Model Boat Mayhem
The Shipyard ( Dry Dock ): Builds & Questions => Yachts and Sail => Topic started by: Saylee on September 11, 2013, 05:55:16 am
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Hello all,
Newbie here with a question. Quick intro: I'm a 1/1 scale sailor :} and enjoy sailing the Puget Sound with my wife on our boat. I've had some interest in RC sailboats for some time and had the chance to see a club racing T37s while anchored out on our last cruise to Port Ludlow.I really like the T37 and am considering building one. However, although there are several clubs in my general area, the fact that I would need to travel to race with any of them leaves me thinking I'd rather build something scale, as I really prefer scale models. I'll mostly be sailing sitting in the cockpit of my boat while docked at our marina.
The boat I'd really like to build would either be the Mar or Il Mostro. I'm a huge VOR and Ken Reed fan and think these boats are amazing. I love the graphics on the boat and would be tickled pink to see one sailing as an RC boat. However, my search efforts have come up with absolutely nothing so far. With such popularity of the VOR in Europe, I figured that some enterprising company would have made a kit or something, but had no luck in finding anything.
Does anyone here know of a model of this boat, or of someone who has perhaps scratch built one? I'd rather not scratch build due to time constraints (I have a lot of canvas projects for my big boat and a resto on an 8-foot rowing dinghy due this winter) but would entertain the idea if it was the only option and I could find data, etc. It would probably just not be ready in the spring time. :-)
If anyone has an info or suggestions on where to look, it would be much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
P.S. looked around at the handywork on this site. Very nice. Saw some beautiful models.
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Is this the one ?
Ken
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Nah Kenny This be the bruiser :} :} :}
Ned
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Check out this website seems to do the Open 70 models
http://www.stockmaritime.com/modellboote/vo70/allgemein.php?modellbau/436 (http://www.stockmaritime.com/modellboote/vo70/allgemein.php?modellbau/436)
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Is this the one ?
Ken
Lol! To tell you the truth, when I first saw your post I thought perhaps this was your chaps' way of saying hello to the new guy! :-)) Yet I did realize that the pic is actually captioned "Mar"
Definitely nice detective work, Ken. But Ned gets the prize. That's the boat after which my heart lusts. Suppose I should have perhaps posted a pic along with the thread.
Explorer: Looks like you nailed it. And I even see a Puma boat! Only problem is that they appear to be quite expensive. Looks like they'd love to send me one for the measly sum of 3K Euros. Yikes. I could do a haulout/bottom job on my big boat and still have enough left over take the family out to a really nice dinner for that price. It looks like a fantastic boat, though. Swing keel and all.
However, I won't be deterred. Thank you all for your input so far. I'll keep looking, and perhaps try a scratch hull if I can get drawings. If anyone runs across anything, please let me know. Thanks again!
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There she be:
(http://www.stockmaritime.com/images/modellboote/vo70/designs/VO70_puma2011_1000.jpg)
Now tell me, doesn't she set your heart a-flutter?
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i do like its graphics , but as ive recently bought myself a joysway rg65 dragon force and just resprayed it i dont think i can justify another race boat in my fleet ! take a look at the dragon force , its along the same lines , and at just 650mm loa isnt too big to need derigging to fit in most cars for transportation , i can even get mine in my small triumph saloon car !
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John, pretty nice boat. good looking too! I was looking for something just a bit bigger. Smaller size does matter, as compactness can be a plus. However, I do have room for something around 1M. I most likely will follow a similar approach though; find a suitable boat and repaint/decal in the Puma colors. I have friends with sign shops who can do vinyl decals. Hopefully it won't be too expensive.
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@Saylee:
Very much at the other end of the market from Stockmaritime, there is a range of budget sailboats made by Shunbo at www.hobbyking.com (http://www.hobbyking.com)
These need a little work to get them thoroughly seaworthy, but the price is right. I own a couple of the Monsoons (900mm) and a Surmount (800mm) - I enjoy them.... If buying again in this section of the market I would go for the Legend (900mm) as the hatch is easier to get properly waterproofed. The Phantom (also called "Thunder" now) is a 1 metre boat, also very popular. they all need 400-500mm of water to sail in..
