Name:  Inky
LOA:  30.5"
Beam:  9.5"
Draft:  2"
Displacement:  4 lbs.
Powerplant:  4 electric motors coupled to 4 three-bladed propellers  
Max Speed:  15 mph
Built:  c. 1998
Builder:  RapidNadion W&M Shipyards
Status:  Mothballed

One of the oldest scratch-built boats in the RapidNadion fleet, Inky was initially built with four electric motors driving four propellers ... with no speed control.  The only options were full-speed forward, full-speed reverse, or stop.  In full-astern, water would often slosh over the (fairly low) fantail, so driving Inky was an exercise in caution.  

Later, Inky was upgraded with a speed control, allowing almost infinite variability in speed, both ahead and astern.  She later underwent a second refit, losing two of her propellers to become a twin-screw vessel.

As one of the fleet's oldest, Inky has been re-powered several times, graduating from a lead-acid motorcycle battery (complete with hydrogen off-gassing conduit) to gel-cell batteries.  She has also sported more than one paint scheme, having been launched with a bronze bottom.  The blue came later.

Inky is currently laid up, some of her parts having gone to use in other vessels in the fleet.  There are currently no plans to refit or re-launch Inky, but she's held in reserve in anticipation of a possible future long winter when cabin fever makes re-building her more appealing.

Name:  Jet Boat
LOA:  24"
Beam:  7.5"
Draft:  0.5"
Displacement:  3.25 lbs.
Powerplant:  11.1v electric motor coupled to one Graupner jet drive
Max Speed:  16 mph
Built:  Initially built c. 1980, refit and re-launched with new propulsion system in 2008
Builder:  RapidNadion W&M Shipyards
Status:  Active

A Word From The Builder:  "The jet-boat is the fastest and most detailed of the electric fleet and a favorite among pierside viewers."

A nearly-30-year-old kit given new life in recent years, Jet Boat is a Laughing Whale kitbash.  The conventional propeller-based propulsion system has been replaced with a Graupner water jet, which sucks water in from an inlet on the boat's centerline and blows it out a nozzle on the transom, pushing it forward at very impressive speeds.  The boat is also exceedingly maneuverable.

Jet-boat's interior is highly detailed, with such accessories as a VHF radio, radar console, fenders, and waterskis (all non-functional, obviously).  This is one of the only boats in the fleet to have a semi-regular crew, consisting of oddly out-of-context female Anime characters.  

Name:  Air Boat
LOA:  24"
Beam:  9"
Draft:  0.25"
Displacement:  1.25 lbs
Powerplant:  11.1v electric motor paired to a single airplane propeller
Max Speed:  12 mph
Built:  2008
Builder:  RapidNadion W&M Shipyards
Status:  Active

Very light and quite maneuverable, the predictably-named Air Boat can maneuver equally easily on ice as it can on water.  Power is provided by a repurposed R/C airplane electric motor and propeller, and maneuvering is accomplished via the two large rudders.  

The power plant has been replaced at least once since the boat's maiden voyage, and a stabilizing keel was added in 2011.  As of today, the new dynamics generated by the keel "fin" are still being evaluated.  This boat will likely continue to be a testbed for still newer design directions, if the builder is to be believed:

A word from the builder:  "We may do some experimental hydrofoils."

Name:  Choptank
LOA:  19"
Beam:  8"
Draft:  2.5"
Displacement:  5.5 lbs.
Powerplant:  7.2v electric motor driving scratch-built kitchen rudder/propulsion system
Max Speed:  3 mph
Built:  2010
Builder:  RapidNadion W&M Shipyards
Status:  Active

This 19" Midwest Products kit started out as a steam launch but was custom modified to become a very maneuverable R/C tugboat. 

Choptank incorporates a special rudder system, called a kitchen rudder, which controls steering, throttle, forward, stop and reverse functions. The propeller speed is constant and non-reversing. 

A mini fog oil heater/blower provides smoke, and the radar rotates.  Plans for a work barge to accompany "Choptank" are in the works.

A word from the builder:  "Choptank's kitchen rudder system provides its operator with all kinds of slick maneuvering options. Rotating radar and smoke-emitting stack add to its realism."