Found some time to work on the frames for the Corbie 5 IOM RC sailboat. Changed the aft deck arrangement... more on that later. But most of my time today was spent working on the fin box area. I'll make my own fiberglass fin box to exactly fit the fin, but that won't be sufficiently stiff enough, so I made a 1/16" ply box that I can use to support the fiberglass box. I won't "fill" the box with thickened epoxy, but will use it in areas to bolster the pressures. More in January when I can return to this project. Happy Holidays to everyone!! Aloha!!

I finally received my new IOM fin, bulb and rudder today! It was shipped from Australia from Radio Sailing Shop . So far they look great, but to be honest, I'm not entirely sure what I'm looking at. The IOM fin is long, thin, carbon-fiber, and very light weight. It only weighs 101 grams! This isn't the way it is in Vintage Marblehead or Star 45's. The rules say that the fin and bulb together can only weigh 2500g. The bulb is currently 2533 grams and it will need to be worked a bit to get its weight down. I intend to epoxy coat it and then paint it as well, so that will add a small amount of weight. There are clearly some parts of the bulb that need to be cleaned up, but overall it's a very nice mold! The rudder came with a piece of 4mm stainless steel shaft, but I'm going to use 1/8" stainless steel. 1/8" is 3.175mm and is plenty strong for both Marblehead and Star 45 rudder posts, so I'm pretty sure it'll hold up to this. 1/8"

Still haven't received my rudder or fin from Radio Sailing Shop , but have added a few more additions to my 3D model. In the rendering below, the greenish wood colored parts are the temporary frames. They look funny toward the deck because only the hull portions are showing. The lighter colored, yellowish wood bits are permanent.  I've added the rudder tube frame and alignment bit. I've added some fore-and-aft support beams for the aft deck, and I've started to work on the aft deck. There's also a mast post support beam. Here are just the permanent parts: The rudder alignment piece looks large and heavy, but it's neither. In fact, depending on which rudder you use, you may be able to cut this down significantly and only use the aft end of it. What is shown is for rudders that need to be placed from 60mm to 85mm from the transom. If you're using a rudder that needs less than 85mm, just cut the forward portion off. Here's how the aft deck l

I'm working my way toward building the Mirage Radio Yachts Corbie 5 IOM RC sailboat designed by Jeff Byerley in Tasmania. I'm designing the Corbie 5 laser cut frames and planking forms, and have updated the frames that I initially made. I wanted to build in the few permanent frames that are needed. There is a main bulkhead that divides the foredeck from the aft portion of the hull, there's the shroud chain blocks, a few foredeck support frames, foredeck kingplanks, fore and aft frames, etc... I'm not done as I still need to include the rudder frame and the mainsheet post frames. But I've made lots of progress and will now need to wait to complete the final version until after I receive the fin and rudder that I've ordered from Radio Sailing Shop in Australia . This is how the model looks so far... This first picture is of the permanent frames with the hull shell showing over it: This is the same but floating in place over the building jig:

According to many, the Corbie 5 IOM of Mirage Radio Yachts in Tasmania is currently one of the most competitive boat designs available to the home builder who wishes to build a wooden IOM. The other wood IOM design is the " Alternative " IOM from Brad Gibson Sails and Design in the UK. I've purchased the plans for the Alternative but haven't received them yet. Since drawing up laser cut frames for the Laerke IOM, I've started looking toward building an IOM that might actually be competitive with a more modern design. It was suggested to me by Bob Wells , a Seattle IOM guy with loads of knowledge about IOM's, that I contact Jeff Byerley in Tasmania and Ian Dundas in Scotland about getting the plans for the Corbie 5 IOM. Those two have worked together to create the Corbie 5 and to make it available to home builders. I contacted them, bought the plans, and got the plans and a well-written construction manual. They also agreed to send me the DXF file of

Made a lot of progress today! Finished the 3D model (see previous post) and now I've made the files for the laser cut frames. Just ordered several sheets of Lite Ply from National Balsa, so I'll be ready to laser cut as soon as it arrives. Yes, I know... even with the Lite Ply I still have too many frames remaining in the boat and it will be heavy. I really doubt that I'll have to add any corrector weights at all. But it shouldn't be tooooo much over the minimum weight. That said, the rest of the boats will all be under the minimum and have corrector weights strategically placed. Lite Ply really is light though. So fingers crossed... The hull will be Western red cedar planks with one layer of 1.4 oz. fiberglass cloth over the outside. No glass inside but the hull will be sealed with epoxy though for waterproofing. Guess I better go get more 3/4" MDF and get going on a strongback... Aloha!

I think I finished the Laerke 3D model... I stopped being absolute about that though because I know I'll have to go back in and twiddle with some things. But otherwise, the model is now complete. It'll be heavy for an IOM, but I'm not too concerned because it's going to be at the back of the pack due to it being an outdated design and due to my crappy sailing skills. But it will look great! The wood-colored stuff will stay in the boat, but the green frames will be knocked out after I cut the hull from the building board. It will be the lightest boat I've ever made, but still one of the heaviest IOM's out there. Obviously the support structures of the brown frames will also be removed. The boat won't have to carry that much stuff!  Next step : Make the laser-cut frames files. And then it's off to make the hull! Aloha!

