I Just wanted to pass on some thoughts on why I chose to built the Simpatico. First, I wanted to build a boat from wood. I enjoy the building process and I wanted to try my hand at a plank or panel build–I have my share of ‘plastic’ boats. Second, I wanted something that looked different–I have my share of flat decked boats. And finally, I wanted something that would fit my building habits. I have been looking at the RG65 class for some time, but was not ready to commit to the time it would take me to do all of the pre-build work. The Simpatico kit addressed these needs
My personal built habits are at a much slower pace than most. I believe this kit could be assembled in a dedicated weekend by most builders. I for one am very appreciative of the timesaving manor to which the kit was designed. The laser cutting is top notch and provides a mechanism for me to accomplish the build step-by-step in 1/2- to 1-hour sessions.
I started this build log to document my experience putting together the Simpatico kit. The “complications” of the build I have pointed out are based on my building skills and are indicative of the fact that this a one of the prototype kits. Most, if not all, of the kit issues I have encountered have been addressed by Brian and should not be an issue for production kits.
The RG65 is a development class boat, and yes there are new and innovative designs coming out on regular basis. Someone looking for the latest bleeding edge technology boat will probably not be interested in the Simpatico. On the other hand, someone who is looking for a boat that is easy to assemble, has a unique profile, and is not cost prohibitive, would be very interested in the Simpatico.
I have not had to boat on the water yet, so I can’t speak to its competitiveness. When I finally do get a chance for some head-to-head competition, I will certainly report on how I trounced Marc on the race course:p.
Marc,
I know its a bold statement, knowing you will have a years’ worth of practice and at least three boats and six rigs built by the time I finish the Simpatico, but I have to have a goal.:icon_tong
And Bill, I so enjoyed building and sailing your Razor Footy, but now I don’t know how I can look at it in the same appreciative manor.
I understand your point of view, I really do. Some guys like the look of the boat and that alone is sufficient. There was a guy in my club that just tooled around with an old Fairwind with a carved Gloucester fisherman at the helm. I race so I would never do that but he was having his fun. And for some the joy is in construction and if the craft never hits the water it isn’t the end of the world.
The thing that I was trying to point out is that in efficient design there should be a reason for everything. In RGs the emphasis is on ballast ratio and building light and there is not much sense in carrying weight that doesn’t do anything toward better performance. I can see incorporating fancy ephemeral details on a J Class boat that has weight to spare for such things. And the IOM has a weight restriction for for the hull so the dingy type deck is not a penalty performance-wise. But the RG is a racing class, and is recognized as such over much of the world, and the parameters define a very basic, no frills boat.
And it is great to have another entry in the class, but presenting a build log for an RG boat carries the implication that it is worth building. Perhaps the “untested in competition” caveat should have been expressed emphatically along the way so that new builders/kit purchasers are aware that their efforts to build a competitive boat may not pan out.
Work and family have kept me away from the boat for some time, but I did get a few things done that I thought would be worth reporting. I glued in the servo trays. The winch tray is offset a bit in order to have the drum line up with the exit holes. I had to raise the rudder tray about an 1/8th of an inch because the GWS Naro+D servo is a little taller than the analog version. I cut the keel slot and the rudder post hole then put a light coat of polyurethane throughout the interior. All of the seams and the balsa bulkheads are sealed, which should help if water get inside.
After everything was dry, I test fit the servos and ran some rigging line from the winch to the aft block (temporarily held in place with a push pin). I programmed the drum for approximately 2 turns, which gives me full travel from the block to the bulkhead.
The next item on the to do list is to add some reinforcements for the block and rudder post and then add the aft panels.
What happens if your winch stops working during a regatta? Can you replace it in a five minute hold or is your race over at that point? How would you feel about that, particularly if it was an important race and you had driven for hours to get there? Or Flown? How about it if it happened during a two day race on the Sunday while being contention to win the thing? What if it happened on Saturday of the race, would you tear open part of your deck and maybe some of the structure to get at the winch? Work into the late hours trying to restring the whole thing and miss the social dinner? Even with deck patches you only have limited access and it can be a real headache to get your fingers in there and re-rig a built-in system.
Just as a test, remove the servos and then install the deck. Once the boat is decked in reinstall the servos. If you can’t remount them you have a problem and you should reconsider the layout before you are committed to it. It is a lot easier to take care of this now, while it is still unfinished (sacrificing the deck in your shop as opposed to some hotel room).
