may be somewhat surprised to notice the lack of an air filter. However, this is common on many marine applications, as dirt and dust is not an issue on the middle of a lake.

Directly in front of the motor you'll notice the nicely sized fuel tank. It's tucked as far towards the front as possible, and capped off with a screw-on lid. The red line carries fuel back towards the motor, while the green line provides tank pressure from the exhaust manifold. The colored lines help to delineate the different needs of the fuel tank, and help set them out from the cooling lines as well.

Directly behind the motor, you'll find the electronics box. The cover for the box is a thin piece of lexan, held in place by a couple of pieces of tape. Keep in mind that the tape is just to hold the lexan cover in place while the LLumar is being shipped. Before you actually hit the water, you'll want to perform a much better job of sealing up the compartment.

The servos are both Z250's by JR, and each offers a moderate 49 oz-in of torque. They are laid over on their side to fit inside the electronics box. They mount to a wooden frame assembly. Directly across from them, you'll see the receiver and the battery holder. Both of these items are wrapped with foam, as further protection from moisture and vibration. The factory receiver is a 75MHz AM unit, providing you the ability to choose between the 30 channels in the 75 MHz range. Keep in mind that this will require optional crystal sets however.

At the front of the compartment, you'll see the power switch. However to facilitate ease of use with this switch, Proboat has run a lever through the wall of the compartment so it can be controlled from the engine compartment. This allows you to switch the hydroplane's electronics on and off without needing to open up the electronics compartment.

The linkage for the throttle passes through the wall of the electronics box in the same manner as the power switch's lever does. Once in the motor compartment, it attaches to the .15's rotary carburetor. The linkage rod that controls the rudder position passes out the rear wall of the electronics box and then out of the rear of the boat. It attaches to the rudder, and swivels it as directed by the steering servo.

If you're worried about working on the Proboat Miss LLumar, don't. That's because the manufacturer supplies you with a nice wooden stand to support the hydroplane while you're working on it. The stand is nearly a necessity, as the bottom turn fin makes it difficult to work on the LLumar if you'd try to set it on a workbench. So the stand is certainly a welcome addition to the box, and one that will be used rather frequently.

The radio supplied to control the LLumar is a JR Python AM radio. The AA batteries fit inside the handle providing a nice balanced feel to the radio overall. The rubber knob is very comfortable and the radio itself comes well equipped, for a box-stock AM radio. You'll find trim adjustment knobs, charging jack, and a battery level indicator. In addition, to help alter the turning ability of the hydroplane you can use the dual-rate knob located on the radio's grip.

The first order of business in getting the Miss LLumar from the box to the water is the antenna. Proboat has already installed the antenna wire in the supplied tube, making things very easy. All that's needed is to insert the antenna into its resting spot on the boat's hull.

Next, you'll need to supply the hydroplane with a source of power for its onboard electronics. To gain enough access to the electronics compartment, keep in mind that you'll need to removed the tuned pipe and cockpit cover. Then, you'll have easy access to the clear lexan cover, and the items that reside under it.

I chose not to use the stock battery holder, and instead use a receiver pack. I wrapped the receiver pack in the foam that had previously surrounded the battery holder, and then pushed it into place in the electronics compartment. Keep in mind that most receiver packs will use a servo-style plug. So you'll either need to make an adapter, or change out the plug on the receiver pack. The pack I used has already had the plug swapped out and uses an adapter I made, with a spare servo wiring harness, to facilitate charging.

After the electronics are installed, you'll need to replace the lexan cover and seal the compartment up to prevent any water from entering it. The instructions mention that clear tape should be used, however I opted for some good electrical tape. It works well, and is still easy to remove when you need to gain access to the electronics compartment once again.

Once the electronics box has been closed and sealed, you'll want to replace the tuned pipe. Make sure that the front of the pipe is fully fitted into the coupler, then secure the rear bracket with the hardware you removed when removing the pipe.

After the tuned pipe has been properly installed, you'll want to drop the cockpit cover into place. The front fits under the cockpit at the front of the boat, while at the rear you'll thread the cockpit nuts in place to hold the cover down. Keep in mind that this cover will need to be removed to start the LLumar. However, I always recommend having the cover secured unless you are starting. Otherwise dirt and debris could find its way into the carburetor and motor.

