Texas DragonForce Series #3, Back to Houston...

I began the third of the Texas DF series by driving down to the Houston regatta with Chuck LeMahieu of Dragon Sailing (USA) with our boats, and several boxes of Dragon Sailing deliveries to the Houston guys, including two new DF95 boats and Chuck's own DF95...a tight squeeze! We left in overcast rainy weather at 6:30am to make the 11:00am start time. For my European readers, Texas is a big state; driving Dallas to Houston is a greater distance than driving (if one could!) from London to Paris! Suffice to say, Texas alone supports a very robust DF65 (or for that matter RC sailing itself) community. After some re-routing due to road construction and traffic, we arrived right on time for the start of the day's racing...and what a day, the weather cleared beautifully with nice wind (A-rig all day), blue skies, and 26 competitors!

The venue; perfect for sailing R/C boats!

The hosts arrive for the day's event!

The venue, while perfect in nearly everyday, was slightly disfavored by the wind angle; some reaching a difficult port tacks; but improved slowly through-out the day...no impediment to good racing! The fleet itself ranged from novice to expert; with all 26 boats racing in one heat, which generally worked, but led to some hair-raising traffic at the marks...

Lucy the dog ate my old racing hat, let's test the luck of the new one!

PeckForce sallies forth; determined to do well and avoid another foundering!

My day...

I finished, I believe 7th out of 26 boats, which puts me 6th in the state series (out of, I'd guess, approximately 30 potential boats). My finishes were: 3-22(dropped)-5-6-18(dropped)-12-13-12-10-10-3-7-8. As I have mentioned before, I need to work on my consistency...it's tough to follow a 3rd with a 23rd! Fortunately, as I sail more this year I am seeing some improvement. Anyhow, for me:

• Boat rig, tune, and speed were good. The times I was up with the leaders I did not want for speed of pointing ability (though in smaller boats like these, low and fast is almost always better than high and slow). No breakdowns or leaks;
• The down-wind sheeting angles are fixed, though I think my jib may still be a shade tight up-wind;
• Generally good starts; which is saying something with 26 boats on the line!
• Generally good course selection;
• I need to improve my ability to sail clear, a right-away is of little use when boats are cracked-up in a rounding, or they (or me!) are uncertain as to the right-away. I need to remind myself more forcefully that sailing with more room in clear air is always a better alternative;
• I need to take better angles downwind and quit over controlling so much; and
• Room, room, room! I need to take and give more...

Observations...

• 18 boats at CSC were manageable, my opinion is 26 boats were simply too many. The Texas Series is continuing to grow, and some fleet racing system may have to be adopted. I think HMS is too much for such a casual affair, but I'm sure there will be discussions and something worked out. My opinion is that a simple red-white-blue system would be best; again, for this regatta series simplicity is the relevant factor in my opinion. I look forward to seeing what develops;
• Collision avoidance...sometimes it seems people almost want a collision to prove their right-away, I think the fleet should be encouraged to avoid this; it is always faster to avoid the collision and protest, especially when the avoidance is slight;
• Fleet composition for the series is good, with a few top skippers to gun for, a few new folks learning the ropes, and a vast and competitive middle to make for some fine racing;
• We need less talking at the starts; 26 skippers chatting in the wind makes it hard to hear, or perhaps a louder clock, lol...
• As mentioned previously a fun series to participate in; next time we'll be off to Austin

Of course some photos, courtesy & copyright of Mike Biggs; see there full gallery here.

PeckForce holding off regatta winner Macaluso with a tight mark rounding...Chuck just ahead! 

21 of the 26 boats in this picture give an idea to the busy starts...

One bad tack, and Chuck edges me for 2nd!

Great start for PeckForce, which he held until the last leg, finishing 3rd...consistency needs work!

Another busy start.

A portion of the fleet beating upwind.

Nice view of skippers area at this venue.

PeckForce charges towards the line in one of his better finishes, just behind Mauricio and Macaluso.

