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(Yacht) Sea-Lite

Acquired this Sea-Lite sailing yacht as a project. Everything works after a fashion but based on mixed reviews the intention is to replace the radio gear, winch and rudder servos and increase the keel weight (5/10)

5 years ago by Mids-Phil

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(Yacht) fair wind

kyosho fair wind yacht .This is getting on for twenty years old,it is a big yacht wth a main mast and sails that is over 4 feet high.The electrics are futaba and it has two servos fitted one for the rudder and the other is for the sails.The hull is Abs with the mast and booms made from aluminum.I purchased this in a poor state with problem electrics and in need of tlc. (8/10)

6 years ago by keithtindley

Forum

Radio in a yacht

Hi all, Whilst I can make almost anything, I have absolutely no idea how to install modern R/C gear in a model, much less a yacht. I have an Orange Rx which has 6 channels for some reason, but I only need 2. BTW, when did functions become channels? I grew up with proportional being 2 channels per function. Anyway, that's a 2.4 doodah. I have a GWS sail winch a drum jobbie. I also have a few different servos for the rudder, but I don't know what voltage they are. I will stuff 4 pen cells in a holder and therefore get 4.8 volts, is that right? This will all fit a treat on a removable piece of ply which I can secure with a slider at one end and a wingnut at tother. Said ply with all gear will slide through the main companionway with that item removed. So, how do I know which servos will work for steering? Will they work with a 2.4 Gg set? Or must I buy new? Will the Rx be OK sited near the battery pack and servos? And how the hell does one "bind" the Tx to the Rx? I've had the Tx for 3 years and it ain't yet out of its box. It's a Spektrum Dx5e. I'm using NiMhs in the battery pack as I don't understand LiPos and will only be using the yacht occasionally. And I can charge NiMhs with a wall charger. I have fancy metallic blue thing that does everything, but the Chenglish instructions defeated me, so it hasn't been out of its box either. (Get the impression I ain't big on working models, folks?) Any info/instructions/encouragement gratefully recieved. And anything helpful about rigging the damned thing under the deck is welcome too! No idea where to start there. I have very limited space through companionways and deck lights which are all removable, but smallish, if evenly spaced. Cheers, Martin

6 years ago by Westquay

Forum

Bristol pilot cutter mascotte

he we have the hatch covers that were made earlier the forward hatch covers the power switch and battery charging points. the mid-ships hatch houses the receiver and the main cabin houses the sail and rudder servos. the last picture is just to show with the hatch covers on

6 years ago by kmbcsecretary

Forum

Sail Winch Servo Identification

Sorry for the information in my previous reply, I've managed to translate some of the info found on German site, it appears that Mr Andrews actually designed and marketed the sail winch servos which were used by the 1991 1mtr world champion. So far this is all I found but will keep looking. Cheers Colin.

6 years ago by Colin H

Forum

Help needed, running sheet to main

I have installed a Hitec HS-82MG servo for the sails and the HS-81 for the rudder. In all my searching through various sites I can find no verbal with illustrations telling how to attach the kite string (Sheet) from beginning to end. I know, I need a bowsie for the main sail in there some where too. The Jib is rigged with a single bowsie with the sheet running through the ring which slides on the rail. The Jib will not be controlled by the servo arm, I am not sure how much torque these small servos can take? So I need help running the kite string from below deck up to the main sail.

6 years ago by Ronald

Forum

rising damp

At a club sail on Sunday one member found he had lost control of his yacht. When it had been guided in by another boat it was found to be rather wet inside. the 27Mhz receiver was soaked as was one of the servos. A test with a different receiver showed one servo was not working. What is the best method for drying the components? The water is fresh so hopefully they will dry and work again.

