Quick update. I decided to get one of the Monsoons, but ran into a little snag.
The biggest reason why I considered this boat was because I found new copies on sale for less than US $88 sans radio. (exactly what I want. I have tons of radio gear already) So far so good. I checked with the retailer, Hobby King, and realized they were out of China. Ok, still not much of a problem. Went through the process of ordering and clicked to check out only to find that shipping would be a whopping, you guessed it, 88 dollars! That would make this almost a 190 dollar boat. Unfortunately that's too much. Sure, the boat may still be "worth it" at that price, but the only reason why I considered it was due to the low $88 price. Figured I could build this and learn a few things for my next build, but if I'm spending that much, I might as well put the money into the other project. Also, the tender on my big boat needs replacing, and I'd rather put the almost-$100 difference into it instead.
Unfortunately that puts the brakes on this option, unless someone knows of a source in the US (haven't found one yet) that might get me a little closer to the sub-$100 range. I'd even entertain a private sale from a kit that was already started, if it's still in good shape. If anyone has any knowledge of anything, it'd be much appreciated.
Thanks all!