Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Yachts and Sail => Topic started by: mogsy on May 17, 2007, 01:25:18 pm
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I just got me a RTR yacht from that purveyour of cheap food and tat LIDL. £39.99 it cost me, I'll fill you all in on the details as soon as I get it home. (I coudnt really bring it back to the office).
Expensive lunch break.
If any one beats me to the pond post your experience here.
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Hi all, they still have some for sale. 55cm. x 12cm. x 87cm.
regards Roy
http://www.lidl.co.uk/uk/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20070517.p.Remote_Controlled_Model_Sailing_Yacht.ar2
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According to my LIDL list, we don't get them in Bridlington E Yorks store until Sat 26th.
Bob :'(
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It's strange. I only popped in for a pasta salad and hey presto - a yacht. Must admit that sail is not my passion but I'll give it a go for the sake of £40. It's still in the boot of car, I shall sprint down there and stow it in the shed under the cover of darkness.
Mrs Mogsy caught me bidding on e.bay the other night so potentially this months hobby allowance has gone allready. Thank goodness she'll never see my bill from Graham at Modeldock. ;)
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Avaliable for the measly sum of £39.99, this small baby yacht, just proud of half a meter in length, is quite a little number, having had a University club before I knew pretty much what to expect, and well this is what I got when I opened the box.
Unlike the Hobbyengine model of the Uni Club, this little baby requires a little bit of assembly, mainly building up the mast and rigging and sails, where the Hobby Engine was fully rigged, just needing tensioning of the sails. On the box, it states Radio range 100m, hmmm may be a little shy there, I think that range may be pretty close to a Futaba or hitec AM set.
As for the clone factor, the B-square is pretty much right on the mark, I had mine stripped down to set the rudder up, so there's the warranty gone straight away! the peek inside whilst carryiing out this basic task showed me that the hull is TOTALLY IDENTICAL, right down to the positioning of the rx mouning in the upper cabin space. The reason for going inside the hull was the rudder out of the box had more throw to right than left, and infact it had virtually no throw to the left, repositioning of the servo-arm and the control linkage sorted that out.
Depending on how mine performs on the water, I may upgrade the internals with a futaba sail winch and maybe a Futaba rx, though for a fun yacht that can be relaxing on the water, then try one of its clones :)
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mogsy I had one before called Graupner University club, some of you may know it as Sea-lite by Ripmax, however I too have one now and if my uni club was anything to go by, it should sail ok as long as wind isnt too strong.
Rafale Atlantique maidens tomorrow
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I saw these the other day in Lidl, great value for money I thought.
Martin.
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i had one before, unfortunately a meeting with the milk crate of doom killed it, boat wasnt even in the water either when it happend, so i figured i'd replace it
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There is a long thread on this boat here.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=683468
It seems that if you modify them a lot they sail OK.
But standard they are not good in any more than light winds.
Mods on this site include,
Keel fin
Keel bulb
RxTx
battery
and Ductape :o
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We had one of these turn up at our lake last Sunday. Well it sailed, but dont let anyone tell you watching model boats is boring !!
The chap put it into the water and off it went, quite well . But he had no control over it whatsoever. Off it sailed nicely close hauled but unfortunately straight off across the lake.
The wind was not very strong so it was sailing fairly slowly and normally we would have rescued it for him by sending out a tug with a floating line attached and pulling it back to shore. But most of us ( including the member with the line ) had gone off for a walk with our boats up the lake and when we got back the yacht was too far out to be recovered.
I must point out here that the far bank is nearly three quarters of a mile away.
The yacht merrily sailed on until we could only see it through binoculars. It eventually reached the far shore - inevitably at the one point which is almost inaccesible,
as the bank just there is a mass of slate waste dropping into very deep water.
The owner had driven round to the other side of the lake and after a while we saw a member of the local sub-aqua club (whose headquarters is nearby) in a wetsuit gingerly climbing along the bank , in and out of the waters edge towards the model.
By this time the wind had increased. Just as he was as close as twenty feet from the yacht a strong gust knocked it flat, swung it round , and off it set back across the lake !
He went back to the owner and we saw them having a conversation. Meanwhile the yacht was driving out into the lake but with the stronger wind it was lying flat and drifting down the length of the lake.
Next thing we see is a fully equipped diver, wet suit head to toe, large flippers and cylinders on his back entering the water and starting to swim after the yacht. Of course by this time it had gone a LONG way down the lake and was drifting away from the diver almost as fast as he could swim.
However he persevered, swimming steadily on his back and occasionally turning to see where the model was.
The the model began to fill with water and lying flat as well, was hardly visible. Stavros launched his Marblehead and sailed it to the little yacht, then circled it so that the diver had something to aim for. Eventually the diver got to the model and slowly swam back to our shore with it. "That was the longest swim I have ever done he said" when we got to him - it must have been nearly a mile altogether.
