I’m going to get into the RC sailboat thing- I used to fly RC sailplanes a few years back, and dropped it when my interest in “full scale” sailboat racing took over my weekends. I’d now like to get into RC sailboats, primarily for pleasure and to race one meter.
After searching and reading a while, I have a few questions.
Can I use my old JR radio for my sailplanes? I guess that boats use different frequencies, but are there rules? What are they?
Also, for a first one meter boat- I like the Victoria, the Seawind, and I also like the America 3 from Victor products. Any pluses/minuses to each? Opinions?
Lastly, I’m wondering if there’s a club in VA- it seems as if the AMYA website is down temporarily, as it’s being moved.
Thanks in advance for all comments and suggestions!
Here in the states, the FCC requires the aircraft channels/frequencies to be different from the surface channels/frequencies (cars and boats). Thus, you may be able to send the radio in for a switch (not sure) or you can opt for a new radio/receiver. AM radios (with crystals) start at around $80 and go up to FM, etc. The new radio a few guys are using is a Chinese brand 2.4 GHz 4 channel with receiver for around $30 plus shipping (totals somewhere in the $50 range). What is nice about these, is they are good for both “air” and “surface” use and crystals aren’t required. From reviews - seems for the price you can’t go too wrong.
I am sure there is Virginia sailing activity - some may post, or the web should be up shortly. Buy or build? If buying, the Victoria and the Seawind are actively raced in AMYA classes. Not so with the Victor Products “America” boat, although there are a few registered in AMYA open class. The predominate 1 meter class for racing is either the IOM class, the ODOM Class or the US1Meter Class. You need to visit your local clubs and try to sail what they are. Then, when the competition “bug” hits you, you will have others to race against. All of these last three one meter boats require some building/assembly - unless you buy a used boat (most are in good shape) and then you will have a ready-to-sail right after taking it out of the shipping carton. The ODOM will have about as much assembly as the Seawind. It is a strict one-design except for sails. The Victoria and Seawind also are pretty tightly controlled. The IOM is controlled by weight and has 3 rigs/sails. The US1 Meter is the most open for development - 1 meter long, 14 inches keel depth and a limited sail area (can’t remember offhand right now - want to say it is 600 sq. inches.)
Welcome to the world of model sailing. A lot of our skippers come from bigger boat racing and we also have a good number of totally new skippers. The rules are the same excepting for model boats use a 4 boat circle for mark rounding.
I don’t have any information for your area, but I compiled the following data from the AMYA site about a year ago for the 46 model sailing clubs in Florida. There were more Clubs sailing Solings than any other club as seen below:
I need to recompile the information when the new AMYA site is launched as they have been having clubs update their info. For example, I think a year ago, only 1 club was listed as sailing Footys when I personally sailed at 5 clubs with Footys.
Information on our Florida club (I am now in Michigan) can be seen at www.tanglewoodmyc.com. If you make it to our area, come visit. This site contains sections on 4 classes of model boats with a lot of useful links including a few to other Florida Club websites.
I agree with the suggestion to see what is sailed in your area first. Picking a popular boat in your region gives you more options and better competition.
I just did a Google search: model rc sailing in virginia
Here is the first hit:
The Ashburn Model Yacht Club (AMYC) will be hosting three Soling 1M … The championship will be sailed at Lake Anne in Reston Virginia on September 27th. … this year we are adding the S1M class to the sailing weekend.
An outfit called Radio South converted an old radio for me, from 72 mHz to 75 mHz for surface use. I must confess that I haven’t used it since. But I recall the rate wasn’t too bad. I don’t know if they still do this.