6 years ago by Bryan-the-pirate

Directory

(Yacht) Schooner

Scratch built with mahogany planks on the club's mould. Glass cloth and fibreglass inside and protected with G4 polyurethane resin all over. Uses a sail winch (Hitec) and travelling dolly for the two main sails and a separate arm servo for the foresails. Standard servo for the rudder. Power is from a 6.6v 1000mA LiFe battery. Taranis Tx using two sticks with the connected via an internal mixer to one stick. Ballast is fixed to the keel with two studs which extend into the hull where a steel bar is attached between both and acts as a carrying handle. (Motor: Wind Sail Power) (9/10)

7 years ago by Dave M

Forum

FRESH BATTERY RUNNING TIME

Hi Les I see from an earlier post you were considering a Dragon Flight 95 yacht. This looks like the larger version of the RG65 yacht I have. Regarding the battery I suggest you remove after every sail and open up the hull covering to allow any moisture to evaporate. Leaving the battery connected with or without a switch when there is moisture present will over time result in catalytic action on the black wire from the battery to the rx connection. The whole wire will turn black and need replacing Far better to store your battery in an inside environment where there is no condensation. Lixx I store in a metal box in case of any problem. As Doug says the capacity of the battery and the equipment it is supplying determine how long the battery lasts. When you set up the yacht do make sure your winch and rudder servo are not driving up to the end stops as servos can and do draw large currents if stalled. My RG 65 sails happily for 2-3 hours on a fully charges LiFe 6v battery, but I had to add a 5v UBEC to protect the minature rudder servo. Hope this helps Dave

7 years ago by Dave M

Blog

Controls

Initially, control of the sails, or rather the yards from which the sails hang, was going to be done with sail-winch servos; one for the yards of the foremast, another for the yards of the main and the mizzen mast combined. Each controlled yard would have two drums, one to take up it's braces as the other payed them out. The controlled yards would be the fore course and tops'l yards, the main course and tops'l yards, and the mizzen coss-jack. This meant the main/mizzen had 6 drums and the fore mast winch had 4. The drums diameter corresponded their yards as each brace was of a different length because of the distance from the centerline that the brace was attached to the yard. Since each brace was being controlled by one winch turning at the same speed, the difference had to be made up in the drum diameter. The flanges separating the drums were compact-discs (CDs). The point where the brace attached to the yard describes part of a circle as the yard is turned. The winch drums too, are circles, but the brace from the yard to the point it turns down to the deck, is a vector. Because of this, both braces are tight when the yard is squared, but as it turns to one side, the take-up side stays taught while the paying out side goes slack. Slack on a winch drum is not a good thing, so some means of taking out any slack has to be devised. At this point I was going to mount springs on posts in the hull. They would maintain tension on the braces all the time. The two winches and a sail-arm servo that would control the heads'ls and driver, were all mounted on a tray, or pallet, that would be screwed to the mechanical deck. One winch had to be mounted higher than the other so the drums and braces wouldn't interfere. The real ship's yards were/are attached to the masts and pivoted on iron "patent trusses." I made my facsimile of them from aluminum with brass #2 screws, nuts, and eye-bolts I bent and threaded from brass rod. The clevis between the yard and the mast is 1/4" aluminum rod drilled through and shaped.

7 years ago by Jerry Todd

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(Yacht) Gaffer

Built on an R36 hull to a home design based on a broads cruiser. Deck, superstructure and cabin interior finished in mahogany. Gaff rigged with treated cotton sails and fully working rigging, the mast folds at the tabernacle for transport and storage. two captive drum are mounted on removable trays either side of the mast and hidden behind a panel accessed from the cabin. Electronics are hidden inside a cupboard and the motor underneath a table. Rudder servo sits in another movable tray behind the seat in the drop cockpit. (Motor: Mtronics 400) (ESC: Chinese) (8/10)

