Eric Finley

The Sedici is still a good design. Plenty of good skippers are still sailing them. However if the designer has produced a newer design which has proved itself better why if you are travelling at considerable cost (money and time) would you not want to maximise you chances of winning or at least performing to the best of your ability. It was not only Sedici against Venti but also Vickers V12 or V11/10, Viss or Kantun etc. Also sail supplier is a major item, if I'm correct the winning skipper also made his own sails as he found his own cut suited his sailing. I just wish I had the skills to maximise the performance of my own boats as I suspect any of the skippers sailing in the World's would be faster than me!!!!!!

Both the KingMax and PJ sails winches are fully enclosed cases! I think they both claim some level of water ingress protection. The KingMax are standard servo size cases, I believe the PJ sails cases are slightly larger. At least with the RMG you can monitor the condition of the gear train and maintain as required. A motor failure is also not life threatening to the winch. If your boat is reasonably water tight you should not have problems. Why not give Bill Green a call and I'm sure he will talk you through the RMG's pros/cons.

Simon, forgot to include PJ Sails also offer winches suitable for an IOM or Marblehead. I have not used one of these but word of mouth is that these are also of satisfactory performance. I believe that these are a little over £100.

Simon, the choice of winch will be dictated by performance requirements versus cost. If price is not a consideration then my personal choice for a drum winch is the RMG or for an arm winch a Hitec Monster Power. (I am using both, arm winch in a Britpop and RMG in a Psycho. The arm winch is certainly the quickest and is good downwind to jybe, but sometimes unless you are controlled on the stick can be too fast. If cost is a consideration the KingMax winches are a good choice as Component Shop in Wales can supply these. The most suitable range in price from £30 to £70. I also sail a Tonic IOM and have used a variety of these chinese winches in this, the Eurgle Winch (no longer available had satisfactory performance but proved unreliable. The KingMax winches have adequate torque and speed and have proved to be suprisingly good with reliability. There are plenty of IOM's using these winches. The lower cost versions are too slow and they are even slower as you approach the endpoints, I cannot reccomend these. I did start a thread regarding the KingMax winches, I personally have only used the £30 versions (metal case) with either the metal optional drum on the faster but lower torque version or the higher torque version with an even larger 3D printed drum to improve speed. Happy with either in the Tonic. One of our members purchased the next version up approx £50 and has been sailing her IOM with that without issue, even at the top end of the top suit of sails. The decision on what suits your reqirements is yours!

Hi Ian Glad to hear you got it sorted. As I stated in the originl post the Futaba T6J is not very intuative to use! It is however fairly robust and reliable to use. Just keep it dry and be careful where you position the aerial on rx if your Marblehead hull is carbon. Happy sailing with your controller. Eric

Colin, worth giving Bill Green a call at Smartwinch regarding set up of RMG. Always found him helpful, if I remember correctly he has produced a video on Utube on how do setup a later 'RMG' with the setup wire. If your 'RMG' is not programmed I would look to do so, as this winch is powerful enough to cause damage if it over runs end points. Long time since I have had to do this as my Britpop uses an arm winch, Psycho is an old 'RMG' without setup wire and fortunatly has not given issues and Tonic is still running Chinese 'Vigor' winch now not produced (EPA used for this winch).

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.

Hi Nigel, it may be worth stating where you are based. Is the hull a woody or fibre glass? If woody is it balsa or cedar? If fibre glass is it painted or gel coated? When you state refurbished what are you thinging of? Just the hull refinished or fin / rudder updated and rigs. Eric

Hi, There is not generally a lifting eye fitted to my knowledge! I created one which used the fin fixing bolt to retain it. It is a simply piece of aluminium flat bar which as well as having the mounting hole has a larger hole for a lifting hook. The bar was bent to allow access to this hole for a lifter with a hook on the end to suit manufctured bracket. I did this as this lifter was far less bulky than the lifters that go under the boat both ends of the fin. I also made a second longer hook lifter to cater for lower water levels. Descrition sounds more complicated than making the lifter.

Hi John In the past I have cut a seal from an old car inner tube. Just need to find a section with no ribs. Can probably obtain a dead tube from a friendly tyre shop. The other material I have looked at is pond liner in lighter gauge.

