RC Sailing

[RobertN]

I got a boat for Fathers Day; a small beginner Sailboat.I have had it out three times. This is a ton of fun, most of the time...Sunday, I had a pretty good hike when I lost control and had to chase it over about a 10 acre pond. I have had the same thing happen in smaller area's too.

It seems I get into a situation where the boat is crossed to the wind(the book calls it broad reach or starboards tack close reached). I get the boat crossed to the wind, not turning fast enough to tack. Then, the wind blows it over, but not far enough to put the sail in the water. It leans over so far that turning the rudder does not help. It has enough wind in the sail, that the boat goes, but I have no control.

I have tried turning the rudder and tightening/loosening the sails from the remote. It seems the boat heels over far enough, it just does not react.

I am not sure is I should loosen the sails, or tighten them. I can adjust how far the sails swing from side to side when tacking, and I can loosen/tighten the top of the sail to adjust how much the sails fill with wind. I have had them set loose and tight with the same results.

I have been successful in sailing it. That is a blast! But, when I loose control like above, it is frustrating.

Any pointers?

This is fun... I have alreay been eyeing the Victor Soling 1M and some of the other "Yachts"

 

[MrJimi]

I have sailed real sailboats and in your 10 acre pond, I would tie a fishing line to the rear of boat for when it gets out of reach so you can reel it back to you. I know not the pointer you were looking for
Jim

 

[slowrev]

A bit more ballast ?

Ben

 

[hazmat]

Sounds like the boat isn't "balanced" as we sailors say. A balanced boat will head up into the wind if it is overpowered by a gust. This is also known as weather helm - ie you have to give it some rudder away from the wind to keep it going straight.

The biggest factor as far as balance is the design of the rig - center of pressure of the sails etc. You can affect balance by adjusting the mainsail vs the jib. Looks like your boat controls them at the same time while sailing. Is there any way to change the setup such that the mainsail is in a bit more than the jib? This should give you some weather helm & let the boat head up in a gust.

It may be helpful for you to grab a "how to sail" book out of the local library - if nothing else, you'll get a lesson on the vocabulary.

If all else fails, let the dog steer.

 

[GaryM]

I've sailed RC sailboats for a few years, though not recently. Both 36-600 boats and one meter boats.

If you're heeled way over, you need to let out the sails. As you've found you can't steer if the rudders not in the water. That's only a 26" boat. Probably shouldn't sail it in more than a 5 MPH breeze. You might want to lean the mast back a little. That should move the sails center of effort back on the keel. That should make it point up whan a gust hits.

 

[RobertN]

If you're heeled way over, you need to let out the sails. As you've found you can't steer if the rudders not in the water.

By letting the sails out, do you mean letting the sails swing to the side more?

I have adjustability to allow the sails to swing side to side more, or I can loosen the sails at the top to allow them to fill more with air.

I'm trying to figure out the terminology. So far, I have struck out finding a book on RC Sailing. Tomorrow though, I am going to a race. I did find a Model Yacht club in Sacramento, Sacramento Model Yacht Club. Mine obviously is not a race boat, but I figured I could go watch, and ask questions.

 

[GaryM]

Yes, I mean to let the sails swing out more. This will allow the boat to right itself in the water . This in turn will get the rudder down in the water so you can steer.

Visiting the club, even if you can't race with them, will provide a lot of information. When we had visitors we always tried to help them get their boats working.

Be sure to not turn on your transmitter unless one of the club members says it's OK. You could cause interfearance with another boat and perhaps cause it to damage itself or someone elses boat. There are only so many frequencies available, and if it's a large club they may all be in use.

We used to publish a frequency list in our membership roster so folks knew what might be available.

 

[RobertN]

Yes, I mean to let the sails swing out more. This will allow the boat to right itself in the water . This in turn will get the rudder down in the water so you can steer.

