Deck Hardware question

Rcsailing.net General Discussion
1

I am just starting on my first r/c sailboat and I am curious, what is the general suggestion for using aftermarket deck hardware? Is it worth the small expense to use the chainplates?
http://www.gbmy.com/158.jpg

What about pulleys and eyebolts and cleats, etc?

Does it make a whole bunch of difference? My first thought is, yes, the stronger, the better, but what about weight?

And, the eyebolts near the very front(can’t remember the doctrinal term for it), do they need replacing? I don’t think I can get my hand in there.

The boat is a Victoria. Thanks!

Johnny

J-5-0
5-0@johnny-in-korea.com

“Mundo Nulla Fides”

2

Johnny
First welcome to the world of R/C Sailing.
Now as for your question some of the “up grade” parts are good others well they look nice but you spend $$$ for them.

What I suggest is look at current Victorias out there as to what fellows/gals have done to improve them.

I built the Victoria following the Kelowna Yacht club method and it works great.
http://www.legacyfamilytree.ca/sail/
They have a step by step building guide and actually sell some of the parts they use.
Any problems or question James Anderson is great in answering them.

SO guess the answer is yes some upgrades are great others suck. In some classes the up grades are diffenently needed, And not all the parts do you have to buy from dealers. Chain plates are a example you can make your own. I believe there is a topic about chain plates on here (do a search it should come up)

Jeff
Alberta

3

Jeff,

Thanks for the link. I have it bookmarked, but it’s hard to remember where everything is. This is surely one of the most helpful sites for beginners.

On another note, I’ve been thinking about how to attach my bulb. I have a friend that pours his own fihing jigs. Does anyone have thoughts on pouring molten lead on top of the screws holding the bulb to the keel? It seems like a good way to add weight to the very bottom of the boat. Am I on the right track or should I try to reduce weight wherever I can?

Johnny

J-5-0
5-0@johnny-in-korea.com

“Mundo Nulla Fides”

4

Johnny

Doesn’t the Victoria come with a finished bulb?

If you are planning on racing the victoria, I believe their class rules are pretty specific on which things you can and cannot change. Make sure you check to see if it is legal before you go changing thigns. The Victoria class rules can be found here: http://www.amya.org/victoria.html#Rules

The first thing I would do is build the boat the way it was supplied. Then, after you have sailed it a little while, you will probably see some things that don’t work as well as they could. That is when you want to think about upgrading them. Try to keep it simple when upgrading. Add components that make the boat more reliable and easier to tune and sail. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. And, as Jeff suggested, take a look at what other guys have done to their Vics to get some ideas.

  • Will

Will Gorgen

5

Also, unless you are totally in love with the boat and will never give it up… remember that even if you don’t want to race it… someone else (namely the person that would want to buy it when you want to go to another class boat) may want to. In otherwords, if you keep the boat class legal, it will have a better re-sale value.

6

Have to agree with Larry and Will

KEEP THE BOAT CLASS LEGAL

you never know when you may get a chance to sail in a regatta.
Will, made a interesting point about building the boat as it comes in the kit. Some feel the “stock” boat is not competitive but I have seen one win races against modified boats. ANd as Will said if there are things you dislike on the stock boat they can be changed.

As for the keel bulb. Most people just pour wax over the screws. Again this is legal and with the wax in place you can easily remove it if you damage the fin.

All the modifcations at the Kelowna club site are class legal.

Jeff
Alberta

7

Jeff, Will and Larry,

Thanks for the input. I don’t know if you realize how much your expert opinions help. I’m a long way from a library, bookstore or hobby shop and this is my best source for experienced comment.

My intent is to build the boat to class standards. I don’t know if I’ll ever race, but I’m registered (635) and there is really no reason not to.

After checking out the rules, I can’t find anything restricting aftermarket hardware. As a matter of fact, it is specifically allowed:

.0 RIGGING - Standing rigging may use commercially available or home built fittings, fairleads, turnbuckles, screw eyes, bowsies, goosenecks, etc. The type of line or wire used for shrouds, etc. is not controlled. Reinforcements may be added under the deck at the chain-plates, backstay attachment points, sheet exit guides, and jib-stay attachment point.

