I've just completed the files to laser-cut the frames and parts for the Rip Tide RC Vintage Marblehead sailboat. There are two options: One with the original 13" draft fin, and one with the extended 16" draft fin. Otherwise the boats are exactly the same.   NOTE: BOTH VERSIONS STILL PLACE THE BOAT IN THE " HIGH FLYER " CATEGORY! The shorter fin is still too deep for the " Traditional " class, and the rudder is spade not skeg which also disqualifies it for " Traditional ". The fin depth is a matter of which you think would work with the rig that you'll add to the boat. Some people suggested that I keep a version with a shorter fin, so I offer it here. Personally I'd go with the deeper 16" fin if only because it looks better! Here's what you get with the 13" draft fin: And here's what you get with the 16" draft fin: Yes, they are exactly the same except for the fin parts. If you look carefully, ...

Well I started on the Wampum III today by cutting out all the parts. It was a total of sixteen sheets of 12" x 24" plywood! Took about two hours to cut them all on the Full Spectrum laser cutter. Here's how they look so far... The frames are all cut from Lite Ply. It was first time that I've tried to laser cut it, and it cuts very well! I'm using Lite Ply from now on whenever possible. It is also actually very lightweight too. Good decision. Here are all the rest of the parts. The keel is going to be built up from layers of 1/16" plywood. I'll mold my own ballast so that it is fitted onto the inner core piece of ply. Should work well. Next step, start to laminate the keel. More later! Peace!

Today I used the laser cutter at work to cut sail numbers and insignia for my Sun Wind II wooden Vintage Marblehead sailboat. Turned out well! I used adhesive-backed insignia sailcloth . It even melted the edges a bit so they won't fray. My only concern is that the melting may have put a rough look onto the edges. The settings on the laser cutter were 100% speed and 1% power. I might try using even less power next time. The 1% didn't cut, or even scorch, the waxy paper underneath, but I'll do an experiment to see if .5% would more cleanly melt the edges. It's fun messing around in boats, and also laser cutters! I'll have to see how they look when I pull them all off. If they don't look good then I'll simply cut new ones by hand with a sharp hobby knife. Here is how the number 7 looked when I pulled off the surrounding material. The edges look slightly rough when you're right up at it, but when you're any more than just a few inches away, it...

It begins! Yesterday I cut all the parts for the new, improved Vintage Marblehead "High Flyer" division, wooden Sun Wind II RC sailboat. Then last night I began assembly, starting with the servo tray. I'm still not entirely happy with it, even though it's now version 5 or 6. At this point, I think it will be a constant evolution. I'm torn between a simple board that mounts all the things, versus a board that tries to hide the cables and such. It's a balance that I haven't achieved yet. Today I've started to laminate some of the doubled-up frames. Will continue tomorrow. Peace!

So it turns out that there is actually a very big difference between cutting the various types of 1/8" hobby plywood! I had no idea. I bought my plywood from National Balsa . They offer three types of 1/8" hobby plywood: 1. Lite ply, which is very light but not too strong. Apparently it is made from poplar. Very flexible. I haven't tried to cut it, but would imagine that it cuts easily. 2. Regular, 3-ply plywood which is called birch, but seems to clearly be not as refined as 6-ply. Much stronger than Lite ply, but a bit heavier too. Cuts really well! Less reflective, fewer layers which means less resin to melt. 3. 6-ply birch plywood. This is actual birch. Very reflective, strong and solid. Tough to cut! 6 ply's mean lots of resin to melt. They also offer both 1/16" and 1/32" birch ply.   -------------------------------------------------------------- So, the other day when I was laser cutting my frames, I was able to easily cut through the ...

Started to cut the second round of laser cut frames for the Sun Wind II RC sailboat. This time, I intend to build the entire boat. Got through two sheets today, and then the laser cutter started acting funny. Got some kinks to work out. But I'll try again tomorrow. Here's the first sheet that was cut today right after cutting. It's still on the bed... It may have been that I used 3-ply plywood for the first two sheets, and then switched to 6-ply. Hmmm... maybe that's it...? Peace!

At this point, I feel that I have now pretty much finalized the new Sun Wind II RC Sailboat lines. And I like it! Today I finished the servo tray (see previous post) and cleaned up a number of extraneous lines and such. I think she's done. The original 1949 lines : Profile view of my updated Sun Wind II lines : Note that my transom appears to be flat, not rounded like the original. When built however, this boat will also have a nicely rounded transom when a wood finishing piece is added. Likewise, the bow will match the original bow lines when you add the shaped bow piece. These lines are for the purpose of making laser cut frames. Front view of my updated Sun Wind II : Aft view : Would love to hear what people think! Aloha!

Tonight I got to try my hand at laser cutting! And, get this, it worked! So cool... I only ran the first of my 8 sheets, so that I could get a sense of how my drawings were working. Glad I did because I found a few tweaks to be made. Tonights run cut the servo tray, a couple frames, and the inner core of the fin. Here's a picture of the servo tray: As a comparison, here's how it looked in Sketchup Pro... I am now completely hooked on 3D modeling and on laser cutting!!! One of the tweaks that I'll correct is that the battery holder area is too small. I made it to hold the battery holder, but it turns out that the batteries stick out more than I thought, so I'll have to bring the port side wall out a bit. Might also have to increase the holder around the larger HS-815BB servo. Might be too short to hold the stress. We'll see... More tomorrow! Peace!

Tonight I finished the Sun Wind II RC sailboat building board and supporting frames. I think I'm almost done! Hopefully by next week I can try out the new laser cutter at work! Here's what the building board and frame supports look like. This is how it should look while being built upside down on a table. More updates shortly. Aloha!