Radio Sailing Shop Boat News : Jul 2015 - Brit Pop ioms,1996 marblehead worlds video, Katana M

-Spotty goes sailing!

Carbon goth rg-65 in the water with the new color scheme (although i first used it 20 years ago on my boats!)

The Mk3 rg-65 Goth is shortly to be joined by several Mk4 Goths being assembled now...

 

-Garths new ride!

RadioSailingShop Sailor Garth Halton has just launched a new Brit Pop iom called the yellow submarine!

(just kidding, he is going to have black ends and call it the Bannana boat perhaps though!)

Lookout for Garth at a regatta near you as he travels Australia in the quest for ultimate speed and a trip to the worlds next year!

 

-With the upcoming Marblehead World Title this September at Lake Garda , Italy, it is a great time to watch the video of the Marblehead Worlds from Albert Park Lake Victoria from 1996!!!!

Who knows , we may get another Worlds at the lake in the next few years!

 


-Katana Marblehead soon, ready to be realeased into the wild!

High end prepreg carbon fibre construction is utilised for a one piece hull monocoque moulding, no joins!

Dario Valenza at Carbonix ,  builders of high tec  large boats,  foils, and Uavs etc  is working on the launch for the new Katana Marblehead as seen in Australian Sailing Magazine and  available exclusively through Radio Sailing Shop, 8 August 2016!

 

-a bit different to the new Marblehead above, Ray is building this classic Marblehead, more news and pics coming, hope to see it sailing soon though!

 

-Spot the difference, Rg-65 Goth got a splash of my original color scheme i first started using in 1996, knock it out in negative on a black boat (my original was white) and here she is, ready to go!

 

-Tony Wolfenden has been amongst other builds, creating this Gaff rigged Nottingham 'J' Class under construction‏, we will await sailing pics and find out how she handles.

She will have shrouds , but looks nice with a modern unstayed rig also!

 

-Odds iom in Norway (another Mirage IOM, with RRS parts! see the club  at www.modellseiling.no and the Facebook: IOM Norway

 

- Paul Woodman is building this Fife designed 21foot class yacht,  the original Clutha was built for FN Clarke of the RYCT 1898.

Sailing in Tasmania ,Clutha had a highly successful but short racing life.

She won the RYCT’s 21foot class championship and many regattas and easily won the coveted North Vs South annual contest raced between the RYCT and the Tamar Yacht Club based at Beauty Point Tamar river on the northern coast of Tasmania.

Clutha was so fast that after the first season no one would race against her including the members of the Tamar Yacht Club who refused to challenge the unbeatable Clutha a second time.

Clutha was removed from competition and keep on the owners slipway where she remained for many years, unused and unloved.

The international rule was introduced in 1903 and the Clutha as with all light displacement boats (skimming dishes) of the 1890’s was rated out of contention, her fate was sealed.

Clutha meet a sad end when the owner sold her to local fishermen who cut-off her long graceful over hangs an converted her into a scallop barge to then spend the rest of her days tied-up near Constitution Dock.

Images of the plug built by Ray Smith.

The mould and first hull built by Paul, Ray will build the second boat.

Clutha Model is 70” long, 22” beam, 35” waterline, will weigh approx. 25 Lbs. and will carry 2300 square inches of sail in her light air rig.

Below are images of Angelque in the foreground and Alida racing on Karkarook Lake Moorabbin earlier this year. Dimensions, LOD 70”, beam 14”, draft 14”, LWL 53”, weight 32lbs, sail area 2300square inches.

Both model designs are quite similar to the A” class model yachts.

These two models boats are based on the Hereshoff designed Dilemma of 1892 the first fin-keeled bulb-balasted light displacment boat that impressed the yachting world and commenced 10 years of innovative yacht design culminating in racing machines like the Clutha. 

 

-Our friend Jeff has been sailing the ‘Fareast 23s’ in Shanghai for some time and had a great time in the recent international regatta, lets hope he has time to sail the Kantun and toy boats again soon!

 

-Stephen Champion in New Zealand is duilding a new design iom called the Kozmik, and building a few, we will have fleet siling pictures soon we hope!

 

-Paul Littledyke in South Australia has built this beautiful Marblehead from Brad Gibsons "Indie' plan set, couple of more in build and using our foils and rigs, so should be an interesting summer coming up!