Alan, the only boats I have had a switch on were those that had them when I purchased them. All I have done on those where I want to connect the power in the pot is to use a short flying lead from the receiver for power so I don't have to disturd the reciever and it's aerials. By doing this I can velcro the receiver to the pot and align the aerials at the top of the pot or as required. I also normally insert a divider in the pot to keep the battery away from the receiver and also get the battery as low as possible in pot. By using a flying lead it speeds up connection which is important in the rain. I have to say I don't very often turn off power between races as 1000mah LiFe battery will under normal conditions last 3 hours of sailing, just change the battery more often in gale or top end of each rig. Have used in bad conditions a 1600mah battery to ensure a full morning of racing without a battery change.

Hi Richard, if I was in your position I would get in touch with Nigel Barrow via his web site. If the vang is ilegal I'm sure as he races a Viss he will have either found an alternative or looked at away of modifying the existing one. I do believe that PJ Sails are producing a Gooseneck/Vang for the latest high decked designs. Whether that could be made to fit I don't know. Hope you find a simple solution.

The main bit of missing information is 'Price'!

Thanks Austin for all your work on the forum. Trying to not pre-judge the updated forum. First impressions are that I am finding it more difficult to follow what new postings there are on subjects that interest me. I eventually view all postings, even classes I don't sail as there can be crossover of information. i use to scroll down the old forum clicking on those new postings that were of main interest and then back to the less relevant, time allowing. I tried it also on my phone (rarity for me to view this way) and currently my preference was for the previous version as a there now appears a lot of scrolling required. I will give it sometime as usually I am not impressed when my companies 'DT' team update software. Eventually manage to find ways to operate it as required. Regards Eric

I purchased Barry's Pink Psycho when he upgraded to an Asbo! I get more pleasure sailing it at club level than my Britpop as it is the only one in the club. It is satisfying beating the other Britpop's and later designs with a yacht that only seemed to proliferate in the South West Region. My only issue with the Psycho is that it is less tolerant of inaccurate setup or changing conditions than the Britpop, so seem to spend a fair amount of time on the bank tinkering with rig settings. If you get it right it is a fast design. (cannot blame the boat if tugging around at the back of the fleet.) Keep meaning to replace the sails, still using the Spindrift Sails that were fitted when I bought the boat. I have tried to find a later Asbo without success, obtaining one of those is the only way at the moment I would consider selling the Psycho. Eric

IOM Sail Marking.V1.2_03.21.pdf Hope this has worked, the pdf is from the UK IOM web site you can find it on the MYA main site under the IOM class.

I think that your best contact for these boats would be Roger Stollery. If memory serves he use to manufacture components. Regards Eric

Simon, forgot to say if you have had issues with your RMG winches and you haven't already, have a chat with Bill Green and he will advise on what maintenance you can perform to minimise any failures.

Hi, cannot help with what winch for a 6m. However before deciding to purchase an ARS 808 I would have a word with Bill Green as he stated in a previous thread that this winch is not repairable! (He is or was the UK agent for this winch and was talking to the manufacturer about this. I have not seen anything to contradict the statement.) Topic was 'Sail winch repair ARS-808R' By Ian Dodsworth back in August of 2024. The ARS 808 seems expensive if once out of warrantee it cannot be fixed. You may question an RMG initial cost and it's design but it can be repaired, normally with a quick turnround by Bill Green. Eric PS I have not tried this winch so cannot comment on performance.

Hi Giles, it has been sometime since the original post for help. For Information, did you source a ballast for your yacht? If so from where did you obtain it?

Hi Giles Try checking out a DF95 ballast weight. I think it could be approximately the weight you are looking for? If the size is different providing you get the C of G correctly positioned as this is a one off yacht the actual size should not matter too much. The ballast may be smaller which should reduce drag. May not have a slot but that should not be too difficult to produce. May be worth visiting a club that sails this class with a tape measure and scales. (Check with club before visiting to ensure they will be a DF95 available.) Being a commercially available ballast I would think a cost affective solution. Regards Eric

Hi Giles If this was a brass ballast a local machine shop should be able to assist you especially if you have a model or drawing of it. A local technical college may also be able to assist for a donation! Using it as a machining exercise for one of their students. The other alternative would be to approach a local model engineering or rail enthusiasts club. I say rail enthusiasts club as members producing their own engines or rolling stock would probably have a lathe and milling machine. Regards Eric

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

Like John I use the same as my sheet lines. The bigger issue is what knot to use to tie them off. Off topic my second IOM uses wire rings which work well for me and never shrink. (anyone know of disadvantages?) Eric

Hi I'm fairly certain that a Skipper I knew who made his own sails used X-ray film. Not 100% certain where he obtained it, I think it may have been his employers quality department (Welding X-rays)