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Author Topic: Serenity or Fairwind111  (Read 3043 times)

jaymac

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Serenity or Fairwind111
« on: June 18, 2013, 10:09:13 am »

Tempted to go for one these  The Serenity being around £100  less and 2.4 R/c makes  it  seem  the better buy .But which in you guys opinion should or could be the better one ie build  and sailing attributes .Not into any kind of  competition type sailing  purely for pleasure. I  only like a boat that looks something like a boat
and the Serenity and the Fairwind  fit that well I think. I have the read the article buy the guy that bought one
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destroyer42

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Re: Serenity or Fairwind111
« Reply #1 on: June 18, 2013, 10:12:58 am »

Hi Jaymac,
The fairwind is a far better model and sails well.
Also they race them in there own right, thats if you are up for a bit of competion sailing.
I have one of the original fairwinds and it still sails well after 13 years.
 
destroyer42
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Boomer

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Re: Serenity or Fairwind111
« Reply #2 on: June 18, 2013, 04:24:13 pm »

Tempted to go for one these  The Serenity being around £100  less and 2.4 R/c makes  it  seem  the better buy .But which in you guys opinion should or could be the better one ie build  and sailing attributes .Not into any kind of  competition type sailing  purely for pleasure. I  only like a boat that looks something like a boat
and the Serenity and the Fairwind  fit that well I think. I have the read the article buy the guy that bought one

I have owned both boats. They are very similar in quality and finish. Sadly, both boats have been discontinued by their manufacturers here in the US.
I purchased the Serenity some time ago when I couldn't find a Fairwind lll. There are a few differences in deck design and the amount of detail, but they both are beautifully made and have the best gel-coat finish I have seen on production RC yachts. The Serenity was furnished with a good quality 2.4 ghz radio vs. the Fairwind's 27 mhz old style radio.

Sometime after getting the Serenity the Fairwind lll became available again and I was able to purchase one. I had the both for a while, later selling the Serenity to a close friend. As you can see from the photos, the hulls styles are very similar. The Serenity has a few features over the Fairwind such a mechanical/adjustable boom vang vs. the Fairwind's which uses line and a clete. The stanchions on the Serenity are metal vs. the plastic stanchions furnished on the Fairwind. Both have some deck detail. The Fairwind has a more "ginger bread" as some might call it.

Both are fiberglass construction at it's best. These boats a great for display as well as sailing. The Serenity had a much lower purchase price which is a bit hard to understand. The Fairwind lll is listed at $540 USD on the Kyosho web site which is much higher than the Serenity that came with a much better radio.

I opted for to sell the Serenity only because my friend kept "bugging me" sell it to him, so I gave in. It turns out I can still sail it when I want so, it turned out to be a good deal for all. I now have two Fairwind llls, one has been converted into a motor sailor - the other is still new. They are very hard to find here in the US and bring top dollar - I got it just encase the conversion didn't turn out. Good news it worked out great - so I guess at some point I'll be selling the extra boat.

Both are nice boats and I am comfortable thinking you'd be happy with either boat. If you pressed me, I'd give the edge to the Fairwind. These are not terribly fast boats, but are graceful and fun to sail. The Fairwind has been around for about 20 years is an AMYA racing class boat and has been raced around the globe for years - previous models were made out of ABS and sold as kits. The Fairwind lll has been modified - larger keel and is as mentioned made out of Fiberglass. Truly beautifully made!

If you have any questions about either boat, let me know.
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jaymac

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Re: Serenity or Fairwind111
« Reply #3 on: June 18, 2013, 08:31:24 pm »

Thanks to you both for the response  and the Pics  The price difference in the UK is  about 45 US dollars more for the Fairwind    the radio  in the Fairweather is quite useless for me  old fingers and Xtals are a NoNo .Boomer would you say that it would be easy to fit a 2.4 receiver  in the  Fairweather   ie compatible with the existing servos fittings cant fiddle about inside things easily
OH translate More Ginger bread   please  unless it  just means more style
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Boomer

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Re: Serenity or Fairwind111
« Reply #4 on: June 18, 2013, 10:40:41 pm »

Thanks to you both for the response  and the Pics  The price difference in the UK is  about 45 US dollars more for the Fairwind    the radio  in the Fairweather is quite useless for me  old fingers and Xtals are a NoNo .Boomer would you say that it would be easy to fit a 2.4 receiver  in the  Fairweather   ie compatible with the existing servos fittings cant fiddle about inside things easily
OH translate More Ginger bread   please  unless it  just means more style

Changing radios and receiver is a not a problem. I discarded the radio the Fairwind came with and am using one of my other 2.4ghz radios and receivers.
These things are all about the same size and will fit inside the electronics compartment with out issue.
"Ginger Bread" is an old term used here to describe "trim" or the "icing on a cake" in this case the Fairwind has more deck trim. I posted a few more pictures for you that show the two boats in more detail so  you can see the difference. I included a picture of Fairwind's electronics compartment - which as you can see has plenty of room in it. Notice the receiver is not the stock receiver and hey there is a motor the hull - works great - great care was taken to make sure the boats weight and balance were the same as without the extra parts needed to make it a motor sailor. Sails just like it did before adding the power system.

If you can get the Fairwind lll and up grade the radio to a 2.4ghz set up you would be very happy with the end result! The earlier Fairwind lll models were shipped with the ballast weight installed which created a problem for the manufacturer - they experienced a lot of hulls being cracked by the carriers so they stopped installing the ballast at the factory and packed in a separate box in the main box - result was good and no more cracks! Find out if the one you are looking at has the ballast installed or separate. If it is installed be sure there are no hull cracks around the keel! I have pictures of what the cracks look like if your are interested. Kyosho replaced the first boat I got with a brand new one because of this problem. Don't know if they have any more.
They have a warehouse not to far from where I live, so I was lucky. They don't have any more there. Parts can be purchased from them but new boats are not available.

The problem was the boxes were not designed to absorb the impact with the ballast installed. The newer boat comes with 2 part epoxy and a box of pellets to install in the keel packaged safely in the foam surrounding the boat. To install the ballast is simple - no worries there.

Any more questions - let me know.
Boomer

First 2 images are of the Fairwind and the next 2 are of the Serenity - the last 2 image include one of my Fairwind's electronics compartment and the bottom of the motor sailor showing the prop shaft and prop.
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jaymac

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Re: Serenity or Fairwind111
« Reply #5 on: June 19, 2013, 07:07:01 pm »

Thanks again Boomer for all the details  and the Pics ,As you said  the  radio should not be a problem  bit worried about the Ballast  thingy though as  hope the dealer can confirm its seperate otherwise might go for the Serenity .   Hopefully I might get  either in the car fully rigged but  if not which is the easier to Rig at the Pond  or is it much of a muchness
Thanks again
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Boomer

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Re: Serenity or Fairwind111
« Reply #6 on: June 19, 2013, 10:59:51 pm »

Thanks again Boomer for all the details  and the Pics ,As you said  the  radio should not be a problem  bit worried about the Ballast  thingy though as  hope the dealer can confirm its seperate otherwise might go for the Serenity .   Hopefully I might get  either in the car fully rigged but  if not which is the easier to Rig at the Pond  or is it much of a muchness
Thanks again

If at all possible I'd stick with the Fairwind lll - especially at that small of a price difference. Once you inspect the boat's hull and can determine there are no cracks - you'll be fine. If there is a crack it won't be hard to see it.  It wasn't a problem with the boat, it was in the packaging. Fairwinds are very popular and have good resale value. Can't say that about the Serenity.

Boomer


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