 

-Pond Yacht Help!

Can you identify this boat(s)?

610mm long this one snuck into the boot of the car on the way down the coast and was itting in the corner of the shop on a new stand awaiting some attention when Jason spotted it and remarked that it looked a lot like his dads old boat.

When we compared the two they are very similar!

We believe it was from plans of a kit available from model dockyard in Melbourne in the 1930s or 1940s and may even be a scaled down 36 rater, any ideas?

 

-The F3 Marblehead with two different A rig set ups, orange boat with full sailsetc Gizmo set up!

the Gizmo can be set to flatten sails, increase forestay and other tune when sheeted on up wind.

F3 marblehead features textron weave rudder and keel available from our keel page.

 

-Marblehead Victorian State Titles , pics by John Boys.

Windy again and alot of boat did not finish the 2 day regatta, few electrical, few leaks, few cold sailors!

Dave Thomas rocketing to windward!

As Pat did not have a wedding to go to , he stole his No38 back for the regatta from me!

 

-AA Parts Adjustable Vang and more parts are back!

As of May Alberto tells us he is busy packing to deliver us more of his great italian made parts and the new and updated variable geometry boom vang as pictured below!

Please bear with us while waiting as Alberto packs ,as a one man and small part time hobby business he has to do everything at AA Parts, it is a lot of running about!

click here for item.

 

-Thanks to Big Pat (for loaning boat no38) i am back Marblehead sailing (bug is starting to bite again!), good sailing with sailors from interstae representing 4 states for 1st round of victorian titles!

- Gill goes sailing!

Way back when john Bertrand had the one Australia syndicate challenge for the Americas cup (yes the one that sank in front of the tv cameras) , the main sponsors commissioned  two 1.2 metre long replicas with twin rudders and a bulb linking them.

We had them in the workshop recenetly helping Gill get them restored and sailing a really neatly done keel/rudder pivoting set up.

They are for sale if anyone is interested as Gill needs space!

 

-Robin racing rig bags and stands

Robin has been busily making rig bags for rg-65s, dragon force 65s and dragon flite 95s and they have been received so well he is continually making more designs for sailors.

In between times he is also making really neat boat stands that fold flat as well as allowing your boat to lay diagonally or fully upright when sitting in it,  I would be lost without mine and it saves all the paint coming off your bulb and scratching your nice shinny hull!

 

-Corrosion x

Everyone has been bugging me to stock Corrosion X so now have it!

Basically you coat your reciervers and servos in the liquid and it forms a protective membrane that conducts electricity but shields moisture, its military grade and unlike wd40 that is a water dispersant that promotes rust, it protects for a long time.

Supplied in small dripper bottles the 'Speed X' version is also formulated for bearings, so if you have a gooseneck with bearings and sail in salt, you need this!

Iom or dragon force , all the bearings will rust in salt readily, lanoline sprays cause stiction and binding in lightweather, speed x seems to hit the target nicely though!

For more info check out our product page- click here

 

-Andrew caught eyeing off more pond yachts for the collection

Uh oh, not another pond yacht says Loredana……..

 

-Patterson river ioms racing , coming to Saturdays

The Guys at Patterson Lakes Model yacht club are looking to start iom racing on Saturdays, obviously they haven’t got enough on their plates running big fleets of ioms on Tuesdays and rg-65s and Lasers on Sundays, good one guys.

And of course if you are in Melbourne, drop by if it’s a race day and have a sail!

 

-Dan Bergans 10r (10 rater )

Built to Frank Russells plans , Dan is busy getting some new boats ready, seems in nsw there is an absolute explosion of the bigger 10 rater class boats, bring it on!

 

-Central Park Model Yacht Club New York,  Centenary

23 april 2016 and the central park model yacht club turns 100!!!!!

Check out the website and if your in town go have a look!

https://www.cpmyc.org/

(did you know that Albert Park Model Yacht Club is 107 years old and one of the oldest in the world!)

 

-Mark Dicks does free plans sets for radio sailing shop

Mark may be known for being the designer behind the dragon force but he is so much more than that!

Some years ago Mark designed a rg-65 called the ‘ice’ , the mass production version of which became the dragon force , however to help builders get newer and faster rg-65s out and sailing Mark has penned free plans for radio Sailing Shop to have as downloads!

