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Newbie here 😁 So I bought an IOM.. with a certificate (2018)… Expecting to jump through a few hoops…. Followed the online registration process… WOW… 2 hours after submitting request… a nice new Certificate hit my Inbox. Impressed? Oh yes I am. Many thanks to Jim La Roche. 👏👏

All good points, but they still need a paper copy at the finish line as a paper and pen can write the results down quicker when there are a bunch of boats finishing together.

The latest World Sailing Case book contains a new case Case 140 which covers an incident on the start line when 30.3 or 30.4 are in effect. However the wording of Appendix E 3.7 prevents radio sailing from applying the benefits covered in Case 140. I have written a summary of the situation attached, together with a solution which the regatta organiser may apply to fix the problem. John Appendix E3.7 and Case 140.pdf

It's a wrap. Envelopes opened, all points calculated and confirmed in the presence of 2 independent witnesses. Obviously most had BG in 1st position, except for one entry, guess who, followed by RW, CR and PS, not necessarily in that order I may add ,but Josh sort of spoilt that party. Thanks to everyone that participated in a bit of fun, we will do it again for the Worlds, top 10 though. RESULTS....... VICKY..........13 POINTS GRAHAM.....12 POINTS ANDREA......12 POINTS JIM L R.........11POINTS MICKYBOY....10 POINTS TRACEY.........10 POINTS HARRY............9 DARIN.............9 JOSH...............9 WALSHY..........9 BRAD...............9 PRESIDENT.....8 JIM E...............8 ROB Mc...........8 Tiger................8 1 spoilt paper. Well done Vicky, spend it wisely with any radio sailing manufacturer in the UK.

It was great to return to Greenock MYC after about 30 years, since my last visit. John Taylor and his American wife Sarah, came home from Florida for a family visit and planned it to coincide with the Scottish DF65 Championship weekend. john's sister Helen was also visiting. It was a pleasure to head north on the M6 and not have to battle with the queues at M62 & M56 junctions, then Stoke, Stafford, Walsall, and of course the M42 which always seems to be a constant circular traffic jam!! JT still has his apartment over looking the Clyde at Greenock kindly offered to host Maureen & I for the weekend, and we were made most welcome. The 5 of us enjoyed the hospitality of the "James Watt" local Wetherspoons on the Friday night, where we ate & drank and learned about the town from the photographs displayed within. John & I went off to the sailing on Sat morning to find a very blustery SW wind, which was A+ A or B rig strength depending which part of the lake you were in when the gusts blew through, or didn't!! Stepping inside the clubhouse, I saw several faces I recognised Gordon Rae, Gordon Allinson, Richard Rowan, Robert Rooney, and of course Hughie Shields whom I first met in 1963 at the Fleetwood Vane A Championship! Greenock MYC has had an influx of new members from the nearby Royal Gurrock Yacht Club who, having no sailing in the winter months, all initially bought DF65's and several have now moved on to IOM's. 16 boats took part including 6 visitors. 3 from Fleetwood JT, Paul Middleton and I and 3 from Belfast loch. Richard Rowan the RO for the weekend, set a testing course for our small boats, with 2 long WW/LW laps and a reach to finish. Most sailors opted for A+ rigs despite the strong gusts as the lulls were windless! JT stamped his authority on the race from the beginning winning the first 2 races, he was enjoying the "free air conditioning" after the stifling heat of Florida. He continued to dominate the event for the rest of the day and came out on top after 16 races were completed. At lunch time the club fed us with a hot plate of Scotch meat pie (very peppery) mash, beans & gravy with tea or coffee and biscuits to follow, provided by a lovely lady Mary who looks after the clubs scale boat section. Very welcome & all included in the £10 entry fee. For Sat night Simon Thompson the race organiser had booked a table at a local "hungry horse" pub where several of us gathered. I went chatting to the Irish sailors & discovered that one of them a friend of Peter Baldwin, is an International Race Officer. Better be on my best behaviour tomorrow! Sunday dawned and a flat calm at 9.00 am for the second event which was a separate open DF65 race, with a few less competitors. By the start time of 10am there was a ripple on the water but it was constantly changing direction. However, Richard set a 2 lap WW/LW course and racing started. The race team pushed us hard and by lunch we had completed 10 races. Lunch on Sunday was a choice of 2 soups, assorted sandwiches, cakes and tea or coffee, again included in the £10 race fee. At lunch Richard suggested that after we reached 16 races we could stop for the day before the forecast rain arrived. The Irish lads and I agreed, they could get an earlier ferry and we could be home earlier, so we completed the last 6 races by 2.15 and on our way home by 3pm. Many thanks to Greenock MYC Derek & Maureen Priestley.

