Sail Eyelets

Peter,

This again is a problem with these forums, as I sincerely didn’t ‘mean’ to be harsh. I am known as someone that speaks his mind and, yes, that gets me in more trouble then most. I certainly was not meaning to be insulting or harsh, just sharing my thoughts too openly maybe.

I was wrong being as narrow minded as I was being. I guess it’s the fact that I have really never seen any of your boats but for the one I bought about five years ago. So, I assumed that sales were not so great. It was narrow minded of me to not think about those who buy RC sailboats that do actually care about the competitive side of it. I also did forget about the power division of Climate as I am very “sailing” oriented, as this forum is, and forgot about your success with these boats.

I just find it frustrating to not see more options out there for people who actually love to race in classes like IOM, US1M, M, and others. I thought that when you came out with your 1 meter that you might be heading in that direction. Again, narrow mined thinking on my part.

I very happy to hear that sales are going well with the new boat.

Greg V

Sorry guys but once again we gone of the subject!!!

Saileyelts are those little stainless steel or brass things that are punched into the corners of the sails and can be used in other areas on model making.

CAN WE MAKE SURE THAT WE STICK TO THE SUBJECT.

Why do we have to stick to the subject? Personally, I enjoy seeing a topic take different directions. Hasn’t the topic of sail eyelets already been covered?

Anyways, I just had to chime in with my experience with Climate Models. Over the course of several days, Peter helped answer several questions I had about the different boat kits that they sell. For me, I am not as concerned about winning the next International competition as I am about just having fun. I can guarantee you that I’m not alone in this line of thinking, either.

Anyways, it occurred to me that I will likely just want to sail around the local ponds and perhaps race against some of the other local folks with their RTR plastic-hull boats. So I bought an MG30 kit, which I anticipate being a heck of a lot of fun to sail. I won’t be competing around the country for a bid at the world championships. So, I don’t really need the $2000 top-end equipment. And as I said, lots of people around here share the same sentiment.

Greg, when you state that these popular models are backordered up to a year, what does that mean exactly? Is this a case where one single person is making the parts and will only be able to produce maybe 10 or 20 kits in that one year? How does that compare to selling dozens of Thunder Tiger Victorias or Megatech Nirvanas per day? My point is that it’s all relative and a success in one specific area, with one specific design, might not be as “successful” as you might think.

Online forums are a funny thing. In one sense, they help connect people from all over the world who share a common hobby. But it can be misleading; the people who are likely to join these forums and take an active interest in the hobby are also the ones who concern themselves mainly with the ultra-high-end equipment and over time they distance themselves from the “real market”… where the majority of the sales exist. Believe it or not, the Tamiyas, Kyoshos, Megatechs, and Thunder Tigers of the world are outselling the Black Magiks, Bob Sternes, etc. by 1000 to 1. And that’s where the money is. So when you say that a design (such as Climate’s IOM) might not be popular, you may be missing a portion of the market that you’re not involved with. A lot more people will buy a sub-$200 boat kit than those who will pay $600 just for the hull of a world-class competition boat.

As least that’s my point of view. I could be wrong, but then again, I don’t really care a whole lot because I’m not a hardcore sailing enthusiast. I can live with the sub-$200 kits and live quite comfortably having fun sailing them.

As a side note, if anyone has an MG30 that they’ve built and would like to exchange thoughts on building, tuning, and sailing the boat, please contact me through email. Thanks.

So it comes down to this. The two places that I might try for the eyelets I want are Michaels and Great Basin. The nearest Michaels is 100 miles away-50 bucks in gas for 10 bucks worth of stuff and I don’t know for sure if they have them. Fortunately we are going to a christening south of Michaels so I can check as I go by. If they don’t have them I may order from Great Basin. The exchange, duty and “freight” will probably push the price close to 30 bucks so I might not do that either. If it wan’t for the internet I wouldn’t know all this stuff,but if I didn’t know all this stuff I would just go to the local fabric store and buy the big ugly eyelets I’ve been using up to now. This is the B.S. that small town people(probably not just Canadians either) have to go through to get stuff. It’s no wonder that when we find a place like Great Basin that nationalism goes out the window. That’s what I get for living in God’s country.

Thanks
Don
Vancouver Island

Peter R (climate models) wrote “How may people on this board have ever dealt with us here at Climate Models?”

Well I sent a couple of emails to you asking questions and I never received a word back. I was tempted in getting out my Amex card and splurging on a IOM Epoch amongst other questions. So do you reply to all requests?

Nick Lindsley
Australia 0418 727-727
Intl +61+418-727.727

G’day Nick,
We reply to all E-mail from customers and potential customers.
I have no idea where yours went, but I never saw anything from you…
If I had, they would be answered.

If you send us an E-mail, make sure to include a subject line. If we get a blank subject line, our system deletes it.
Same for any kind of spam or commonly used spam words.

I just ran a search through our deleted files and nothing from you came up.
Perhaps you had the wrong address.
Try: customersupport@no spamclimatemodels.com
remove no spam

Peter R.

Visit www.climatemodels.com

i for one would like to answer some questions, but as asual , this is not on topic. but i feel like i should respond
i own a climateboatworks product. i have thier epoch. peter has become a friend of mine, even before i had epoch. i had desing my own boats(IOM) and if i had a question i would email peter. sometimes it would take some time. because he is busy. and there is times where i would not take his advice. (most times i do)
epoch has the main tied to the mast. and it works fine. i also have australia II from victor. and the jackline works well.
what i used was a brass eye. that sewing stores sell. they work well but there are alittle big. this is to try and keep on topic
cougar
long live the cup and cris dickson

cougar,
how does your epoch fare against your other ioms?
regards
ed

Ah, eyelets. Funny little things, which gave me a lot of heartburn in the Yankee III design.