Will, the bulb is “finished”, but after reading a little, the majority opinion is that it still needs to be sanded and filled to get rid of casting holes. The question I have is about weight. Is adding lead to the very bottom of the boat a good thing or am I just increasing the wet area?

Lastly, what-the-heck is a jib-stay and back-stay? I’m really trying to do my homework, but I can’t find anything that gives good definitions. Is there a place online to find this info and all the other sailing terms a non-sailor might be able to get smart?

But, enough. Thanks again for your advice. It is all taken and considered in my decisions and greatly appreciated.

Johnny

J-5-0
5-0@johnny-in-korea.com

“Mundo Nulla Fides”

8

Johnny,

A bit of lexicon: A “stay” is a bit of rigging used to hold up the mast. Most of the time, the mast is held up by rigging that attaches to the hull in several places - front and back and both sides. We usually attach some descriptor to that word to indicate which of these rigging lines we are talking about. So a “forestay” is the rigging that runs from the mast forward (usually to a point near the bow). The “backstay” runs from the top of the mast to the transom (back) of the boat. sidestays run from the mast to either side of the boat. And so on.

Most model yachts do not have a proper forestay. Instead, the forestay is attached to the end of the jib boom. Thus, we do not call is a forestay but a jibstay. It performs a very similar job to the forestay (i.e. keeps the mast from falling backward) but it also controlls the tension of the luff of the jib (by the way, the luff is the forward edge of any sail). Because the jibstay is connected to the luff of the jib, when the wind billows out the jib, this will cause the jibstay to sag aft and to leeward. By applying more or less tension to the jibstay, you can control the amount of sag. This in turn affect the shape of the jib (how full or flat the sail is) and the angle of attack of the jib to the apparent wind. So this is generally an key tuning factor in getting your boat to perform well when tacking to windward.

As far as deck hardware and rigging on the Vic you may want to ask some of the guys over on the Victoria site what is specifically allowed and not allowed. I know you can change a lot of stuff on the boat, but there are restrictions. I know there are some limitations on the ballast and weight of the boat, but I am not a member of the Vic class, so I do not know all the details. You may want to ask those guys how well the boat sails with the standard ballast and whether the boat can benefit from additional ballast or not. I would think your best bet would be to do a really good job fairing the standard bulb (bondo and fine grit sandpaper followed by paint).

If you are looking to make improvements to the Vic, your first item should be a good set of sails. Generally, the sails that come with these little kit boats are designed for people who plan to chase ducks on their local millpond and not for serious racers. After that you will find that the boom vang leaves a lot to be desired. Then you may desire a one piece mast that does not kink when you apply stay loading. The list builds from there, but I would guess that changing the bulb mass is fairly far down the list…

By the way, there is a really funny joke book of sailing terminology published in the 1980’s entitled “Sailing: the fine art of getting wet and becoming ill while slowly going nowhere at great expense.” In that book, “Vang” is defined as the name of a German sea dog. “Backstay” is defined as the command given to Vang when you want him to stop chewing on your mooring lines. “Wharf” is the sound that Vang makes when he wants to be fed. “Whelk” is the sound made by Vang to show that he does not like that dry, lumpy dogfood you gave him. “Whip” is a useful accessory if that dry, lumpy dogfood is all you happen to have onboard. And “Clew” is defined as evidence leading to the recovery of a missing sail. So if you find all this nautical terminology a bit overwelming, you may want to pick up a copy of that book. It may help offset some of the pain of learning all these new terms…

  • Will

Will Gorgen

9

Good for you for getting registered! You will have a TON 'o Fun racing your boat… more fun with the guys you meet than actually sailing the boat I bet. Sometimes you get the bear… sometimes the bear gets you… but the bottom line is with a good group you have a good time, meet people and even go places and get a t-shirt. So just enjoy!

10

the best thing to do is to have fun

I see said the blind man to the crippled nudist who put his hands in his pockets & promptly walked away.
Life’s A BITCH, LIVE HER TO THE FULL!!!