There’s certainly something Australian about the pictures…

As has been said, I think the principle is correct, the numbers are probably slightly off. It should also be noted that the actual ranking regulations can be amended easily, however the software to implement this has been in existence for a long time now and even a simple change like doubling the points has taken longer to record than was anticipated due to its complexity, hence why the 2026 ranking positions have only just been published. Any change that is considered requires either a simple solution, like Brad's option 3, or will require a complete rewrite of the software. Obviously there will be plenty of people who say "that's easy" but they will also have to follow up on their words... If we can agree on the weighting it can be introduced for 2027.

Results

Derek, Just an update from the IOM Registrar. It seems this IOM was originally yours. I have found an old photo of the boat sailing with your personal number on the sails (67). It must have been sometime after 1996. The registrar mentions below.... Hull 1667 is on the register as a Paracite named Para+, according to the register Derek was the original owner, first measured by A Kissick 23/05/1996. It was last owned by Iain Ferguson from 03/2008. JT

After a cracking weekend of Vane sailing we got ourselves back into the workshop on Monday to make some improvements to a few existing designs after some great feedback from customers, and also finalising some new products. Our aim is to create a one-stop-shop for all your component needs and bit by bit we are getting there. The main "Improvement" we have made this week is to our printed Clew Fitting . The older design could be over tightened to prevent it moving on the spar, but now it will snug up tight without needing the bolt that holds the clew of the sail to be too tight. Another item we revised was the Proteus mast heel. A very small change here to help the heel account for mast rake. On the "New" product side we have pulled out an Adjustable Fairlead design from our archives and, after some tweaking, made it available in the shop. Then we created a mast heel for the Vickers mast step. Thank you to that regular customer of our that pushed me to do this, you know who you are. Finally we have had added a z-hook and jib boom counterweights to our shop. We do not manufacture these ourselves, but we buy them in and resell them with a small markup. It's all about making everything available in one place. Thank you to all those Customers who visited our shop this week, whether you browsed, purchased or left us a review, we greatly appreciate your interest and custom. Next week we hope to bring you some good news on a new winch drum that we are working on. Keep watching, a number of you have asked us to do this, I only hope we can satisfy your wishes. Have a great weekend everyone. Regards Wayne

Last weekend, 52 skippers from all over America and beyond gathered in Hobe Sound, Florida. The regatta was set for four days, with sunny weather and temperatures in the 70s, although the breeze was a bit light and variable. We had four fleets and managed to complete 18 rounds of racing by the end of the event. There was a nice mix of IOM designs on display, including two wooden boats: my own 'Gillette' and a beautifully crafted 'Alternative.' One thing, I want to share is that sometimes, unexpected scenarios happen during a race that skippers can’t control. The top skippers seem to find a way to navigate those fine margins to achieve success, a quality I am missing. A big shoutout to Peter Feldman, who raced consistently throughout the regatta and took home the win! When I chatted with Peter, he mentioned he’s aiming to compete in the UK Championship this April. As for me, I’ll be heading back to the UK soon and I’m looking forward to racing with friends, both in the championship and the West Lancashire Ranking race in March. Those who follow You Tube, will know there is a lot of video footage of the regatta online provided by Dan Shier, so I invite you to browse at your leisure. Regards JT Gillette Alternative Alioth Version 4 K2 Proteus Solaris / Polaris V12 Venti VISS Skippers

