Finally I made it...

Footy Class General Discussion (Footy)
1

Hello,

i just finished my first Razor. I made a couple of mistakes though, but i think it should sail. It got a bit heavy - exactly 550 grams complete. Probably the rig is too high, but it is interchangable, so i can design others to adapt to different wind forces. And i think the rudder could be too small.

I got into Footys last september when i was planing a trip to Sardinia and as we were 5 people in the car, i was looking for a very small rc sailing boat and the footy was ideal. But i had no experience in building any rc models exept for a micro magic kit i built last winter.

At first it was a big problem to print out the plans in the correct size because of different paper standard sizes, which drove me almost crazy, but finally i got them printed in a copy shop. After i solved that problem i tried to build the Cobra hull but failed completely. So i built the Papaya hull, but didn’t finish the complete boat in time for the trip, so it moved to the shelf to catch dust … until it came back to my mind a couple of weeks ago. And as i looked over some plans i realized why i wasn’t capable of building the Cobra hull: i must have made a mistake in converting inch in millimeters and took 2mm balsa :rolleyes:

Now i tried 0.6mm for the Razor and 0.8mm for the Cobra hull, and both were built pretty fast. I decided to complete the Razor first and had to realize, that making the hull was the least complicated :smiley: Casting the bulb and making the rig and sails was not that easy and took a good bit of time.
But finally i made it (It was a bit of a challenge because i’m a student and my studying/living/sleeping/working room is the same :wink: and i don’t have that many tools).

Now i just need a small pond to test it. I havent seen any suitable ones yet. The ones i know are too big, or the edges are not accessible, and i don’t want to loose the boat if something goes wrong while testing. It worked well in the bathtub though.

This Forum is great, and all of my questions were answered just by reading trough the threads. And while building and reading, i got lots of new ideas i will put into practice while completing the Cobra (which will take some time because i got a couple of exams the next weeks).

Julian

Well, here are a few pics:

…yes, i should design a proper boat stand…

2

It looks great. Welcome to Footydom. Let us know how your first sail goes.

John

3

Lupus , Is it the camera angle , or does your Razor have a reverse sheer at the bow?

James

4

Yes James, you are right. That was one of my mistakes too. But i hope it will not affect the sailing too much, it won’t be a racing Footy anyway.

Looks a little like those phoenician battleships with a ram at the bow :lol:

Julian

5

Julian , still a nice boat ,it will sail.:wink:

You got a lot further than i did with my Razor attempt , same problem, balsa was too thick . I cut down the side panels and used them as part of the keel for my 507 Footy.:wink:

Who knows , it might be the desgin break through everyone has been looking for!

Cheers and have fun!

James

6

Nice job Julian. I hope it will be the first of many. Don’t worry about the mistakes, they are usually the lessons you don’t forget. I also started with a razor about two years ago (a lot of water under the bridge now.) It received two further extensive rebuilds before I was happy with it. Keep an eye on the other new build threads on this forum, good for ideas. If there is anything you want information on, just ask.

If I am not mistaken, I believe there is a European event planned for some time next year, I think in Italy. Perhaps our paths will cross then unless you come to the Euro Grand Prix at Birkenhead (Liverpool) 18-19 July 09. It would be great if you could be the Austrian representative.

Best regards, :wink:

7

Hi Gary, Hi lupus…

I am also very happy to know that we have now the first austrian footy.

So said , I would like to clarify that “the italian event” ( coppa d’italia ) is a trophy born as a joint venture ( angus+flavio ) to be held within next Euro GP in liverpool.

To put it simple we are looking to have a separate score for footy teams ( 2 or 3 boats each ) , we hope to have national teams , but depending on number of entries, even club teams or “brothers teams” will be allowed.

Final goal in the next future is to have a real “mini admiral cup” with national teams of three boats.

I feel that Gary footy fleet is large enough to have at least two or three mangoose teams … :slight_smile:

Lupus let’s build a second boat and book two tickets to liverpool !

Flavio

Folgore ITA 5

8

At first thanks for the encouraging words.

Unfortunately at that time i will be working on a studying project in the alps somewhere in the middle of nowhere. But maybe i will be able to visit a subsequent event.

Currently i have to study a lot and haven’t got much time to work on the boats (yes Gary, it was the first of many…), but i’m reading a lot about GRP and CRP, so maybe i will design a hull by myself in a while. I hope that’s not overestimated, but i’ll give it a try anyway. There is not much to loose and its fun.

I should check where to register and things like that. I have no idea about all that stuff, but i suppose i will get lots of information about that in the www.

I hope i will find the time and weather conditions will be allright this weekend to check out a suitable pond and try out the Razor. I’ll post some pics then. Todays evening project is to build a broader rudder, because mine seems to be very slim.

One question: Do you people use rescue boats? Like if you try out a new designed boat the first time, or there isn’t any wind to get back, or the battery goes flat or whatever.
I was thinking about building a (motorized) rescue footy.
I read about a cheap and easy way to realize a towing mechanism. Very likely you people know it already, but i’ll post it anyway: Tie a line to the stern of the rescue boat with a floating object (e.g. the plastic insert of a kinder egg) at the end. If you circle arround the stranded boat, the line will wrap around the keel and rudder and will get tangled up and you can tow the boat back.
Or is there really no need for such a thing?

Regards,
Julian

9

One more question :slight_smile:

Having an equal sized area: Is it better to have a slim, long rudder or a broad, short rudder? Does it make a diference? I guess a short, broad rudder would be more effective because of the leverage? How come many boats have a pretty long, more slim rudder?