Nearing the start, PeckForce aiming to go low and fast...

Nicely powered-up for the first beat, you can see the sail's curve generating some power here...

A good day! PeckForce crosses on starboard on his way to a rounding.

A picture is worth a thousand words...when tuning sails!

I've built two RG-65's; both Blue Splash designs. The first, Peck, is a trial horse of sorts, and has raced reasonably well in past competitions. It belongs now to my son Andrew. Now, I've completed my own boat, the Mustang, and I'm getting it worked up to form.

I took the Mustang sailing this weekend, and except for turning it on and putting the drain plug in, sailed remarkably poorly. Of note, some geometry errors in the sheeting system led to binding so that the swing rig had quite of bit of trouble getting out in wing-on-on scenarios...I think I have that fixed now. Also, the rig was wildly out of tune; to wit, see below:

I see a few things wrong here on the starboard tack; first the luff curve of the jib is dumping air into the leach of the main causing some back-winding. You can see the disturbed air "ruffling" in the main just below the second panel seam near the mast down to the national identifier. The jib geometry looks wrong; the head of the jib looks to far to starboard, and the slot looks to wide, probably why I was usually first to tack in the shifts as my jib fluttered before everyone else's. Lastly, while not visible here, the jib itself is high, I need to lower the jib boom in relation to the swing-rig fore strut. Maybe too much jib luff too...what do you see?

Anyhow, I made some adjustments, and went out again on the next day to test the new running rigging and trim; as seen here:

Here, the main looks pretty good, powered-up with a nice curve, and smooth without any sign of back-winding. Note the head of the sail is not twisted-off, to give some power in the light air. The jib geometry looks a bit better, and the slot has been closed up some...but I wonder if it is to far forward of the mast? Also, here you can see. Jib is still high and needs to come closer to the deck. It seemed to sail better, so I am making progress...what do you see? Feel free to post your comments!

As an aside, the swing rig really does get you moving in light air as the video below shows...what do you think of the sail shapes?

Sometimes you just get lucky; after some late afternoon testing, the sun beautifully illuminated the sails on the way home...

Texas DragonForce Series #2, White Rock Lake...Observations

After our DragonForce RG-65 "PeckForce" had its spectacular near sinking in the first Texas DragonForce series of the year in Houston, it was time to try again yesterday in his home waters.

It was a beautiful day for sailing with sun and the temperature slowly rising to the high 60's and the winds building from about 8mph up to nearly 15mph, with plenty of drastic shifts in direction and velocity. Fortunately the wind steadied somewhat near the later part of the day and good racing ensued. As an aside, though the shifts were frustrating and difficult, I actually don't mind...that's why I sail rather than use a powerboat ;-) Besides, those that read the tricky weather well were rewarded...I had moments of both, and more than once sprinted to the first mark before struggling with a unexpected wind shift! At any rate with 18 boats and 12 races, it was a brisk day of sailing!

Nice day for a sail!

My day...PeckForce finished 6th of 18, which I am quite content with, and I generally had good starts and was in the hunt. I had a first, and nearly another, which was awarded to Mauricio by literally the length of the bow bumper, and generally avoided catastrophe. In a fleet this large, sometimes you can't help getting tangled in the pack, which started happening to me about mid-regatta...just when I started to think I would let myself get dragged down into the fleet I remembered my own advice...sail clear. There was a lot of traffic at the mark roundings, and the shifty weather lead to some real pile ups, but by remembering to sail clear I started overstanding the mark and just rounding around the mass...it got me back on track for the last few races, where I went from 13th and 12th to 1st and 2nd. I was happy with my sail trim, I have sails from Eric Rosenbaum, and they went quite well...they are the only non-stock thing on the boat as the PeckForce goes for simplicity; he uses the original radio gear and transmitter, along with 4AA batteries for power (lasted all day). In chatting with Eric (who won the day) I agreed with his observation that many boats were sailing to "tight", sails to flat, too much backstay, and to tightly sheeted in. Especially in the lighter air at the beginning of the regatta, I kept sheeting in lightly to build some speed, and slowly cranked in as I built up some momentum...seemed to work pretty well. Consistency is king, as always, and while I have improved there, I have a ways to go...Eric is a good example; Bob Piper almost won more races than Eric and Chuck LeMahieu combined (4 to 5), but finished third...Eric's steady performance, of not always winning, but never having a meltdown won the day...a good lesson to emulate!