Hi Richard, (I believe,in no official capacity), that as both the FRA and CRO proposals on differing kicker/vang restrictions were not passed, that the rules are as read prior to an emergency 2024 change that was not IRSA ratified. While it may have initially passed at events (by some measurers), there are equally a number of measurers around the world,(including myself), concerned that without genuine area restriction, that the kicker/vang may not be in line with a closed class rule set. Precedents and previous rule changes/banning of equipment due to size would support this. The recent IOMICA voting reflected the divided opinion on just how big a kicker/vang can be before it is considered larger than its purpose. I expect the freshly elected IOMICA Technical Officer will have this issue at the top of his to do list leading into the big events this year. Until that happens, the class has not officially ruled either way on the kicker/vang legality as an official class interpretation was never sought or given. In the meantime, as suggested above, both your supplier and MYA Technical official will no doubt keep you and others in the same position up to speed should any change be needed. Cheers Brad

It can be useful to set your failsafe to a slight turn, and sails mid way out, in case of loss of signal due to range, it may then sail back into range 😊

That Jim for you. A diamond (in the rough)

TIME TO REVIVE THE CHAMPION’S CUP? Back in the 1970’s David Hollom, donated the “Champions Cup” for competition amongst the class Champions in Radio sailing. . Invitations were initially extended to all National & District Champions and later when the Ranking lists were introduced ther were used to select the invitees. The event held over 2 days with day 1, 2 boat Match racing, and day 2 fleet racing and the scores combined to find the winner. Initially the Marblehead was used successfully for many years, and later the event was sailed in the IOM class. Interest from sailors fell away, and the event has not been held for several years. Readers of the Yachts & Yachting website will have seen the report of the recently held Endeavour Trophy, (Champion of Champions) in the Dinghy world. This annual invitation only event was held as usual at the Burnham on Crouch YC and for the first time for several years, all boats were supplied and were all the same Melges 15 Dinghys. None of the Champion entrants had the chance to sail the boats before the Friday of the event. It occurred to me that we in the radio sailing world could attempt to revive our “Champions Cup” by adapting a similar approach using one of our “out of the box” classes, Laser, DF95 or the new up coming IOM “Mint” from Joysway. So is now the time to bring this once very popular event back?

The CRYA IOM Class Championship regatta was just held at the Saltspring Island Sailing Club (SISC) on Sal Spring Island, on the west coast of British Columbia. links to photos and youtube videos of the races may be seen on the West Coast Radio Sailing Club web site https://westcoastradiosailing.ca/ There was a regatta within the regatta for a fleet of 'woodies'. Enjoy! John

Put a small triangle/ half circle of deck patch over the front of the pulley to allow the sheet to ride over the top.

Hi Simon Never used LiPo batteries are did not like the risk while charging plus the checking of discharge level! Went straight from NiMh to LiFePO4. I have found that 1000mah battery gives me between 2 to 3 hours sailing in anything except top end of rig sailing conditions. For the sake of peace of mind when racing I usually swap the battery out at 2 hours. Did contemplate obtaining a 1600mah Life to ensure a mornings sailing without concerns. I am either using a RMG or Hitech monster power arm winch and it does not appear to make any difference to duty cycle. Not had any issues with winch performance (speed or power). Happy with my choice. Regards Eric

Hi Andy, 40lb single strand wire is what i have used on all of my boats. Same Malin Stainless steel leader wire brand i use for shrouds and backstay. The issue with dyneema and before that dacron on leech lines is the amount of stretch under load making minute adjustments difficult and any setting moving under different wind conditions. Near imposible to get repeat consistent adjustments. Just loop ithe wire at the top over the hook that goes into the mast and put a loop in approx 100mm above the jib boom that leaves enough room for a dyneema and bowsie adjuster at the bottom. Cheers Brad

I have sailed last IOM Worlds and I have watched last day of M Worlds with inside out + spreader. Outside in gate is somehow dangerous when boats downwind cross boats upwind just after the mark, but it reduces the incidents at windward mark(s) compared with classic spreader. My opinion is to avoid this option if gate is far away and if there is a lot of wind and use usual spreader. If boats are far and fast, you risk hits, and strong ones. Inside out + spreader is maybe the best option to avoid incidents, but : 1/ it's a nightmare for mark layers to get something fair 2/ Boats are so much separated at the beginning of the run that if you are on the wrong side, you are dead... The same without spreaders is easyer for mark layers, but you still have to go around windward boat on the layline before going downwind. So course is somehow shorter for boats not leading. To use Gordon's questions : and comparing with classic spreader Outside in reduce the number of incidents at the windward mark => Yes distribute or concentrate the fleet at the start of the run => Similar allow boats to bail out if they mis-mis-judge the lay line, or which to avoid a congested mark => Yes facilitate the work of the observers and umpires; => You would know, probably easyer as boats are separated facilitate the setting of fair courses. => No Inside out + spreader reduce the number of incidents at the windward mark => Yes distribute or concentrate the fleet at the start of the run; => Distribute (too much) allow boats to bail out if they mis-mis-judge the lay line, or which to avoid a congested mark => Yes facilitate the work of the observers and umpires; => No, more marks to check facilitate the setting of fair courses. => No, worse of all

