Radio Sailing Shop Boat News : July 2022 - covid lockdowns ended and normality returns

Boat News  out of Lockdown edition, finally!

So Much has been happening while you have been locked down keeping really busy with your building, here are some pics to entertain you, stay safe please.

This year marks our 26th year online and our 30th building and sending out RC Sailing Gear and Yachts internationally, hows that!!!

You will find an increased range of parts and boats and of course if you cannot find it , please ask!

As one of the worlds only Full time run Shops for parts and boats, you can contact us by email or phone or even by appointment drop in, not bad in the age of flash in the pan websites with part time staff and operating hours , limited stock and no phone!

To all that have shared the journey with us and those who we have met, thank you and we hope you can continue to help us share the knowledge to keep this past time alive and strong.

Remember as I continually say,

Its not all about racing, its about fun!

 

Black sails matter?

We have been asked for many years do we do black sails? you can find them as an option for many designs now in store!

Normal lightweight film or the typical Polyeser cloths available.

 

Setting up your iom, a good start.

Zvonko has made stickers for his world championship winning K2 design and these setting are a great start for many ioms.

 

My old Vickers V3.

Wonder where she is now, anybody?

 

Bowsies? Rig stay adjusters, many types.

Besides the newer plastic bowsies, here are some as typically used over the last 100 years.  Brass from a Star Yacht.

Plastic from a Star Yacht and Bakelite from a Star. We also have a range of other vintage bowsies and parts in store.

 

The 507 footy is still going, everywhere!

Going to Bermuda and Central Park New York these 2!

 

Yet another timber iom!

Stuart is bulding this iom to sail in Tasmania, looking good so far!

 

Foiled again!

Just when you though it was all about timber and 3d Plastic monohulls, heres one we have been working on for a while!

 

Peanuts?

We really are lucky in getting to see so many classic boats like this Marblehead.

 

The Girls go sailing!

The twins turned 2 and finally went sailing!!  I was taken out in my cot, later locked in the cabin by Bruce Farr to shut me up, but these two are not too far behind. Someone come lock them up and keep them away from our boats please!

 

Printed plastic meets molded plastic ioms!

Jeffs latest Mirage ioms feature a solid 3D printed (not honeycomb, that would not be class legal apparently) pot lid and rim.

Heres some helpful set up photos of sheet rigging.

 

Another classic, 110+ years old!  Another interesting Pond yacht restoration...

This beauty is coming back to be restored when we have some spare time and space.

Luckily she has many original parts so we have tasked the owner with building a workstand we designed togehter first!

 

Zutem gets a rebuild.

When we built Zutem in 2003 she was one of a few canting keel boats in the world and has lasted the test of time well.

A new coat of paint and extensive repaint was finished, and new sails delivered and tied on, then covoid stopped any sailing!

 

Balmain Bugs are pond yachts, racing models not models of real boats!

Hers is a 1 footer and a mini bug. The only rules were hull length, all the rest was open, so hulls were wide and volumus to support a deep and heavy keel to allow a big rig. A typical 1 footer, 1 foot hull, 2 foot bowsprit (bumpkin) and 2 foot boom with 4 foot mast!!!!!

This is our 6 inch kit available in sotre, it does not have the sliding keel like many original bugs did , but you can always add it!

Heres an 8 inch bug we have a mold for also and may be available soon!

The only rules besided hull length are when and where you can pickup the bugs and adjust sails.

This 100 year old bug is sa solid piece of timber carved out. She came to us to restore and you can see some before and after.

On the left you can see 100 years of buildup and life, on the right after the magic has happened. Deck cleaned up well.

The original rudder before and after, the rudder of a Balmain bug is used for stability and to  increase hull length not to steer!

Ths is another we cleaned up, a rare builders display model by we think the same builder as the bug before.

Many Bugs were production built by shipwrights as betting and competition for the small beasts was very serious.

