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:
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| PeckForce finishes way ahead of the pack...and just behind the open RG-65's... |
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| Heading out to race in company with Chuck LeMahieu's Atomic Annie |
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| Peck the Penguin, visible on the side of the boat! |
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| A good first day with the new boat, I need to finish marking the sails! |
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