The last item needing to be tackled is the radio batteries. Install eight AA batteries in the handle as indicated by the diagrams in the battery compartment. I recommend the use of some good quality cells, as they will help you maintain a good control range while the hydroplane is being operated.

The first stage of working with the LLumar involved break-in. However before I ventured out for the first time, I needed to take into consideration that I couldn't retrieve the boat if it stalled a good distance from shore. While it's true I could swim to it, the idea wasn't very appealing, especially since it was still early spring. So I chose to bring along a kayak and a paddle, just in case it became necessary. Access to the boat is one of the disadvantages when running a marine-based RC, but as long as you cover the basics you should have no real problems.

With my emergency recovery plan covered, the break-in process was directly in front of me. So I fueled the Miss LLumar up with some Trinity 20% Monster Horsepower, and ensured the cap was snug. Then, after turning on the radio and receiver, I attached a charged glow plug igniter to the glow plug and proceeded to try and turn the motor over. The first few tugs did not result in any success, so I decided to try opening the throttle slightly while tugging on the pullstart. While I could have used the trim knob to accomplish this, I chose to enlist the assistance of my 13-year-old son who had come along to help. He applied a small amount of pressure to open the carburetor slightly while I pulled on the pullstart a few more times. A few tugs later and the motor fired up.

We gave the motor some blips of the throttle to help clear the carburetor out, and then proceeded to reattach the cockpit cover in place. Then I placed the hydroplane into the water and gave it a little throttle. It sputtered and then stalled, after which I retrieved it and removed the cockpit cover again. I started the starting process again, and this time I gave the trigger a heavier squeeze as I put it in the water. This helped keep it running as the water against the propeller started to put the motor under a load. The LLumar started to pull away from shore and my experience with the Miss LLumar was underway.

While the manual suggested staying close to shore during the break-in process, this isn't always going to be practical, as sometimes underwater plants and vegetation can cause you problems. This is one reason why I brought along the kayak, knowing that I would probably be spending very little time close to shore. My first tank of fuel for break-in went fairly uneventful, although it was apparent that the motor was in a very rich condition due to how sluggish it was running. However, this is ideal for the first tank of the break-in procedure.

I began driving in large circles back and forth across the lake. I watched closely for two things, a good smoke trail and a steady stream of water exiting the side of the hull. These two items indicated that the motor was getting plenty of fuel and plenty of water flowing through the head. I ran through two tanks at this setting, allowing it to cool down between tanks. Since I could not see exactly how much fuel was in the boat, I brought it back in at around the 10 minute mark.

I mentioned that tank one went fairly uneventful, and this is because I did find it necessary to retrieve the LLumar on one occasion during when it stalled due to the rich setting. However, after a quick trip out in the lake with my kayak, the LLumar was quickly back on shore ready to be topped off with some fuel. Soon afterwards, it was headed back out again.

When I reached the third tank, I leaned the high speed needle about 1/12 of a turn, leaning the mixture slightly. This allowed the motor to run a little smoother, and lessened the chances of a stall occurring. I still kept a watch on the smoke trail and the water leaving the hull. All looked well as I ran through tank number three. After it was finished, I ran through tanks four and five in the same manner. I leaned the high speed needle around 1/12 of a turn between each tank, and then ran through the tank watching carefully to ensure the motor was still receiving adequate fuel.

During tank five I noticed that the LLumar seemed to be sitting down in the water more than it initially had been. So after I ran the boat back over to shore and pulled it out of the lake, I removed the drain plug. Then I held the hydroplane in a vertical position, allowing any water that found its way in to drain out. Once the water had drained out, I fueled the LLumar back up and leaned the high speed needle a little more. It was now time to tune for performance. So I fired the LLumar back up and headed out towards the open water once more.

After a few more small needle adjustments I had the Miss LLumar purring through the water perfectly. Adjusting the low speed needle was a little difficult as there wasn't much clearance. However, once you get this needle set, you'll rarely touch it. The high speed needle and the idle screw are very easy to reach however.

The tuned pipe reflected a nice exhaust note off of the surface of the lake. The hydroplane had plenty of power to bring it up to speed, which appeared to showcase the 30MPH claims of Proboat with ease. Steering right at full throttle was easily accomplished thanks to the stability offered by the turn fin on the right sponson. The LLumar never felt as if it was getting out of control while turning in this direction.

