This started out as an idea to lure modellers away from their motors and into the world of sail powered models. The hull is about 24 inches long, being constructed from liteply with scraps of plywood and balsa. The mast is aluminium tube which, at this size, requires no standing rigging. The sails are cut from tracing paper, strong enough, sufficiently water resistant and cheap!, secured to the mast and booms with clear waterproof self-adhesive tape.
To make it as painless as possible a transition to sail power, two channel RC is used for rudder and a small electric motor. That's right, the sails are not adjustable via RC and there is a motor inside it! Learning how to adjust the sails whilst sailing, admittedly the key to the successfully operation of any yacht, can be very tricky and off-putting for the novice. Setting the sails at around 20-30 degrees to the centreline allows this model to perform safely with the bonus of using the electric motor to get out of the inevitable difficulties.
Early tests have shown good stability, what else with some 1 kg of lead in the bulb. The hull is quite dry due to the generous freeboard and flare so a simple hatch and deck coaming is more than enough to keep the insides dry. Still some fine tuning to do but it looks like becoming a relaxing model to sail whilst waiting for my fast electric models to cool down.
Glynn Guest