Be sure to not turn on your transmitter unless one of the club members says it's OK. You could cause interfearance with another boat and perhaps cause it to damage itself or someone elses boat. There are only so many frequencies available, and if it's a large club they may all be in use.

I will try letting the sails out. One thing I have found is it's best to learn in a small pond

I have been to RC car races; they would assign each racer a channel, so one transmitter didn't control two cars. My boat is on channel 62. It is an inexpensive setup; I do not think it can be changed.

I have never raced my RC10T. It has a nice transmitter/receiver/servo set. I can change the channel on it.

 

[EddieWalker]

Can you get a cheap RC power boat that you can use for recovery? I'm thinking about a kids battery powered model that you would only use once in awhile that would have a hook on it that you can pull the sailboat back with.

Do they still have sailboats at Boy Scout Camp? I got my sailing merit badge one year on a lazer sailboat. It was one of the funnest things we did at camp!!

Eddie

 

[RobertN]

Can you get a cheap RC power boat that you can use for recovery?
Do they still have sailboats at Boy Scout Camp? I got my sailing merit badge one year on a lazer sailboat. It was one of the funnest things we did at camp!!

The model boat club race I just got home from, they had an electric RC boat there just in case...

We have been to two Boy Scout cmaps, Camp Lassen near Lassen National Park, and Camp Meriwether, near Tillamook Or. Neither had sailing. They had canoes...

I'm thinking I need to figure a way to come vist you, then sail on your new lake, and shot a hog or two...

That sounds like a TBN get together you know... People driving in, flying in.

 

[RobertN]

Visiting the club, even if you can't race with them, will provide a lot of information. When we had visitors we always tried to help them get their boats working.

We used to publish a frequency list in our membership roster so folks knew what might be available.

Well, that was a lot of fun. Just got home from the club race.

I watched for a while, then introduced myself and talked to some of the folks. Great bunch! They told me "go get the boat!". I brought it out. They helped me tune it up; the way the booklet describes is confusing at best. About 5 minutes of simple adjustments made a world of difference!

I am on channel 62; nobody was using that channel. So, me and a club member set sail. It was a world of difference. The boat worked SOOOO much better. It is still a little tricky; it's only a 24" long boat. I'm going to go to thier meet next month too. Although I don't think I will get a boat in one of thier classes any time soon, it was fun to watch, and they had no problem letting me sail.

One of the guys that helped me was racing a Seawind. After they finished thier heats, he let me sail it around. Nice... Real nice

It was a really nice afternoon. We sailed, took a picnic lunch, watched the races, sailed some more...

 

[PineRidge]

Be sure to not turn on your transmitter unless one of the club members says it's OK. You could cause interfearance with another boat and perhaps cause it to damage itself or someone elses boat. There are only so many frequencies available, and if it's a large club they may all be in use.

We used to publish a frequency list in our membership roster so folks knew what might be available.

When my son and I were involved with RC anytime we were at an event the transmitters would all be confiscated and in impound until just before your race.

Each member hung a colored ribbon from their transmitter antenna as it was their turn to race. Each colored ribbon corresponded to a particular frequency, that way it was impossible for someone in your same race to be on the same channel or frequency since there was but one ribbon for each channel.

 

[GaryM]

When my son and I were involved with RC anytime we were at an event the transmitters would all be confiscated and in impound until just before your race.

Each member hung a colored ribbon from their transmitter antenna as it was their turn to race. Each colored ribbon corresponded to a particular frequency, that way it was impossible for someone in your same race to be on the same channel or frequency since there was but one ribbon for each channel.

Yes, that's a common method of control. Our club was small enough that each member could pretty much have their own frequency (channel) per boat class. Since we almost never sailed more than one class boat at a time it was easy to contol.

Glad you had a good time, RobertN!

 

[RobertN]

Glad you had a good time, RobertN!

It was fun!

They had almost 30 boats out there. Seawind had 8 sailing at once. There were a number of folks though, that had two or three boats...