Herewith some video of a number of different Shunbo models racing in my local pond:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7YoVGWSomAQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=7YoVGWSomAQ)
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Hi Mr Penguin,
That is quite a lovely tip! That's a pretty decent looking boat, and the price is almost unbelievably low. I might just have to get one of these to play with while I decide which potential big project I want to tackle. I already have plenty of 2.4GHz radio gear, so this would hit the spot. Methinks I'll get one coming and see how it goes.
P.S. I really appreciate all the suggestions given to me so far. Of course I see a lot of thee boats while searching around the net, but since I have no experience with any of them, (with exception to the T37) the feedback from people who have these boats is quite helpful and greatly appreciated. Thanks again for the tip!
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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!
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Think you are in Canada??
Monsoon is available from HobbyKing in the USA/Canada warehouse, not sure on shipping costs but may be better..?
See http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__23584__RC_1_8mtr_Monsoon_Sailboat_90_Percent_RTR_USA_Warehouse_.html (http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__23584__RC_1_8mtr_Monsoon_Sailboat_90_Percent_RTR_USA_Warehouse_.html)
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You Sir are a genius!
Good job! Why the heck do I never notice these things? I mean, really. The site I visited definitely did not have the nice "select your country" button on it. And not one google search I did came up with a US warehouse to Hobby King. You'd think they might make that more apparent to reduce the possibility of lost sales. Thanks for finding that for me. I really do appreciate it!
Time to get out the little plastic rectangle... :-))
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Oh, and p.s., I'm in the US just a stone's throw from Seattle. Your find hit the spot for me.
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@Saylee:
No problem, happy to help - I think you can choose your country and so forth when you create an account with them... Certainly with the Australian store, the shipping options and prices all change as you go through the checkout. We have the added complication of currency variations as well...
Hopefully the freight is a bit better price wise from that warehouse to you...
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Yes, the freight is definitely a bit different, as the warehouse is, get this, only about an hour's drive from my house! O0
But I had them ship it regardless, as it's actually cheaper than gas. And besides, I'm a workin' man and they're not open on Saturdays.
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Mr Penguin,
Just got back from a trip out of town, but looky here at what the wonderful UPS man dropped off before I left!
I'm all excited. The box was very well packed and only took two days to get to me. Already started to look through the box and like what I see so far. Seems to be an updated version of the 900 (as opposed to the first version which seemed to have some minor issues)
Let's see how this turns out! :}
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A Monsoon! Now the fun starts - I really enjoy sailing mine....
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And the fun has already started. %)
Looking for lead to fill the keel bulb and haven't had much success without it costing between $20 and $40... plus gas! Sheesh. Looked at BBs (Daisy/Crossman) but they don't seem to have the density to allow me to cram 4lbs into the bulb. Seems like others have gotten the best results sailing-wise with the keel at just under 4lbs (around 1.7 kilos) so I'd like to be able to get that much into it. Hence my preference for some type of granular lead. Checked pretty much all of the dive shops in the area and can get it, but with transportation cost it would be around $30US at the least. Not a bank breaker, but when you consider that to be around 33% of the original purchase price... well, you get the idea.
Any opinions?
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@Saylee:
I have two Monsoons, one has solid bulb that weighs 1640 grams, the other is filled with small lead shot and weighs 1690 grams (this is the all up weight of the filled bulb) - they both sail well, the lighter bulb is noticeable even with that small difference. They would be very tender (easily heeled) with the 1.3Kg recommended on the HK website.
I would not go any lighter than 1650 grams....
If you cannot get lead shot, an alternative method used is to get sheet lead (scrapyard or perhaps a plumber) - you can open the bulb and layer it in. get each layer a good fit so the bulb is full... The end result is pretty much the same
Aim for 1650 to 1700 grams - I think that is 3 pounds 12 ounces but I may be wrong, long time since my brain converted :-)
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Mr P!
