RC Sailing

[soling42]

The soling will be the value point between the mega R/C boats and a disappointing lightweight toy. I've owned and raced numerous solings with a local fleet of about 15 boats for over ten years and find that at 10 lbs it can hold up well to a stiff breeze and will trounce just about anything in in it's class. They can occasionally be found used for under $300 with radios or built from scratch for under $400(incl radios). Sail shape, trim and tactics are very much the same as big boats(without the wind/spray in your face).

Building a soling is pretty straight fwd and there's a ton of info on the web or buy one prebuilt from Victor model yachts in Cal. Before launching your new boat with an existing fleet, it's good etiquette to inquire about frequencies in use by other r/c users. It's a great sport and lots of fun.
Good luck and practice those starts.
Aloha, Mike & Kelli

 

[Sunbird22358]

I presently have 2 R/C Sailboats and am working on a R/C USCG 41' UTB. My first R/C sailboat was an 18" ketch that I scratch-built in 1987, it sailed pretty good, and fast! This was not a racing boat...... more or less it looked like a typical 40' cruising boat (center-cockpit, cut-away full-keel) and even had a dinghy on davits. I think total cost was around $50 +/- I stopped using it when I got my second R/C sailboat (needed the radio and servos for new boat!).
My second boat was a 33" long sloop (Cosmic Wind) that a neighbor of ours gave to me. He had built is from a kit and enjoyed sailing it.... but seemed to enjoy letting others sail the boat while he watched (he had been a casual sailor for many years, had a Town-Class 15 years earlier, and a DS II for a few years after that) He knew that I was getting interested in R/C boats (power and sail) and maybe felt it better to see the boat get used instead of sitting in his basement. I have had a lot of fun with the boat since I got it in 1988, I painted it and have modified the rigging a bit for better sailing. I later used the hull of that boat as a "mold" to construct a larger boat (35") that is strip-planked with balsa wood and then covered inside and out with lightweight fiberglass cloth. I have sailed that boat off and on since 1993, even making my own sails.
All of my boats have used a 2-channel radio for control, I have used mostly a pistol-grip style radio in these boats, using the wheel for steering and a trigger for sail-control. It does take either a strong servo or a "sail-Control" to trim the sails. The biggest problem with R/C sailing is that unlike a "real" boat, there is no "seat-of-the-pants" effect.... in other words, you are sailing the boat from a distance and it does take a bit to get used to. Steering takes a bit to get used to when you are sailing towards shore (in other words, the boat is heading right at you) since you have to remember to turn the wheel (or move the joy-stick) opposite to "normal".

My very first experience sailing a R/C boat was way back in 1977 when there used to be a guy down at Falmouth (Mass) Inner Harbor who rented out models for $0.50 for 15 minutes. It was sure fun! Unfortunately, I tried it late in the day...... and the wind was dying!

That brings up an answer to the becalmed question. You should have some form of "chase boat" when R/C sailing, or sail only in waters where you can easily wade out to retreive your boat. Some larger models, and in fact it is not impossible on even the smallest R/C sailboats, will have a small electric inboard auxiliary (I even have a folding prop, but have not installed a motor yet) as get home power. Radio range is about 1 mile max, but that depends on battery strength. There is a device mostly used in R/C planes, but that should work on boats, that will move the servos to a "default" setting if the radio loses signal, this might be set to let the sails out and put the rudder hard over to keep the boat sailing in a circle, or maybe just come about......? I read a good tip that recommended only extending the transmitter antenna about 3/4 length, then is the model loses signal you can extend the antenna fully and get it back. Definitely you will want to mark your model with your name and address under a hatch or on the deck, "Just in Case"!

I'll see if I can scan a few pics of my boats!

 

[cephius (Dave)]

When I was growing up in Long Beach the parks and recreation department had a model boat shop at Colorado Lagoon. It was a youth program that for little money a kid could build a wooden sailing boat.

The shop attendant used a ban saw to cut the parts and pour the led bulb on the keel. We kids did all the sanding, gluing, and painting.

These were very low tech with a fixed rudder and slides to preset the sails. We launched them on one side of the lagoon and ran around to the other side to turn them. Great fun.

On my visit home this Christmas I was surprised to see the shop was still there after 40 years. Not many non-essential government programs have survived in these "no tax" times.

