Thanks, Scott…what a great race report! Nice pics, too…great to see some old friends’ faces again. Nice to see that Gary is back, too…we’ve had some good times.
Congratulations on your 2nd place finish. That’s a testament to your sailing skill, as Hugh is one of those skippers that I like to say could win sailing a brick! Keep up the good work…maybe you can break the Stollery stronghold and show that skinny, light boats can be just as fast as the “wooden shoe” shapes.
All the best…Bill
Oh Bill,
I know you’re tickled pink by the news from oversees, proud daddy you!
And I know that the “wooden shoe” comment is just friendly ribbing. I’ve gotten that comment myself describing the raised fore-deck of my National Championship 36/600. Although all in fun the moniker derided its design function and I found it irksome. I took some satisfaction when the whole fleet dove in a gust and my boat sailed nose down, the break-water deck keeping the boat in total control, all the way to the leeward mark.
Personally I find the “Ice” to be one of Roger’s nicest designs, almost up there with “Bloodaxe” and the Wonderland series of the '60’s aesthetically. That it is a kick-ass performer and a stalwart of the heavy design vein of Footies makes “Ice” a valuable contribution to Footydom.
All kidding aside, you deserve a lot of credit for Ranger. It has taken you a surprisingly short amount of time as a designer to produce a real winner. Lets see where you take it from here.
Further good news:
The sunday just gone, i sailed my Ranger (with a new A rig, to match the improved B rig) in the Videlo Globe trophy at the wonderfull Pheonix model yacht club at silvermere golf complex, surrey.
It was an interesting event characterised by very shifty winds (I think Roger stollery as RO changed the course almost every race, to try and keep ontop of the wind! )
Despite occasionally being caught in a gust far too large for her rig, where she simply burried the bow (and sailed reasonably straight) (i tended to tead up a bit at these occasions, to a broad reach, covering more ground, but much quicker!) it performed well.
To windward, it easily matched the Ice for speed and pointing ability (i think it actually points better) and the results can be seen here shortly :
http://www.sailfootyuk.com/videlo-globe-trophy.html
A second place yet again, though the gap is closing :-), and i won a couple quite convinvingly
Scott
Hi All,
I’m a total newcomer to RC sailing, but after looking at a fair few designs my plan is to attempt to build a ranger which seems like a realistic place to start. However, I have (and am sure I will have a fair few as building progresses) questions about some of the details, so would really appreciate any answers to the following questions; apologies if these are questions that have been answered elsewhere, or seem blindingly obvious!
First, what sort of paint (available in the UK) do people recommend for the hull interior/exterior? Does the hull need a layer of epoxy or fibre for strength? I want to make sure this thing doesn’t sink.
Being new to sailmaking and rigging, it would be really helpful if anyone had any good quality pictures of things like mast/boom attachments, and the gear used to connect the servos to the rudder/boom; I’m not much of an engineer so not great at improvising these things!
What’s the best way to attach the rudder to the carbon rod? Is it best to cut a slot into the rudder? Can anyone share their thoughts for finishing fin and rudder in epoxy/paint etc.?
For the McRig, what is the best way to glue the boom/mast to the z-wire? I think I saw some people cutting a slot in the carbon.
So many questions, and probably more to follow.
Many thanks and good sailing,
Stu
Hi Stu
Many, but not all, of your questions can be answered if you take a look at the 'How to.…" tab on the UK Footy site at:
http://www.sailfootyuk.com
Hull building, rudder manufacture, rig making, servo placement are all covered so I hope it’s of use.
Cheers
Phil
Phil,
Thanks for your reply. Some really helpful stuff there. Servo control connections and the finer details of connecting sail to mast and boom remain a slight mystery, so any pictures would be welcome.
Would people like to share their thoughts on hull covering? I have some 1/32 ply which seems nice and strong; do I need to add glass cloth or will epoxy resin on its own do the job?
Thanks,
Stu
Stu,
The loads a footy experiences on land from human handling or mishandling as the case may be are greater than anything they will ever see on the water. If you’re using 1/32 ply, a coating of some sort of paint for waterproofing/sealing will be more than sufficient. Epoxy and cloth will only be extra weight, that could be in your keel bulb.
-Nathan
Great, that makes things a bit simpler. If I’m just painting I guess I should use a waterproof glue for the hull? Any recommendations for paint brands?
Thanks,
Stu
Stu, 1/32 ply is way overkill for a Footy. I use 1/64 ply on most of my hulls, or sometimes 1/16 balsa. 1/64 ply is the easiest to use…very flexible, cut with scissors, no beveling of edges needed. You will be surprised how rigid a Footy hull turns out to be, even without internal bulkheads.
Bill
Nice work, I gotta make me one of those,
thanks
John Storrow
Ah thanks Bill, I had wondered about that. Do you think I might get away with 1/32 (I have a nice piece already) or will it just be too heavy? I’m not interested in racing speed or anything, but am concerned it floats properly! If not I’ll go and get some balsa, as I never seem to see much 1/64 ply.
Thanks,
Stu
It will work, Stu, but try to keep the weight of all other components minimized or you will have to take too much off the bulb. Ranger is designed as a light boat, so there isn’t as much wiggle room as there would be in a 500 gram design.
btw, Scott Wallis made a nice Ranger out of Depron. You might talk to him about it.
Bill,
New prospective Footy builder here. I use 1/64 a fair amount on my model airplanes. Depending on use, I try to orient the grain of the external ply appropriately. I would like to know if your practice is to orient the fore-aft direction of the side pieces at a bias to the external grain direction. Any insight into what you’ve learned about grain orientation would be helpful.
Thanks,
Jim Howell
Use it the same way you would build an airplane fuselage out of balsa.
Have fun
Sven
Jim, I’m sure that is good practice. Given the cost of 1/64 ply these days, I orient the panels to get the most out of a sheet of material 
Haven’t noticed any issues.
Bill
Hi All,
After very slow progress my boat is coming along. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for (UK-available) paints for sealing and finishing; ideally something clear to leave the wood visible, but I’ll need a colour for covering the glass-fibred fin and rudder. I’d appreciate advice before purchasing and ending up with a product that’s no good in the water.
Cheers,
Stu
The attach files are broken Bill , can you help me? Sorry for mi english i am from Argentina