Vernon Harrod

Hiya, I've got a Starkers 2 with a CF (I think) hull that's been topcoated with Plasti-Kote gloss acrylic. It's not in great condition and I'd like to change it. Is there any method of stripping this stuff off apart from abrasives? Any help gratefully received! Cheers, Vernon

Hi Rob, Thanks for your efforts. It seems unlikely that mine is a Cedar Club. It seems halfway between yours and my Starkers Squared in terms of beam. I guess the boats have got gradually slimmer over the years. Verno Thanks John. Good point well made! I hadn't noticed 🤗

Thanks John. Good point well made! I hadn't noticed 🤗

Thanks for your replies Rob. The beam measurements are 203mm beam (approx 15mm below deck level) and 113mm transom beam (deck level).

Hello fellow yachties. I've just purchased an old Marblehead project boat. She's got nice lines and a carbon hull (I think). She'd been "renovated" by having a 3mm plywood deck added with mastic.....which I removed to reveal a balsa frame and a piece of frp laminated to the interior (delaminated!). She's noticeably beamer than my Starkers. Anyway, I'd love to know any information about the boat (design, original deck, layout etc) so I can restore her appropriately. Any info or advice gratefully received. Cheers, Vernon

Hi Peter, I went down the brass tube and stainless wire route for my IOM spreaders. Happily I had some appropriate brass tube in my modeller's stockpile. If you haven't got any, Squires Tools have loads of stuff, including brass tubes. You can catch them at modelling and craft shows or buy from their Web site: http://www.squirestools.com/home.htm Good luck. Vernon

Thanks for your advice guys.

Thank you Mike

OK thanks.

Oh dear, Sails Etc have withdrawn the product 🙄

Thank you very much. I'm on it. What solvent do I need to clean the sail please?

Hiya, I've had a couple of sail battens come adrift and want to replace them. But how? I've got a few questions which I hope the great and good can help me with please. What material do I use for the battens, what do I use to stick them onto the sail, and what do I use to remove the old glue from the sail. Any help gratefully received. Vernon

Hi Rob, Thanks for the offer. I've just joined Askern club and any advice will be gratefully received. I've raced my old Zigzag design a few times elsewhere and enjoyed it. I've also had a couple of guest visits to Blue Lagoon with my Marblehead so I'm sure my IOM will appear there soon. Cheers, Vernon

Thanks Dave. The rig was lowered by about 7mm subsequent to the photo. This is the maiden voyage with temporary hatch covers.

Richard saw my reference to building an Alternative on another thread and invited me to add my piece. It had been my intention to build a wooden Alternative, but a set of Kris Panis mouldings turned my head. I needed to set the hull up with the fin in the right place etc, so I built a jig. The rest was straightforward. I had the hull sprayed in lacquer by a local car body specialist and I got my sails from Housemartin. Not a lot more to say ..... except that I wished that I hadn't attached the rudder servo mount until after I'd finished with the keelbox. I needed more slender and dextrous fingers than my gnarled old hands have! But I got there. Maiden voyage yesterday with A Rig and happy smiling bunny! I hope she's as fast as my dreams!

Hi Richard, Yes, I've seen your Alternative build thread. I had intended to build a wooden Alternative but I couldn't resist a set of Kris Panis mouldings so I went that route. I'd be happy to add some details of my build to your thread but wouldn't want to water down the super wooden boat building thats on there! Cheers, V

Wow, that's amazing. Sadly, I've gone the old school route and used brass tube 🫢

Thanks for the advice guys. Looks like I'll be using fixed spreaders!

Hiya. I'm currently building my first radio sailing racing yacht, an Alternative. I'm happy with progress and I've started building rigs. I started with the C Rig and that's finished. But the A and B rigs both have spreaders and I'm wondering how to proceed. I could drill holes in my mast and fit brass spreaders, connected by stiff wire, or I could fit the clip-on type. My instinct is to not drill holes in masts if you don't have to, but the clip-ons are free to rotate, which could be a pain. Any advice gratefully received!

It certainly does! Thank you Ian for solving our mystery. I know you can get Nimbus plans.

Mate of mine has purchased this older wooden IOM. There's an issue with a leak around the fin box, but that's sortable and she's got lovely lines. Also at 4.1kg without a rig she's a bit heavy, but so am I! Can anyone identify her? I've got a stock of cedar strip and I might like to have a go at building one myself.

Thanks for your replies. I have a 3d printer so I'll have a go with that!

Hi, I've just registered my secondhand DF65 and I've got a fresh sail number. I know I get pre-printed sail numbers but I'd prefer ink ones. I've read in a couple of places that templates would be made available but I can't find any. Could anyone point me in the right direction please? If they are right under my nose, please put it down to advancing years! Many thanks. Vernon

Change location. Although we're not a racing club we usually have more yachts out than power boats. We are able to relocate to an alternative location within the lake complex where weed is less of a problem ...... but the wind is well cut up!

Hello, This is my first post please be gentle. I recently purchased this old IOM. I'm really enjoying sailing her. She has proper presence on the water and her paint scheme stands out. I've got 3 rigs, with 2 different numbers and I've managed to get 2 rigs operational so far. I've swapped the rotted servo tray for a new one as well. Like me, she's a bit overweight (4300g with biggest rig). I know she's an old boat, but she's already persuaded me to build a new IOM over the winter. Now to the 64k question, can anyone identify the design please? She has no indications of ever being registered or measured - one set of sails has a measurer's signature but it's been scrubbed out. The name and it's skiff design suggest the design is from down under. At least that's what I think.