Model Boat Mayhem

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length.
Pages: [1]   Go Down

Author Topic: Ebay Marblehead  (Read 7286 times)

knoby

  • Guest
Ebay Marblehead
« on: May 22, 2011, 07:32:30 pm »

I have finally moved over to the dark side & bought a yacht. I won it for £82 & for once it was only 25 miles away, so it didn't cost a fortune to collect. It came complete with 27MHz radio, all I needed to add was a battery. The seller didn't make it, but told me it was made in the 70's, it has a wooden hull.

Took it out for first sailing on Friday night, & it sailed well despite very light winds. Haven't been brave enough to take it out today in the strong winds, thought it might be a bit much for me.

A couple of questions I would apprecite answering; Firstly anyone know what it is?
Anyone recognise the winch ( sorry it a bad pic)?
& lastly, there are 3 positions for the mast, obviously moving it forward & aft effects the handling of the boat, but what effect does it actually have?
Logged

pasty

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #1 on: May 22, 2011, 08:19:32 pm »

Sorry, don't recognise the design. But the shape is very Squire Kay. Looks in good condition though.
The winch is most probably a Whrlwind winch ( 7.2 V), then made by Dave Andrews. Think then taken over by Kieth Skipper. Great Winches that used to be the main stay of RC yacht racing before the RMG and others came along. Unfortunately not made anymore, having D H Andrews on it does make it quite old. The Futaba is a straight swap though.
If the swing rig is put into the forward hole, the yacht will tend to bear away from the wind when going windward. If put into the rear hole, the yacht will keep turning up into the wind and stalling. Generally a yacht should keeps its own course going into the wind when hands off, with maybe a slight luffing as it seeks the wind. I am assuming the yacht is sailing ok in the center hole.
Just noticed that the sails you have in the boat are naybe not its top suit, maybe b suit.
Hope this helps.
There is also a knack in setting up swing rigs, i will try and find some info for you if required as aure i had a diagram somewhere.
Logged

knoby

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #2 on: May 22, 2011, 08:41:49 pm »

Thats brilliant, thanks for your help patsy   :-))

Glenn
Logged

Stavros

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #3 on: May 22, 2011, 08:46:05 pm »

Patsy sorry to contradict you but the Futaba and the Hitech winches are Bigger Got a whirlwind in a Oliver Lee Marbelhead and I am having trouble with it and tried to change this weekend but I will have to enlarge the hole for the servo as BOTH winches are larger


Stav
Logged

pasty

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #4 on: May 22, 2011, 08:56:59 pm »

Patsy ?? {-)

No probs Stavros, thinking back now i think you are right ( it was a while ago). Think the width is fairly similar, but it was longer when i fitted a futaba as a replacement for an Atlas winch.
I will have a rummage for the diagram i had of setting up that type of swing rig, but it may take a while. They can be a bit tricky to set up.
Logged

Stavros

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #5 on: May 22, 2011, 10:10:11 pm »

OOPSY who got it wrong AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!humblest APPOLOGIES pasty



Stav
Logged

tony23

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #6 on: May 22, 2011, 10:49:55 pm »

You got a bargain there the winch is worth that alone as mentioned it is a Whirlwind winch and I would not change it if you do I know somebody that would buy that off you  :-)) for a Marblehead you need a powerful winch don't fit a Hitec or Futaba they will not be up to it in a good wind.
I'm not sure what the boat is but it looks like it's been looked after the swing rig has Sailsetc fittings so you can't go wrong there and the sails look like there in good shape. It does not look like it has been raced as the sails have not been signed or a GBR number on the hull indicating she has been registered with the MYA.
Logged

knoby

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #7 on: May 22, 2011, 11:30:43 pm »

thanks for your help guys. I fancied having a yacht for some time, & have bid on a few over the last 6 months. for some reason this one seemed to slip under the radar on ebay & I felt i got a bargain. Done some sailing in a full size dingy, but this is my first RC yacht, so its a steep learning curve.
The boat seems very well built & everything works perfectly, & I'm looking forward to enjoying it for many years. it surprised me how fast it was in very light winds, cant wait to get a decent breeze to try it in, although I must admit I 'bottled  it ' today, the wind was just too strong for a beginner.
 Glenn
Logged

pasty

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #8 on: May 22, 2011, 11:33:17 pm »

OOPSY who got it wrong AGAIN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!humblest APPOLOGIES pasty



Stav
No probs again, just got to man up a bit i guess  {-).
Had a laugh about it, reminded me of that song ' boy called sue ' for some reason. {:-{
The futaba (S5801 i think) winch handled the blows perfectly ok on a RM in competition, SHOULD DO FOR £120.
Logged

The long Build

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #9 on: May 23, 2011, 12:06:31 am »

£ 120 for a servo  %%
Logged

tigertiger

  • Global Moderator
  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 7,748
  • Location: Kunming, city of eternal springtime, SW China.
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #10 on: May 23, 2011, 10:56:47 am »

Bargain indeed.
Logged
The only stupid question is the one I didn't ask

knoby

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #11 on: June 08, 2011, 10:35:46 pm »

I have had the boat out around 15 times since i got her & enjoy it every time. The winds have been strong & this thing flies ( when the Muppet steering it gets it right!!). However the winch line broke under the strain tonight & its time to sort out a few niggles i have with it.