Now that coverage seems to be established on the edit and publish later model, I think It’s important to mention the quality of the pictures and especially Nigel Barrow’s commentary. This has been informative, analytical, entertaining and engaging throughout - well done, we have benefitted from your disappointment in not getting into the championships - better luck next time.

They indicate the age category of the entrants and their eligibility for prizes in those categories. As listed in the NoR the category are as follows: U26 (under 26) Open OP (26 - 55) Master M (56 - 65) Grand Master GM (66 – 70) Great Grand Master GGM (71 – 75) Legend L (76– 80) Fantastic Legend FL (above 81).

The T6J enables 15 different models to be programmed on the transmitter. (so two boats will be no problem) If you are programming two boats it would be best to have two receivers, one for each boat. As far as programming the winch you will be using the endpoint adjust on the throttle channel (EPA). You are best to set the mid point of the winch to the centre position of the transmmiter stick and then set the end point of the required sail movement as near as possible equally either side of the stick mid point. (I normally take off the winch drum and then switch the transmitter on with the stick in its cental position so a multi turn winch finds it cental position, turn off transmitter and then put the drum back on with he sail sheet takeoff at the mid point in its travel.) If you get this wrong it is possible to damage boat or servo. If you are using an RMG winch talk to someone over setting it up as most don't use EPA for them. The Futaba T6J is/was a popular transmitter for radio yachts so I would expect a skipper from Hampton Court Club should be able to help you. As with most of these things it is generally easier to show someone rather than explain verbally. So for basics you need to be able to create a model name or just a number(I normally use design name). Then how to navigate to the End Point Adjust (EPA). I must admit I don't find the Futaba as intuative as the Spektrum DX6 to programme. Each to their own! More of our members use the Futaba. If uncertain, best to ask at the Lake on a non race day or ask to meet a member who can help at the club to prevent damage.

Great article publicising our sport by Mark Jardine in Yachts & Yachting this morning.

As do all our Open's ☺️ www.yachtsandyachting.com/news/294825/One-Metres-at-Huntingdon

The rules say: (IRSA Supplementary Class Rules - https://radiosailing.org/download/irsa-supplementary-class-rules-2020-4/ C.11 IDENTIFICATION ON SAILS C.11.1 A boat shall display: (a) her class insignia and (b) a sail number on all sails and (c) national letters on her mainsail as required by C.12.1. C.11.2 National letters and sail numbers shall be in capital letters and Arabic numerals, clearly legible and of the same colour. The colour shall contrast with the colour of the body of sail. Commercially available typefaces giving the same or better legibility than Helvetica are acceptable. Digital fonts are not acceptable. I know it's easy to criticise and I'm more aware than most how hard it is to write good rules but the above are a beautiful example of how not to do it. Firstly Google Arabic numerals and see what you get! Secondly, "typefaces giving the same or better legibility than Helvetica ..." is entirely subjective; and thirdly what on earth is a " digital font" in this context? I recently acquired a vinyl cutter and was trying to find out which variation of the figure four I should use. The Racing Rules of Sailing (G1.2 a (4)) say " a sans serif typeface" so I'm none the wiser.

To avoid trying to hold a ruler or tape measure steady in just the right place - and not yet having the experience to tune only by eye n intuition! - I've created this 3d-printable gizzmo for more easily making repeatable rig measurements: On circular booms ~5-11mm dia., for measuring foot depth (e.g. IOM/DF95/DF65). Against the mast, to measure gap to jib boom ("3 fingers" is a subjective measurement!) Against the backstay, to measure leech twist. Measurements can be taken between inside-edge(s) if you prefer, or the V underside allows for measuring from the centreline regardless of spar diameter. (Just add/subtract radius if necessary). Happy to hear any ideas for improvements. A variation to sit on SAILSetc rectangular boom could certainly be done - the relative dimensions just don't allow a one-fits-all. The g-code file is offered for free, but please don't make/sell for profit. If you find it useful then a modest donation to https://prostatecanceruk.org/ would be kind.