I don't know how much the owner rewarded the diver, but it was a lot of effort just to recover such a cheap little item. !!!
Great entertainment for us though. :D
Off to the lake now - maybe he will bring it again today - (or maybe not ;D)
Don B
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Perhaps it is fair to call this boat a 'pond sailer' :)
And it would be unrealistic to describe Llyn Padarn as a pond. ;D
Hopefully I will back in UK next summer (2008) so perhaps I can be the crew at Llanberis.
TT
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I plan to re-sail mine with better sails, any idea what material to use???
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I plan to re-sail mine with better sails, any idea what material to use???
I got Dacron sail cloth from Sails etc
http://www.sailsetc.com/sailmakingmaterials.htm
you can buy by the meter, A half meter would be more than enough.
They also sell the eylets and the eylet punch for not much money
Thier service is good.
No connection, just a happy customer.
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tiger, what dimensions did you use?
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You lucky lot, by the time I've paid for fuel and parking to my nearest store it will cost me about £60-00. But I don't get the leaflets so most of the time I don't know what I'm missing.
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I got the sail material and cut my own.
You could use your old sails as a guide, and make larger or smaller. If y ou are not competing it does nto matter.
Also the sailsetc site has a free download on makeing your own sails which will help.
Sorry I cannot be more helpful
TT
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tiggs, ive managed to get in touch with housemartin sails, they're gonna do a new set for me. :) ive packaged the entire lot up ready for shipping, :) going to use 50mc film with eyelets. They did my Rafale Atlantique 1 set, (RA1 being a Grauner University Club, an identical boat with practically identical sails!) Rafale Atlantique 2 will hopefully handle as well as Atlantique 1.
from Barry at westbourne there is a new battery and switch loom on the way, that way i can get the batteries RIGHT DOWN in the hull and be able to get nav lights installed as well yes nav lights on a model yacht! (i must be mad!!!)
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tiggs, ive managed to get in touch with housemartin sails, they're gonna do a new set for me. ...from Barry at westbourne there is a new battery and switch loom on the way, ...nav lights installed as well yes nav lights on a model yacht! (i must be mad!!!)
And all for only 39.99 ;) :D ;D
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well the swich and battery have arrived
boat stripped down now
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sails ordered, plan on way to house martin sails :)
also old sails going there to see if anything can be done with them. servo extention lead ordered :)
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well the new sails have arrived
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I was at LIDL Monday, and they were doing them for 19 . 99
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I was at LIDL Monday, and they were doing them for 19 . 99
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bloody hell thats dropped in price! its worth it jst for the radio
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What is the radio like inside the yacht?
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The radio in question inside the Lidl B-Square 08 (what a **** name!!!) is almost identical to the radio that was inside my Southampton and University Club, (both Hobby engine "Graupner" products), the only difference here being the Lidl unit does not have the adjustable tab on the rudder that varies End points.
The Transmitter.
coming with an integral carry handle, the Transmitter has an interchangable crystal unit, and fully adjustable trim sliders, as well as a 5 LED battery indicator. to the side of the case is a charging socket that is compatible with Futaba chargers. below the sticks are the servo reverse units. If you take the case apart, you can remove the spring and adjust the sticks at the pot with a screw driver. (not recommended unless you know what you are doing), from what I can see, you may be able to install a ratchet.
The reciever.
situated towards the front of the boat, the Reciever is identical to the ones that Southampton owners will be familiar with, 3 slots, one for battery, two for servos. the plugs on the reciever are compatible with Futaba type plugs, so if you need to change a servo in the future, there will be no problems there.
Servo units.
Unbranded cheap servos, however they are identical in size to S3003 type Futaba servos, and so changing them wont be a problem, especially as they have identical plugs.
The weak point in the radio assembly is the switch located under the steering wheel of the model, as it tends to rust easily, My recomendation is that the battery tray is replaced by a 4cell Futaba battery with switch, allowing it to be charged in the boat. this will also get some weight lower into the hull.
Range.
It states on the instructions, "Range 100m", to be honest, it is (Probably) capable of going out further, this i think is a legal disclaimer, though at 100m you may find the boat a tad hard to see.
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well I have spoken to a guy from Housemartin sails' website, dave Creed, he makes keels and rudders etc, so on saturday its a trip there.
new keel a gogo
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sail numbers added and the last of the Lidl decals are gone.
later on Im going to get in contact with reade plastics and get a set of WORKING navigation lights
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under way with the new sails.
with the wind behind her sails, she heals over a bit but given the right wind, nothing too alarming, however with a newer lnger keel planned, that should address that issue.
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Looks good. How much have all the mods cost so far?
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so far:
Tx/Rx charger- - 25
rx batt pack - - - 5
new sails- - - - - 20
new keel- - - - - 20
yes i've beaten the price of the boat already, even before the new keel, however the boat was free with the radio!
