Radio Sailing Shop Boat News : Aug 2013 - Timber iom, Mark Dicks Ice rg65,rc soling,rg65s

1st August 2013 - Our friend, Peter Germein a Quasmanian (lives part of the year in Queensland and part of the year in Tasmania) has built a fine IOM in King Billy Pine. It is a SKA design by Brad Gibson and looks a picture. King Billy Pine is a timber unique to Tasmania and is very light and also will not rot. Peter comments on the build:

The Ska design boat was built out of King Billy pine strip planks, 10mm x 3mm.  I used Western Red cedar planks (10mm x 6mm) for the gunwales.  I laid the planks over 3mm plywood shadows, mounted on a building board.  I used Pacer Z-poxy 30 minute adhesive.  Good product as it dries clear, excellent gap filling, & dries strong. The 30 minute drying time allows enough time to get everything lined up before the glue sets.  The hull was sanded down using 200, 400 & finally 1200 grit wet/dry sandpaper.  I would estimate that the average thickness ended up between 2 and 2.5mm overall.  I then painted the hull with 5 coats of International Goldspar marine varnish, rubbed down with 1200 grit paper between coats. The hull took about 3 months to complete, then I bought it down to Tassie, where Andrew Wardrop supplied me with a fibre class deck & supervised the fitting of it. The hull was lined with a sheet of light weight fibreglass for extra strength. The winch servo was mounted directly behind the centrecase & the rudder servo about 100mm further back. The Lipo battery is mounted on the starboard side of the platform that the winch is mounted on. We attached the aft section of the deck first using West system epoxy, then the foredeck.  The foredeck was strengthen using a square aluminium rod epoxyed into the bottom of the hull & the underside of the foredeck. The deck was painted with 2 coats of undercoat & finished off with 2 coats of Twopak gloss white.  Andrew's insistence that I keep everything as light as possible paid off, as the final weight came in at 3.885kg. Needed 115gm of corrector weights to bring it up to weight.  Now all I have to do is learn how to rig & sail  it properly.  Early trails show it to be reasonable up wind, & quite competetive down wind. Cheers Peter Germein

PS The appearance of a wooden boat at Risdon Brook has fired up several guys, & at this stage there are 3 more "woodys" under construction or about to start.  May be able to have our own wooden boat regatta next summer.

        

                               

            

 

8th June 2013 - Paul Derwent has been busy building his fleet, with a couple of new yachts. He has acquired an RG65 ICE design and a Soling Class - see images and Pauls comments below:

"The RG65 design ICE by Mark Dicks-UK has undergone a series of developments and production examples are now sailing in this upcoming class.  These are great little “car bootable” boats with serious performance.  They are built to order in the UK mostly in carbon/epoxy either as parts for home completion, part built up or fully built to deck level supplied with finished fin, bulb and rudder. The pictures enclosed are of an ICE recently imported to Australia, which has three rigs by John Tushingham.

Radio sailing shop has assisted in the completion of the boat by supplying a Hitech HS-5646WP, waterproof & programmable Hi Torque servo being used as the sail control, various Micro Magic parts, line, wire & micro turnbuckles for backstay control. The ICE design is the basis of the newly developed Dragon Force One Design concept from the UK design team of Mike Weston, Mark Dicks & John Tushingham.. The first prototypes of the Dragon Force have hit the water here in Australia, with regular fleet racing being held at Albert Park Lake Victoria. There are already several Dragon Force boats here in Sydney & also several other designs already being built, on the way or on the water."

     

     

"The RC Soling design is a NSW sanctioned class which was introduced as an entry level RC Yacht. There are many boats registered in NSW with numbers of 180 plus boats. These boats are hardy little performers which are built from a kit & with one sailing rig & simple panelled sails. They can easily handle up to about 20 knots with the one rig.

Recently Paul Derwent completed his boat for the NSW State Titles. After a disastrous first day where he was placed 17^th, which can only be put down to poor preparation, the following day after some strong finishes he finished the event in fifth place. The event was held at Koonawarra Bay Sailing club which is a relatively new RC Sailing venue located just south of Wollongong, about an hour’s drive from Sydney.

Radio Sailing Shop assisted with the supply of lightweight turnbuckles, rigging wire, lightweight boom vang, Enloop battery pack & waterproof switch, newly designed burgee plus various other deck & internal fittings."

     

 

 

2nd June 2013 - Jeff Byerley at Mirage radio yachts has produced a new RG65 - The design is named Terrier and it is designed to be a good all round boat with perhaps a slight leaning to breeze rather than really light winds. On its maiden sail it performed really well with it's B rig, keeping it's nose up downwind at least as long as the IOM's it was sailing with in the gusts. The hull will be made from E glass as standard, but a carbon layup can be specified.The finish will be 2 pack paint. It can be spec'd up as a complete boat with 3 rigs. It can be fitted with a keel bulb to cater for

local conditions,( either 650 or 750 gms).All up weight will be approximately 1100gms with the lighter bulb.The 3 rigs are fitted into a gooseneck mast stub (8mm o/d) which stays in the boat,(can be removed). The mast and main boom are 6mm carbon fibre tube and the jib boom is 5mm  Sails are 50 micron mylar film.

