Since I got my very owne Seawind I whanted to know if you could give some advices about the folowing points;
1st balast; which is the ideal balast for this boat, the one that is included or on lower one?
2nd Servo; how strong should the servo be for this boat and what is the max. that can be puted in.
3rd crew; I have seen on several pics some crew on the boat. Who produces those and do they alterate (becouse of the aditional weight) the sailing quality of the boat very much?
first congrats, on getting your first sailboat. and welcome
the ballast you get should be put as low as possible. if a longer fin comes with the kit i would use it until i got the handle on sailing the boat.
you should use a drum winch with your boat. i use a hitec one. they are cheap and can pull quite a lot .
dont put the crew on. they dont do much and will not realy affect perfomance , but they get in the way. and it realy looks stupid when somebody take a picture of your beautiful boat, and the helmsman has only one arm . because you broke it off. taking it out of the car. or setting it up pond side
good luck and happy sailing
cougar
Welcome to the Seawind fleet! To answer your questions–I have owned and sailed a Seawind regularly for about a year…
The ballast that comes with the boat is fine. The sail servo that usually comes with the boat is great–they’re usually a Futaba S3801, which is more than enough for any wind condition that you’re likely to sail in. In many ways the Seawind sails very well with the kit components. It isn’t necessary (though many people do) to modify many things on the boat to enjoy it’s performance.
However, there is one thing you need to seriously consider doing… the waterproof hatch design (the hatch that gives you access to the servos, etc…) is LOUSY in stock form. The rubber foam adhesive supplied with the kit to act as a gasket leaks like a faucet, and it is wise to consider re-designing it. This procedure takes awhile to explain but isn’t terribly difficult… many new Seawind owners are fitting their boats with the new ‘design’ right out of the box before building the rest of their boat. There have been tons of posts on the Seawind Resource Center Web Site about this very subject which should be helpful.
You can meet other Seawind skippers, register your boat with the international fleet (there are over 140 registered worldwide) and get tips on building and sailing your boat. Take it from me, you can’t go wrong using this site. <u></u>www.seawindrc.com<u></u> .
Other than taking a look at that web site and the articles on hatch design, I will just tell you that I hope you enjoy your boat–I sure have. It’s not the most hi-tech or the fastest one meter, but it will provide you with hours and hours of relaxing fun! I hope to see you over at the Seawind Resource Center soon. Good luck!
Andy
Seawind #149
Victoria #556
Victor Cup Class America3
Air Capitol Model Sailing Club
servos…you can use usual futaba s3003 or same as rudder servo and as a sail servo you can use futaba s3801…plenty of torque…some people use a hitec one…i thikn the hitec is cheaper.
3.the crew…well if you want some (thats up to you) go check tamiya website…the crew you can see on some pics are made by tamiya
as Andy said…the kits waterhatch is NOT WATERPROOF…you can check seawindrc.com or my website for a waterproof one…everything is there…with pics…if you need more infos about the hatch just PM me…I ll send more pics.
one thing…if you dont sail and the seawind is just taking a rest, unscrew the keel nut!
The rest should be fine…well i would say more, but well…i wont…or yes…get other sails…for sure some people in seawindrc.com wont agree!! but just MY advice
anyway…good luck, and most important…ENJOY AND HAVE FUN !!!
Where did you find the Tamiya crew . I have been looking for a long time. I phone many times a day and just get a message all lines busy. Some one did call back and was hanging up as I walked in. I can’t find it in Towers for years and not on the Tamiya site. They were discontinued a long while ago .I wanted them for my Atlantis.
I don’t know if the keel is the same as mine a stainless rod and a aluminum tube but don’t just remove the nut but remove the keel if you are in salt water. Once I didn’t try to remove it till the next day and I couldn’t remove it with a four pound sledge. I had to cut if out of the hull and remove it in pieces by cutting the tube off the bolt. I put in a new trunk and added an extention to the top of the keel to make it US-1M max. The nose is very low I would put a tube or something at the nose vertical above the hull to help from nose diving. I finally made a glass hull over the original S/W and extended the freeboard at nose to almost four inches. It’s not a S/W but a US-1M. Did well for a few years witha 60" luff rig.
its a Japanese site…dont worry its in English then go to boats/Tamiya/Around the world…and there you go…
for the ones interested in a Seawind SE…last time i emailed they still had a few!!!
Other thing…as for the keel…grease it…helps against corrosion
2nd: hoj, could you send some pics, becouse i?m kind of not understabdung what you mean by the variated modifications that you have done, like adding the tube,… .
I sent you an e-mail. The anti-dive post/drain tube is install at the bow through the deck and has a permanent tube install to deck level. Another tube fits inside and sticks up about 3". This tube makes the water go sideways and not over the deck. It also serves as a drain but either put in plug or tape over when post not in place. Use the same type material aluminum/ for both tubes. I used aluminum in the boat and brass for the post and after a few hours I couldn’t get it out ( corrosion) I still haven’t got it apart. It pull out of the hull.
Updating the waterproof hatch on the Seawind is critical, whether sailing in saltwater or not. Another good idea I’ve learned is to take your RX apart, and coat the parts with petroleum jelly, then put it back together… sounds weird, but it is supposed to work extremely well and protect the RX from moisture. I think I saw that idea in the CR914 newsletter (to give credit where it’s due).
Now that I have my hatch better waterproofed, it’s not really necessary to go any further (but I don’t sail in salt water)because the most water I’ve ever had in the boat since (even after 3 hours of very ‘wet’ sailing) is a couple of drops. There’s an article on the Seawind Resource Center site about how to perform the hatch replacement.
