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Danvo Mini Star

Danvo’s were among the first mini boats on the market, and they remain some of the smallest. The distinctive barrel-back shape and low center of gravity allow this boat to right itself almost instantly from even the most spectacular tumbles. Performance-wise, the Mini Star is a real winner, thanks to the included 380 motor and driveline. It requires a bit more experience to assemble, and you’ll have to supply your own speed control, servo linkage and radio gear. The Mini Star doesn’t have a separate, sealed electronics compartment, so you’ll need to seal it well with waterproof tape each time you run it. For these reasons, buyers should already have a boat or two under their belts. We spent most of our time on the Mini Star, but even smaller boats—the Micro Star and the Jet Ski— are available, and they share the same characteristics.

WATER LOG

The Mini Star accelerates briskly, and the brass rudder tracks well at any speed. The two smaller boats tend to porpoise more than the Mini Star—probably because of the bat- tery position and the resulting center of gravity. All three bounce around a little, which is a lot of fun and not at all difficult to control. If you flip them over, the boats right themselves in a second or two.

The Mini Star probably offers more performance than any of the micro boats. It is the fastest in a straight line, and because you

data center

MANUFACTURER: Danvo Racing Products MODEL: Mini Star

BEST BUYER: boaters with one or two models’ experience

LENGTH: 13 in. (330mm)

WIDTH: 5.5 in. (140mm)

WEIGHT: 14.5 oz. (411g)

POWER: 380 electric motor (included); 6-cell NiMH rechargeable battery pack

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COOL FACTOR

PERFORMANCE

SKILL LEVEL

min.max.

min.max.

everyone intermediate advanced

must supply your own speed control and bat- tery, you can opt for more power if you wish. As long as you have the know-how to pick the parts and install them, it will be hard to beat the Mini Star.

(not included)

RUN TIME: 10 to 15 min.

PRICE: $99.99 (radio system not included)

DANVO RACING PRODUCTS

(440) 779-7003; danvo.com.

Even when the hulls are dragged well under water, their natural buoyancy pushes them back to the surface so forcefully that they leap as much as a foot out of the

water! The weight distribution ensures that they always land right-side up and ready to race. We tried this stunt 20 or 30 times in a row, and it worked every time!

SELF-RIGHT-EOUS!

Think about what an advantage it would be if you knew that

the weight as low as you can in the hull, seal it so that no

every time you tossed a coin, it would land heads-up? You’d

water can leak in and change the weight balance, and make

never have to buy the next round or give up the last piece of

the deck smooth and rounded. Think of it as an aquatic ver-

pizza, and your team would always get to receive the kick-

sion of a Weeble Wobble toy! When the boat rolls, the

off! The HobbyZone Zig Zag and the Danvo Mini Star give

weight of the running gear is suspended well above the

you a heads-up in the world of mini boats—one that can

waterline with the air-filled upper deck beneath it and no flat

save you a chilly swim or the hassle of rowing to a capsized

surface on which to settle. The deck tries to resurface while

craft in the middle of the pond. You see, these two are self-

the hull tries to resubmerge. They quickly swap places and—

righting hulls, and that means it’s just about impossible to

bingo!—you are upright and on your way! #

strand them upside-down. The concept is pretty simple: put

 

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MegaTech H20 manual Danvo Mini Star, Minisµs