      

    

 

1st May 2013 - It is good to see the RG65 class hitting the water in Australia, with a small fleet being regularly raced in Melbourne (see photos below). The RG65 is a development class, it is 65 cm long, and anything not mentioned in the rules is allowed.  The simple rules are designed to encourage people to try new ideas at a modest cost.
Plus points for the class are: Light weight around 1kg - Compact enough to fit in a small car fully rigged. - No need for special heavy duty sail servos. - Hulls built in balsa wood are little heavier than expensive carbon fibre mouldings.  

   

   

 

11th April 2013 - We have now returned from our trip to Port Davey and Bathurst Harbour in the World Heritage National Park in the far South West wilderness of Tasmania - We are back anchored in Recherche Bay, busy packing orders we have received over the last week, and will have them all sent tomorrow. 

We took advantage of a large high pressure system, to travel around the south coast of Tasmania, which is usually a place with fierce winds and large waves (The lighthouse keeper on Maatsuyker Island told us they had gusts near to a hundred knots the week before). We did an overnight stop in Louisa Bay near Maatsuyker Island in relativeley calm conditions and caught up with an old fishing mate and his son who gave us some abalone and crayfish as well as the famed stripey trumpeter, which is one of the best eating fish you will find. We continued on the next day in near calm seas and blue skies and entered Port Davey in magnificent conditions. The scenery was spectacular and could be best described as "Australia's Patagonia".

Bass and Flinders who discovered Port Davey in 1798, described it this way - "The Mountains....the most stupendous works of nature I ever beheld.....The eye ranges over these peaks with astonishment and horror."

Apart from a few cray fishing boats, we had this vast area to ourselves, and travelled 5 miles up the Davey River in our dinghy to find a massive and beautiful gorge at the head of the river. The next day we traversed the Bathurst Channel which comes out into the vast waterway known as Bathurst Harbour. We hopped in the dinghy and travelled up the Melalueuca River to the small gravel airstrip. Flying in on a small plane is the only way to get to this wilderness other than by boat or bush walking for many days. The next day we left Bathurst Harbour and anchored in Spain Bay at the head of Port Davey then travelled on to Deadmans Bay the following day which is again on the South Coast. We left early the next morning, just ahead of a 30 knot westerley wind change and sailed into this snug harbour yesterday afternoon, blissed out with our incredible week in the wilderness aboard Seaca.

  

  

  

  

  

    

  

  Aerial shot of Port Davey and Bathurst Channel                  Our track around the bottom of Tasmania

 

10th April 2013 - UPDATE - Click on link below to watch video of Dennis Kenna's incredible model of an 18 Footer skiff complete with crew, as featured in our boat news below on 23rd March 2012

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_nrkilL_DA&list=FLOdf10HKRkM1gdgBcA12WQQ

 

10th April 2013 - Graham Bantock has just completed the first build of his new Marblehead design. The design is named the " QUARK", and features some remarkarkable design features as seen in the photos below - The boat has some new fittings from SAILSetc. that we will be stocking as soon as they become available. Graham had this say about the new Marblehead:

"Progress has been slow on this project but we hope to sail the new Marblehead this weekend. Attached are some shots that show the boat in the workshop. As you will see there have been a good number of changes since PRIME NUMBER and this partly explains the delay. The through deck block at the transom is a new SAILSetc product and has a small seal inside to help keep water out. The boom end/gooseneck/kicking strap is improved. We expect to have production versions of these fittings as well as several other new items in the next weeks. One of the new fittings is a mast joiner that will allow the 14 to 12 mm join in a Marblehead or 10 Rater mast to be dismantled to allow the masts to pack down for simpler transport. This may be of particular use for competitors from outside Europe who plan to compete at the 2014 world championship in Netherlands. We have 8 boats on order at present but delays to our boat production mean we are unable to give an accurate indication of likely delivery dates."