As mentioned in the manual, turning left did not present the same stability. While the turn fin gives you stability when turning right, it hinders your left-hand turning ability at higher rates of speed. Proboat mentions this, and tells you to make sure that left-hand turns are made at a slow rate of speed. I certainly recommend this myself, and should also mention that this is typical behavior for a hydroplane. Most race courses are set up in an oval fashion with right turns, so good right-hand stability is what's considered most important.

It was real fun powering the Miss LLumar through the water, and watching it throw up a stream of spray behind it. The hydroplane design cut across the water with ease, and definitely caught the attention of anyone in the vicinity. In fact, I attracted several onlookers while running the hydroplane.

I picked a couple of shallow water markers in the lake and used them as turn poles, seeing how consistent and fast I could cut through the corner. A couple of times I even managed to cut in too sharp, but I was able to easily back off the throttle and regain control. At higher rates of speed, the servo did feel a little sluggish at times, and I feel that a servo with more torque would definitely help this out substantially. However, the servo was the only thing holding the handling back, as the LLumar carved through the water very well.

After I was finished running for the day, I took the time to perform my standard after-run procedure on the motor. Once a little after-run oil had been distributed through the motor, I focused my attention on the flexible shaft. Proboat recommends that the flexible driveshaft be re-greased after each 2 hours of operation. As a general rule, that equates to making it a part of your after-run procedure. I removed the shaft and, even though it still appeared to be coated well with grease, I cleaned it and applied fresh grease to the shaft before reinstalling it back into the shaft housing. Once this was complete, the LLumar would be ready for my next outing.

The driveline for the LLumar had no problem pushing the hydroplane through the water, thanks to the power supplied by the water cooled Dynamite .15. There were a few occasions where I cornered hard and then let off the throttle for a few seconds, when I opened the throttle up again, sometimes it felt as if something in the driveline was slipping. Then the hydroplane would push forward with a nice burst of speed. This was a result of the propeller not resting fully in the water at first, due to the rocking motion of the boat on the water. As the LLumar's propeller became submerged it would then push the boat forward easily.

The Proboat Miss LLumar is most certainly an easy boat to get up and running, as very little preparation is required due to its RTR state. Aside from being an ideal beginner boat due to its status as a RTR, many seasoned boaters will enjoy the speeds and handling it offers as well. Hydroplanes are the marine world's answer to oval racing cars such as NASCAR, and in this aspect the Miss LLumar gives you that experience perfectly.

There isn't a whole lot I would change in regards to the Miss LLumar. However, as I usually suggest, a FM radio would provide an owner some benefits beyond what the stock AM unit does. Channel mixing and even a warm-up function would provide some nice features. The channel mixing would allow you to blend the steering and throttle inputs in together when you're turning, and the warm-up function would help keep the motor running while it's cold and rich.

Another nice improvement would be to replace the drain plug with an auto-bailer. This would allow water to work its way out of the boat's hull automatically when the LLumar is being run. If you wanted to physically drain the hull, a simple tilt of the Miss LLumar to a nose-up position would drain it as well, without the need to remove the plug. Another good swap to consider would be a stronger steering servo. While I never had any real steering problems, a stronger and quicker servo could certainly improve the responsiveness of the hydroplane.

If you're into the boating scene, and have the desire to add a nice speedy hydroplane to your collection then the Proboat Miss LLumar would be a great addition to your collection. If you're looking for a boat to jump into the hobby with, the LLumar works well in that situation too. Proboat has just simply performed an excellent job of providing a well rounded package, and for that they should certainly be commended.

Proboat
Distributed Exclusively By
Horizon Hobby, Inc.
4105 Fieldstone Road
Champaign, IL 61822 USA
Phone: (877) 504-0233
Fax: (217) 352-6799
Website: www.horizonhobby.com

Dynamite RC Products
Distributed Exclusively By
Horizon Hobby, Inc.
4105 Fieldstone Road
Champaign, IL 61822 USA
Phone: (877) 504-0233
Fax: (217) 352-6799
Website: www.horizonhobby.com
Products used: Glow Igniter