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Author Topic: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!  (Read 4575 times)

clockworks

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First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« on: April 25, 2019, 08:33:46 am »

New to RC boats. So far I've bought 3 secondhand boats - 2 tugs and a speedboat.


Most of the guys at the local club are into sailing, so I decided to buy a relatively cheap yacht and give it a go. I found a model shop that was selling the Graupner GR65 for £110. I figured it would be a pretty safe bet, as Graupner seem to have a good reputation. Mistake I think.


Despite being sold as "ARTR", I just can't get my head around it. The instructions make no sense to me at all.


The first problem is fitting the mast into the hull. It has a machined plastic socket which is oval shaped, and a sliding plastic cover with a round hole that the mast fits into. Presumably this sliding cover is so that the rake of the mast can be adjusted. Unfortunately there is nothing to hold the bottom of the mast in place - it can move backwards and forwards in the socket.
The instructions suggest that the mast can plug into 2 positions at the bottom, but there is nothing at the bottom of the socket to locate it.


There is also nothing to stop the mast pulling straight out of the socket.
Am I misunderstanding?


Link to instructions:[size=78%]21009_GR_65_de_en_fr5a310ae260239.pdf[/size]
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grasshopper

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #1 on: April 25, 2019, 08:58:53 am »

Morning,
Not looked at the instruction link (yet) but if it's similar to my DragonForce 65....
The rigging - back stay and jib - will hold the mast down into the sliding mast socket, and I would have thought there's a small screw and washer that will clamp the slide into place.


I'll read the link later and see if I can clarify.....
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grasshopper

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #2 on: April 25, 2019, 09:13:39 am »

Just had a quick flit through......great pictures but the instructions are awful - most people say that Chinglish is bad but the 'Engman'  being used here is worse!


Mast step reference is page 28, mentions small screw in front of knurled nut for keel..Should the socket actually be oval or is it badly moulded?
The back stay and jib should hold the mast in place okay. It's how it is on mine and I lift and lower mine by the mast to save bending to launch or retrieve.


If the Graupner yacht following is anything like the Dragonforce then look on you tube for 'tuning' videos.


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clockworks

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #3 on: April 25, 2019, 09:47:25 am »

The slide locks in place Ok using the screw and the keel retaining nut, so the mast is located where it exits the hull. Problem is there is nothing at the bottom end of the mast to stop it moving fore and aft. The oval socket slot goes right through to the GRP hull skin, so the mast pivots back and forth about 140mm measured at the top.


I haven't tried fitting anything else yet.
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grasshopper

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #4 on: April 25, 2019, 11:25:48 am »

Check the parts list at the back of the manual to see if there’s a schematic/ drawing with all of the parts on.
The mast may have a fitting that goes on the foot or is part of the boom assembly before going into the mast step. Most plastic yachts don’t have masts that go into the hull...just plug into a deck fitting.
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clockworks

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #5 on: April 25, 2019, 12:33:32 pm »

No sign of any fitting for the bottom end of the mast in the parts bag or on the parts list. It's just a 6mm carbon tube that drops into a plastic socket glued into the hull.


I could make a fitting from styrene sheet easily enough - something that slips down into the socket, and has a 6mm hole to take the end of the mast. Before I do that, I need to know where the foot of the mast is supposed to go - the slot in the socket is about 15mm long. Should I just make a "spacer" that can either fit in front of or behind the mast?


For what reason is the mast designed to be adjustable for both rake and longitudinal position?
   

It really doesn't help that I don't have a clue about how sailing boats work. My plan was to put it all together, then take it to the club on Sunday and ask one of the experienced sailors have a look at it for me. It's what I used to do when I first started learning to fly RC planes - get an experienced pilot to do the maiden flight.

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clockworks

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #6 on: April 25, 2019, 04:14:30 pm »

A friend who has been sailing RC for years came and had a look. He agreed that it's a bit odd, so I decided to make a fitting to locate the foot of the mast, while still allowing the rake to be adjusted. Few bits of scrap styrene, and I have an insert that can be easily removed and put in either way round.