John Boys pics!

Here are a few pics of one of marks latest builds and a pic of a dragon force and the ‘ice ‘ in our workshop.

Dragon force Rg-65 and Ice rg-65

Sliver 2 rg-65

 

-Classic pond yacht plans from 1921

Came across these pond yacht plans in a copy of “yachting” from 1921, anyone interested in building her?

 

-Maltesser iom released

Mark Dicks latest IOM design the Maltesser has been released and is available through radio Sailing Shop, latest nes on it is at MX Components website.

 

-Proboat Raganza sails...

Do you have a proboat kit and need sails?

We also do custom sails and so sent this set up north to supercharge the proboat against the ioms in the fleet, came out rather well and features a squaretop main and almost full hoist jib.

 

-RG-65s racing


Rg-65 racing is building and building at Patterson lakes model yacht club with more and more sailors taking up the dragon force rg-65 to try and many moving into grandprix rg-65s, we normally have around 18 boats race on a Sunday in either staggard handicap starts or scratch racing and it’s a lot of fun!

The club also gets 14-18 boats on a Tuesday, here are som pics of the last Rg-65 cup event with some 30 boats in attendance, what a day!

 

-GoSpectre.com ,  20 year anniversary!!!!

1996 we started matching model boats with sailors and put up the gospectre.com website for spectre marine,  its now 20 years old , wow!

So over 1000 boats later as a part time hobby business, we are now very much full time running radio sailing shop and still making boats , sails and equipment.

Thank you to all those who have supported us over the years around the globe , we have boats and parts in ……

Finland, Sweden, Norway, Croatia, Russia, france, Germany, Greece, Italy, Dubai, Wales, England, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Isle of man, Turkey, China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, Indonesia, Maylaysia, New Zealand, Usa, Canada, Brazil, Chile, Mexico,Argentina,Portugul, Spain, Malta and more I am sure I have forgotten!!!

And more parts and boats coming!!!!

pictures Steve Wood 2015!

 

- Marco's iom in Italy

Marco has been stockpiling parts from us and in conjunction with craig smith and Frank Russell we have been guiding him through the build process, looks like we didn’t need to much as he has turned out a beautiful build and is sailing already!

 

-Garth in qld

Pictured is Garth Haltons TNT iom with Radio Sailign Shop logos lavished on it, sadly gone to Germany now so until the new Brit Pop arrives , Garth will just have to sail the rg-65!

He might even upgrade to sailing RGs more.......

 

-Nicholson River Model Boat club

When in Paynesville, Metung or east Gippsland visit https://nmsclub.org/

, we went to visit mum and dad and the guys pulled up at our jetty and had boats loaded ready for iom sailing!

Awesome days!

 

- Canterbury J class from New Zealand in the USA

If you have seen the real J-class Americas cup boats from the early 1900’s have a look at a class called the Canterbury J.

It is a J class model about 150cm long, I have often thought about getting one as there are hundreds in newzealand and they look great, maybe a bit big to transport in the mini though!

Here is one being built by Robert  in the USA , shows you can ship anything anywhere!

Will be great to see her sailing.

 

-Andrews Sunday sail with Bill, no hiding!

Loredana took this pic of the boats becalmed when we were racing with our good friend Bill Hutchinson in the Sunday morning races, I got home and the next day jeff from Shanghai had sent the pic of me grinding winches (unusual to see me not on the wheel!) and asked how sailing went, you just cant hide anywhere can you these days!

Bills goth rg-65 winner of the rg cup 2016

John Boys Picture!

 

-Sailing in st.Petersburg

Evgeniy in St.Petersburg has sent some pics of one of the fleets sailing, micro magics, rg-65s and ioms I believe and building in numbers  as time goes on, currenlty the best site to catch up with them if your heading over there is for the micro magics and is https://www.mm-sailing.ru/ , I know Loredana has started planning why we need to go there already!

They even use the mark to hold down the results, either it is big paper or small boats!

 

-Swing rigs, what are they, where are they from?

You have seen Marblehead racing boats and rg65s using “swing rigs” and the ‘gizmo’ however a lot of people still are unsure what a swing rig is, so read on….

Typically a yacht will have a mast with mainsail at the back and most likely a jib/headsail at the front (or bow and stern!) , a swing rig has the mast slightly further forward and the mainsail boom extends right forward through the main mast to be the tie down point for the jib.

