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Eric Finley

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Posts posted by Eric Finley

  1. If I was to look at acquiring a Laser what would you expect to pay for a boat with all the rigs? (New or preowned, don't recall seeing one for sale on this site)

    Another problem being there does not appear to be a club in the Midland District that sails this class. I don't know if any dinghy venues sail these for recreational purposes, not sure how you could check that out. If anyone can help with a venue it would be appreciated.

     Watched some u-tube racing and they appear to sail much better than expected after my initial toddler steps!

    Not certain if it was the battery pack past its sell by date or is the yacht power hungry? It did not manage a mornings sailing on a 5 cell rechargeable 'AA' pack.

    Will try again with the boat when available.

    Eric

  2. Thanks all for your responses. I am now better prepared for my next encounter with a laser and almost looking forward to the challenges. Looks like I may need a little time on the bank tinkering with winch drum and sheet line.

    Saltire, problem with the web site you indicated is that I don't actually own a Laser and it appears to register you need a yacht as well as paying a fee.

    All information gratefully received.

    Thanks Eric 

     

  3. Thanks for the above Shaun, May now have a better chance of getting a sailable setup on the boat. I presumed the slow winch was class compliant, as you say from sailing an IOM with super quick arm winch to the Hitec drum winch initially I was wondering if it was working!

    Certainly had the boom sheeted to tight. Need to experiment with the two sliders for twist and camber.

    Spent far to much effort on steering the boat both upwind and running.

    I presume you are meant to set the winch drum position so you use all the revolutions of the winch , (Fully sheeted in set attachment point of sheet line close to bow?) As it was on the boat the elastic tension band and sail sheet was going round the drum and starting to pull sail in!

    This is a whole new experience, not 100% certain will stick with it. Probably depends on the owner as she is a novice with an IOM so wonder if  she should stick with that class for some time, where the club Skippers can assist her with sail and boat setup.

    I do hope to experiment with the Laser again however now with a little more knowledge.

    Thanks again Eric

  4. Hi All Laser Sailors

    Today one of our Skippers turned up with a RC Laser! As a club our base classes are IOM & Marblehead, since the pandemic hit the UK  we have mainly sailed IOM's as currently not many of our members own Marblehead's.

    The question is can anyone assist with setup info as when I took a turn at the helm the boat was not balanced and I did not really know where to start as mast rake does not appear to be adjustable. I presume that sail camber and leach twist have to be right to obtain a controllable yacht. Any tips on starting settings for these and boom offset would be appreciated.

    Absolutely hated sailing the Laser, have to assume a well setup version would possibly change my opinion! 

    Appreciate any help as I know a few clubs sail only this class so I cannot believe they are as bad as this one appeared to be. Any info web sites would be also helpful.

    Regards Eric 

  5. Thanks for the responses.

    I have managed to pull through a line using the remnants of the original swivel line. I then pulled two lines through using that line. I therefore now have a new jib swivel fitted plus another line to use when required as a pull line for the next replacement.

    I had previously asked Pepe about this and got the following information:- 

    Pepe proposed a couple of solutions one being to drill the hull so I end up with a system similar to Sailsetc yachts (Paradox) or to try to use a fine line with a small weight on the end dropping it into the tube and then by inverting the boat hope it goes under/over the bar and then the line can be fed into the tube and the weight and line recovered. Then use this light line to pull through heavier line.

    I was hoping that someone had come up with a simply solution! It appears from the replies I have received including a communication with Brad that the general consensus is to do away with Pepe's swivel solution. (I have to admit if a quick way of replacing the line was possible I do like the longer swivel line that the Spanish design allows)

    At this time I intend to stick with the original design.

    I am still interested to hear if anyone has successfully replaced a swivel line without an existing line to use to pull a new one in.

    Eric

  6. Has anyone actually managed to replace the jib swivel cord in the original format? 

    If so an explanation would be appreciated. Do I presume when Vinaixa Britpop's were delivered new this line was already installed?

    The replies I have had plus communication with Brad all replace the system either with a fixed deck hook or a stainless steel bar similar to those for smaller rigs.

    I like the principal of the long cord to virtually the bottom of the hull as per Sailsetc & Barry Chisam designs. (Promoted by owning a Psycho)

    I have thought of drilling the hull to replicate this system of fitting a replacement line at the bottom of the boat but retaining the above deck bowsie to tension the system. The issue with doing this is knowing accurately where to drill!  I am however reluctant to drill a perfectly water tight hull.

  7. Hi, has anyone got experience of replacing the Jib Swivel line on a Vinaixa built Britpop? If so an explanation would be appreciated.

    For instance is there a removable sheet guide/bush fitted into the top of the tube. Which direction does the bottom bar run. (across the boat or along it?) 

    Any preference on line used?

    As the yacht does not have an access hole under the hull (like Sailsetc hulls) it almost seems like an impossible exercise.

    Thanks in advance for any assistance

  8. Mike, a web site well worth visiting is :- https://www.nigelbarrow.co.uk

    He runs through building a couple of Alternative's, it could save you some trouble/mistakes in your build.

    It is well worth exploring the useful web sites on Nigel's web pages as they cover a large resource of information.

    Also on this forum Richard98 has gone through cedar planking an Alternative. If you ask questions he is usually very happy to help. Richard in the past moulded some Sailsetc IOM and Marblehead designs so can also advise for building composite hulls.

    Regards Eric

  9. Mike, go to MYA main web site then classes top ribbon, select International One Metre (IOM) and there you will find a link to the rules which you can download.

    Hope this helps.

    Eric

  10. I presume this is a Barry Chisam designed and built Nemesis. This I believe was a modified Isis (basically wider hull) built in smaller numbers.