As soon as the receiver pack arrives I can get the radio gear installed, then tackle the rigging. I'm sure I'll be back to ask more questions at that point.
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clockworks

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #7 on: April 27, 2019, 05:21:59 pm »

My rechargeable Rx pack turned up today, so I thought I'd fit the radio gear. No rudder movement at all. I wiggled the rudder manually, and the servo moved slightly. Response from the Tx stick was very jerky, which made me think that the servo was faulty.


I found an unused Hitec HS55 "feather" servo amongst my old RC plane stuff, which is the right size, but uses a different spline for the arm. I removed the rudder linkage - a push-pull setup - and the reason for the limited movement became apparent. The nuts that secured the metal fittings to the servo arm had been "locked" with superglue, but way too much. The fittings were glued solid to the arm. No rotation at all.


A quick dunk in acetone got everything separated, and I fitted the new Hitec arm, adding washers either side of the arm (and a tiny drop of superglue to lock the nuts),


While I was in there, I pulled the rudder shaft from it's tube. No lubricant, no washer between the top of the tube and the rudder arm.


Not impressed by the build quality of what is supposed to be an "ARTR" kit. I'd be seriously annoyed if I'd bought it at full price.
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clockworks

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #8 on: April 28, 2019, 04:50:59 pm »

I had a go at the rigging today. I managed to get the mainsail attached to the mast with the rings, and the boom is located on the mast.


After 2 hours of looking at the manual (paper and online versions) I'm none the wiser about where the various bits of line go, how they attach to the boom and the line from the servo. There are no photos at all showing what happens at the top of the mast and backstay arm, or the lines that connect these parts and the sail.


Maybe my google skills are lacking, but I can find very little information about this model on the net. I guess they are being sold off cheap because nobody bought them.


I feel like just sticking the thing up the loft and forgetting about it.
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grasshopper

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #9 on: April 28, 2019, 07:34:33 pm »

Don't get too despondent, have you tried YouTube and put in the name of the yacht...
There may be some build videos on there, I know there were for ours.
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clockworks

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #10 on: April 28, 2019, 07:43:47 pm »

All I can find are a couple of videos showing the finished model on the water
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slinger

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #11 on: April 29, 2019, 08:38:50 pm »


Have you tried looking at the Dragon force 65 instructions as they appear to be rigged in the same way or very similar?


Graham
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clockworks

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #12 on: April 29, 2019, 10:57:55 pm »

Have you tried looking at the Dragon force 65 instructions as they appear to be rigged in the same way or very similar?


Graham


Excellent suggestion. I think I should be able to get it sorted using the DF instructions. Very similar design, and a much clearer manual
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skierdive

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #13 on: July 26, 2019, 08:32:07 pm »

How did you get on with your yacht?


Did you put it on the water?
Or in the loft?


Are these the instructions that you received with your boat?


http://www.logicrc.com/instructions/B-21009.pdf

Ian.
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clockworks

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #14 on: July 27, 2019, 01:24:34 pm »

Yes, they look like the same instructions. The actual model in the box has a few differences from the pics though. I guess the design and pre-assembly got updated, but the instructions didn't?


I managed to get the boat built, and sailed it a couple of weeks after my last post. Everything worked OK. I let an experienced sail guy have a go first, then I tried it myself.
I have to say I felt totally out of control, and found the whole thing a lot more stressful than pottering around with a powered model. I think I'll need to get some more help with the actual sailing.


The club member who tried it first said it was a bit of a handful, so probably not ideal for a learner.


Unfortunately our lake is now overgrown with blanket weed, so it'll have to wait a month or two.
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rickles23

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Re: First yacht - Graupner GR65 - help!
« Reply #15 on: July 28, 2019, 10:02:04 am »

Hi,


Any help? it is in English.


https://www.logicrc.com/instructions/B-21009.pdf


Regards
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