So now the jib pivots to windward when the main is released.

Why, you say?

Downwind the sails present more ‘projected area ‘ to the wind and only one control line is needed to sheet in and out, a main sheet does work of a jib sheet also!

I first saw the rig years ago when a good friend showed me some photos of the  boats sailed at his yacht club in Lymington, England over 100 years ago, the Solent ‘redwing class’.

Back then the redwings (still sailing today ,however with conventional rigs) were/are a very active and technically developing class.

They have also been used on 50ft yachts and called ‘aerorigs’ google it!

Jump forward to the 1990s and my first experience with marbleheads and the efficiency of the rigs, until they are over powered down wind and you cannot ease the sails and round up, theres no where to hide!

John Boys Pictures!

Now they are even being fitted to rg-65s and going quite well, especially in the light winds so we have the full Sailsetc range of fittings for 8mm masts and 6mm alloy bent booms for rgs to complement the Marblehead bits we have had for years!

 

-Coutaboat kits

Ok so wayne and I have not sailed the couta boat kit for 15 years, so boats were dusted off, wayne said a prayer ‘please boat work” (just joking) and we went sailing!

And boy did we go sailing, they handle even better than we rememeber, even if it was , uh hum a bit too windy to be sailing them that day.

Robin came down to help out and as he had grown up pretty much next door to the Lako’s (one of the main couta boat building families) he just had to have a sail!

Robin had escaped making rig bags for the morning but he is back at it now!

We are slowly getting the  couta kit for relaunch later this year and hoping to update the controls system  for newer radio controls, even though there are 300+ sailing around , radio controls have changed in 15 years so  time for an update!

 

-Dario at carbonix

Dario is relaunching his boats with this great looking Marblehead made in the composites shop on cockatoo island in Sydney harbour, what a great set up he has!


“The hull and deck are made in one shot with prepreg.
The RC gear tray is the only additional component that then drops in.

The overall concept is moderate beam, full forward sections, a piercing bow
and raised deck to seal the bottom of the sails.
Fin and rudder are also new, with up to date sections”

More from Dario as the build progresses!

 

-Wild oats foils

Here is the underwater layout of foils on wild oats, that’s why they call it the swiss army knife!

Latest must watch video of Harrison racing Andrews RG-65, after a long day racing and a great effort Harrisons Dragon Force was being a bit difficult so he took over AUS-1 for the last race and did this port tack start, hope he doesnt get too cocky!

 

 

-Spot the difference, wild oats 2014 vs 2015, chop up the hull, move the rig back, different sails, all in a days work really!

 

-Scotts new Iom, another "chase"?  (iom = international one metre class yacht ! )

Following Marios beautiful orange "chase" being launched , Scott has a blue "chase" and here are some pics of the set up and tune.

With these 2 “chase” Craig Smith has joined our club (finally...) and is racing the fluro yellow/mustard color boat on a more regular basis, here are some set up pics.

And here are some pics of Big Pats iom, a Vickers v9 to give you a look at another current top iom and ideas on rigging.

And the rigging

 

-Loredana's boat gets a rebuild. 

After much heckling from the decking about the look of the sails on Lore's boat we did a new set and it is good time to pass on the tip for tying mainsails to masts!

To tie the main on to the mast i use a piece of plastic tube (similar to a biro pen ink tube) that has a wire inside to keep it "u" shaped, then tie your reef knot and a touch of super glue, allow to dry and slip free of the hard to glue to plastic tube!

 

-Mack in NSW send info on the "Narrabeen" class RC yacht.

There are presently about 30 examples of this expanding class, which currently race twice per week on Narrabeen Lakes, Sydney's Northern Beaches.  Most owners have built their own boats and about 26 have been produced out of the same mould, understanding is that the design was inspired by the similar in shape and size, Soling RC class.

 

-Rmg winches updated

Rob from RMG winches has been updating the range of his awesome winches and switches, you may notice we are low on some items as he is flat out switching from 280 motors to 290 motors.

With the old motor being replaced Rob took the oppurtunity to update the range and the team are furioulsy making more (seems not fast enough as everyone from all corners of the globe have discovered we are the only ones with large stock of them and more on order!)