10

A longer rudder maintains more surface in the water when the boat heels and when the boat lifts it’s stern on a run.

Regards,
Bill

11

Jules.

I’m sure the Alps will be much more picturesque, but if your study plans change & you become free I would encourage you to come along. Last year it was so much fun, & with the added interest of the “Coppa D’italia”, as well as more internationals, less rain, it will be an event that will live long in our memories.

What is CRP? I, like many others, wait with baited breath to see your design. As you will have realised, footydom is a fantastic experimental arena for new & different technologies, & we all crave enlightenment.

For rudders, I find that 50mm is a good general cord length. You can then play with different overall shapes & lengths. I like to make many of my components interchangeable including rudders. I include a picture detailing the attachment system I find works best for me.

For rescue. An electric boat with wire catcher arms either side is used by one club I know of. The simplest method is a ball of choice, usually tennis, attached to a long string thrown out over the boat & pulled back.

You might find, as many of us have that footys take over your life for a time until you work the bug out of your system. I imagine your studies may take a bit of a knock depending on the strength of your discipline.

Enjoy.

12

Thanks Bill and Gary for the information!

CRP is Carbonfibre Reinforced Plastic. The dictionary told me that would be the adequate english translation of the stuff i mean. In German its called CfK.

Yesterday i made a terrible mistake: I pushed the Razor of a shelf by accident, and it dropped down more than 1.6 meters. Right on to the bulb. I thought that was it. And was very surprised that absolutely nothing broke, exept for a little scratch in the paint of the bulb just on the spot where it landed. So at least its built quite solid.

Today, while taking a walk with my dog on Danube Island, i discovered a small, dead ended branch of the Danube, thus without any currents and in a little depression, where the wind doesn’t blow too strong. For that reason, today was the maiden voyage of 2 Footys. The Razor and the Papaya III i started to build last September. At first i didn’t want to finish her because i just didn’t like the way i built her (very heavy and bulky) and i didn’t like the boxlike design very much either. But the day before yesterday i thought it wouldn’t need much to finish her, and i got kind of curious how she would perform. Well, obviously she isn’t a beauty, but she performs very well and i think maybe she could even compete with the Razor. The metal look is referring to her weight :wink: I assembled for both boats much larger rudders than i did originally, which i think was a good idea.

At first, when i tested the Razor the wind was very light, but the Razor performed much better than i would have dreamed. Later, when i tested the Papaya, the wind increased, so i don’t really know how the much larger and higher Razor-rig would have performed in these conditions (it was in the car already). But for the quite heavy Papaya with a much smaller rig, the conditions where almost ideal. So i had some luck whith the weather situation.

I have never seen a Footy sailing (in fact i have never seen any rc model boat sail, exept for the Micro Magic i built last winter), and i must say, i would have never thought that they would perform that well. Hopefully i’ll finish the Cobra until easter. Then with an interchangeable keel and bulb.

At university i have to visit a physics-lecture of my choice and i discovered one about ‘The Physics of Sailing’, i inscribed imideately and participate now. It is really interesting and probably helpful for construction. We are also going to visit a boat construction and testing site.

Here are some pics:

The Razor:

The Papaya:

Thats how i like a boot to look like :slight_smile:

Regards,
Julian

13

Warning:

When i looked at the pictures, it somehow linked to a porn site and a bunch of viruses

14

I tried the links just now, and they worked. I use this foto-uploading site for almost 2 years and i have never heard of something like that. Are you sure it doesn’t have a different reason?

The only annoying stuff is some advertising for ebay. But i think thats ok for a free foto-uploading site.

Very strange…

Regards,
Julian

15

No, I get a bunch of pop-ups too… I think it’s a great site once you’re; a member. But anyone “public” gets bombarded with ads & stuff…

Nice little boat though!

16

Gary’s pic has me wondering…whenin the box, do the tops of the servo’s have to be below the level of the top of the box? are they considered part of the deck?

My own interpretation would be that they are part of the deck…

I think my next v-12 may have the servo’s @ deck level…less crap under the deck to get tangled…

17

I never noticed that it was that bad, and i don’t like it. I will quit my account there.

I didn’t know how to upload fotos directly to this forum but i think i found out. I’m verry sorry for the inconvenience, here they are once more:

Regards,
Julian

PS: I removed the image-links in the previous post.

18

Hi Julian,

Your pictures posted fine. As for the pop-up ads at the other service, some of them were rather slow to load (and delete) which was somewhat annoying. These guys need to figure out that slow-loading pop-up ads have no place in advertising, which need to load as instantly as possible to be effective. Thanks for taking the time & trouble to figure out how to post your pictures directly here, instead of using a link.

Regards,
Bill Nielsen
Oakland Park (Ft. Lauderdale), FL USA

19

Julian, I would also like to add my thanks for your understanding in this, you have shown true Footy spirit in this matter and I commend your actions
Best wishes
Rgds
AndyT

20

Marc you are right. Anything solid and/or fixed to the deck is part of the hull & therefore must fit below the top of the box. I have never found this to be a problem on any of my boats as they don’t normally protrude more than 10mm above the deck. I much prefer this method because apart from being really simple, everything is visible & accessible, and easily worked on when a problem develops. The servos are mounted on 5mm blocks, the same width as the servo, & glued to the underside of the hatch. I put a really small bead of putty around the shoulder of the servo to seal the hole that it protrudes through. If you are thinking of using this system Marc, bare in mind that you can use self adhesive valcro (hook & eye) to attach your receiver between or bellow the servos. Roger Stollery even attaches his battery pack to the same pile.