Big step today! I assembled and epoxied the frames for the Sun Wind II RC sailboat! First, I drilled out the rudder tube hole with a 5/32" bit. The gap that is designed into the aft rudder tube keel assembly easily guided the bit through the slot and simply widened the sides a tad. You can now see that the rectangular opening is now a circular hole. The 5/32" brass rudder tube will easily epoxy into it later on.  Then started on the frame assembly by epoxying the frames down onto the strongback. Then added epoxy to all the slots on both the frames and on the fin and keel assemblies. They all slipped together pretty well after a little adjusting and persuasion. Here is how it all looks while it cures. In this image you can see a rubber band holding up the half-frame (Frame 4.5), otherwise it would slip out. The planks clamped to the sides are to keep Frame 4.5 aligned with the other frames. In this image you can see the first use on this boat of the rubber ...

A NOTE ABOUT GLUE: If you read some of my earlier posts regarding my mock-up test hull, you'll know that I often used Titebond II to glue things instead of epoxy. That was because that boat was never going to see water. This time I am almost exclusively using epoxy. This is the real deal boat and will be sailed, so a waterproof adhesive is required. Specifically I'm using WEST System 105/205. Read more about it here .    ------------------------------------------------------------------ I started to laminate the fin tonight. Just the inner core made from 1/8" plywood, and then the first side of ply #2 made out of 1/16" plywood. You need to take extra caution on the first three or four ply's so that it remains really flat. The last few ply's you can stop using the 3/4" MDF form, but use it for the first several. Use the excess epoxy: Then use the extra epoxy to clear coat some of the frames. Between laminating the fin and rudder, you can easily ...

OK, so this is a total experiment and if it doesn't work I'll just make one out of aluminum. I laser cut 6 layers of 1/32" plywood and have laminated them together to make a crazy weird servo arm. This is how it looked in SketchUp Pro with the plastic arm underneath that came with the Hitec HS-815BB Sail Servo... Here are the laminations after the laser cutter finished: And here they are being laminated between two scrap pieces of 3/4" MDF: We'll see how the finished product looks tomorrow when I open it up! Aloha

I am using WEST System® epoxy for this boat, but I’ve also had great experiences with System Three®. Whatever brand you use, be sure to stick with it. Never mix and match resins from one company and hardener from another. Stick to one brand and follow their instructions. Specifically, I am using WEST System® Group ‘A’ size cans of 105 resin with their 205 hardener. This epoxy uses a 5:1 ratio of resin to hardener; therefore, you’ll buy a quart of 105 resin and a much smaller tin of 205 hardener. They are usually sold together. Using the WEST System® Mini Pumps: (They still actually put out a lot of epoxy!) I use their ‘ Mini Pump ’ kit which includes measuring pumps for each can. They are easy to set up and use, and will dispense the proper 5:1 ratio. CAUTION : System Three uses a 2:1 ratio, and some brands use a 3:1 ratio. Furthermore, each brand has its own ratios and you must follow them carefully! READ the directions closely for your brand. I assume you are using WEST Syst...

Last night was spent avoiding the State of the Union address by instead working on the latest, and hopefully final, version of the Sun Wind II laser cut frames. Unless something obvious comes up, this is the file that I will shortly use to make the complete Sun Wind II boat from. It's nine sheets. I know that someone out there could have puzzled this together better to make it fewer sheets, but whatever... Six sheets are 1/8" plywood, and three are 1/16" plywood. There is a tenth sheet that can optionally be cut from 1/32" ply. The only part on it is a spacer for the rudder, but alternatively you could also just grind the edges off of the 1/8" rudder post to get it down to the 7/64" thickness of the actual rudder inner piece. Either way you run the risk of being slightly off-center with the post, but the amount should be so little as to be inconsequential. More later when the laser cutting starts... hopefully next week! Peace!

Today I cut my test hull off of its supports and did a lot of clean up on the sander. Sanded the transom flush, as well as the bow. Cleaned up the sheer a bit, and then finally added the rudder. It's done! I attempted to make a male mold for the lead bulb, but it cracked off the lathe before I could get it down to size. Oh well... it was a good attempt and I'll try it again shortly. Overall, I love it! Now onto the real thing... next up, it's time to make the entire hull and do some RC sailing! Aloha!

The planking was finished this morning, and by this afternoon I was able to sand it and add some 1.4 oz. fiberglass. This is a mock-up, half-built hull to check for fit and fairness. I purposely didn't fiberglass the entire half hull so that it could serve as a demonstration for my school. Should be fun to look at! Will trim the excess glass this evening, and then tomorrow will cut it off of the base and take it to school. Tomorrow I will attempt to turn some wood that I glued up on a lathe. Hoping to make a male mold for the lead bulb. Not sure how that will go as I'm crappy at turning. Fingers crossed! Peace! Thanks for visiting RC Model Yachts. This site focuses on the art of building radio control wooden sailboats. See the links to my other wood radio controlled sailboat pages for more resources, model yacht groups, rules, suppliers, and more.

Hopefully this is my final rework of the Sun Wind II servo tray. I've repositioned the rudder servo, and sunk it into the board. There are fewer walls and pieces. It's more compact. The battery case will be held in place by Velcro and a small retaining wall. This should be sufficient and will allow for a tiny bit of battery repositioning to better distribute its weight. Almost done planking the test mockup half-hull. Will sand afterwards and then partially cover with fiberglass. Peace!

I've begun the planking on my mock-up Sun Wind II. Last night I installed the outer sheer rails and let the epoxy cure. This morning I was able to fair the sheer rails and begin the planking. I'm using 1/8" x 3/8" clear cedar that I milled myself. The edges were beveled slightly on a sander, although I could have just used the table saw. Cedar is very nice to work with, and so far is conforming to the hull shape well. Will update as more planks are added. Only two so far. And I'm only doing one side. The other side will remain open so that people can view the internal structure. This is a mock-up and will be on display. The real RC boat will be built next after all the changes needed are discovered. Aloha!

Tonight I modeled the Hitec HS-815BB Sail Control Servo for use in both the Rip Tide and the Sun Wind II RC sailboats. I'm going with a sail arm servo instead of a drum winch like I used on my Star 45 and Salish 475. I really want the deck to look clean, without any sort of shock cording like I have on the drum winch boats. Yes, I can use an internal self-tensioner, but a swing arm is also much easier to use. It may not be as competitive, but on the other hand, a lot of guys swear by them and say that they are just as fast as the drums. Since I'm not into racing, I don't care and will go for simplicity. Besides, this servo is $50 compared to $300 for the RMG SmartWinch. RMG winches, by the way, are amazing! I suggest you use them on certain boats. But for the VM Rip Tide and Sun Wind II, I'm going with simple and clean. Here's how the 3D servo looks. I wanted to make sure that it would fit, and that the arm had plenty of room to swing. Looks good so far! ...