 

-Jeff in Shanghai sends pics and great news of the strong racing and fleets, pictured are 10Raters, ioms and local version of ioms. Looks like fun sailing when it is warm enough to go sailing!

 

-Mainsails to booms

Heres how many people connect booms to sails on Rgs and Micro Magics etc, use a length of silicone tubing and some stainless wire, works a treat!

 

-New Bulbs from Craig Smith

Craig Smith has released a new and updated iom bulb and we now have them to match is amazing rudders and keel fins, if you have not seen Craigs boats and bits before, they are artwork, pure brilliance and we are so happy to have them available.

 

-Andrews rg65 update

Such small and light boats it can be fiddly to access the peel off hatches to get to the radio gear so we have been fitting magnetic on off switches, trialing these (used in high performance gliders for years) along with the new Futaba radio control telemetry systems.

Rg65 rig kits are coming soon to the site along with more sails for RGs!

 

-Marblehead racing

Ok , so i haven’t sailed marbleheads for a while and had forgotten how fun these double scale rg-65s are until Dave got me back to racing in one of his and Lincolns marbleheads.

Big day of hitting jelly fish and sun but was good to sail in a fleet with 4 of Lincolns F3 designs present.

As ever Andrew Reid’s boats (pictured in orange) are turned out immaculately and had the sailsetc blocks we sent to him days earlier bolted on all over the place for the “gizmo”.

The sailsetc ‘Gizmo design as seen in the pictures allows you to sheet on the sails normally then use the fine tune to further pullin the sheets and adjust outhaul, forestay and Cunningham and bits, makes a fair difference upwind not these boats are all so close in speed.

The tuning cycle for these boats is prior to the Marblehead worlds in Lake Garda, Italy in 2016 where Lincolns boats will be ones to watch as always!

 

-Another rg-65?

Jeff Byerley has relaunched his Missile Rg-65 in association with Radio Sailing Shop, with kits available from RSS and fully built boats (under $2k, with rigs, literally just plug in radio gear and rigs (swing rig only)) from Mirage Model yachts.

 

-Harrison race update

Now with a season of racing under his belt with the dragon force rg-65 , young Harrison has been improving and more importantly enjoying racing in the Melbourne RG-65 fleet.

With over 18 boats turning up most Sundays  to race he has been finding the most challenging part is avoiding other boats and on the start line!

When he hasn’t got his race face on, Patterson Lakes Model Yacht Clubs “youth sailor of the year”, is slowly learning tricks from the more experienced fleet saillors.

Half way through the season Harrisons Dragon Force boat was upgraded to a sail arm winch for the main and , wow what a difference.

Now you push the sail lever down on the handset and you can see the sails go out immediately, this has proved to be a big difference to people learning to sail and was a good solution to the dragon force servos when they fail as many have been.

 

-Couta boat kits

Loredana and i met up with an old friend Wayne who made Couta Boat rc kits years ago and we will be teaming up to bring them back for people to own!

For those of you who have not heard of the couta boat, it is an old time fishing boat originating on and around the waters of the bay of Port Phillip in Melbourne.

The fishermen of Port Phillip would sail out and catch the barra couta and the first to sail back to the markets with their catch would get to the market and get best price.

The Coutas are still very actively raced on Port Phillip (i helmed the boat winning the nationals not too long ago!) and with very shallow draft it is amazing where they can sail.

Sailing through the southern sands of Port Phillip i would normally have to had be careful where i would steer Wildthing (big, big deep keel), but in the Couta, straight line as long as the wind allows!

 

-YUTAKA  in Fukuoka ,  Japan has sent these pics of sailing the kyosho Seawind class, Ioms.

For those of you who have not sailed the Seawind they are a light weather boat that excells in the flat waters found in many areas (such as japan as they were designed for) and are quite quick.

Featuring a fairly light bulb these beasts accelerate really well and at under half the weight of ioms go really well.

 

-My new Rg-65 has arrived.

We are agents for MX Components boats including their range of 10R, Marbeheads, IOMs and you guessed it my favourite, RG-65s!

My new company car arrived as a full carbon fibre goth with the guys at MX modifying the moulds to feature several changes we asked for to improve the boat, these included foredeck trench for jib boom attachment when not using the swing rigs.

Built up with cuben fibre sails and all the toys i have here so far is one sweet ride!

