Made a new slightly longer (80mm) rear axle which has the wheels cambered, and very slight toe-in. Works quite well and is a lot more stable on tacks and gybes,- doesn't fall over as much now, just drifts instead. Good wind but the tide was in, so the bus station it was. Wind was the wrong direction there, but did the job for the test..

JB

Finally! some good wind from the right direction to try the yacht out on the beach, Sand is very sticky still and a bit soft, (last cyclone ruined the sand with tons of silt from subdivisions up the estuary) so the speed and tacking wasn't great and pointing was non existent. Ran it constantly for around 40 mins and covered 3.48km at a max recorded speed (not constant) of 21kph (would have been far faster on asphalt) The distance is further than you can see in the vid, from the cliffs at the southern end to the hill at the northern end so it did quite well.

Fell over a number of times due to the sand stopping the turns, but I got a lot of exercise walking up and down the beach, righting it😁 The mini keychain camera worked well and ran for around 50 mins before I unplugged it. It has been modified with a Nokia phone battery on a lead for longer video time, (original tiny built in batteries only gave around 30 mins max when new, and this one had died after about 12 yrs of using the cameras in boats and planes. Picture is not brilliant but does the job.

Mainsheet block has now been modified to stop the sheet riding off the pulley, (a handy thing with vids showing problems you may not otherwise see.) The beach should be better in summer as it dries out quicker and is harder when the tide's out. The yacht got slower towards the end, and wouldn't tack, so had to be gybed to turn round every time, as the tide was coming in and the sand was softening, plus it was getting cold.

Lots of fun all the same but the quest for more speed goes on.

JB

Almost had some good wind today, (been waiting for weeks) so went down to the park and ride to give it another crack. Super gusty as usual due to trees etc breaking the wind up, but a bit stronger than last time. Last run at the sports park was slow, -clocked at 14kph (GPS) but more like 20 today on one run up the park. Still waiting for the perfect day on the beach for some decent speed trials, (bit dodgy going too fast with kerbs all round, easy to break things.)

I've made some improvements to the steering head with bushes to reduce play, (drilled out the steering head both ends) and it now steers a lot better. The bushes are a bit firm, but the 20kg MG digital servo has no trouble with it.

Just in the process of re-modelling the rear mainsheet catch dowel (as mentioned earlier- increases inhaul by changing the mainsheet angle) as it was a bit short and the sheet was slipping off when sheeted hard in. I'm lengthening it, and notching the Formica servo arm to clear it. Always improvements to make for better performance. Hopefully more speed next post.

JB

Fine and had some good wind today, but from the wrong direction again, although a bit more SW. Still coming from behind the hills/houses, so not much good. Took around 12 tries to get this much video. It would just start going well and the wind would stop or change direction 90dg. Tried on the beach but the same thing, as it was coming over a caravan park with big trees,- gusty, swirling and inconsistent. Has to come right soon??😐

JB

Another small addition added to prevent the eventual salty sand 'spray' getting on the underneath. Just a small flat ally strip. clamped onto the front axle with a brass strip, and secured from tilting with hotmelt glue. Also added a dowel to the front of the front hatch, as it kept popping up a bit for some reason (was a tight fit with a magnetic catch at the back) - frame may be flexing a bit under strain.

Still waiting for the right weather, -yesterday wrong direction and not enough, today almost cyclonic winds and heavy rain early morning, rain most of the day, - now rain and moderate wind😠. Perhaps I should take up chess,- at least it's not weather dependent here like model sailing.😐

JB

Found a new place to try the yacht. The new bus station park and ride carpark is perfect, (or would be if we had some wind now)!☹️. Been storms and too much wind and rain, then not quite enough wind, now none at all!! -cant win. I'd forgotten all about this place, even though it's only about 3km from home, (and on the main road (duh) It's almost empty on the weekends, and the sports ground carpark is empty during the week, so I can alternate between those 2 and the beach (when the tide's out) .

Park is slightly uphill, but the yacht climbs it no problem in a breeze. Card test sail works reasonably well, but a proper sail should improve things a lot. Like any yacht, it needs a good wind to work well.

Thought if I made this yacht it would solve the 'sailing area dilemma', but weather conditions and people have stuffed up my clever plan. The right wind conditions must be coming soon, or I'll give up and go back to real boats 😁

JB

Tried the sail out briefly today in the sports ground car park, but gave up due to the number of cars turning up for kids soccer. Looks like the sail might work ok. Getting frustrated with the weather and overcrowding in our area. 12 yrs ago none of these massive subdivisions with thousands of houses, shops, town center, mall, playing fields existed. Now people have moved in from the overcrowded city side to get away from it, but have created the same problem here. Can hardly move for people and cars now!

Used to have the entire playing field area to ourselves for flying, now they are developed, it's almost impossible to fly there, except during the work hours in the week.

Managed to make a quicker set-up system for the yacht, by making the clew loose, inserting an eye and adding a Dyneema cord, The cord runs into a jamming cleat filed in the back of the boom, and is kept there by a tapered dowel, which has a hole down the center for the outhaul cord from the clew. The cord is held tight and the dowel inserted in the end of the boom to jam it.

The mast/sail can be assembled in 16 seconds (if you don't fumble😁) -Vid.
A few pics of the internal set-up and clew/outhaul method. Sky RC GPS/speed meter will be mounted in front compartment.

JB

Bodywork is all done and clear coated now and screwed to the frame with 6 x 4mm nylon bolts. The 2 main hatches have magnetic catches and the rear deck section is held in place with 2x 4mm bolts threaded into cyano reinforced balsa, plus a rear magnetic catch.

The new 'experimental' test sail is made from black art card, with double sided battens from the same material, and painted with aircraft dope to waterproof and stiffen it a bit. I am trying the card as a bit of a separate experiment, to see what can be done with it. The MK1 Weetbix sail worked quite well, but had a bit too much of a roach. This one is taller but less full on top. If it works ok I might make a rip-stop nylon one, (not actually me,- more someone who can sew properly)😁

I'm still waiting for this weather to fine up, and the wind to turn to an Easterly, instead of this unusually persistant Westerly from the Tasman Sea (it's all Australias' fault)😁

JB

Final decals added. Re -the name Taiaha, (ornate Maori close quarters spear) yacht's a bit pointy, hence the name. Next job, clear coat to protect the decals, (weather permitting) securing the body, and sorting a proper sail.

JB

Printed off some decals to break the black up. The silver fern (an unofficial national emblem) was the hardest, as I had to find a decent picture in white on a black background, then trim it when finished to remove most of the black, as it was not as black as the paint. Matches ok at a distance. The ferns are also left and right handed (flipped one) for each side. Printed on white decal paper.

A few more decals to make, then work on securing the body and hatches, proper sail, front mudguard and it will almost be ready for the big beach day official launching.

Sorry Doug, no flames,- thought about it but more for 70s hotrods I think. I've gone with the patriotic theme, (like British flags on Mini roofs, stars and stripes on everything etc).😁

JB