IntroductionFirstly, we must express our gratitude to the MYA for providing us with our own Forum space to support our business. The MYA makes significant contribution to all stakeholders in Radio and Free Sailing, and we are sincerely appreciative of their support. Thank You to Our CustomersWe would also like to extend our thanks to everyone who has chosen to become a customer of Cat Components. Your continued support and the positive feedback you share are genuinely valued and greatly appreciated. Our BackgroundCat Components was established in 2025 after Nigel Brown of Catsails and I began working together to address several rig component challenges we were facing. It soon became clear that these issues were not unique to us, as many others we spoke to were experiencing similar difficulties. Initially, we promoted our products via Catsails.co.uk and towards the end of 2025 we made the decision to launch a separate online store for components and additional 3D printed products, CatComponents.co.uk . This allowed Catsails to continue to focus on the sails and accessories which it has successfully supplied for many years. Product Development and Customer EngagementOur range of products is continually growing, and we actively welcome input from both current and prospective customers. Whether you have suggestions for improvements or ideas for new products, we encourage you to get in touch with us at info@catcomponents.co.uk . We are eager to hear your thoughts and recommendations. We are committed to serving the UK and international Radio and Free Sailing community for many years to come.

A straight plug connection is the easiest if you have a pot. Just make sure you “twitch” the rudder before launching to check you’ve plugged it in!

In the water, the loading is far more distributed than poking it in one spot with your finger ;) 40"/60" hull - yeah I could imagine the stiffness of carbon being useful there. Personally I'd be too distracted by the plain beauty of a J to notice! I think IOM has max weight for fin+bulb alone, so there's a limit there. Could move the centre-of-gravity of the hull down tho, I guess. (Getting into the territory where there's far more knowledgable than me on yacht design lol)

There are a lot of carbon Marbleheads around that are not having problems, my Marblehead aerial pair are just under some deck patch material at deck level, and I don't have a problem. The 2.4Ghz doesn't really like going through anything, including water and people. Stand with 5 other sailors between your TX and the boat and you may get a problem. Don't forget that for maximum signal ideally your tx aerial and rx aerial should be parallel, i.e. don't "point" your tx aerial at the boat. With respect to distance I have recently been sailing a DF65 on a large lake at 350m away, and with model aircraft much further away.

Peter Thanks again. There is a problem with 'dry' range checks. I did a lot of research into this and found a solution. ELRS. 2.4gHz is an awful wavelength for rc boats. Remember the old 47 mHz, a much longer wavelength and much better albeit not digital. So digital replaced analogue for flyers and land vehicles, us boat users had no option. It is all to do with the Signal to Noise ratio. When the signal baloons out (sort of a dohnut shape) the lower parts of the signal hits the water and is reflected, interfeering with the small bit of the signal that is travelling in a straight line from the radio antenna to the receiver antenna. Now if the Signal to Noise is poor, the signal is corrupted and being digital, cuts out. So the point is, you need to range check with the boat on the water. What I would do is tether the boat to the pontoon and put it into the water, then walk around the lake and find the range across the water. Another solution comes from the geeks who fly drones. They invented ELRS. This is still 2.4gHz and digital but uses a new technology delveloped for WiFi used in office blocks etc. WiFi (commonly 2.5gHz) is disrupted by printing machines, coffee vending machines, concrete lift shafts, people.... so the SN is poor but designers want to connect the printers and coffee machines to a central 'control' WiFi had too much noise. However they did not need to send as much information as they do in homes, they do not stream video for example. So instead they send a much reduced set of information, hundreds of times. A smart chip in the receiver recognises the majority as uncorrupted. ELRS does this for RC users and extends drone range from 1 or 2 KM to 10! I use if for my boats. It is good. And cheap. Radiomaster have just launched a transmitter ideal for boat users, the L8R, costing £35. Fully programable by plugging your pc into it at home, so you can set end points, failsafe positions and a lot more. But I don't know if it overcomes the Faraday Cage effect of a carbon hull.