 

Swingrigs, marbleheads and rg65s, similar setups.

So heres some detail shots to help you assemble our rig kits, bit easier than the drawings sometimes!

Note jib luff tension adjusted on jib boom, jib forestay at mast top with jib topping lift.

Without a boom vang, leech and foot control are via adjusters at outboard end of boom.

Some of our booms are foam sandwich carbon, sheding 25% per rig!

 

Heres another original mold we have in the store room of another classic.

 

Jos has this derwent 50 to restore, somehow...

As an original boat Jos is debating how to best restore and keep the aged features of Quest and prepare here for next years wooden boat show in Tasmania.

Will be an interesting one to watch. There are several Derwent 50s i nthe tasmanian museum if you ever are in Tasmania!

Typically made from Huon pine and other tassie timbers, what a classic.

 

Another RG65 shot, couldnt resist!

Swing rig vs conventional rig downhill.

 

Gregs boats!

Yup, you guessed it, more 12 Metres!

And a Classic, check out the tender being towed!

 

508 Footy?

With our 507 Footy design now over 10 years old it was time to do a new footy, you can also print a Red 5 Footy from the files section in store.

 

Peter is restoring this beauty with us at some stage, a larger classic pond yacht restoration!

 

An iom Alternative?

Dave and the Paynseville lads are buiding and sailing Brad Gibsons Alternative design, a home buld version of the succesful Britpop iom design.

Meanwhile in another corner, Dave has created this iom, looks interesting, we will watch with interest!

 

More amazing boats and builds.

Tom has crafted this amazing deck while in Paris, Philippe has an old English pond yacht we have helped with!

Ray is building this, bit of work in that deck also!

 

Another USA restoration of a classic pond yacht!

Melanie asked if we could help nail down this boat of her grandfathers and with the help of the us vintage model group, done!

Checkout the USVMYG website to see some great plans in the bookshop and articles.

We see some really great classic pond yachts from the USA.

The rigging made more sense after the  original photo was sourced from the archives!

 

Dave from Tasmania is in production!

Must be almost 10 of thes built by now!

 

Ralphs beast.

So ralph is building this little beast and has plans as you can tell by the poles and parts for spinakers!

The beauty of a wide boat is easy access to winches and radio gear.

 

Star Yachts of Birkenhead and restoring.

Even for storage you can see how effective our Star pond yacht stand design is.

Here are some before shots showing general Star Yacht rigging and our larger magnetic workstand.

Typical detail shot of an older Star Yacht, pre plastic fittings.

We have traditional cotton cordage in store for restorations and you.

Some more rigging details of the Star Range of Solid pond yachts and  Hollow endeavour as restored earlier.

A red trimmed Ocean Star and blue Southern Star ,Star Yachts.

You can see just how scuffed up the gunwhales on the Alisa were before, as was the keel.

As was the Red trimmed Ocean Star.  Here are some oher Stars Yachts including the smaller ones often overlooked.

 

12 Metre now restored.

Australia 2 now cleaned up after 20+ years, with the original Spectre Sails!

And my original Eagle from the same era!

Great detail on the deck of the 12 metre and our new classsic alongside.

Came across an original 50cm long 12 metre kit a few years ago, with original painted winged keel.

 

Nice color!

Peters Plan B iom, worth checking out a really nicely built boat, made in Australia!

 

Now thats a Classic, isnt it?

Actually its our new classic, designed as a pond yacht, possible remote control as well!

Milled out timber hull (6 hours) and laser cut deck (1 1/2 minutes) bring a new edge to classic pond yacht construction!

But its the details that matter, and you can see she look better because of it!

Stay tuned.

 

Shogun-

Growing up i was so fortunate to have Dad take me sailing and impart his learnings, one year on and missing him greatly.

 

Thanks for reading and we hope the stories from around the world have inspired and helped you, please share the knowledge you gain with others and good sailing.

 

Andrew Cook