I’ve opened the kit(s) today and may just get started sooner than later, so I might as well slowly plug away at this thread as I go. Coming from an r/c airplane background as I do, please forgive me if I take things the wrong way or express things incorrectly along the way. My model sailing experience is limited to a Kyosho Fairwind which I built a number of years ago.
Before I get started (and once you read below, this will be obvious), let me state that I have no connection with Victor Models nor do I know the owner at all.
Upon opening up the kit and laying out the parts, my initial reaction is “where’s the rest of it?” Yes, it’s a small boat and no there aren’t many parts to contend with but I suppose I expected less bits-and-pieces and more to have been done for me in the way of alignment posts or at least pin marks for various structures to go inside the hull. For now it looks to be a slap-n-epoxy build which I don’t particularly have a problem with. It’s just not what I was expecting.
Regardless, the kit appears at initial glance to be complete. Included, per the instructions, are:
Hull
Deck
Small Parts Bag, containing:
. Hatch
. Hatch Ring
. Rudder Thwart (a rudder wha? I’ll have to look that one up)
. Plastic Arm Stock
. Drilled Mast Base
. 1/8x3/16x6 balsa transom
. Former
. Bowsprit (part-way sanded to shape)
. Rudder Blank
. Decal (the foot, of course)
Mast Bundle, containing:
. Mast Segments (pieces of 1/4" alum tubing cut to length)
. Main Spar (ditto)
. Jib Spar (ditto)
. 1/16 plywood strips
. Keel Fin
. 1/8x1x9 balsa stock
. 1/4sqx12 wood stock
Hardware Package, containing:
. Screweyes
. Rubber Rings
. Dacron Line
. Cast keel
. Keel pin
. Brass brads (another unknown to me - eyelets, perhaps?)
. formed gooseneck
. Vang assembly
. Tiller
. 3/64x4 brass wire
. Mast splice tube
. 5/32 dia rudder log tube
. 1/2 sq wood block
. Bowsie blank
. Rubber bands
. Masthead blank
Sail Set
The collection of parts leaves me wondering if sails really do cost so much to produce as they are the only serious unknown and thus, in my opinion, must contribute a majority of the kit cost as the rest of the goodies (save the vac-formed hull) can be had at any hobby or craft store.
As mentioned above, the build itself may be quite slow as I really hadn’t planned on starting until after a move but I suspect progress will take place here and there as I have time. Here is a picture of the kit contents as they come out of the box.
Thanks for this great, clear and comprehensive start to the great build.
Don’t give your aeromodelling background a thought - if you refer to the fus we will know what you mean:D
I am assuming that the hull is vac-moulded Styrene, or possibly ABS. The instruction sheet (which does not appear to be excessively long-winded) seems to show (bottom picture) an inwale being fitted round the edge of the hull held with clothes pegs.
It will be necessary (imho) to make a wider glueing area round the edge of the hull for the deck to fix to, and this is no doubt what is being shown.
Suggestion for when you reach this part - the hull will be very floppy right now, so whatever the inwales are (wood or plastic) they may distort the hull or try to do so. So preshape the inwales so that they are pretty nearly the shape of the edge of the deck before glueing them into the hull. This is probably covered in the spiel anyway
Martin, it sounds like you are making progress already! thats great! Its so true though, boat “kits” sure are nothing like ARFs…:rolleyes:
My guess is that the “rudder thwart” acts as bracing support for the rudder shaft… depending on how the rudder shaft is attached to the hull (i.e. the strength/stiffness of the epoxy joint, and the location of the shaft entrance,) you may be able to forgo the “thwart.” I have never seen one of Victor’s boats in person, so this is just a guess.
Good luck with your build! If you run into any trouble, give us here a shout out… i am certain that you will get all the help you need ( and probably a little you don’t :devil3: )
Andrew, the hull feels like about 0.020 styrene as it’s a touch too floppy to be ABS, I’d say. The inwales are strips of 1/16x1/4 plywood which is difficult, but not impossible to pre-shape. On the plus side, it is relatively flexible stuff so will likely conform to the hull curve in the moment. Also, I am a member of the yahoo footy group and saw the post from the other fellow. I will be checking out his pictures right after posting this.
420, I’ll have to look through the instructions to confirm that but I’d say you’re probably correct.
The instructions are something I neglected to mention in the kit contents, so I’ll go over that now. The instruction booklet is five pages long and, I feel, decently though not excessively covers construction. However, I’m disappointed to find no “sailing” section, but that’s what all of you are here for. I’d like to be able to know that if the boat is pulling hard to windward on a reach, someone here would be able to tell me what to modify.
it does that sometimes… you might try “editing” it, but, while its obnoxious, i wouldn’t worry too much about it, the folks on here you will find, tend to neglect there speling ad there punktuashion…
Martin, 420sailor is right (as always) most people here go for the meaning rather than the shape of a message.
<<The inwales are strips of 1/16x1/4 plywood which is difficult, but not impossible to pre-shape.>> Boiling water for 30 minutes - tape to something curved roughly the right curvature and leave to dry or microwave.
As an aeromodeller you are well placed to sort out the sailing, when that comes (what types of planes, btw?). Regard it as a little free-flighter which has the inestimable advantage of being supported in one of the axes:)
If the world contains about 500 footy sailers (with 1500 boats) there are probably approx 2750 strong views on rigging and sailing. All of which and more may be offered to you.
Conservative suggestion - try the kit sails first, see what they are trying to tell you, and develop from there
andrew
I’ve flown all sorts of airplanes but my recent exploits have been in electric parkflyers. If you were to do a search for my name on www.rcgroups.com and you’ll have far too much to read so don’t do that.
Conservative suggestion - try the kit sails first, see what they are trying to tell you, and develop from there
That’s my plan (Stan). I’ll be on here begging for help if it’s performing poorly.
If the world contains about 500 footy sailers (with 1500 boats)…
Does that mean a true footy sailor needs to have three boats? Is this a justifiable excuse to my wife for buying more in the future?
it certainly is martin! that, or its an excuse for you when you start spending hours on the forums, then running into your shop to design and build your next great revelation… its a disease i tell you!