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by the way I also have 2 now. the one in the original livery is going to get the same treatment as the original boat, and will have her keel extended first to see how it fairs, it also needs new radio gear.
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according to the graupner:
item - university club RTR yacht, the original lidl boat https://shop.graupner.de/webuerp/servlet/AI?ARTN=2036
Overall length approx. 515 mm
Beam approx. 120 mm
Overall height approx. 857 mm
All-up weight approx. 930 g
Scale approx. 1 : 25
The UNIVERSITY CLUB is a semi-scale model of a classic 13-metre sailing yacht, as regularly operated in the sailing districts of the North and Baltic Seas. In addition to the rudder, the boat is fitted with a proportional sail setting system for the jib and mainsail to ensure that it can be steered on all courses relative to the wind which are possible with a sailing boat. The strong carbon fibre reinforced mast makes the model easily capable of withstanding the severe stresses encountered under sail. The many detail fittings, including railings, winches, steering wheel, bollards and finely printed sails ensure that the boat looks as good in a glass showcase as on the water. The UNIVERSITY CLUB is of compact dimensions and is supplied completely factory-assembled; it can very quickly be prepared for sailing at your local boating club site.
As I am going to upgrade this lil monter to make her look scale, I ordered several life rings. well ordering 2x 1/25th sc ring and some smaller ones. I also measured key parts of the model as well, like railings etc
railings: suitable height (real) 1000mm (1/25th = 40mm measured = 23mm, giving a 575mm height a scale of 1/40 gives a railing height of 25mm, so 23mm @ 1/40 gives 920mm (36")
Steering bollard comes out to about true to scale
so the upgrade to true-scale it will require 40mm high railings though the 20mm gap between the port and starboard railings will be about scale, equating to a 500mm gap real size.
the red life rings are the 1/25th sc ones.
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are these still for sale
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im not sure check your lidl website or e-bay.
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well the upgrades continue, this time the stern railings and the mast get attention.
purchased from READE PLASTICS were some LED spec navigation lights and a stern light, (side-entry), 2x plain stern lights, and some new railings made from a poly-propelene material. rather than the brittleness of the impact styrene white material, the new poly-propelene ones are bendy and supposed to be more durable, well time will tell, but they certainly do improve the model compared to the low-height original ones. Nice one there Malcom ;D ;D
As Yachts have a motor-steaming light, I have decided to use one of the dummy stern lights on the mast to replicate this, as when under sail, this light will not be operating.
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navigation lights on a lidl yacht now installed, I said I would.
thanks to Reade models for the navigation lights
thanks to Dave Milbourn of ACTion Kits for the switch unit
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7wKAWPTyU0
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Ghost,
Unless I am badly informed, you should only be able to see a port or starboard nav light for 90 degrees angle, so as you move from directly in front round to the side, the light should disappear when you are at 90 degrees to the front.
Make sense? hope so!
Ian
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the screens were designed for mounting on the side of the hull, not the top of the cabin. what you are seeing there is light from the part of the unit that should be glued to the hull. it has been screen off now
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Ghost,
Unless I am badly informed, you should only be able to see a port or starboard nav light for 90 degrees angle, so as you move from directly in front round to the side, the light should disappear when you are at 90 degrees to the front.
Make sense? hope so!
Ian
Not quite right I'm afraid - the port and starboard lights should have an arc of 112.5 degrees measured from the bows.
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hint Welsh Druid, could you host that pic in one of the main lighting topics, it could be very useful to other people as well as yachters
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Watch out welsh Druid Ghost is threatening to bring that Yacht up to LLanberis HMM me thinks do we know any fit divers to go and get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stavros
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Watch out welsh Druid Ghost is threatening to bring that Yacht up to LLanberis HMM me thinks do we know any fit divers to go and get it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Stavros
At least , if he stays til its dark we will be able to see which way his boat is going ;D
Don
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thought I might have been badly informed! thanks welshy O0
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not just 1, oh no
3 of the little beggers
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Ok, the boat is cheap... but why not getting a Micro Magic? It sails very well even for its small size, imho the better choice :)
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in hindsight yes, however it was brought with the heart not the head!
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that aside Jan, it does look tidy when pn the water. I may at some point install a magic's rig if it'll fit, with her navigation lights on her, she looks quite smart now
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Whatever you like Ghostie :)
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jan it did however sail well in a light breeze, anything more than that its lying on its side, time for some extra weight in the keel
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Sorry if you may misunderstood me... ;)
My first sailboat was a BMW Oracle Racing from Kyosho... looked very well but didnt sailed that well... :-\
Wish i had payed 100€ for her instead of 200€ >:(
But resold her for 180€ ;D
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I remember having the University Club from Graupner, that was the same yacht, only got rid of her when the rudder got broke and couldnt source a replacement