Got bored, plus I wanted to add it to the 3D Vickers V8 IOM I'm working on, so I modeled a SAILSetc Block 65-SE through-deck block for RC sailboats. It also turns the sheet direction, so it's sometimes called a turning block. NOTE: There was some concern on RC Groups that I had copied his product without permission. I have not copied his product. I have only made a 3D drawing of his product, and I have actually purchased three of his blocks for installation in previous or current boats.  Here was my response on RC Groups: "This is just a drawing of his block. It's not a real block. There is no value in a picture of the block. You can’t make an actual block from this 3D file any more than you could from a pencil drawing or photograph of it. It’s not a manufacturing file. There are no internal parts in this shell. It’s only a drawing of the outside of it. It’s used to help model 3D designs so that you know where you place bits and you know how it

Lots of progress has been made on the Vickers V8 IOM (International One Meter) R/C sailboat. I'm about 80% finished so far. Will probably just sit on it for most of the summer and get start actually building it in September or October. Here's how it looks so far: While I have agreed to make the laser cut frames for the hull, I have no expectations that Ian Vickers will choose to use my internal bits. I have made some decisions for my own version of the boat, but if he ever decides to release the files I'm not sure if he'll allow my internal bits to be released. He'll probably just release the laser cut frames for the hull. That said, I've made some decisions for my own version, which includes a scoop deck. I'm also dumping the plastic pot because I just hate the look of those things. My boat will have deck patches which I've found to work quite well. Here's the scoop deck: The scoop deck will allow a full-sized vang to swing

A few weeks ago I emailed Ian Vickers to inquire if he might send me a DWG file for his very highly-regarded IOM, the V8. He agreed! So now I'm working on designing a laser-cut frames file so that I might make the boat later this fall. I've already started. Here's what I have so far: So far it's going well. My next steps are to design a main bulkhead, a mast well/fin box arrangement, a rudder frame, and on and on. But in the end it should be a nice way to build a V8. My problem though is that I also now have the original digital computer files for two Frank Russell designs too... the Goth Mk4 and his newest IOM, the Ellipsis... In addition, I have the paper plans for the Alternative by Brad Gibson. I'll almost certainly do the laser cut frames for all three, but which one to build first?? Aloha!