Remember, she’s supposed to be a fun beginner’s boat, built from stuff available most anywhere. In particular, I didn’t want what I wrote to be obsoleted because a single supplier went out of business or decided not to carry a one-of-a-kind item.

My checking of the craft shops (like Michaels) didn’t turn up the eyelets you guys found. I tried all kinds of things, and then in desperation did the simplest thing possible:

Get a clean conical tip for a soldering iron and melt a round hole in the sail. Dunno about mylar, but this works like a charm on ripstop nylon, ripstop nylon reinforced with Scotch plastic tape, or ripstop nylon reinforced with the sticky-back Dacron the kite folks use. Takes a minute or two of practice to avoid overdoing it, but so far seems just as sturdy as an eyelet. Plus you can get just the size hole you need.

And hey, for you high-tech racing guys, it saves a critical milligram or two (just kidding :-))

Cheers,

Earl

ed email me and i will tell you. i want to keep this topic on track. and not start a epoch vs any other IOM.
cougar
long live the cup and cris dickson

Peter,

You’ve piqued my interest about people who buy model boats for fun instead of racing. In full size boats, people buy plenty of boats for non racing activities. you have the cruising boat crowd which buy large keelboats with plenty of interior space to sail up and down the intercostal waterways. You have the crowd that own small bulletproof dinghies lasers or sunfish to sail off their beach at their lake house. That same crowd might own a beach cat as well. These guys all buy their boats to fulfill some leasure pursuit (be it cruising or day sailing).

So now I am picturing the guy who just wants to sail his RC boat. What is he looking for? There are, I guess, some slightly different things that this guy is trying to fulfill. I’m guessing he enjoys day sailing at the local pond when the weather is nice. I’m picturing him sitting on the shore watching his boat go 'round in circles out in front of his house. I’m also picturing that when he is done at the end of the day, he places his boat on the mantle above the fireplace as a display.

So how do you design a boat for this guy? Scale appearances are probably pretty important, but he also likes to sail. So how do you make a boat that sails well but does not look too far out of scale when on the mantle?

Or do I have the wrong mental picture of your customers?

  • Will

Will Gorgen

ed email me and i will tell you. i want to keep this topic on track. and not start a epoch vs any other IOM.
cougar
I emailed you, never got an answer about Epoch IOM

Nick

Nick Lindsley
Australia 0418 727-727
Intl +61+418-727.727

Hi Will,
Your mental picture of the “Fun sailor” is pretty accurate. Throw a lawn chair or 2 in there and add a frosty drink, and you have the complete image.

We have a local club (which myself and another person started some 8-9 years ago) with about 30 members of this exact description. (The on line membership list is way out of date.)

Here is a link to our local club homepage.

http://www.orilliapronet.com/bmyc/index.htm

Check out the “event Photos”, Especially the “regatta” ones. I think you will find all of the answers to your questions.

This is the biggest part of the market in RC sailboats. It makes up about 80% of local club members. Less than 10% is hard core racers.
It is the same all over the world.

Peter R.
www.climatemodels.com

Visit www.climatemodels.com

OK - guess it’s time to come out of the closet and confess as well ! [:I]

[:-paperbag] Hi My Name Is Dick - and I have A Victor Products Plastic Boat !

I like it because it went together fast, all the needed parts and lead bulb were included (radio, rudder servo, receiver and transmitter - as well as sail winch) and it sailed really nice. In fact, I sold it and four other ones as well - and now have number 5 to build for myself <font size=“1”>(again). </font id=“size1”>The entire box of parts arrived for a mere $350 and at 1 Meter in length, I couldn’t be happier. It is the other side of the “outlet” for me… and, if I want I can always upgrade to panelled sails, deeper keel, carbon mast, etc. etc. In the meantime, it got me on the water in a hurry and has provided a lot of hours of enjoyment - sailing WITHOUT racing !

And I do (sort of) resemble the description by Will and Peter. Can someone point me to the location of the keg please? [:-drunk]

Here is a great shot of the “Fun sailors” at our local pond.

http://www.orilliapronet.com/bmyc/regatta2003/imagepages/image17.htm

This is a typical Sunday turn out, with wives and a few kids or grandkids as well.
Imagine! They are all there for fun, and bragging rights are only good until the start of the next race.
They don?t care who wins or who has the newest hi-tech boat, they just love to sail.
One member always comes in a half leg behind everyone else, we all stand on the shore encouraging him right up to the finish.

Peter R.

Visit www.climatemodels.com

<center><font size=“3”>[:D] Posted on Peter’s behalf [:D] </font id=“size3”></center>

<center></center>

I think I have to second what Dick and Peter have been saying. It came home to me last weekend as a group of us were sailing in a club scoring race. One of the other club skippers commented that other owners of R/C sailboats in the area viewed us a “intense” and “overly competitive”.

In our club there are three or four members who actively race outside of the club environment. Some do for the intensity of the race situation, and some for the friendships and bull sessions after the race, at dinner and at the bar. But these members are a minority in the club. Others want to only race locally, and I would guess that some given their druthers would rather just sail on a Saturday morning, watch the ducklings grow and answer the questions of “are their motors in those boats?” An then there are those who just want to build the boats, and then test their craftmanship on the water.

So, some of us sail for competitive reasons, and some sail for other reasons.

Doug Hale

PS. Oh this is really wierd. I just looked at the pictures Peter posted and I appear to have a double out there handing out[:-angel] trophies. It would only be perfect if he wore a Carolina Hurricanes hat.