Any model sailors?

Anybody sailing models here?

I thought it looked like fun for a long time. I had seen them sailing in the background of movies and tv shows. This last Fathers Day, my son got me a RTR sailboat. It's 26" long. This has just been a ton of fun. I have mostly sailed by myself. There is a local club, but they sail big boats(Seawind, US1M, Sant Barbara etc). I went to one of the club races, and sailed my boat around, watched them, and then sailed a Seawind for a few minutes. Tons of fun!

Since seeing the local club, I would like to get a seconed, probably larger boat. That way my son, wife and I can sail, instead of solo sailing. And, if I ever did want to get in the local club, maybe I would have a competitive boat.

I am mainly looking at a Seawind. I though about trying one of the Victor 1M boats, but they are slower than than the other 1M's in the local classes.

We're going to check out a new pond here in a few minutes. There's suppossed to one in a park in Placerville. Have to go do some recon [img]/forums/images/icons/cool.gif[/img]

Nice pond in San Diego with sail and power taking alternate days for races. I am a rag sailor (real boats) but for spectator fun I liked the model hydroplane races. A few RC float planes were flown off that park pond as well. I am a pilot and have also flown RC powered models and soaring planes (real and model) but never got around to an RC float plane. I have been looking at some of the micro-model RC A/C that can be flown indoors in your living room. What next micro-sailboats? A small fan blowing across a kiddie wading pool with 3-5 micro-miniature sloops tacking to weather hard on the wind...then around the mark and a broad reach...

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

I just got back from a local pond. The breeze was finicky; some times a little, but most times none [img]/forums/images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

The local club, Sacramento Model Yacht Club , races some larger lakes. Most are not too far from me. Lake Natomas is a pretty cool place. My boat is 26"; they race some that are almost 6' long, and stand about 8' tall tip of keel to tip of mast.

I would like to try a real sailboat. I got to go out years ago on a 36' boat in San Francisco Bay. It was a TON of fun. At a local lake, the University extension office has sailing and rowing classes(they get championship rowing meets). The do Lasers, and then some 20'ish sailboats. I was thinking about doing the keelboat classes.

I am even toying with letting go of my Farmall to get a used sailboat [img]/forums/images/icons/ooo.gif[/img] Toying, not ready, but toying [img]/forums/images/icons/wink.gif[/img]

Hard decision... You can't sail a tractor but you can't pull a 3PH implement with a sailboat...

I have a Korsar on a trailer in the hay barn. It is on extended loan from a friend moving from San Diego to Kansas City area. He had two similar boats and I currently had none so when he was passing through from San Diego to KC he dropped off the Korsar for me. I haven't had time to even step the mast in 4 months and with winter coming on may not get a chance till who knows when. The closest lake large enough to sail it is 12 miles away and a much larger one at about 40 miles.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Can't you pull a Plough Anchor?

Egon [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon, Pretty good. Actually it can drag when not properly set and you can weigh it when you remove it from service. As the function of the plough is highly dependent on weight, I prefer the Danforth in many situations. I had a high strength aluminum alloy version of the Danforth that was so light I could practically twirl it in one hand.

There is a variant of the Danforth with a single fluke and a triangular "exo-skeleton" that exhibits the advantages of the Danforth but without its most serious shortcoming, a bent shank under sideloads after a wind shift.

Historical note: The Danforth anchor was developed by a Britisher named R.S. Danforth in 1939. It was the anchor used on WWII landing craft to kedge off.

I never liked the CQR PLough (thumb buster) myself. I carried a Bruce on the bow roller ready to deploy and the big aluminum Danforth in a rack astern (we also had a stern chain locker.) I used a folding grapnel for the dingy. Curiously, I found that in less than maximally challenging anchoring situations (but still with quite a blow) that our sloop anchored much more stably by the stern as it would tend to tack at anchor when hanging on a single bow hook with a significant breeze.

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Could we not consider the Danford as a two shovel cultivator? [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Egon

Some fellows I used to four wheel with years back carried a danforth anchor to use as an "anchor point" to winch from if they got stuck and there were no trees to hook to.

Not as good as a tree, but portable. [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Egon, The problem with considering the Danforth anchor to be a two shovel plow is that it digs in and literally burys itself deeper and deeper to the point that it will either 1. develop so much resistance that yo can't pull it or 2. the soil disturbing actioni is subterranean and not too effective at the soil surface.

The above is when there is not so much surface grass, weed, and or rock such as to prevent it digging in properly in which case it woild also be a poor surface soil mixer especially as compared to any of the German patent anchors of the plow persuasion or the CQR or Bruce.

In fact the Danforth style digs in and holds so well in straight line pull situations that there are variants sold for off roaders to use as light weight but effective "dead men" to give purchase for using a winch for self rescue. I was one of the early proponents of this being as how I was cross fertilized, so to speak, in off roading and sailing. There used to be products commercially available for this as an outgrowth of the early interest. Here is one of the early products still on the market, complete with endorsements from military Hummer drivers.

http://www.pullpal.com/quotes.html

Pat [img]/forums/images/icons/smile.gif[/img]