tiggy_cat

If you go down this route, which I do for all my bigger boats, just make sure that you also get proper crimping pliers. The local fishing shop may well sell these, mine does. If you rely on trying to fix the crimps in place with ordinary pliers or cutters, slip with the trace wire is very possible. With the crimps properly clenched down with the crimping pliers, it is most unlikely to occur.

Probably looking to move on my Tern,

6T6 is, as said, a 6metre design by Adrian Brewer. It is essentially a fun boat rather than a serious racing design. The plans are still available, new, from Sarik Hobbies.

Probably the most popular are the RMG winches, currently out of production due to machinery failure. The J3 or J4 are the most likely candidates for a 6M. Previous models also appear occasionally either on the for sales on this site or Ebay. Failing that, PJ sails make a winch which will be powerful enough for a 6M, the PJS36. Hitec also sell a largish winch that would probably work in a 6M, the Hitec HS785HB . Another option might be the RedAnt winch, though I think that might be aimed more at IOM size boats. It fits the same mounting as a RMG and also takes their range of drums.

If your original yacht was a Strathclyde 70, this design morphed into the Wee Nip. My club uses this (with Bermuda rather than una rig) along with Two Islands and Emberton clubs. We still sail and promote this, and one of our members occasionally casts suitable leads.

Being one of those people, yellow is always a good colour for me in general.

Given the preceeding discussions, people may find this of interest. https://www.sailingscuttlebutt.com/2025/04/07/an-experiment-to-reimagine-racing/

Too much Swiss Roll?

Then an alternative might be the 1mm thick carbon fibre sheet supplied by Easy Composites, cut to size then held in place with double sided tape. As to cleaning the sails, I would try methylated spirits on a cotton wool bud gently rubbed on a small test area. Another alternative might be acetone or nail varnish remover tried in the same way. I don't sail IOM class at present so not sure if the limit on where you can use carbon fibre in these would extend to sail battens.

Sailsetc sell self adhesive fibre glass sheet meant for battens. It is simply cut to the required size. It is obtainable in thin or medium thickness dependant on the size of boat it is to be used for.

We have a custom built starter, which is based around an Arduino board. As back up we bought one of these and use the AMYA countdown on a micro SD card which plugs in. Rongweiwang XDOBO Bluetooth 5.0 Speaker Type-c Rechargeable bluetooth stereo speaker waterproof Sound Box Waterproof 60W 3D Stereo Sound Speaker, Black Blue : Amazon.co.uk: Electronics & Photo

Indeed. Once it stops being fun, it's time to find a different hobby!

-Received the kit this week end and very pleasantly surprised. Really nice f/g hull, albeit slightly tubbier design than current models, mast and booms with quite nice wooden keel and rudder. Very nice set of A rig sails and a brand new Abel winch servo. Not bad for £70. Should make a decent club level IOM.

Though this topic is going back a little bit, I have just bought an unbuilt Abel "Mallard" kit from the infamous on line auction site. Intend to complete it with the wooden fin and rudder supplied. Will see about the rigging,

This is an Argo, I believe. I still have a Mould for one of these that I got from the late Geoff Raygada

If and when we ever come up with some.

For a lot of the older design IOM's that need a refurb to get sailing again, I am not sure that carbon foils are an economic proposition, especially if the boats are to be sailed at club level. I obtained a 10R from Geoff Raygarda sometime ago, and he supplied it with a wooden fin wrapped in some sort of composite cloth. For such a long fin, it is extremely stiff and not overly heavy. I would be quite happy to sail an IOM with a similarly built fin and rudder to get it on the water at reasonable expense. I suppose it really comes down to how and where you intend to campaign the boat and at what level you want to be competitive.

As you say Simon, the IOM class was once conceived as a "cheap" class, hence ali mast instead of carbon fibre which was deemed too expensive. Pity the class hasn't stayed that way. I do have a rather nice mould for making Ellipsis hulls which I obtained from my recently departed chum , Geoff Raygada. He used to sell very nicely moulded hulls made from it (with the proviso that you paid Frank Russell his designer fee) . Within my club there is an interest in IOM's but the price puts people off. We are discussing producing the Ellipsis for club members and sailing them as a "club level" with a specification that should see them produced at a reasonable cost. We currently sail Wee Nips with a Bermuda rig , as well as DF95's.

I remember that one of his IOM designs was called Swallow. There were also the Cygnet and the Mallard. Finding pics is difficult though.

There is interest, just not as much as the more "mainline" classes. I bought this one this year. Have made a start on mast etc . May not be considered strictly vintage, but hey. Will probably end up more as a club/fun sailer, initially with a set of Marblehead sails that I have acquired.

Anyone else having difficulty getting on to the RMG website? Seems to have lost contact with the rest of the world.

Most of Vic Smeed's yacht design sail very well. I started with my Dad back in about 1973, sailing a Starlet fitted with a Macgregor single channel set up. I still have it , along with one of Vic's Panache yachts and two Harem hulls undergoing a bit of TLC . Stored away in the garage is a set of fibre glass mouldings for a Star C, the boat he designed as the basis of a new sailing class. Remember, when he proposed it there was very little around except the huge A boats and the radios we have today were still a dream away. He designed it on behalf of Model Boats mag who commissioned 50 sets of mouldings from a company to get the class started and the fittings doyens of the day, Roberts and Jones both had fitting sets available. I had one back in the 70's and it sailed beautifully on an early Horizon 2 channel propo unit. Sadly, the class did not take off. The current mouldings pitched up on Ebay a while ago

Don't apologise, there is no need. In a forum like this , it is easy to get a picture which is not always complete. I did indeed hope to encourage a beginner, hence trying to ensure the boat was Ok and selling for a price which would barely cover the cost of the two suits of sails it came with, let alone the rest. Since Mark informed me of his issues, I have been asking around my sailing contacts to see if I could find an alternative IOM for him, and had found an unjoined hull and deck for a Stealth. Now that he has seen fit to make it the matter of public debate, I will just let things be.

As the seller of this boat, I must take exception to this post. I bought this boat from a well known builder who had sailed it with no problems. I have sailed it at club level and had absolutely no problems with water ingress. The buyer came and looked at the boat and was happy. If had wanted to see it sailing, that could easily have been arranged. On collection, it was placed in the boot of a car barely big enough to contain it, with the lead and keel left on. The buyer then informed me that he was due to take it on the next day back to Scarborough in a much smaller car still. I don't believe that travelling in this manner did the boat any favours. Mark contacted to me for advise and like the above posts I suggested using either Captain Tolley's or thinned resin swilled around the hull to seal any crack. I do not know if he has actually tried any of the suggestions. As to John Taylor's unpleasant remark above " They may compromise if shown the errors of there ways?" The boat was sold in good faith and fully sailable condition . In fact the day before collection, I had assembled it to check it over and as I was not happy with the winch, replaced it with a brand new unit Hardly the actions of someone trying to shift a "lemon". Perhaps instead of buying my Lintel, Mark should have spent 3 times as much and bought the one currently advertised in the For Sale ads.

I am currently using NIMH packs in both of my T6K's. Futaba's own are £50+ , if you can find them. I bought mine from Inwood Models. Bought via Ebay shop for £12 each. They are meant specifically for the range of current Futaba Tx's and are 1600mah.