| Here is a contributed mast crane design.
Original Tips and contributed tips for Fairwind.
Racing on Bass Lake R7.
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Before you buy a boat go to your local hobby store and local ponds.
Talk to the guys. See what they sail. No one was sailing here and the Fairwind made a good boat for me to play with.
I'm still playing with it.
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The sails are the engine of the boat. The sails that come with the kit
look good but you might want to buy better sails if you want to race.
I did after battery acid ate my first set! I bought new sails from
Dennis Desprois at dddsct@yahoo.com
Thanks, Dennis!
2.5 ... Holes in your sails from battery acid will not improve your
boat speed.
This is my Fairwind, "Fan Fold"!
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You do not need both stay lines on the side of the boat.
The mast will be stable if you use just two and you will have less to worry about.
Use the line that goes through the spreaders to the top of the mast.
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Stay lines are used to hold the mast upright.
Instead of using the string the plan calls for go to your fishing store and buy
plastic covered seven strand stainless steel 40# lines. Here the brand name is
called Sevalon 40# fishing leader. It comes with crimps.
Loop and crimp one end onto the mast. The other end loop and crimp about 6" above the
deck. Tie a Dacron line onto the deck end with bowsie and hook to go through the
chain plate. This allows you to adjust the tightness of the stays.
A note from Ralph Templin, said the following: "From a recent trip to the fishing store to find the steel leader material for the side stays I found some newer high tech material to use, Its is called spectra.
Yes spectra fishing line the stuff I bought is stronger than the steel, light weight, and does not stretch.
I used it for the backstay, forestay, sheet lines and jib toping lift.
If you use it for the side stays you need to use about three inches of kevlar for the adjustment area.
The brand name for this material is called Spectron"
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For other lines on the boat you may want to purchase
Dacron Fishing line 50# and 80#.
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You may upgrade the rudder control arm. I used a nose gear control arm
from my R/C airplane. It is stronger. I also added an additional collar
with set screw above the rudder arm. This was done for safety. I didn't
want to go swimming for the rudder if the control arm let go.
A note from Jack Ward: the rudder control shaft which comes
with the original equipment. It is too flexible and causes vibrations on
the rudder in heavey weather. He slipped a brass sleeve over the shaft
and has had no further problems.
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The rudder control arm has a tendency to slip as you knock the boat about.
Grind a a flat spot on the rudder shaft for the set screw to lock onto.
My fleet!
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The little mast crane (the thing at the top of the mast with
holes in it you tie the stay lines onto), should be replaced by a longer
mast crane. This will allow the main sail to move back and forth without
rubbing on the back Stay line.
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In order to see the wind movement you might want to add "tell tales".
At the top of the mast I added a 6" Mylar ribbon. I have seen others use
recording tape from a cassette recorder. I found the shinny reflective kind
used on Christmas wrapping paper better for me.
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If you are going to be racing, and you will. Try not and add all the accessories, like the railing and all the extra plastic parts
on the deck. The cleaner the boat is the less chance you will have of fouling
lines. By not drilling holes in the deck it will keep it from leaking too!
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Reduce weight and extras. Try to keep the weight as low and in the center of the boat as possible.
Some have removed the box that holds the batteries and servo
and have moved the servos and battery to the bottom of the hull.
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I recently heard that some folks were using dental floss to replace
the lines from the Servo to the booms. (The idea here was to save
weight).
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As you are building the boat. Please make sure inside the hull to
use sandpaper and rough up the surface where wood and plastic are joined.
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The little snaps in the kit are too small for my fingers. I used larger snaps.
It will help when setting the boat up and taking it apart. These can be found at a fishing supply store too.
I use the ones with a snap and
swivel.
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Remove the spring on the transmitter sail control arm. By removing the four screws from the back of the transmitter you will be able to
see and remove the spring from the sail control arm. After you remove the spring,
tape it with masking tape to the inside of the transmitter. This way you will
be able to find it if you want to reinstall it. Most people use the left control arm for the sails.
The left control usually moves up, to let the sails out, and down to bring the sails in
to the center of the boat. Do not remove the spring on the Rudder control arm.
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Another Radio tip.
Add a plastic golf ball on the end of the Transmitter Antenna. The idea here
is that it keeps the end of the antenna from going into someone's eye.
You may have to
drill out one of the holes a bit on the wiffle golf ball so it can go around the
end of the antenna.
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Mainsheet Sail Servo Arm.
The main sail servo arm comes as a metal arm about four inches long. What I have seen
lately is the guys are replacing this with a piece of Lexan as long as will fit and about two inches wide.
The Lexan is a clear plastic material about a quarter of an inch thick.
They drill holes in it and attach it to a round servo arm. Holes are also drilled out on the ends for the strings to move in and out of.
The idea here is the friction of the string passing through the Lexan is much less than the metal, and the arm is also longer giving more control.
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Jib Top Lift.
You can increase the performance by 20% by adding a top lift to your jib.
At least, that is what I heard someone say. I know when I disabled my top lift, I went from first place in one heat, to last in the next.
Check out the top lift diagram on the More Contributed hints and tips page below.
- When you win a heat don't adjust your settings. Try not to adjust more than
one thing at a time.
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