When planning the layout of the r/c gear the worst case scenario, the unlikely what ifs, have to be thoroughly considered. The situations described above happened to me a few times. Simple things that I overlooked came back to haunt me when it mattered most. Murphy’s law.
My approach is to concentrate my r/c gear on a removable servo tray. The tray is designed with all attachments easily disconnected and can be swapped out and a new unit swapped in pretty quickly. I carry extra duplicate trays to important regattas so if something goes wrong I don’t have to stop and analyze the problem under pressure (that can be done back at the hotel where it can be done thoroughly) I just swap units and I’m ready to go. A couple of pointers here: try to minimize the number of screws or bolts. Don’t attach your tray with too many hold downs (I don’t use any, my trays slide into slots). Replace slotted or phillips head bolts with thumb screws where feasible. Use oversize hardware, if you drop something important it can disappear, bigger hardware is easier to spot in low light situations. Glue nuts in place so they don’t drop out when the corresponding bolts are removed, or use threaded inserts instead of bolts. Have duplicates of everything on hand and in reach. Carry a small cup in your pocket to put small things like screws, bolts and nuts, and whatever else in while you are working. Carry as well a small washcloth to dry your hands and the boat around the hatch if you use tape or dacron cloth hatch covers. Make sure your access into the hull is appropriate to your hand size (one size doesn’t fit all), if your fingers can’t operate inside the boat then you have a real problem.
For small fittings log onto the Small Parts site!
A five minute hold sounds like a long time but when you are confronted with a problem it is a blink of an eye. Any system that you come up with must be able to be disconnected, removed, and the new unit swapped in and hooked up in that short five minutes if you are not to miss the next start. Practice with this choreography is crucial part of being prepared if something happens. I was very serious about M Class racing in my youth and my practice sessions were carried out in simulated worst conditions. The time, pre-season Spring when there was residual ice on the pond. Douse the boat, in sailing trim, with cold water. Stick your hands in cold water until they are close to numb. Start the stop watch and swap the old gear out and the new unit in. Get it to the point where you can do that in under the five minute mark and you will be prepared for a Worlds. Now, looking back, that was pretty extreme but I had ambitions and I wasn’t going to let a malfunction sideline me. The point is that when the r/c bags out being prepared to effectively deal with it can save the day and keep you playing and in contention.
Neil,
I understand the need for accessibility for repair and replacement and understand the trade-offs when laying out components. In my few short years of racing, including some national events, I have never had to make a “pit-stop” like repair under the gun. I have either been very fortunate in building a boat that has held up well or I have been handed someone else’s spare boat (as I have done with my spare boat when someone else experienced a catastrophic failure) so I can continue to sail, or I have picked up my camera and made the most of the day.
Neil, your years of experience and detailed race preparation is admired and the fact that you like to share the information is appreciated; however, I think it is a bit misplaced in a build log from a sailor who is not overly concerned about racing for a podium spot and who is building a boat (and documenting the build) for the enjoyment of it.
I disagree with you a bit. YOUR build log will become that of someone else. Without experience, they will follow your log to a “T” and may find out later that a change during construction, might offer benefits down the road. I know you’ve suggested a disclaimer to your own aversion to heavy racing, but when someone is overly interested in building, that fact may not be apparent or remembered.
I recall offering a building guide for a Victor Products 1 meter IACC cup boat and openly suggested using silicone to handle any light water leaks around the keel, hull and trunk causes by minor flexing of the vacuum formed plastic hull. It worked for me, but it was almost a year later when I got an email “thanking me” for making the keel permanent and causing some heavy work to get it removed and replaced when the boat was dropped and the ply keel covered in glass broke near the hull.
May I (with great care and consideration) suggest that every comment isn’t a negative about how YOU built your boat - but some are intended to cause you (and future builders using your log) to think about a possible future issue? Ain’t nothing wrong with YOU and your build, but if you are trying to help out a new builder, consider what they might have to face following your “suggestions”. Basically I’m suggesting not to get your shorts in a bunch when someone asks a question or points out a possible stumbling block - not just for you but for others who follow.
I was only partly addressing my last comment to you. I apologize if it sounded like a personal attack or something. But my understanding is that Simpatico is to be offered as a kit for others to buy and build, others that may not share in your casual approach. If the layout of components in your build follows the kit producer’s recommendations then I think that it is important that issues like ease of access be addressed.