You can use Afleet for the series as well. Create a new "event" for the series and insert the individual overall results for each round of the series. Change your discards as you require....

Hi Simon, We race 6m's regularly at Fleetwood. We have 15 boats in our fleet. We have all designs / styles of boats, from some 30+ years old right up to Dave Hollom's new "Seabird" design. You, and anyone else are welcome to join us, as a guest, for a visit any time with or without a certificate! (Obviously not at the Nationals!!) Enjoy your 6m Best wishes Derek.

Its possibly a Marine Modelling magazine plan for the Twister 36R, vane or radio. There is nearly always a plan for sale on ebay.

Great rig measurements doc arrived via email from red ant, and much better that version 1, clearer explanation. See if it goes any better…..

Buy a BritPOP! 🤣

My phone is android and the picture hanging feature is in a 'toolbag' app that came with the phone. Must be many similar apps readily available.

I have a picture hanging function on my phone - does the same thing as a lazer level.

I use a laser leveler and set the beam at the tip of the bow (below the bumper) and the bottom tip of the transom to represent the water line - see the marked point on the pdf attached above. The laser has a right angle vertical beam that I use to set the mast. John

Hi John, Not sure why they move it but its in two places now, one for all content and the other is for individual forums.

It will be lovely to see you Nigel and Henning of course, and anyone else who would like to join us. We plan to ask the GBR RA fleet owners, who don't intend to race, to make boats available for charter to try to persuade as many as possible to take part. Looking forward to welcoming as many as possible. Derek

Team GBR for Worlds at Datchet. The games we play! With the last ranking races of 2025 coming up at Woodspring, I was thinking back to an evening in the pub at the 1st ranking last March at Scarbados, when several of us enterred into a game of "guess the top 8 on the ranking list after Woodspring" instigated by Graham Elliott. We were all given envelopes, asked to place a £5 note in together with a list of who we thought the top 8 would be. Graham then collected the envelopes and would reveal all after Woodspring the winner will be "in the money"!! With the benefit of the current ranking list it may be easier to predict the top 8 Who do you think it will be?

Hi All. West Cornwall RSC growth and development at Argal Reservioir was very much due to Barry and most members have sailed his designs at one time or another. After a break of some years, the club is back sailing at Argal and looking to attract new members. Part of the plan is to have a fleet of club boats that are a good basic design that allow people to develop their skills as a precursor to purchasing their own boat of choice. Having this fleet made up of 'Barry boats ' would be a fitting tribute. Therefore, does anyone have a 'Barry Boat' (Nemesis, Isis, Abso etc.) gathering dust in their garage that they wish to sell. It does not need to have a rig/winch etc as we can sort out that aspect. Of course, if they do, then that is a bonus! Many thanks. Please reply to bobsidlionsnz@btinternet.com

As an add on to the above, I had an email from Tim at Benson Kites re Skyshark tubing in longer lengths to try to make masts in one piece. his reply is below for anyone interested. Dont know if these tubes are usable on an RG65, or maybe to thick......... Hi Andy, the longest I have is some old (used) Sky Shark 8P at 94cm, they're not pretty but structurally still sound. The 8P were made specially for the Airbow kite and are extra stiff. You can make them look nicer by sanding them in a drill with wet and dry paper. Postage is £10.00 The rods will be £7.50 each...

Make up your weights and securely wrap in deck patch material sealing with bow-bumper glue.

Could it be a VENOM? An Australian design from 2005 ish?

Hi Larry, thanks for the feedback. Yes, I agree on your observations about forecast models. I just use them as a simple guide. Is there going to be wind? From which general direction (our local site is fine except for due north and due south), and the temperature, and if rain is forecast. The screen shot below shows me to expect a good sailing day with steady winds during our race window and an acceptable direction, comfortable temp and no rain! A persistent shift is indicated late in the day, long after we have quit. Using the forecast tool over time builds experience and confidence in its accuracy for our local water. I still use my eyes and experience reading the water and gusts to select my rig. John

Further to my post earlier today, please see a post below by Brad on a different thread on starting out in the class and sport. It made sense to re-post on this thread as offers some sound advice to newcomers.