I noticed that the winch doesn't give very fine control when close hauled, i.e. 1 or 2 clicks on the TX stick results in a lot of movement in the sheet. Since i have to replace the sheet now, would moving the attachment point on the boom further aft help with the fine control at close hauled?
I appreciate it would change the loading on the winch, would this be OK?

many thanks Glenn




Logged

pasty

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #12 on: June 12, 2011, 12:19:00 pm »

Looking at your pics, yes your attachment radius is quite small. There will be no problem in moving the boom attachment point further aft for finer control and it will probably reduce the load on the winch as well. Had a similar radius on my RM, but it as for quick tacking. Got to have dyneema of at least 100lb breaking strainl, i used 150lb on the actual winching loop and from this to the boom was 100lb. This rigs can be under a lot of strain. Another problem with the shorter sheeting radius is that it is possible for the mainsail to end up on the forward side if a gust catches it.
The only thing you will notice it will take longer to tack the boat, but as it is for pleasure only. Luckily you can also twaeak the pot on the winch to adjust the sheeting length to allow for the bigger radius. Just make sure you do it with the sheeting disconnected.
The other thing to consider is that as you move the attachment point aft, the boom is getting further away from the deck. The winch will end up pulling the sheeting in at an angle, a big no no. Would consider fitting a sheeting post or a simple ring held by two adjustable lengths of dacron, This will bring the sheeting level with the boom reducing the load on the winch.
Will try and upload a couple of sketches today.
By the way, haven't forgotten about the promsed rig info. After much runnaging i have found the info. But trying to improve the quality has made the file slightly to big for upload. Any suggestions.
Logged

pasty

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #13 on: June 12, 2011, 01:37:55 pm »

Right, sorted file size while watching moto gp( excellent info Martin).
Done a quick sketch of what i was talking about, hope the sketch is ok to read. Personally i would go for the string and ring method as there is a lot less modifying, just some beefing up of the eye bolt attachment points.
Also please find attached info on how to set up this type of swing rig.

Knoby, have tried printing out attached images and quality is still not very good. So have pm'ed you the attachments for both images that should be of better quality if printed out.
Logged

knoby

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #14 on: June 13, 2011, 06:42:02 pm »

Thank you so much Pasty, thats brilliant  :-)) You have answered all my questions & a couple I hadn't even considered.
i am going to spend the next few evenings studying the drawing you sent me & see what i can do.  I think for now I will just replace the broken sheet & adjust the swing rig to see what effect that has.

I don't like look of the decking, so at some point thats getting replaced, at the same time i will repaint her. That will give me the opportunity to reposition the sheeting post to allow me to change the attachment point on the boom & incorporate your other suggestions.

many thanks  Glenn

Logged

knoby

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #15 on: January 20, 2012, 10:19:16 pm »

Have had the yacht for 7 months now so I thought it was about time I updated this thread. The most obvious change is the colour & the removal of the decking material that I disliked so much, The deck covering was sticky backed plastic, which was warmed up using a hot air gun & peeled off. Unfortunately it left most of the glue on the deck, which was removed using a spirit based cleaner & a plastic scraper.

While the deck was bare, I moved the front sheeting tube as far forward as possible, to allow a longer sheeting line run. This gave me twice as much sheet movement than was required to open the rig fully, so I ran the sheet through the eye on the boom & attached it to the eye in the deck. So now for every inch of sheet movement I get, the boom only moves half on that distance, allowing me better fine control over the rig.

All the wood on the boat was in good condition, so it was rubber down with 320 grit paper & given 2 coats on 2 pack primer. Once fully dry, it was rubbed down with 500 grit dry. the bottom of the hull was painted metallic black & the deck was painted with a rainbow pearl silver, which flips several different colours when the sun hits it. The whole boat was then given 2 coats of 2 pack laquer, which I over thinned by 300%. i.e. instead of adding 20% thinner, I added 60%.

Once dry the whole thing was wet flatted by machine using 4000 grit & polished, again by machine, using G3 compound & then 3m’s Finesse It, to give a mirror finish.

The changes to the sheeting have worked well, giving much greater control over the rig, especially noticeable when pulled in tight.

Sailing & setting up a swing rig has been a steep learning curve ( & still is ), but I am getting there. I can honestly say I haven’t missed a weekends sailing since I bought this boat & have also done several week day sessions too. This is without doubt the best £80 I have ever spent.

Cheers Glenn
Logged

Welsh Wizard

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #16 on: January 20, 2012, 10:36:09 pm »

Now that looks very nice indeed


dave
Logged

tr7v8

  • Full Mayhemer
  • *****
  • Offline Offline
  • Posts: 235
  • Location: Chatham
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #17 on: January 21, 2012, 06:49:15 pm »

I guess you work in a car paint shop? That looks brilliant I must admit. I spent more on my much older marblehead. I'm using an Eurgle winch from K Bits aka Ken Binks & it has been fine controlling the top suit of marblehead sails. It was around £26 so much cheaper than a lot.
Logged
Jim

knoby

  • Guest
Re: Ebay Marblehead
« Reply #18 on: January 21, 2012, 07:10:31 pm »

Thanks Jim, yes I do work in a body shop. There's a few guys at the club using Eurgle winches & they seem to work fine on marbleheads. They do have a reputation for being a little noisy, but the whirlwind isn't exactly quiet, personally I think they are great, especially at that price.

I recently bought another marblehead hull from mayhem & am in the process of rebuilding it. i think this one will end up costing me a bit more than £80 though ! but still worth every penny,

Glenn
Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
 

Page created in 0.121 seconds with 22 queries.