I congratulate you on not having had a breakdown, yet. But I assure you that they happen, and usually at the most inappropriate and important times. If someone buys one of these kits, someone who is more serious about racing than you, and the r/c bombs during an important regatta and they are out as a result then they won’t be too happy with the design layout. I’ve also seen guys who have built their r/c gear in place shelve their boat and quit the sport because they don’t want to tear apart their hard work just to replace the r/c. Disappointment and discouragement are bad for the sport.
Built-in equipment is a mistake, I’ve made my opinion clear on that. That built-in r/c gear still proliferates stems from both tradition and lack of insight, but also from the general tendency among home builders to finish the job and get the thing on the water already. R/c layout is not the sexy part of boat building, and just like the rigging is a chore to do. Thats a common feeling. Unfortunately, these are two of the most important things to get right if you want a competitive boat.
I don’t know if what I’ve written will have any sway with boat builders and designers out there, but at least they might have some other things to consider for their next build.
I would like to add that this is not an issue since the drum winch can be removed through the port side access patch if needed to. You can remove the drum leaving sheet lines intact on drum, then remove winch for replacement or repair. These types of “issues” were addressed in the design and prototype phase. There was enough clearance allowed so that servos could be removed /installed at any time.
How easy is it to hold the nuts in place to bolt the replacement winch servo into its support? Particularly those on the side away from the access patch? If the nuts are sealed in place or you specify threaded inserts then I can see the re-installation to not be too difficult for those with sure hands, although I have enough trouble with threading small nuts outside my boat and I build Architectural Models for a living. Have you performed this re-installation operation on your own boat?
The installation in question does not use nuts. A simple Servo screw is plenty sufficient into the laminated wood tray that is provided. If nuts were needed, I would use blind nuts…Remember these boats are 26 ish inches long and all of 2.5 lbs total sailing weight and do not create the loads you might be used to in M racing.
YES I have installed and removed several times during prototype building and also in building our club boats here from the same kits sold to the public. Everything on these boats have small or tight tolerances…they are small, and yes screws and things like that are fumbly things, I try to take all this into consideration when building and designing an RG…due to there size.
It has been a while, but I finally carved out some time to work on the boat. The last time I posted I had test fit the electronics and was ready to start adding the deck and cockpit panels. This picture shows the center and one side panel installed.
I chose to make a removable hatch in order to access the battery and all electronics except for the sail winch. The panel is secured with a tab in the rear and magnets in the front. The following pictures show how it fits together.
On the backside of the side cockpit panel I attached the receiver with Velcro. On the backside of the rudder servo box is a voltage regulator. I plan to use a 7.4volt (2S) LiPo regulated to 6 volts.
I then preceded to fit the rest of the panels. As you can see in the following photos, I chose to leave the front punch-outs in place as I do not need access to this area. I also made an access hatch for the sail winch area.
The winch hatch is held in place with magnets. It is tabbed in the rear and uses a small tongue in the front for alignment.
The last thing I did was to add a small balsa strip down the center of the deck to hide the panel seam.
Then next thing I need to do is assemble the rudder and keel.
my concern… the little “buttons” you have that stick up for the purposes of removing the hatch.
I had a similar item on the hatch for my ec 12…and the sheets snagged a couple times causing me to rethink what to use there.
rather than a button. maybe something thats semi circular so the sheets can’t grab it. or maybe even just a loop of string.
my snagging issue would occur during the starts when I was often letting the sails out to slow down or to luff once the main started flapping around it found the cleat
now its possible that based your rig selection this won’t be an issue…
Looking forward to seeing it on the water in june in richmond…
I agree with Neil on the access issues if you are going to be racing at big events. So far at big races I have had to swap RX, a sail winch, a side stay and a fore stay attachment. All were done quickly and did not impact my finish. On the RX failure I didnt even miss a race and went on to win the regatta. It was a spektrum system and I had bound two RX’s at once so I had a spare ready to go. The RX got too hot in the boat and failed. A quick swap and it was ready to go again. Because I had it bound ahead of time I did not have to anything other than swap it in.
I have also stopped using the built in winch programming since that takes time. Now I just use the default winch settings and make the adjustments on the TX so that I can switch the winch quickly with no setup issued.
Scott,
Funny we are at about the same point on are builds, and it looks like we are both dealing with things differently.
Have you thought about how you are going to finish the hull as far as primer and paint? This is always a pain for
me, I have had some bad experiences with trying to get a decent finish without building up too much weight.
My empty hull without exterior sealed and no gear or appendages is 8oz. don’t know if that is heavy for the
class.
