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Author Topic: What next a Yacht ?  (Read 2485 times)

radiojoe

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What next a Yacht ?
« on: August 03, 2020, 02:28:54 pm »


Having completed my build of Hunters Moon, Huntsman 31 a few weeks ago I've been pondering what to do next, as I mentioned at the end of that log a Yacht of some sort may fit the bill, a fast boat is great fun but sitting on the bank sailing a Yacht in a light breeze is also very enjoyable, as I may have mentioned I've had three rc yachts a Gruapner Optimist, a Graupner True Blue and a Thunder Tiger Victoria, the Optimist was my favorite but was controlled with a Mcgregor one plus one rc set that's one stick one button, and it was in my younger days when I could ill afford stuff and used to sell things to finance another project, so that's what happened to the Optimist, the other two were ok but never liked them much so they were also sold,.
So which Yacht, I've been researching several of them with a criteria in mind I don't want a plastic or vac moulded hull, or a super fast racing yacht,  or a highly detailed model, it must be wood, large enough to handle the all to often choppy waters of our local lake but small enough to fit in my Hyundai i10 fully rigged, I had thought of scratch build from a plan but for this one I think a kit will do, so the length of hull will be 800 to 1000mm. at the moment I keep coming back to the Aeronaut Bella, it's the right length made of wood and not too detailed, Bellisima is very nice but at 1200mm simply too big, if I chose  Bella I would do a couple of mods, 1, I would beef up the keel fin but adding  1mm ply to each side making it 5mm instead of just 3mm and profile it, 2, possibly adding chine stringers prior to fitting the hull skins, also the price of Bella is attractive as it will only get occasional use and will live down the garage so I don't have to carry it up and down two flights of stairs to my workshop.
What do you guys think are there any other wood hull Yacht kits I've missed any thoughts on Bella etc.  Thanks.


Joe.
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Howard

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #1 on: August 03, 2020, 04:01:48 pm »

Hi Joe.
What about a Victoria or a sparrow if you want a easy build one both would fit in your car rigged I think.
  Regards Howard.
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tigertiger

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #2 on: August 03, 2020, 04:23:03 pm »

If you want to think a little bit away from yachts, like the Wee Nip, a footy, or Starbaby (Sarik plans and woodkit option), then you are moving towards models of day sailing boats that are not as tall masted or as deep keeled.

If you wanted to go a bit more off the beaten track, think about historic sailing models, like a sailing barge (Thames or other), old gaffers, or a fishing schooner.
If you pick something (or scale down plans) so that it comes in under 3 foot length, the drop keel will not be as deep as a yacht, and the models should fit in the back of your car (seats down) if canted over.
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Big Ada

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #3 on: August 03, 2020, 04:47:28 pm »

Yes, a Thames Barge with varying weight Keels to suit winds.

Len.
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ChrisF

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #4 on: August 03, 2020, 09:32:18 pm »

Hi Joe

Bella looks a nice yacht (nice bit of mahogany) and given that it meets your criteria and has similarities to Optimist I think you will be hard pressed to find anything better. Go for it!

Chris
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roycv

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #5 on: August 04, 2020, 12:31:07 am »

Hi RJ I have a Bella and there is another build on this forum.
I have altered the sail rig on mine but no matter, it is a good simple yacht to build and goes nicely.  One thing wrong and that is the keel is just 3mm ply but integral with the build.  Easily rectified by glueing another 3mm ply sheet each side and taking back to an aerofoil section. 

I clamped cheek pieces and the hull 'sandwich' down to my work top while glueing and left for 24 hours it is the work of a short afternoon to reshape.  The beauty of using extra ply cheeks is that as you file it down you reveal the layers of ply and these are your guide to getting it symetrical.

There are ready made rip stock sails and 2 keel pieces in the kit and all the fittings you need, also a booklet of many pages giving a step by step guide to assembly, very complete and well thought out.

It is a good choice easy to get square and true and she will sail well also.
regards
Roy
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colin-d

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #6 on: August 04, 2020, 06:25:04 am »

Morning Joe,
Personally I would go for something nostalgic. ..


The billings 600 series are not bad..


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T888

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #7 on: August 04, 2020, 06:53:31 am »

Hi Joe,
What about one of these ? Shelduck photos of Solent model boat clubs members
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Regards David

roycv

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #8 on: August 04, 2020, 08:22:07 am »

Hi T888, do you know anythiing more about the Shelduck sailing boat,  Are there plans?  I have not heard of it as a kit.  No mention on the web site, nice looking model and sails well.

Regards
Roy
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T888

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #9 on: August 04, 2020, 09:30:45 am »

Hi Roy,
This is not a kit , but a private build, however if you contact the club they can put you in contact with member that drew up the plans as he does have CDs that have the plan and pictures. He also has a mould for the keel.
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Regards David

roycv

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #10 on: August 04, 2020, 10:13:56 am »

Hi Dave I will follow that up and thanks for the response.  Quite a delightful little yacht, any idea of the hull length?  My guess is about 36 inches?

I looked with trepidation at the keel, but thought I could also assemble it from layers of lead flashing.
regards
Roy
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Taranis

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #11 on: August 04, 2020, 12:21:57 pm »

My personal choice would by the Large scale version of Colin Archer by Billings boats.

As pictured here at 1:40 scale but personally I would do the 1:15  O0
https://www.bjornmoren.com/The-Colin-Archer.html


P.S. there is very nice example recently completed on Billings Facebook builders group.




