My local rc club have started to address adding a pond to our facility so I thought input from here would be valuable. If one were to purpose-build a man-made pond, what would be the ideal size/shape/depth for battler's? A much larger version of what I see at the bay area maker fair seems like a logical direction. I wonder how difficult it would be to retain water in a large shallow pond. Here's a photo of the grounds. The area between the dirt track and hangar is what we have to work with. Runway is 800'x50' for size reference.
Thanks, it comes at the price of really hard work from the club raising money, and Horizon Hobby supporting the facility for marketing and event use. But it's a killer place to play with toys.
The preferred pond is about 2.5-3ft deep and as big as you can get. So make it as big as you can and shallow. Nice place BTW!
A pond that is 2.5 to 3ft can become unusable in a hot summer... if you don't have a spring or well to fill it.. it will get expensive to maintain. We had to fix the water down in Texas just to keep the water at a minimum level since evaporation has already drained 1/3 of the pond or more this spring/summer. With that said I think Wades is dug about 4ft.. but it dries up completely every year and he has to wait on rain (and pump in from the ditch/bayou) or pay to fill it (his water bill).
I have asked 50 people that question (no good answer) Normally we battle on what we can get. How many people will battle? Battle cruisers and turning ships do not need a lot of room. Battleships want more. You have a Lutzow / cruiser, you would like room. You need 120' of straight line for a speed course. 200' x 100' might be fun to add a small peninsula. kas
Wade's is about 200 by 185 and has a big island in the middle. We could handle 30 ships easy.. but it would be a knife-fight in a closet. .the BEST kind!! If you can make it 250 by 250 or even better.. an abstract shape with islands and peninsula.. that would be super neat. We want to add a few islands to our pond but we need permission, money, and labor.. short on all so far...
I think we have plenty of space to fit 300x250. Glad someone has experience with evaporation, that was definitely a concern I had. Agreed on the islands. It would have to be removable foam or something so other rc boat guys could enjoy a hazard free pond.
If it is boat racing then you would need a larger pond anyway.. the racers down here want a minimum of 900 foot straightaways and about 200 wide I think.. something like that. You may find that boat 'bashers' or whatever the boat equivalent is .. may like driving around islands and such. We wanted to try to copy the shape of islands from a big battle like the battle of midway or whatever. In the end I thing that the Solomon islands had a few shapes that worked well and can be put close to once side.. leaving the rest of the pond open for faster boats. Sketch up some ideas and see what folks think
If you do an island, you definitely need to do Guadalcanal. That way you can name the surrounding area 'Balsa Bottom Sound' and have the 'Tokyo Express' when playing campaign.
If you're catering to the boat racers, they will dictate the size and shape more than the battlers will. Scale modelers will want obstacles to maneuver around, like islands and peninsulas, but racers will not. As for depth, I recommend at least 4ft. That's enough depth for all but the biggest ships to sink nice and pretty. Also enough depth for a submarine to operate. Ideally you want 6-8ft deep, to support submarines, evaporation, and other concerns, but that brings up the concern of boat recovery. Speaking of boat recovery, I personally recommend using a certified lifeguard for boat recovery if the water is greater than 4 feet deep. My lifeguard certs (and rescue tube, physical fitness, and general competence) were enough to ease concerns of the most conservative property owners I've met. The training was not difficult to obtain so it should be easy to get a few club members certified and equipped. If a certified lifeguard isn't good enough, you'll need a boat and someone with training to operate it. This looks like a large RC facility, so expect the pond to be used by sail-boaters, scale boaters, racers, battlers, and seaplane pilots. All of their needs must be considered. Just looking at the picture, the area seems fairly smooth and flat, with a good fetch to provide steady winds for sailboats. Obstacles like trees, while desirable for shade, would disrupt those winds. Another feature to consider is launch points. At the fly-casting ponds the SFMYC and SubRegatta sometimes sail at, there are a couple of concrete dugouts, originally intended for fishermen to simulate standing waist-deep in water. They make ideal launch sites, because you could float your boat and stand right next to it, at perfect workbench height. Ideal conditions for trimming ballast, testing pumps, etc. These would need to be shielded or evacuated during battle, though, because nobody wants their face at gun-level when the shooting starts. On the subject of shielding, have you given any thought to protecting buildings, passers-by, and nearby cars from ricochets? Usually simple distance is enough, but that won't be an option here. Consider having dirt slopes around the edges of the pond, perhaps 3-4 feet tall, to absorb most stray shots. If that isn't enough, there are other more obvious solutions.
The sole reason I'm into these boats. His youtube videos got me into it over a decade ago and I still find myself watching them. Appreciate the feedback, definitely points I hadn't thought of. I'm not certain there's demand in this area for boat racing. The intention of the pond was mainly for "bashers" that just want somewhere to run. Sailboats and Submarines are both personal interests of mine and I agree with your depth assessment. The people that were talking about this were thinking 1-2 feet would cut it.
Build the pond and the racers will come. Racing is the largest segment of the model boat hobby and catering to it is something to consider.
4-5' of depth, something big enough for a speed course, with some interesting feature. Island, bays, unusual shapes, etc. Wades and the pond at H&H are/were the most fun for me because the pond had challenges, it wasn't just a big ocean to run away into. Pool Battle!