Other Observations...this is a fun fleet, with widely disparate skill levels. Protests are mandatory in the Texas Series, you are protested, you turn, that's it...no hearings, counterclaims, etc. Given the wide experience disparity, a brief "post action" after the regatta might be a good idea. Port-Starboard, Windward-Leeward and such are generally well understood, but the interplay of many rules at starts and mark rounding is challenging at times for the most experienced...perhaps a 10 minute "post-regatta" discussion, led by some old hands, would help educate folks and encourage fleet wide improvement. I think I finally got down the rules and tactics options regarding heading back up wind into the fleet on port and starboard (respectively) after a lead-bottomed dance with Bob Piper and careful explanation by Eric Rosenbaum...glad to have acquired some new knowledge! Another observation...the boats are quite similar in speed, which is good for a one-design class, and small and precise adjustment can still give some boats a bit of extra performance, as it should be. Lastly, as always the case with smaller boats...keep moving! Going anywhere is faster than luffing out.

The Series #3 Regatta is back to Houston, where I will try to build on this performance and avoid sinking again!

(All pictures below by Chuck LeMahieu and Theresa Gardner...the full series can be seen here.)

Even in deceptively flat water, the White Rock chop can wreak havoc on RG-65's, even a relatively heavy DF; Bud Garcia goes airborne here...

PeckForce powered up on the port tack...the shadows give a good clue to the generous amount of curve used.

Off to a nice start, high on the course near the pin.

Heavy traffic near the middle of the start line...choose a course carefully to avoid fouling or being over too early. 

Chuck's (#09) turn to go skyward, note #76 ahead on the downroll...

Heading for a finish under loose sail and in good company with Bob Piper (#465) and Eric Rosenbaum (#11) just ahead...

PeckForce heading downwind...I suspect I need to get his sail setting out a bit more on this track.

Tight traffic heading to the windward gate, Chuck on my starboard side.

Hip-to-hip with Mauricio's #71...carefully maneuvering required in these close quarters; I'm on starboard and leeward, but need to give him room to avoid and room on a starboard mark rounding.

This is where PeckForce took his bullet...passed Eric with more pressure on the last downwind leg, and split with Mauricio for the port mark on the gate, nice win!

Busy starts, and my best of the day...PeckForce is high and ahead, he will run down the starboard tack near the marks, back to port near the offsets while still ahead, and on to the layline and rounding ahead of the fleet.

PeckForce rounds the offset marks...

High traffic, looking to play the right shifts for the finish. 

Congrats to Eric and  #11 on a consistent day!

PeckForce Lives!

Just a quick video about the miraculous survival and resurrection of the DF RG-65 PeckForce...

Roo should be sailing this boat at the next club regatta, we'll see how he holds up!

PeckForce Down! Or...Adventures in the First Texas DF Series of the Year...

The Texas DF Series is the reason we built the PeckForce DF RG-65 to compliment the Peck RG-65 (Blue Splash design), about 10 races per year attracting about 20 skippers is too good to pass up! I also figured it would be good for burnishing my sailing skills in general, as I hope to campaign my own Mustang rather heavily this year. So...I drove down to Houston with Chuck LeMahieu of Dragon Sailing, and big supporter and participant in the class. It was surprisingly cold, about 40º, and very windy...a steady 15 mph or so to start and building throughout the day to true C-rig weather. I only had a A-rig, and knew it would be challenging day...it turned out to be more challenging than I thought:

PeckForce Down!
He lost the main deck patch and began to founder in the high winds...