 

-Boom vang update

So my iom has been sitting here pretty much unloved and waiting for some of the toys here to be lavished on it.

Boom vang needed to be replaced (well not really but theres a new toy for the boat) so the old metal style vang with white nylon dial wheel got swapped for the new sailsetc self locking low profile vang replacement, pretty neat and bit more durable agaist the elements!

 

-So i often wonder where all these parts and boats go, Frank sails at Lilydale lake and sent these pictures of our keels, winches and general fittings on his magnificent build!

 

-Assembling a Brit pop

Andrew Reid , fast sailor and all round nice guy has let us share these images of his BritPop Iom to help other builders in choosing how to build their ioms and selecting parts.

As ever a really nicely turned out boat from Andrew (must be in the name!)

 

-Happy birthday Andrew!

Mum and dad had this half model of our race boat made for my birthday, what a surprise and amazing craftsmanship!

We have been racing Zutem a 30ft canting keel boat for more than a few years now and it is amazing how you the technology has changed our sailing.

With carbon hull, rig and sails Zutem at 30ft accelerates like a dinghy and once the keel is canted to windward the hull flattens out and accelerates, it is no longer just about waterline length equating to speed these days.

However you do need to watch when other boats are above you that when they take your wind you do not suddenly lean to windward with the keel not being counteracted by a full sail!

 

-Mario has finally launched his new iom, a “chase” from our good friend Craig Smith!

We now have several of the “chase” iom at our club and the good drivers are starting more dedicated tuning programs, this will be an interesting one to continue watching.

 

-Strangely on our drive to the country Loredana found we just "happened" to find a model boat sailing day on the way home (nothing pre arranged about that one!)!

Lilydale model yacht club in victoria has a range of boats sailing from marbleheads to rg-65s with 10-20 boats Saturday mornings and weekdays.

Our good friend Benson sails his 650 Rg-65 on Saturdays and theres always someone cheerful and friendly to talk to you if you drop by as we did, but take a boat and go sail with the club!

 

- I keep getting in trouble from people for calling them 'toy boats" but in reailty they all are, owner of this one we were racing did'nt like his 50 footer being called a little boat either, so its not just you!

 

 

1st September 2015

Well it has been a month since we travelled with the first truckload of parts from Southern Tasmania back to Melbourne and what a month!

Thanks again to everyone for your well wishes and to Denis and Cassie for helping us settle into running the shop!

As a part of our commitment to sailing , RadioSailingShop have sponsored young Harrison Freese and set him up sailing a Dragon Force, fully spec’d up and fitted with SpectreSails for Dragon Force and using the latest Spectre SpiderWire cordage (on the site soon).

Harrison has now competed in 6 race days and as any 9 year old, soaks up information like a sponge, he has won several races when he is not jumping the starts (think he was copying me on that one) and is improving very quickly and shows spurts of annoyingly fast speed.


 

From Canada, Keith has sent in a few pics of his Thundertiger Victoria's fitted with Aussie made Hales Micro blocks and Spectre Sails for Victoria's, looking good!

Settling in well to life in Tasmania, Jeff Byerley has created a new IOM to replace the Mojo design after his trip to the IOM worlds in the USA, here are some pics, Jeff is very happy with performance so far of the "Maxim", watch this space for more news!

Its what we sail......

Send info on your club so we can share with readers and get more people sailing, thats what it is about, messing about in boats!

As a start here is our local Club, Patterson Lakes Radio Model Yacht Club, based in Victoria the club has several sailing venues.

On Sunday afternoons , Waterways (cnr Springvale and Governor roads Mordialloc ) the club have a very active fleet of RG-65s with a collection of GoSpectre.com 650s, Dragon Force Rg-65s, Goth Rg-65s and a few other classes.

Tuesdays sees the club race at the national watersports centre on Patterson River (their main base) and race days feature typically 16 or so IOMs and alternate weeks similar number s of RG-65s.

Racing at both venues alternates from handicap starts to scratch racing week by week so not matter your skill level or boat theres a chance for you to have fun!

https://www.plrmyc.com/

In between times i am rebuilding my 6 inch Balmain Bug ready for sailing this summer down the beach, the GoSpectre.com kit is sailing in places as far apart as Nova Scotia Canada and the Isle of Mann, a lot of fun these classics.

...