Intlwaters.com interview with Jeff Vasquez

For our first interview, I thought I'd choose somebody I had had contact with in the past to make it easier to get the ball rolling. After serious consideration, there was really only one answer: Jeff Vasquez. 

Over the past six months or so, I've had a few email conversations with Jeff regarding my Bud Light Tunnel Hull. He was always prompt, always polite and willing to help, and he always gave me more information than I asked for. Besides that, he's also one of the most successful of the current Fast Electric racers. 

He's been a member of the So. Cal. Skimmers F.E. Boat club for about 6 years and has won many club titles there, and serves as Club President for the club. In racing, he has won a total of about 15 National Championship class titles in the APBA and NAMBA over the last 4 years. He was the 1995/96 APBA F.E. National Champion. In NAMBA, he is the 1997 National Champion in P OPC Tunnel, P Sport Scale Hydro, and Anything Goes. He currently holds the APBA 12 cell Open Tunnel Hull record. He also holds the NAMBA records in P and Q Hydro, and P Sport Scale hydro. He has also won numerous "Wet & Wild" titles over the past 4 years, and has been writing for RCBM for the last year and a half. That's quite a resume.

So, without further adoo, let's get going with the interview, conducted by email, the third week of November, 1997.... 
 

Jeff Vasquez: I first got started in RC about 20 years ago. I basicly raced small air boats in my neighbor's pool for a year or two. I then basicly didn't do too much even though I had an interest because of the expense. I always had a subscription to the mags so I could keep in touch with what was going on. I had several friends who flew so I would go to the RC airport and watch them. In 1990 our neighborhood got a big pond in a local park. I have been hooked ever since. 

IW: What was your first boat? 

JV: My first boat was an MRP Gentry Eagle. 

IW: Why does R/C boating appeal to you? 

JV: I race RC airplanes and cars but for some reason RC boats just really appeal to me more than the others. I really enjoy watching a boat fly over the water and racing them. I can't really explain it other than to say I have boat fever. 

IW: How many boats do you currently own? Care to name them? 

JV: I currently own about 15 RC boats. Most of my hulls are Maus Motorsports Hulls. My F.E. race boats are all Maus. I race the Rigger, Bullet Mono, Micro Bullet Mono, 1/12 and 1/16 shovelnoses. I am working on the Champ OPC tunnelhull on 12 cells with Aveox power. 

IW: What type of hull (monos, hydros, tunnels, etc.) is your favorite to run, and why? 

JV: My favorite boat to run is the Maus Motorsports 1/12th Scale shovelnose Hydro. It is Fast, good looking, and a blast to drive. With Aveox power it is a 40+mph boat easily. 

IW: You are known to be a "Fast Electric Guy." What about F.E. appeals to you over the other types of power? 

JV: I have Nitro boats but F.E.'s are the thing for me. I can run them just about anywhere and I really enjoy the club I belong to which is the So. Cal. Skimmers F.E. boat club. We race twice a month and it a lot of fun. F.E. are really a blast to race because the course is smaller and the speeds are in the 40-50 mph range. 

IW: Do you make a living solely from your work with R/C? If not, what's your "real job?" 

JV: I own a painting company. We are a medium sized painting contracting Co. in so. Cal. We specialize in custom homes and buildings. The only money that I earn from boats is what I make writing articles for RCBM. I am sponsored by Aveox, Maus Motorsports, and Ballistic Batteries, but they only give me equipment - no cash! 

IW: If there were someone out there reading this who had never owned or run an R/C boat, what advice would you give him (or her)? 

JV: The only advice that I could give someone who never owned an RC boat is to give it a try, BUT COPY the guys who's boats work. Everybody will give you advice but only trust the guys who's boats run good. Most important thing is to Copy, Copy, copy! Ask a lot of questions also. 

IW: On the average, how many hours a week do you spend working on/running your personal fleet? 

JV: I probably spend about 10-15 hrs. a week on RC boats between racing, building , E-mailing, and talking on the phone. 

IW: Do you view R/C boating as a hobby or a sport? 

JV: RC boats is a hobby that I treat like a sport. The racing is definitely a sport as I get just as nervous and prepare just as much for this as when I competed in Karate or tennis. If I couldn't race boats I woldn't be doing it. Sport running or Scale boats don't appeal to me. I love to race. 

IW: The R/C car scene has been dominated for years by several large companies (Kyosho, Tamiya, Associated, Losi...) whose products are found in virtually every hobby shop, yet in the R/C boating world, it seems like a lot of the faster hulls are made in somebody's barn. Can you explain why there aren't more big names in boating that behave like the big names in cars? 

JV: That is a very good question. Firstly RC cars are so huge compared to boats. It is all about business. I would say that boats are the smallest biz of all the RC disiplines. It is starting to get more professional though. Maus, which was basicly a garage operation is now grown and is distributed by Great Planes/Tower. Cars are just a lot easier to do as any kid can throw a car down on the floor and race it around. You can't just do that with a boat. I think that we are trying to make the hobby/sport more professional but it will take time. Also the manufacturers need to get excited about boats which is starting to happen. Astroflight, Aveox, etc are competing with one another and that is good for the hobby. Also Warehouse hobbies may get into the RC boat arena and that would be good for the sport and business. 

IW: There has been some rumblings on rec.models.rc.water recently about going to a single governing body for R/C boat racing. Where do you stand on this? 

JV: I think that RC boats would be stronger with only one organization but I don't see that happening soon. APBA RC is effectively gone or will be shortly. NAMBA is going strong and has had a huge influx of F.E. members. I dont know about IMPBA but I do know it is pretty big. I think that the ideal situation would be for a world organization. 

IW: What has been your happiest moment in R/C boating? 

JV: The best things are me winning a big race and seeing beginners doing well. 

IW: What has been your worst? 

JV: The worst thing that has almost happened to me is a boat almost sinking. 

IW: Last Question: Peer into your crystal ball and predict where this hobby/sport is going. What is going to be the next big thing? What technology should we be on the lookout for? 

JV: Fast Electrics are growing slowly. There are a hard core group of guys around the nation who have the fever and love to race. Every year we see more and more. The F.E. nats grew to over 200 boats from 180 the year before. I think that there will be measured growth for several years to come. The technology is getting awesome. Brushless motors by Aveox have really picked up the pace. Astroflight doesn't like this and is countering with Faster more powerful motors. Then we have the European Ultra motors which are very good especially in the 6-8 cell classes. Batteries are getting better also. The new 2000's have really picked up the pace. Within a year I am going to try to break 70 mph with a F.E. 80+ mph may be easily attainable with an Aveox and a special hull. This will be the fastest electric powered vehicle ever on the water. Things are looking good and the 98 nationals may be the first trully international F.E. race with participants from Europe as well. 

We would like to take this opportunity to thank Jeff for his time talking with us. With guys like him out running FE's at the pond, it's no wonder the Electric crowd is growing ... he's a great guy!