It's been bugging me for two years since I finished my Wampum II Vintage Marblehead RC sailboat... the rig was too high. The rig just didn't look right. Looked too "toy boatish" even though it is a toy boat. So today I finally stopped staring at it and cut 1.125" off the bottom of the mast. Then I redid all the stays and such. It looks better now. Will try to get it on the water in the next week or three to see how it sails. It's a little hard to see in these pictures, but the boat looks a lot better now. Phew! Cheers! 

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 ...

My new Vintage Marblehead Sun Wind HF rc sailboat had its maiden sail this afternoon! Very light winds, and I'll need a lot more time to do some tuning, but it didn't sink and it came back to shore, so it all went well! However, it was VERY obvious that the rig was too far forward. So now the entire thing will need to be moved aft about 2". The pics in this post are of the original placement of the rig, and you can see that it's too far forward. Will update a new post when it has been moved back. Now, how to cover the holes... ugh!  There were a few asking for better pics of the spars... Will hopefully be able to take her out again this weekend for some proper wind, but the forecast isn't looking good right now. Tough time of year for sailing. Aloha!

Made a mast crane based on one that I have made in the past for my Star 45's. Works well for them, and should work well for a Vintage Marblehead Sun Wind. It's made from brass, with a bar for strength soldered to the top. The idea is that a slot will be cut into the top 2" of the mast, and the crane will be through-bolted. This link is to the original schematic of a mast crane that you can build yourself, courtesy of the Miami Valley Model Yacht Club in Ohio.  Here is my updated version. Click to see the full-sized image and then copy and paste it into Word. It "should" print at just about the correct size, but you may have to adjust the image a bit. Cut it out and spray glue it to some brass sheet. Cut it out on a band-saw and then sand smooth. Be careful when working with tools and metals!! This is what I ended up with for my Sun Wind HF. I decided to reinforce the crane with a length of brass bar soldered to the top edge. Back to deck pl...