I knew I could count on you :-)
I like the idea of layering. How difficult is it to pull the bulb apart? Haven't tried anything yet, but can it be pried apart with a little work, or does it need to be cut? Is the current seam water tight? If that's the case or if it needs to be cut, I'd probably skip it and stick with filling it with lead shot of some type just to save the labor. Would rather put the energy and creativity into the rigging and other aspects instead of making a major project out of filling a little chamber with dead weight. lol.
Your confirm the consensus that around 1600 to 1700 grams is a good weight for these boats. I will stick with that as a minimum. You're also spot on with your conversion of that being 3.75 pounds. Hoping to get 4lbs (1816 grams) in there, but have to see if it will fit. Been looking for #6 or #7 bird shot, as that should be perfect but it's all sold out here at the moment. The search continues.
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@Saylee:
The bulb should separate with a bit of care. It does not need to be water tight.
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Thank you! Sometimes the simplest answer can save so much grief. I'm usually the guy who finds out that it's not possible right after the item breaks.
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Got it done!
Got the bulb filled to the exact goal of four pounds! (1.816K) A good friend came through with a whole lotta #8 bird shot. Ready to install on the keel. One thing however, the kit does not include a cap for the fill hole. Any suggestions for a clean and smooth cover? I have plenty of adhesives that would fill the hole and add a solid cover, but am just curious what the sages here would do.
Also, I've taken lots of pics so far and am ready to get things going, now that the bulb is out of the way. Tigertiger did an excellent job on his write up, but since this is an updated version of the Monsoon perhaps another review might be interesting Do you gentlemen think that another review would be helpful or would it just be redundant at this point?
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All reviews are helpful and interesting.
Your updated version of the monsoon is what
a lot of newcomers to rc sailing are buying because
of the attractive price.
I'm sure the write-up would be very useful.
Ned
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@Saylee:
I used some wet area silicone for a number of things around the Monsoon. This included fairing the hole in the bottom of the keel bulb.
Also, I usually install the keel fin into the keel box with a layer of the same silicone, it sets pretty firm but you can still get the fin out with a bit of work.
Make sure you get the keel fin in the right way round - it will fit backwards - the pictures on the HobbyKing website show the keel installed backwards - see picture below - the boat on the left has the fin installed correctly.... the one on the right is reversed...
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Yes, it would be good to see a new build thread for the Monsoon mark II
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MrP,
Excellent call on the silicone. I have a myriad of adhesives in the shop, one of which being a very good sealant that would also provide a smooth finish, but in this case silicone is probably the best option. Once it's in there, you never need to worry about it coming out. That's for sure.
As for the fit of the keel fin, not sure if this is a characteristic only of the new 900, but the fin has a distinct airfoil cross section which indicates the optimal (read: "correct") placement on the hull. The keel bulb also has a discernible airfoil shape at the fin insert which matches the direction of the fin as well. Fortunately, that arrangement matches the correct placement in your pictures, so looks like we're good to go there. :-))
Lol, However, I didn't even think to look at how the decal placement matched the picture in the instructions. (It's the simple things...) Thanks for providing the pic as a confirmation! Actually, at second glance the instructions are very vague about that altogether. There are no illustrations at all that indicate any aspect of proper keel installation. There is also no direction in the text that points this out, and the pic on the front is barely adequate to use as a guide. This really leaves a lot to be desired for the beginner who might not have any background in that area; aerodynamic, keel fin design, or otherwise. To top it off, there are also no directions whatsoever telling you to fill the keel bulb in the first place, much less instructions on sealing, etc. I suppose that's why the fine folks at Hobbyking took it upon themselves to point out in the website product listing for the proud new owner to "Please ensure you fill the keel ballast to 1.2kg or heavier. Lead shot, bearings or bolts/nuts will be sufficient..." Suppose you can't say they didn't warn you {-)
Tigertiger, I think you're right. It may be time for a review on this one, if for no other reason to quantify and help explain the shortcomings of the new manual. O0 If you gents can bear with me, I'd love to give it a go.
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Looking forward to it :-))
Ned
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Ned,
Thanks for the encouragement! We'll give it a go. I'm quite busy at work with a new contract, so timing on initial postings may be a bit spotty but it'll get done. Looking forward to it! :-)