I'm making some progress on the Laerke 3D model. Have chatted with Bob Wells who knows everything about IOM's. He agrees that the Laerke is a beautiful boat, but is pretty sure that it won't be competitive with the modern post-BritPop! boats. I agree, but just want to start my IOM journey with a nice looking wooden boat. It's all about the wood and the aesthetics! He suggests that I get the plans for the Corbie 5, so I'll probably do that anyway. Here's where I'm at so far: The blue/purple thing is the building board. Green frames are temporary and will not stay in the boat. Tan/wood-looking frames are permanent and will stay in the boat. They will mostly be 1/8" Lite Ply, or 1/16" birch plywood. More later! Aloha!

Hi! I'm back for another boat build! This time it's an IOM. Yes, I know that it's not a Vintage Marblehead. Or vintage anything... it's a design from 2004. But this boat really looks cool and I want one. The boat is the Laerke IOM designed by Søren Andresen from Denmark. Hopefully he'll contact me and give me some pointers. And before all you hardcore IOM sailors start to tell me that the Laerke is an outdated design from way back in 2004... I know, but I will maintain that it's probably still very fast! I don't care if it's the fastest or not... I just like the design. Please remember that my entire interest in this hobby is in nice looking boats that A.) look like proper boats, and B.) can be made in wood by reasonably talented home builders. The Laerke looks great and modern IOM's don't even look like boats. Besides, to be competitive in IOM's you have to spend a fortune to keep up with everyone else. I have no interest in buying m

It was a fun RC boating weekend! Yesterday I went to Monroe, WA to watch the local RC hydroplane guys run their boats. Today I sailed the new Wampum VM RC Vintage Marblehead sailboat at the Seattle Model Boat Pond in South Lake Union next to the Center for Wooden Boats and the Museum of History and Industry (MOHAI). The Wampum VM and the Sun Wind HF are both done and sailing very well. My next project will be a 1/8th scale hydroplane. I'm making the Miss Wahoo. To follow that build, please check out my other build blog at http://scalehydroplanes.blogspot.com/ . So this may be one of my final posts on this blog for a while. Occasionally I'll be posting some new information or events, but other than that, I'm signing off for now. Hope to see you at my hydro blog! Aloha!

Ta Da! Presenting the Wampum VM Vintage Marblehead RC Sailboat! Just had a perfect maiden sail for the newly resurrected from 1933 Wampum II, which I'm calling the Wampum VM due to the necessary changes I had to make to the original design to make it RC and to use modern materials. She sailed perfectly! I hardly had to make any adjustments. Has just a touch of weather helm. I could not have asked for a better first sail! This will be a very fun boat to sail in the future. Aloha!

Got a start on the Wampum VM Vintage Marblehead RC Sailboat standing rigging this weekend. Can't do it all until after I varnish the deck, but got the mainsail installed and the boom installed, and a few other things. Here is a nice trick... prop your boat's keel up on the floor so that it is perfectly on its side. Then line up the entire rig. Measure where everything will be attached. Mark those spots with sticky notes. Mark the sticky notes exactly where to drill attachment points.  But first, don't be a complete idiot like I was and attempt to install the mainsail backasswards! Gawd... Got my sails from Carr Sails . He does a great job. Here are a few of the things I was able to install today. In this first picture you can see the gooseneck, the boom, and the boom vang. Roger from Model Yacht Fittings hand makes these things and they are works of art. He has complete kit just for Vintage Marblehead boats.  The mast crane is my own creation. You can

Got the hatches built! Over the past few days I've managed to make the hatches. I'm using strong, rare-earth magnets. Circle ones for the main hatch, and narrower rectangular ones for the aft hatch. Obviously I haven't done any cleaning up or finishing on them yet. Picking up my sails tomorrow. We're almost sailing! Aloha!

The clear Klass Kote two-part urethane was sanded and polished today. Looks pretty good! Bought myself a new tool... the Porter Cable 7424XP 6-Inch Variable-Speed Polisher ! It worked much better than my cordless drill that I had been using. Here are some more pictures: You can see a bit of the deck in this one. That's the next step... finishing the deck and hatches. Then it's time for the rigging. You can see the small brass rudder keeper that I made. Below is a section from my Vintage Marblehead Construction Manual on finishing: How to get that perfectly smooth, gloss finish : So how do those guys get that perfect, glossy finish? 1.        First, they sand the paint . Just about any gloss paint will create some orange peel. To get a glass-smooth finish you will need to sand it down a bit. Start with very gentle pressure using a sanding block with 800 grit and WET sand it. This should just flatten the orange peel at least enough to where the urethane