7 years ago by NeilHodson

Response

Elsie & Olwen

could you do a simple electics diagram for me as i have burn out two 😱

7 years ago by twofloats12

Forum

2 x ESCs

Thanks Mark and Haverlock. I never said you had to buy, I only pointed you in the direction of this very versatile TX, honest. 😀 As regards the two versions they are different in that the EU version has to check if a channel is free of conjestion before transmitting on that channel. It only applies to the EU and sets from abroad could have either system installed. The rule only applies to new equipment purchased after Jan 2015/6, I'm not sure which year, but you can continue to use any equipment that uses either system. Good news is you can very easily flash the required code to your Tx or Rx . if you do choose to buy a Taranis there are regular updates available that add new functions as the code is open source and there is a large an active source of modellers and programmers who make frequent improvements and additions. I have a non EU compliant Tx as it was purchased pre the dictat so I change any Rx I buy to suit my systems. My latest project is a 5' Schooner that uses a sail winch for the two main sails and a lever servo for the foresails. I control both servos from the left hand vertical stick with the winch in Rx ch2 and the lever in ch4. I can also take over control of ch4 by throwing a switch on the tx and using the left hand horizontal stick to control the foresails. I also have another switch to allow me dual rate on the rudder servo - make it easier to keep a straight line in a good blow. If you are buying from China there may be some UK charges to pay, but the sets are available from UK suppliers. I Googled and found several, including some on e-bay. They sometimes claim to be UK stock but it's not always the case, so you do need to check carefully and verify. if there is any mention of customs duty not their responsibility this may be an indication of non UK stock. Happy days Dave 😀

8 years ago by Dave M

Forum

Servo current draw.

HI Steve Servos were originally designed for model planes and in the early days we typically had 4.8v DEACS for batteries with possibly 500Ma of current. Move on a few years and the position evolved to provide much more powerful power supplies and BEC circuits built into the Rx or Esc. Power was still limited and many rx bec's will only provide about 1000 ma. There are now several types and size of servo from the minature designed for park flyers to high power digital servos for large scale models. For most model boat applications we use standard analogue servos so I will confine my comments to this type. Each servo is capable of drawing quite high currents (

8 years ago by Dave M

Forum

Sail boat

Do you want ( or need) to control the 2 sails differently? if not you can use a "Y" lead and control 2 servos from 1 channel. Personally I would use the ratchet throttle channel to control sails. You can buy a ratchet setup for the planet so you could have 2 ratchet channels allowing 1 for each sail. I suspect the 2 servo idea was developed for computer transmitter use and was intended to have 2 channel mixing with a trim function on each channel.

8 years ago by Haverlock

Forum

Sail boat

1st Hansajolle question. Boat is set up with servo for main and one for the fore sail? Am using a Planet T5 so which channels should I use. Also do I need to have ratchet or sprung TX controls for a sailing boat? Could I run both servos off a y lead to start with to make learning how to sail easier????? Am hoping to join Black Park Club in new year so if there are any members on this forum I'll be picking your brains soon%uD83E%uDD13

8 years ago by jeremy

Forum

Surmount RC 800 Sail Boat

The ready to run (almost) yachts from several suppliers are really not that bad. You have already passed the first hurdle if you have managed the rigging. I have had an RG65 for a couple of years and whilst a bit smaller I suspect your model will perform in a similar fashion. Weed can be a problem but this year it is not that bad where I sail. Water will find its way into the model through any small holes or badly fitting deck openings but you can usually solve this once you identify any problem. Might be a good idea to check after the first 10 mins just to satisfy yourself that all is OK. I would also check that your servos are not stalling on full stick throws as they may spend some time at the extremities and will quickly flatten your battery in this condition. If it's your first time with a sail boat you will need to understand how the wind drives the sail, but a little practice will make you more confident and there are some excellent videos that will help you fine tune. if you sail with a club there is a good chance that help will be on hand. Good luck and please let us know how you progress. Dave