    Unfortunately Barry is no longer with us so you cannot go there for advice. Even if he had still been available when I asked for set up information for my Psycho I got the answer that he just set it up for the conditions by sight and sailed the boat. (No measurements or setup guide available). There is a regular visitor to the site who sailed a Nemesis in District and Ranking Events who may be able to advise.

    I expect there are more Skippers on the site or in clubs who sailed the Isis design, any setup for these could be a good starting point. A MK 1 Isis won the IOM World Championship in the hands of Trevor Binks which was instrumental in the volume of sale's of the design.

    Best of luck with the yacht, sailed against a Nemisis in a good blow and it was a fast boat.

    • Like 1
  11. Hi Graham, all you need to do is log on the MYA Website then under the Membership tab go to the MYA Members area. Once in just go to the Registrars tab and you will find contact details for the IOM Registrar.

    I recently asked if I could do the Change of Ownership online but was requested to send by post with a return stamped and addressed envelope.

    Hope this helps you.

    Regards Eric

  12. Pleased to hear how things are going! Do keep us updated on progress. Where I sailed today the conditions not conducive to experimental setup as you could without a course change not only swap tacks but also  go from beating, to running, to drifting!  Just put a light air setup on and then concentrated on burgee and tell-tails. Bad news was as I was sailing the Psycho and had the Britpop setup book with me at the lake not helpful!

    A couple of other sites that you may find interesting:-

    https://dawsong8.wixsite.com/jgsails

    https://planb.peterburford.com.au/

    Both of these sites are from the Southern Hemisphere. (This does not affect the relevance of the information🤪)

    Good reading Eric

  13. Pleased to hear you have found fellow Cockatoo sailor, always good to talk!

    Hope your new found knowledge assists your own efforts. Do take into account that different rigs and sail cuts cause variations in setup.

    This is why I believe the Britpop setup instructions were instrumental in the yacht's performance. Skipper's always seem to talk about the hull design but the relationship between hull, fin, rudder, rig and sails are all important. It was this attention to detail with the rig that stood out at the time of release of the Britpop. Not certain this had happened before? (If anyone can tell me if there was such a comprehensive handbook for an earlier design I would be interested)

    For best results with my own Britpop with regards to sails fitted I should probably replace them with 'BG' sails. (Would need to check rig was applicable to the sail change)

    Your own boats mast stiffness and pre-bend may not suit the sails you are using if they were assembled for an alternative sail maker.

    There is  enough information out on the web to keep you busy, you just need to look. Our Racing Officer's Web site (Nigel Barrow)  is a very good starting point. The information on 'BG Design' and Sailsetc sites are also informative, (Others are available)

    Good luck with your settings on Sunday.

    Regards Eric  

  14. In my experience which is relatively short in radio sailing circles until the Britpop setup guides by the manufacturers was not the norm. The Britpop guide was a revelation to new owners of the yacht. This guide I personally believe is one of the things which lead to the Britpop's dominance for so long.

    With one of my yachts I asked the designer and builder for setup advice and basically got the reply he was a seat of the pants sailor and had no information and it was up to me to work out settings. There were no other Skippers local to me sailing the design so it was a drawn out process finding out what worked, still struggle in conditions not regularly encountered locally. Now owning a Britpop as well I have experimented with it's settings and adapted them as required to the boat. The old school Skippers in the club have also helped out giving fairly basic starting points.

    Generally newer designs now come with a guide from the designer, These days as the older designs gravitate to newer skippers it is less likely that you can gain setup instructions/advice. The best thing you can do is to keep a record of settings which work in various conditions so you at least have a starting point each time you sail. DON'T rely on your memory.

    Eric

     

  15. Richard

    i will have a look at which servo I ordered to convert to an arm winch. It was off ebay. The servo is supposedly water proof as its intended use is as a steering servo for rock crawlers. These are available as standard size servo's with a torque range of 35 to 45 kg/Cm. As this is to be fitted under deck on my boat the waterproof bit is a bonus.

    I started this as I wanted a spare / replacement for the arm winch fitted  in my Britpop which is a Hitec monster power item. The Hitec that is fitted does not seem to be available any longer and it's replacement is the wrong side of £150. (You also need to add the cost of a servo programmer) The one's off ebay vary in price from £15 to £30 plus you need to add the cost of a servo expander to this to enable 180 degrees of travel, I think I paid about £8 for two of these. You will also need a pulley block to fit to the arm to give you double pull. I think the spindle splines on the ebay winch matches that of the Hitec so I could use the existing arm.

    As the Hitec is still working OK I have not tried it out in a boat but have built it up with a new carbon arm (active length of arm approximately 90mm) and tried it outside the boat and seems alright. Used the radio to tune rotation of servo to about 160 degrees to obtain length of pull needed.

    I have been communicating with another skipper who has also been experimenting with these and he has fitted them to a number of new builds. (IOM's) with successful results.

    If you want a chat just give me a call.

    Eric

  16. Martin

    Up until now I have been using Penn Wave Blaster Dynabraid for winch lines (80 Lb), this is no longer available. It is not as thin as say Berkley Whiplash 8 which I have recently purchased to try as a replacement. The 103 Lb version of this line is listed as 0.28mm and should be a reasonable replacement for winch line. I am looking to see what lighter lines are available to use for sheeting on an IOM as will get away with a lighter breaking strain for this use so hopefully less drag on the booms in light air. I'm reasonably confident after a few sailing sessions it will loose the newness feel and become softer to the touch and if you only want a single line it could be used for sheets and attaching sails to the mast. 

    I don't know where you live but inland the fishing shops I have visited don't seem to stock heavier breaking strain braid. May have better luck on the coast. I have therefore ended up resorting to the internet to obtain supplies. If you find a suitable braid a 150M reel will last a long time (I think I have given as much away as used on my boats).

    Happy Hunting, Eric 

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