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Saturday, May 30, 2015

White Rock Cup 2015 Postponed!

Due to epic rains, the 2015 White Rock Cup was wisely postponed...

New date is June 27th, hope to see you there, I'll be racing Peck, but the Mustang should be near complete by then with luck!

Check out Chuck LeMahieu's video of the flooding here: https://www.facebook.com/chuck.lemahieu/videos/10204250690769386/?pnref=story

Video Blog: Update on the construction of "Mustang"

Made some progress in building our second Blue Splash RG-65, to be named Mustang...since last time the deck has been finished out and we are about to install it. To be done next; internal supports for the rudder tube, keel box, and running rigging fittings...then on with the deck!


Monday, May 25, 2015

Video: From Kit to Competition; Good Luck Peck at the RG-65 Regionals this weekend!

It's been a long road for Peck, starting nearly nearly 18 months ago as a kit, through building, painting, fitting-out, and tuning...but he's ready for his big regatta before he becomes Roo's exclusive boat! So, here's his story...


Good Luck at the 2015 White Rock Cup!

Sunday, May 24, 2015

Blue Splash "Mustang", deck preparation...

A brief follow-up on the video blog; a few pictures showing the deck preparation for our next Blue Splash, Mustang...

Deck support, will be two strips and will be drilled out to hold the carbon rig tube.

Oversized transom piece, balsa, will be sanded to fit the hull and epoxied to be strong and watertight.

All deck supports glued down and clamped, be sure to sand every area expected or it will not stick well!

Aft view, showing transom piece being glued down, A light sanding will result in a good fit!

One these pieces are set, it only remains to add the rigging fittings and rudder post, and attach the deck!

Saturday, May 23, 2015

White Rock Cup Warm-Up

The TRYC (Trinity River Yacht Club) sailed RG-65's at the Corinthian Sailing Club on White Rock Lake today, the site of next week's Regional Championship. The weather was generally windy, at about 15 mph, with gusts, good waves, and rain showers. The RG's generally sailed in low-aspect A-rigs, though I sailed the day in B-rig which I was testing and tuning, and the DF's stayed in their A-rigs. This was my first chance to really work up Peck's B-rig, with mixed results...


Peck under B-rig...

As usual, Peck was quick, especially on the runs...it was good practice moving close to hull speed and maintaining control, and despite the conditions he took little water and had no breakdowns. Tacking proved difficult on several occasions when the gusts rolled in, and when over-powered I wore around rather than risk getting caught in irons, which proved faster than luffing out in a failed tack.

Unfortunately an unidentified asymmetrical geometry problem with the rig made the boat slower on the starboard tack, and difficult to tack properly to port, which proved frustrating and costly! I've identified some potential culprits and am carefully re-rigging to improve to performance and lower the jib a bit...hopefully the problem will be solved, I'll have to try and re-test it in Friday practice.

Good to work out the kinks now at any rate, and Peck still had some good finishes:

Peck crosses the line with a nice finish on the port tack...

I'll be reporting on the regatta and Roo will be running the camera, so stay tuned!




Friday, May 15, 2015

Video Blog: Building another Blue Splash...

Now that the Peck is truly completed, it's time to finish my own boat, which I'll call Mustang, after my son's high school football team. Rather than reiterate the construction notes from Peck, I thought I'd make use of the iPad's camera and post occasional video's on its construction.

Here, I've already assembled and installed the keel trunk and sheer planks, and discuss the next steps...



I can't emphasize enough the importance of getting the keel trunk installed center-line and straight with the center of the bow, and your rudder placement hole. I suggest  a skin-girth measurement (I used the incorrect term of chain girth in the video, the principle is similar); i.e. find the correct distance aft of the bow for the leading edge of the keel, and measure around the girth of the hull side to side, divide that distance by half, and mark it on the hull. Do the same for the trailing edge. Eyeball these two points and make sure they run center and straight aft to the rudder hole. Then, gently cut a slit between the two points, widen carefully so that the keel trunk snaps into place without being squeezed to tightly (if it's to narrow, the keel fin won't fit in).

Stay tuned!

I'm back! White Rock Cup 2015 and other things...

Hi folk's, sorry for the protracted absence, as you all know, some times, life crowds out ones hobbies for a while, but I'm back and ready to pick-up on some Model Yachting!



The big race for me coming up is the 2015 White Rock Cup here in Dallas, which is also the AMYA Region #5 Championship for the RG-65 class...a class I'm increasingly keen on. The regatta is being held on the 30th and 31st of May, and it's not to late to register if you are interested, check out the site at: http://whiterockcup.blogspot.com/

I'll be sailing Roo's  USA-50 Peck, which I sailed to 10th in the 2013 Nationals. As you may know, Peck's construction has been exhaustively detailed here, he's a Blue Splash design; kit by Eric Rosenbaum and built by Roo and myself. My own boat, USA-62 Mustang, is once again under construction, and I'll post some photos soon. We've also purchased a DragonForce RG-65, when we get it assembled and sailing, I'll be sure to post some on it as well.


Peck cruises White Rock Lake at dusk...

As to the Peck...after RG-65 Nationals the Peck required a brief refit, a new radio board, some better rig tune, and the location of an annoying leak.

The leak was easiest to fix, after rigging up, I set the boat on a stand and poured water into and waited to see where it leak out from (it's easier to find it coming out then going in). A small trickle near down the keel fin confirmed a leak near the keel trunk, so I brushed in some epoxy over the joints, and presto!, the leak stopped. Peck has now been running pretty dry.

The old radio board was a complete failure, along with the internal compartment for radio receiver and battery. I removed them both and built a new board of a thicker material, with cross beams supporting it. This stopped the flexing and cracking that broke the old board apart, and is probably much lighter as well. The battery and receiver are now simply attached to the keel trunk with Velcro, again, lighter and stronger.

I finished out the B-rig and spent some time at the pond with Eric Rosenbaum, and others, and got the rig tuned up. The A-rig is now going quite well, the B-rig needs some heavier wind, but is coming along. I may build a C someday, but don't have much use for it at present. I will likely do an entire post on swing rig tuning later.

Comparison of A and B rigs.


Here's some pictures of the Peck working-up during trials:

Note the wake in light air...the swing rig at work!

Running down the line prior to a start at the TRYC.

Next to Chuck LeMahieu's Atomic Annie DragonForce. Note the huge disparity in A-rigs...

B-rig, powering up at the local duck pond...it's getting there.