 

[Aldo]

Squadron: What else can I add? Well, I think I can think of something to add.
You can learn something from these little boats. We have 2 Victorias. When I put the first one that I built for my son into my wife's parent's pond, it wasn't in the water for more than a few seconds before I knew that I had to build one for myself. I painted the hull on mine red. I always wanted a red boat, but a real one would fade and require too much maintenance, but my Victoria looks fine. Another thing I could add is that with the lead bulb keel and the flat deck, this little boat is not compromising anything from a design standpoint. It clearly shows what a boat would look like if you didn't have to make compromises for people sailing on it. They are a ton of fun build and sail. If you are a tinkerer, and most sailors are, you will thoroughly enjoy working and sailing an RC boat. If the club near you sails a specific model, you should seriously consider building one of them, so that you can join their fleet, and have someone else to sail with.
As to the range, I agree that you would loose sight of your boat before you would loose radio contact with it. But we have had problems with grass from a lake building-up on the keels, and ruining the preformance of our boats, and had to go out on a row boat to rescue them.
There are some electrical tricks that can be done to make regular servos, or better yet, metal geared servos, have much more angular movement than they usually come with. It's relatively simple and only involves a few resistors, and it really improves the amount of power that you can get from a servo that you are using as a servo winch, but that's a little more complicated than we need to discuss until you are really into this.
I found that reinforcing the sails was the trickiest part of building my boats, but don't let that slow you down either.
We often take our little boats to picnics for our Catalina 22 Fleet and enjoy sailing them there. I wish I could sail our boats more, but if we are on our 22 we don't usually get to sail our Victorias, although we have brought them along once, when we sailed to a picnic.

Aldo

 

[Skip Ferguson]

I am extremely enthusiastic about R/C sailing. Years ago I helped start an r.c sailing club in Puerto Rico and invented the name - the Puerto Rico Silent Model Yacht Racing Society. We would show up at the Dorado River on Sundays with our boats, snacks and wine, and my wife learned the racing rules and became the authority in cases of conflict. One of our hardiest racers was a young lady who worked delivery for Federal Express, but was a Hobie Cat Racer and competed at the National level, another good racing buddy was in his sixties and was fiercely competitive, and we had a friend from the UK who was a Renaissance Man - he took the plans for the AMYA One Design yacht, made the mold, and turned out about six of them - which to this day still race in Puerto Rico.

I'm currently looking at an EC-12 for aqbout $1700 plus shipping - used, from a friend of mine. My Hunter 29.5 is on the hard, and I think it would be fun to get something going at our club for the winters.

 

[ktm500mx]

rc sailers

on the east coast and in many parts of the country the EC12 is the most popular which is a scale model of of a 12 meter racing yacht.

 

[Brock Halbeisen]

You all should also look at "Virtual Skipper 5" Use Virtual Skipper as the key word search. You can download the free demo. It is great! It allows you to race on line with others from around the world! All sorts of classes. Melges/ACC/Racing cat's. Let me know what you all think.

 

[Laser6013]

R/C sailing is great fun!!

Sean, R/C sailing offers the same challenges and rewards as "big Boats".. the major
difference is that there is no one to yell at!! The best boats to sail ( and easiest to
locate) are thenCR914.. (fellow has a good website) and the Laser... Google "CR914"
or "Laser R/C sailboat" and you will get good results... also, Google "AMYA" ..this is
the Model Yachting organization.... I sail a Marblehead Class (50" long hull) replica
of Australia II.. the hull was developed by NYYC along with a similar size of "Freedom"
to test against then current 50" Marblehead hull shapes.. It was converted into
an R/C boat after they were done with it.... Kyosho makes a boat called the
"Fairwind".. it is quite quick!!

Give it a try!!


Bob Johnson

As the winter deepens along with the depression that comes from having a sailboat sitting in a slip being unused (at least until I get better cold-weather gear...), I was wandering through one of my favorite places to browse: A hobby shop.

I saw something I'd never considered before, a radio-controlled sailboat. I almost bought it then and there, but the better (or at least more fiscally responsible) half dragged me out.

Does anyone here have experience with them? I found a club that sails them locally and I'm planning on heading to one of their meetups, but I'm curious as to how fun this could be when I've got the real thing sitting in a slip.. Plus, the little boats are fairly expensive.

On the other hand, the nerdy side of me really loves the idea of getting to play with that while not being trapped on a freezing cold boat in the middle of a harbor.

 

[tomgrigsby]

My older brother taught me how to sail with an RC boat. I eventually went to the Navy sailing club, took their test, and they turned me loose in a laser in Wilhoughby Bay at Norfolk. Real boats are great and I love my Hunter 30, but I still love sailing my RC boat. It is fun even in a pool. Give it a go! and you can teach others to sail and get more people out on the water.