Stuart Munro

Yes, it arrived after my original post - to my surprise and pleasure. The courier told be it had been delivered but it had not and I had started conversing with the supplyer to get an insurance payout. But I still see a reduction in UK manufacturing as a worrying trend. Nevertheless I have my new toy and await the sails and rigs.......more when I get it into the water.

True, but my boat arrived in the UK alright and cleared customs, then was delivered by (unnamed} dfelivery company to the wrong address. They reclaimed it and scheduled a delivery for another day, when I stayed in and tracked it almost real time. Suddenly they claimed a 'delivery exception, customer not available' but I was able to prove by cameras no body tried. Third day a grumpy delivery man turned up, suspect he got into trouble!

My MX Goth appears to be lost in transit (Uk delivery companies are terrible, are they as bad elsewhere?). It may turn up but I have started searching for a UK supplier and have been told by one of the 'builders' on MYA's site that they no longer build RG65's and do not think any are now built in the UK. This is why I asked the question about the RG65 being crowded out by the DF 65.

Newbie back! Looking at Swing Rigs, I would have one major problem with these, I have a disability which means that I need to launch and retrieve my boat by the mast. So how is a swing rig secured and can that securing allow me to lift it by the mast? Looking on the Internet I found a gadget made in Australia called a Rig Restrainer. Has anyone come across this and indeed, is there anywhere in the UK that can supply them? Thanks in anticipation Stuart

Interesting debate about using carbon and I fully agree for normal mortals, but at the top end carbon will have advantages. I also sail J class boats (Alan Horne 40" and 60"). These are rather tender ie they keel over alarmingly in any wind. To reduce this tendancy the builder must move the weight down as far as possible. I am currently building a 60" and am using carbon for the internal structure and servo trays, it may not seem much but it shifts about 150g from above the waterline to below it. I've read that this is also an advanytage with carbon IOM's, by increasing the keel ballast by even a fraction the boat stays more upright than a boat thagt does not have a carbon hull. So as I say, for mere mortal sailors like me the fraction of a second saved is far outweighed by a more skilful sailor, but at the pinnacle of the sport it may matter. As Colin Halliwell says, the increased stiffness of carbon over fibreglass is also a factor. Not only but certainly for the keel and rudder but possibly the hull. My glass IOM hull flexes quite alarmingly, probably not when in the water but perhaps....

It's not that I could not find anyone to make the sales and rigs, just that a number of people no longer make/sell them so the choice is reducing. Perhaps its a temporary thing and these manufacturers will start restocking but it made me think that RG might be fading in favour of the much more economic DF 65.

Hi again. You may have seen my novice postings so far regarding antenna positioning ona carbon RG 65. Thanks for all the help provided. But in my search to build an RG 65 to REPLACE my DF 65 I have found a number of suppliers who no longer make sails and/or rigs for the RG. In my opinion, ABS is not as robust as Carbon or Glass Fibre and I find my DF 65 deck warping, the sailbox cracking etc. So I see the move as more towards a preferable material than a switch of regulations. But of course ABS is now easily printed bringing down design and manufacturing costs, thus opening up the market to more radio sailors. Please tell me I've got this wrong and the RG 65 has a goiod future. Stuart

I agree, Spectrum is good kit and I used to have one until I dunked the transmitter in the lake. However the new ELRS technology really does give a more reliable signal butas you say, is most likely not needed where we can keep the boat in range of our eyesight! But for anyone who is having reception problems, after checking antenna alignment and placement, I'd suggest looking at the technology. There are a growing number of manufacturers starting to use it but probably the most popular is Radiomaster. The other big advantage is the an ELRS RX made by any manufacturer is required to work with any ELRS transmitter so the range of receivers available is large. One warning, the radios tend to use open source firmware, EDGE Tx. This is really good but it is not 'plug and play'. For me, I enjoy the technology and make it part of my hobby,

Thanks evereyone, you have been very helpful. Olly, I use a Radiomaster TX which is capable of 1w output but limited to 100mw by UK law. So the battery makes no difference but some older TX systems were built to only output 80 mw or so, I suspect higher voltages will help in those cases. RoRo, I originally had a Spectrum system but found a major flaw in it, the radio could not swim in our salt water lake! Then I discovered the Radiomaster ELRS systems and never looked back. The programability is not for everyone but if you are comfortable with it you can program complex systems. So for example I am working on a 60 inch J with genoa, the main will have a traveller but as this moves to port, or starboard it adds 3cm to the sheeting length. The sheeting servo is set to automatically loosen by 3cm when the traveller is activated. But the ELRS is what sells it providing much inproved radio reception. But my star award goes to Lester. Great fun idea. Radiomaster has a toy for this. For £23 you can buy a GPS position transmitter to plug into the RX, The Transmitter screen can produce a map of the lake and you can see where the boat is. Rest assured I've not done it but seen the results for a drone flying around a field. Impressive toy.

Thanks for a great IOM site. My go to bible! I'm sure that fixing the antenna just under a deck patch will work - most of the time. The question at the back of my mind is what about an extreme condition. 200 metres away, keeling over away from the transmitter. Those awful reeds seem very close! So putting one antenna through the deck at the stern, just alongside the backstay and then using the backstay by inserting it into a plastic tube that is already around the back stay will support it. Easy. My only issue is the length of the lead for the antenna. I use Radiomaster (ER6 ELRS) and I believe this has IPEX 3 connectors so a FrSky IPEX3 250mm or 300mm will do the job. Then a much reduced risk level. Keep up the great work on onemetre.net Stuart

John, thats very helpful thanks. Of course the DF65 is plastic so no problems. Agreed 2.4 Ghz is the worst frequency for sailing but in reality is OK for the range we require as long as you are sensible with antenna placement, as you say. Most sailors place the antenna level with the deck, just under it at 90 degrees from each other but in theory, a vertical antenna paralell to the transmitter antenna which is also pointing upwards is the best configuration, as long as the exposed 3cm or so of the one in the boat is all above water. Here's the rub as they say; I don't race so watching the boats closely is not critical, but ranging across the lake some 200 meters is common. To be comfortable I will place one antenna above deck by making a plug from delryn with a small hole in it. The plug 'glued' into a hole in the deck with silicone bath sealant and the antenna pushed through and sealed the same way. This antenna will slide into a piece of plastic tube during rigging, to hold it to the backstay. The other antenna as you do with the Marblehead, just under a deck patch.

Yes, I thought so hence my question about placing antenna outside of the hull. My intention is to place one antenna alongside the backstay and the other across the deck a few mm above one of the patches. Probably using an acetal bar to support it. The (almost) vertical one alonside the backstay will normally be enough with ELRS, the other will give backup. However, my cautios approach tells me that if the boat keels away from the transmitter, both antenna could still be shielded by the hull. So it would be interesting to know how existing RG65 captains with CF hulls fare. I have had some very helpful replies but I'm not sure if they are sailing CF hulls. Stuart

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.

Thanks for the advice. As to sailing, not competitively but the RG 65 is an eassy boat to launch and retrieve for my 'oldies' social sailing club. Maldon and Blackwater Sailing Club. We have 5 IOM's sailed semi socially and a similar number of DF 65's. Plus J class and scratch built. But its a 7 acre lake and a carbon boat may go out of range if I'm not careful. Many thanks Stuart

Hi I'm just changing from an ABS DF65 to a CF RG65. A personal choice as I don't like ABS. But I'm concerned about the Faraday Cage effect of CF hulls. Do owners with CF hulls place the antenna above deck? If so where and do they protect the aerials. Radio flyers use neat slated protection posts for example. Thanks in anticipation Stuart