    

                      

    

 

 

10th March 2013 - This pic of an IOM appeared on Sailing Anachy recently. The boat is designed by John Morgan of Morgan Yacht Design with deck, keel and rudder designed by Calvin Brown, who built the boat and races it in Tauranga NZ

                     

8th March 2013 - Our good customer Gary Gudmunson, has just completed a build of a 1980"s Marblehead design "SCORPION"

               

1st February 2013 - Whilst at the Nationals, we were impressed with the beautifully made boat below. It was built by John and Grant Hudson, and abley sailed by Grant at the Nationals, who had many good results in A Fleet. John had this to say about the boat:

"The boat is a SKA designed by Brad Gibson. Construction is 1.3mm thick Balsa cut into approx 10mm planks then shaped to suit the male jig framing, hull was fibre glassed on outside then removed from jig and glassed inside using the finest woven fibreglass cloth you can buy with epoxy resin. A jig was made for the deck shape, based on designs seen on the internet, using 1.3mm balsa and a couple of 1/8 ply cross members to support the deck front and rear adding thin strips of cedar in the centre and gunnels to enhance the look, glassed top and underneath with the same cloth as the hull, when deck was glued to hull the boat became very stiff. Boat was then given 4 coats of 2 pack clear, it took approx 3 months to build, the boat is very strong and during the recent National the boat was subjected to hard collisions with no damage occurring. Keel and rudder supplied by us. Grant is very pleased with the performance shown by the design and will continue to race it."

    

     

     

 

19th January 2013 - See below pictures taken today by Cassie, the last day of the Australian IOM National Championships. Congratulations to Michael "Knuckles" Grieve sailing a Pikanto for winning this event in a high quality field. Paul Jones was second sailing a Chienze, with Craig Smith close behind in 3rd sailing a new prototype.

    

    

    

    

    

    

 

4th December 2012 - New Racing Rules of Sailing 2013 to 2016 - Click Here for download

 

26th November 2012 - We have a new boom end fitting for connecting a SAILSetc boom to any of our ball raced goosenecks. It's code is the 103b  and it lowers the boom 5mm closer to the deck than the tradititional 103a fitting.

           

     Boom fitted to Ball Raced Gooseneck with 103b                        Boom fitted with traditional 103a fitting

 

13th November 2012 - Could not resist posting this shot, sent to me by Leigh Norman of an 18 foot Skiff in San Francisco.......

                              

 

16th October 2012 - Robert Grubisa and Zvonko Jelacic (2009 IOM World Champion) from Croatia have jointly designed a new IOM design called the KANTUN - Their design goals were to achieve a yacht that would suit all wind speeds and wave conditions by minimizing parasitic drag and increasing boat stability. With all their experience in building and sailing at the highest level over many years, this will certainly be a boat to follow at the upcoming IOM European Championships, to be held in Cres Croatia in mid November.

    

 

13th October 2012 - For anyone who has not been keeping up with the latest America's Cup developments, see below Team New Zealands latest trials of its 72 foot catamaran foiling like a Moth in Auckland Harbour. - Gives new meaning to Fly Emirates....

The USA Team Oracle have launched a similar foiling giant cat in the last few weeks and with Team Artemis about to launch and Luna Rosa also building, we are set to see some amazing speed sailing in the latest evolution of the America's Cup. The event will be sailed in San Francisco in 2013.

             

 

UPDATE - Bill Bradley in New Zealand is building a GOTHIC and we will follow the build - click here

4th October 2012 - Frank Russell has just released FREE PLANS for his new Marblehead design "GOTHIC". 

It is a development of his successful IOM design "GOTH" which has had many boats built both here and overseas. The first "GOTHIC" Marblehead is being built in New Zealand, with the plug just completed. Frank is a legend of radio sailing with many great designs being produced over many years including his very successful 10 Rater design "PHOENIX" series and the A Class "Sidewinder" design. Hopefully someone in Australia can build a "GOTHIC" Marblehead in time for the Australian National Championships in January.

CLICK HERE for 6 page plan download, and print off

   

1st August 2012  - Over the next few weeks, we will be introducing some exciting new products to our range. We will be the exclusive distributors of these parts in Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific region.

We have been working with our friend Alberto in the delevopment of these fittings, and they are designed to provide quality fittings that compliment and extend our existing range. We have had various fittings offered to us in the past, but have waited until we were sure that any new fittings we offered to the market would be of the best quality for our customers. See below some samples of our new range, which is mainly for IOM yachts, but most would be suitable for other classes like Marbleheads, 10 Raters etc.

  

Ball Raced Variable Geometry Gooseneck with Carbon Fibre Body for IOM and similar - Fits 10.8 to 11.1mm masts

      

        Sidestay Hook                   Forestay Hook                      Flat Hooks                 Prewired and Sealed Switch

      

    Rigging Screw made from 7075 Aluminium                 Carbon Fibre Spreader Kit with 7075 Aluminium Collars

 

26th May 2012 - Cassies Marblehead is FOR SALE - Vibe Design, Cassie purchased this boat new in 2007 - It has 4 carbon rigs Cassie achieved some notable results including 1st in the Bournville Trophy and numerous other high placings in state and national events. Boat and rigs are all in good condition and ready to race. Includes RMG Winch and rudder servo. Radio not included. - Price Reduced Now $3,000

                                

 

23rd May 2012 - Following the success of the "Dreadnought" design Marblehead, (see below) David Turton commissioned Jeff Byerley to produce an IOM along the same design lines - The "Destroyer" IOM prototype has been produced and did very well at it's first serious regatta recently - Jeff had this to say: