Radio Sailing Shop Boat News : Jul 2025 - less plastic more wood except for 3d printing

Boat News  plastic boats and catamarans are ok!

This year marks our 29th year online and our 33nd 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!

 

Its about building!!  (we dont mind plastic boats though either, in fact some of our best friends sail them, catamarans also!)

Here's more from the work benches, boats less boring or made less boring, built by sailors worldwide!

Some 'old' Marblehead class race boats, more later. (roar edge marblehead by Roger Stollery)

 

A recent restoration of Pilot cutter, she had been sitting in a country wine cellar for almost a century and very unloved, until.....  more later!

 

Yes, we do restorations from time to time for owners, its amazing some of the classics we see!

The tool board represents 4 generations of endeavours, from the tools used to build the first cars in Australia, to tools used by my aunty, one of if not Australias first female sail makers, in the 1950s. Later some of the tools used to build modern cars whilst our more current products have even been going into space created with them!  (ec-12 sailboat in white)

 

Jonathan is starting to make several model sailing ketches based off the design of the Australian Pearling Luggers. These vessels will be LOA on deck 600mm beam 145mm draft 120mm, gaff rigged and sailable. (mirage radio yachts red  'mad max')

 

Bigger toy boats and we have the canting keel centred before launching to race, need more sailing though!

And thats 50 years Sailing, only allowed to join Sandringham yacht club when you are 10, in the old days, not any more,that means the twins have been members for 6 years from birth now!

 

Kyosho seawind sails for ruffino by Spectre Sails and a custom dragon force df-65 dragon!

 

Alan is refurbing a pond yacht that was made when he was young, around 1970.

It never had proper deck or rigging fittings, only had screw eye's, now it does!

 

The Twins new boats for their birthday!  100 year old pond yachts are rare and 2 the same, coming from the same street address as ours, yet from birmingham uk, the other side of the world for the twins birthday is amazing, big thankyou to Mark Dicks for sending!

Twin pond yachts got stands and a clean to start! Good to see Mark cleaning some of his pond yachts between sailing his Dragon Force 65 and Dragon Flite 95 designs!

(Step away from the Trimaran Mark....  little speed demons are watching  :) )

 

How do you measure wind speed? this ones a beauty!

 

3d printed rg65 from the files in the shop we did a few years ago, comes out alright!

 

Toy boats? its all about perspective, large or small, 100ft or 100cm , all toys!

 

36r pond yacht ,Mast base before and after with deck repaired and refinished carefully to keep patina.

Vane steering gear mount repaired and remounted after all parts stripped away.

Days of cleaning in the right solutions help revive these brass pond yacht fittings

And she has 3 original rigs even!

Jib fitting was similar aged finish to other parts and a good clean and repair needed!

Classic Tucker designer 36 restricted class yacht restoration.

 

 

New pond yacht made for Eva to sail with our friends at Luxemborg Gardens in Paris, until covid stopped the world. Must finish the second yacht now!

Wooden iom raceboat anyone?  Looking great (nice (Spectre) sails too!)

 

Restoring a 40year old Ec-12 (east coast 12 metre, a mold was made from the Americas cup tank test model, 3000+ boats sailing in the United States).

Old Futaba radio gear and winches needed a reliable update so in went the ARS-808 and hitec servos, independant jib in-haul control added.

Pre clean and updated fittings.

A deep clean and new chainplates and fittings, winch board removes with 2 bolts.

And what EC-12 would'nt look good in the old Challenge 12 americas cup trial boat colors!

 

More boats?

 

Balmain Bugs, a whole new world and section in the website, click here for more Bugs!

This one from rod 18 incher bug completely hollowed out with variable quarter / half inch hull walls mostly quarter . We see a lot of older boats and try to help identify, restore and keep them in their families and away from rubbish collections.

Many like this later Sydney acing skiff model (known these days as Balmain bugs) can be dated due to their construction and even if they are later builds, still have a great amount of work behind them, not copies , more so later boats!

 

Our friend Ray Eades has been dabling in rg65 building again!

 

Thunder Tiger Victoria sailboat, 30 years old and still stornger than ever, best plastic boat bar none! one of most fun boats also!

Had a few of the 300plus we have sailing about come back to see us every now and then so new sails and parts are a well sorted set up now!

 

Joes handiwork so far from the United States, so far!

 

the many colors of sails ,Spectre Sails since 1996!   (wow thats a while now!) marblehead, iom, rg65, voyager, raganza, ec-12 etc!