Selfless skippers snagged the PeckForce to keep her afloat till rescue could be had...Well done!

So this is what happened.

After the first four races it became clear that the A-rig I had was hopelessly overpowered in the existing conditions; while I could wrestle it upwind, it was hopeless with repeated pitch-poling downwind. On more than one occasion I was at or near the lead at the first mark, and last at the downwind gate due to uncountable nose-diving. I had a good opening run, finishing 2nd and 1st in the first two races, and probably should have called it quits as the wind just kept building. I rather stubbornly decided to try and nurse the boat through the rest of the regatta, figuring I could save a bunch of points by avoiding all those DNS's. Sailing to stay upright rather than win, I was able to string together some finishes near the middle of the 20 boat field...so it seemed like it was working.

Unfortunately, about midway through the regatta the continued submergence must have weakened the main deck hatch enough to have it give way on a mark rounding with the deck rail buried, and in poured the water! PeckForce immediately started to founder, and the water knocked out the electronics. He quickly sank until only the bow, with a trapped air bubble, stayed afloat. Alert skippers immediately snagged the rapidly filly vessel, risking their own boats being dragged down with it, until it could be recovered. My thanks to everyone!

Surprisingly, after drying everything out, only the sail servo seems to be malfunctioning, amazingly the rudder servo and receiver still work fine...so, a few rigging repairs and a winch replacement, and he will back for the racing in the February series.

There are a number of lessons here; build-out all your rigs, and bring them no matter the forecast, learn to recognize when too much wind is REALLY too much wind, and check adhesive hatch covers frequently. Also, a boat that is well built without extra hull openings, can sometimes survive on a trapped air-pocket...so be sure to keep those hull openings at a minimum!

Below, are a few photos (courtesy of Check LeMahieu) that show PeckForce before his unfortunate attempt at bottom diving:

PeckForce on the uproll, putting in a good finish early in the day...

High winds flattening the fleet, PeckForce in the hunt, but struggling with his A-rig.

Early in the day, the manageable winds put him in the hunt!

Third at the rounding...

Pre-start maneuvers...I had pretty decent starts for the most part.

I was able to hold on here, but the 20+ gusts buried me.

The penguin looks sharp on the rounding!

That's all for now, but I'll have some more thoughts on sailing the DF soon!

New Year's Club Race; "PeckForce" competes for the first time!

The TRYC kicked off the New Year with its somewhat annual New Year's Day sailing, and raced RG-65's in cold conditions in about 8 mph of wind and generally good conditions. While I am very excited to campaign the Mustang (USA-62) this year, it was a good opportunity to test out our latest acquisition the DragonForce (DF) RG-65 aptly named "PeckForce".

The DragonForce is the latest rage in the RTS (Ready-to-Sail) market, and I discussed the boat in some detail when it first came out. A basic kit is under $200 and includes a radio and useable sails (though skippers often replace both). PeckForce is completely stock expect for the sails, which while useable as provided, I find rather ugly. The kit provided radio works well enough, although fine travel control and precise maneuvering are a bit more difficult. Nonetheless, the DF is probably the finest RTS boat ever sold in terms of fit, finish, completeness of presentation and quality sailing.

PeckForce went quite well, no surprise in this tightly controlled One-Design, I was able to sail against two open RG-65's which were very fast (as I well know with the Mustang!) in the prevailing conditions, and several other DF's including that of DF guru Chuck Lemahieu. In five races I had three firsts (DF scored separately) with very rudimentary tuning. I'm traveling to the first Texas DF Series next weekend, so by then I should have a pretty clear idea of how fast I can make this boat go...until then, here's a few pictures:

PeckForce finishes way ahead of the pack...and just behind the open RG-65's...

Heading out to race in company with Chuck LeMahieu's Atomic Annie

Peck the Penguin, visible on the side of the boat!

A good first day with the new boat, I need to finish marking the sails!