9 years ago by Dave M

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(Yacht) J Class Cheveyo

-Fibre glass hull produced by MP plast SK -complete deck with deck house,mast and spar was made by my self -sails and deck winches was custom made. - sail are stitched form parachute material produced by Czech firm. -sails are controled by three vinch servos from Hitec -rudder servo is from Hitec too, Everithing is powered by 2cell Lipo 7,4V/2200mAh through FOXY 3A BEC This boat have two types of sails: 1., Main sail, front and midle JIB, 2., Main sail, Genua (5/10)

10 years ago by Othello

Directory

(Working Vessel) spray

Bristol channel pilot cutter. Chris Brown hull ( Cariad) very good sailor. four servos, 1 for rudder, 1 for main & topsail sails 1 for fore sails & one to wave the westermans hand. The hand is attached to a string the arm is a spring when the string is pulled spring tightens & the arm shots up. The westerman moves the tiller with his right hand & waves with his left. Sold on Ebay £220, Unfortunately had to make some room. (Motor: wind only) (7/10)

11 years ago by hammer

Media

albatross

Scratch built in 2004 from my own plan. Two layers of planks on ply frames, ply deck planked with 3/8 1/16 strips. Length of hull 50" by 13" breath. No motor sail only, winch for main & mizzen, sail arm for fore sails. Featuers a centre plate lowered by gravity and raized be a drum winch, also an expanding rudder, this has two servos to opperate. sails can be reefed or removed depending on weather conditions. Very good sailer Just goes in my car with the top mast & gaff boom lowered.

11 years ago by hammer

Forum

Which Radio Control System?

HI Edward If you are thinking in terms of 2.4Ghz I suggest you take a look at http://www.rcmodelreviews.com/spreadspectrumtests.shtml. This is an independent review of the various systems in common use. You should be aware that 2.4Ghz sets are almost always brand specific Ie you can anly use a Futaba Transmitter with a Futaba receiver. There are some after market receivers appearing that are compatible with the Futaba sets (GiantShark ex GiantCod sell) and I know that they do work but you need to be sure before you buy. Binding is a once only process. Best done at home and once set should not need to be touched. I agree that the T4U is readily available but it does not have the level of adjustment needed for the sail winches on the Cariad. Their Radio Link T6EAP at around the A£50 mark would meet you requirements much better. 😉 Your servos will work fine with any other receiver and they are no longer as manufacturer reliant as used to be the case in the 1970's. All modern servos/ESC's use a common female type plug. if your servos have the Futaba male plug from the 1970's they would need modification - and not just the plug. Good servos are freely available and full size start from about a fiver. I have bought from http://www.servoshop.co.uk/ and they have a very large selection to choose from. You will also find lots of other R/c gear including Futaba radio sets - make sure you scroll down the listings , they tend to have the expensive helicopter sets at the top! You will find that almost all radio sets offered are mainly aimed at the aeromodeller and the settings often refer to model plane set ups. Don't be put off by this, they will work just as well on our model boats (with the exception of subs for 2.4Ghz). The modes are again an aeroplane setting. Basically either mode1 or mode2. This is just an adjustment that allows for the throttle/Aileron to be on the right (mode1) or left (mode2) sticks. Not normally of great Importance to us model boaters but is Important if you want to use some advanced features on the electronic sets as some functions only work on specific sticks. Apologies for the length of reply. Have fun looking. 😀

12 years ago by Dave M

Forum

2.4ghz radio gear

Yes my set is exactly the same as yours. As far as I know the sets are not provided with the throttle stick set as you describe, but it certainly can be adjusted to your setup. I gave you advice on how to reset your transmitter using the controls on the transmitter. I have setups for several models from electric powered to sail winch and this set can handle them all. in one of your posts you Implied the screen moved quickly from setting to setting. This happens when you press the mode switch. Try pressing the mode and select switches together. This should put you in the adjustment mode. if you can't get into this mode you will not be able to reset the throttle or any other stick control. I suggested using several servos as this helped me when I was trying to understand the system. The servos move as you make the adjustments so you know which stick you are adjusting.

15 years ago by Dave M