Interesting that many people find the “looks” of a catamaran configuration rather ugly when the electronics are housed in a “pod” in the middle of what would be the trampoline area, yet seem unaffected by the sight of two train tracks and a piece of lead that moves back and forth over the deck.
Take a look at the photo Doug has used for the Melges model. He has taken a perfectly nice looking boat with great lines and visual appeal and added this sliding rack which sticks out on both sides of the boat. It changed the character and the looks (for the worse) and back when I inquired about the concept and possible use for trial was told there were too many problems with it and he didn’t want to continue on that road. So here we are today.
Regardless whether the boat is mono or multi hulled, the rack will extend to either side in order for the weight to move to windward. LIke the racks on skiff - or on the Worrell multihulls, what happens when the boat heels and the leeward side of the rack makes contact with the water surface? Wouldn’t that slow the boat down?
Part two of the moving ballast scenario, is that the entire rack could move - independant of the hull, and the rack can be shifted to windward to assure clearance to leeward. This now means instead of one servo to just move the weight, two servos (winches) are needed to move the track AND the weight independently!
To add in Part three of the scenario, Doug has often proposed that the track also be able to move forward and backward on the deck as well. This does need to be available, but now we had added servo (winch) number three.
To recap …
1 Winch to move the weight ON the track
2 Winch to move the track sideways to prevent leeward drag in water when heeled
3 Winch to move the track forward or backwards on deck
4 Winch to control sheeting of the sail
5 Servo to control rudder
6 (alternative) second winch to control jib separate from main!
Let’s see that is a minimum of five (5) winches - along with batteries and receiver and a five channel radio. Now the radio must have proportional switchs - not just on/off - in order to place the weight and track where desired. Is there such a radio with five channel proportional control and what is the cost if available?
All of this, plus the necessary blocks, mounting pads and eyes for rigging the needed lines to move all this stuff!
Somehow this example just doesn’t come across as an entry level, beginner’s boat to me. I could be wrong. Again, perhaps just a “GEE WHIZ” feature - and still not proven in competition. Keep in mind some classes have specific beam, or items cannot extend beyond dimensions. Perhaps I’m not seeing the full picture… all this effort and all this money to have something no one else has - and on a boat platform that still doesn’t exist or is available? Remember Doug’s caveat … the boat has to be designed for these types of applications. So the design/build isn’t being done by anyone else, and Doug can’t seem to put any of his ideas into a working/racing/winning design … yet we (except me a few others) still sit and listen to the self-proclaimed prophet tell us how this concept will improve our sailing. I became tired of these self-directed declarations last fall, and it will be interesting to see how many of you continue to follow - because there is no pot of gold at the other end.
Many complain about runaway costs for the r/c boats, yet you sit and hang on every word Doug posts. Using a reasonable cost of $80 for a winch - the above hardware in winches alone has added an additional cost of over $400 to this boat - and that isn’t including the cost of receiver and radio! Ask yourself if you are willing to pay that much for an unproven boat? And when I say unproven - I acknowledge the ballast can be made to move, but will it be able to be effective in multiple boat (not just two) racing conditions? How long to take off or put on depending on wind strength? What about tuning the system for travel, speed and movement? All unanswered by Doug! Once again, I merely say … “Don’t tell us - Show us” !