First for Roy…
You emailed me at 10:11 6/2/11 one sentence, and then again at 12:34 on the morning of 6/3/11, a grueling 24 hours later. I answered your email at 2:40 of the next day, two whole days later. If receiving an email 50 hours later is a problem for you then model sailing may be some what stressful for you. You posted here less than 48 hours after you sent your FIRST email to me, that you had not received any answer.
You offered for me to give you my molds for the ARES so you could mold your own. I have quite a lot of money invested in the rights, (from Darren Searle the designer) the original molds, and the brand new tooling that has just been completed. I believe I will keep them. You SHOULD however start back into the model business and model sailboats would be an excellent choice for you. I know that you will produce an excellent product and the hobby certainly will be excited to have another manufacturer.
>>I finally rec’d. an email from Ludwig. Basically he said he does not have the time to make fiberglass parts and or answer emails. So much for that
Actually, my email to you was this:
Roy,
Yes, very much still in business, I just can’t always answer email so fast.
I am not doing fiberglass work right now as we are concentrating on the fittings (mast/deck/running/standing) and can only move so fast. However, the Ares is now the ARES II and is completed (molds) for the most part and hopefully will be coming along soon. It will be the first boat we start back on with glass parts. Hopefully will have new fittings from ISOBAR Model yachts as well soon.
Let me know if there is anything I can do to help… the IOM has suddenly become very popular again. Masts for the IOM are available which is a good thing because you can no longer ship internationally (mail has a1 meter length limit) and FedEx/UPS/DHL want hundreds of dollars to go to the UK or AUS/NZ. It killed my international sales, but at least we can still provide for everyone here at home.
LL
“I can’t always answer email so fast” seems to me to be a bit different than “Basically he said he does not have the time to make fiberglass parts and or answer emails” wouldn’t you agree?
Thanks Dick, yes, I am still alive and still the Star 45 Class Sec. It’s even listed in the masthead of the AMYA Quarterly.
Yes John, you are quite correct, the ARES II is not released yet because I am still polishing out the new tooling, and I want to make the boat just a perfect as I can get it before it is released. The plan was to produce a quality boat that would be a fraction of the cost of the other boats out there right now. The IOM is growing again, and rapidly, but the cost of the boats is out of hand and I am going to try and bring that back into perspective.
N5RMQ,
I don’t know who you are by that name, but you asked a couple of questions that maybe I can resolve for you.
“he has been telling me he would be building these hulls “any day now” for over a year”
That is a crock, I never tell ANYONE that I am building hulls because I am not. I build them and sell them as they come along, I don’t take “orders” because my schedule has never allowed me the luxury of building under a time constraint. I am a professional pilot, and I am gone a great deal of the time.
>>My question is if these people arent going to produce , why do they advertise?
Simple, because I help people constantly find boats and parts. I just had an email last week from a guy with a brand new Vortex Soling 50 that was never built, he wants to sell it, and I offered to help put him in touch with someone that would want to buy it from him. There are a LOT of things that I can do to help put boats in the water. I am constantly shipping spars, and I am working to bring the best and widest selection of fittings to model yachting that has yet been seen.
>>I ordered fittings from one and it took over six weeks to recieve them because “he was busy at school”.
Geee… I wonder if that could be Greg Worth at Worth Marine? He has been busting his ass trying to get through school (his Second degreed profession) and selling Pekabe fittings all the while. If you didn’t get fast service, well… that’s a shame, but I am really glad that Greg has hung in there and provided a fine line of parts this many years. You can see how well appreciated his work is.
>>The future of our hobby looks really grim.
WOW… I couldn’t disagree more. Model sailing is exploding around the world. We are severely hampered because of shipping restrictions because of the terrorist crap, but the desire for models is increasing all the time. There is currently a 1 meter dimensional limit on any mail going to Europe, AUS/NZ and who knows where else. Guess I can forget sending my spars to any of the more then 32 different countries we have already supplied. UPS/DHL/FedEx want between $250-$650 for shipments that cost $45 a couple of years ago.
I get email from customers in Europe, South America, Australia and New Zealand weekly, that want anything from a single block to an entire J boat (or THREE) but the shipping has pretty well closed that down for now… but I am still able to help them connect with other like minded modelers in their own areas.
This is absolutely NOT about making money. ANYONE that wants to make money can find a MUCH easier way to do so, well… maybe Roy can make it work for him, I do this because people need parts and want boats and I am going to go anything I can to help them get their boat on the water and enjoy it, because that is what this whole thing is about. That is why I have been a supporter of AMYA since 1981 and why I will continue to do so.
Larry Ludwig
Ludwig Manufacturing www.LudwigRCYachts.com