Link requires membership
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=3788110994597582&set=gm.3014315315312362&type=3&theater&ifg=1
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radiojoe

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #12 on: August 04, 2020, 01:11:26 pm »

Thanks for your response and suggestions,  some of the smaller boats like the footy I fear would not survive the choppy waters of Walpole Park, My criteria is 800 to 1000mm hull, the Shelduck looks interesting  and I may well look into drawing something similar myself as a follow on from this project, the keel weight is quite a simple task, and I could make it the minimum 800mm but for this project I'm just looking for some thing to get back into yacht sailing that needs to be "built" just to make it interesting but not a detailed display model, the Billings Dragen could suit as just under my 800mm minimum, but I've built a Billings kit many years ago and as I recall was not that impressed with it, so still leaning towards the Aeronaut Bella with the couple of mods mentioned in my first post I think she may fit the bill, I've already converted a spare two radio set with a ratchet on the left stick instead of centering ready for a sail winch instead of the "arm" oh that's the third mod. need to make my mind up time.  :o


Joe
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roycv

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #13 on: August 05, 2020, 07:46:07 pm »

The Shelduck sailing boats refered to in reply No. 7.  I have made enquiries and the hull is 43 inches long and has a lead cast keel.  Toral weight is 14lbs. 6ozs.
Contact with the club could get a ready made hull and keel.
regards
Roy
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ballastanksian

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #14 on: August 05, 2020, 10:35:51 pm »

If it fits your dimension specs and the kit is available somewhere still, then I would revisit the Optimist and fit a current control system and any other new tech that would make it more enjoyable to sail.


I know you do not flinch from a challenge when they pop their heads up, so building another might not generate the same spirit, but every project is a challenge so it would fit the double bill of being a fun build and revisiting an old friend with new potential.
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roycv

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #15 on: August 06, 2020, 09:30:12 am »

Hi RJ as you sail on Walpole Park lake then I would go up a size and go for the Bellisima which is just over a metre, I seem to remember it is quite open water there.  It is identical in design to the Bella.
Roy
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radiojoe

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #16 on: August 06, 2020, 11:34:07 am »

Hi Ian, An interesting thought but I'm thinking dodo droppings, I built the Optimist in 1974 and it was quite expensive then even for the basic kit that didn't include the fittings or the keel, the fittings were all stainless steel and the keel was cast iron, she was a lovely model though that I somehow managed to make a good job of, having said that it did have it's flaws the hull was moulded ABS plastic and quite thin no bulkheads just a sub deck made up of balsa parts to form the deck camber but without bulkheads tended to flex downwards so I added some cross pieces of spruce on the under side for extra support before fitting the printed deck, the keel also had issues, as well as the cast iron keel it had a sub keel made up in two halves of vac moulded plastic glued together and fitted between the hull and iron keel so you had to be very careful not to over tighten the keel bolts, she sailed very well though even with my crud radio.


Hi Roy yes I had considered the Bellisima but she's actually 1200mm long and won't fit in my car without derigging and unstepping the mast and I don't fancy doing that every time I went for a sail, which is why I'm thinking of her smaller sister Bella.


Joe.
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radiojoe

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #17 on: August 06, 2020, 06:42:27 pm »

So having given it some consideration I finally decided to order the Aeronaut Bella, ordered one this morning from CMB, got a call this afternoon to let me know I was beaten to the last one by about an hour and they don't know when it will be back in stock, that will teach me not to dither, rather than wait for them to let me know when it's back in stock I chose to cancel and think again, this evening after a bit of searching I've found another one at the Shipwright shop, had a conformation email for the order so hopefully ok, a bit dearer than CMB but free postage for any order that contains a hull or kit so similar price, never used the www.shipwrightshop.com before looks interesting. ok2




Joe
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radiojoe

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #18 on: August 10, 2020, 03:49:01 pm »

Having ordered the Aeronaut Bella from The Shipwrightshop last Thursday I checked today and the order still showed Pending, so I phoned them this afternoon and of course it's out of stock it wasn't marked as out of stock like some of their other models, but they said it never came in with the last delivery from Aeronaut and they get deliveries every 7 to 10 days but cannot say what will be included, now I fully understand that Covid has had a huge effect on industry in general but in the interests of customer care they could have informed me of out of stock status last Friday, as indeed CMB did, I have now cancelled the order as they don't know how long it will be and it appears to be out of stock every where else, so project now on hold. >:-o


Joe.
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colin-d

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #19 on: August 10, 2020, 05:43:02 pm »

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SailorGreg

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #21 on: August 10, 2020, 06:22:58 pm »

Are you sure you're buying the right boat Joe?  The Amazon advert clearly states "For children and youth".  {-) {-)

Or if you fancy doing one from scratch, the Racing Sparrow looks about the right size.  Plans and an instruction book for $12 New Zealand.  No more difficult than a Springer I'd have thought?   %)   (And I'll make the sails for you if you go that route.)


Greg

radiojoe

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #22 on: August 10, 2020, 07:19:48 pm »

I tend not to buy from abroad after some experiences in the past, but thanks anyway, the Swallow is not really the type of yacht I'm looking for being basically a racing yacht but again thank you for the offer Greg, yes I know the Bella is a simple yacht to build and sail which along with her size is why I chose her, though my build will have several mods, I was also considering the Billings Dragen or Dragon but as I said I'm just looking for something to have the occasional sail so don't want the bother of sorting out the weight issues in converting it to rc.


Joe
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Taranis

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #23 on: August 10, 2020, 07:26:18 pm »

It is covered by Amazon warranty and support. I've spent many 100's on Amazon for goods outside of UK never had a problem
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roycv

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Re: What next a Yacht ?
« Reply #24 on: August 10, 2020, 07:32:41 pm »

The Billings Dragen sail boat does not really work on the water unless you sail at a lower water level which does not look right.  There is a nice Sarik plan of Bluebottle which is a Dragen.
i tried with a company that wanted to produce a GF hull of the same size but theirs was so heavy it was impractical.  I asked them to thin it down but they lost interest.
regards
Roy
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