Graham Elliott

Look for a design that not just one skipper has had success with, as he's probably one of the best skippers in the World and would win with anything half decent but a design that many different skippers have had success with and its taken a mid fleeter to the front of the fleet.

The best and most rewarding conversations on just about all subjects from rudder design, hull choice etc are always either held lakeside or over a coffee, all the more experienced skippers will give you time for a chat at a ranking or nationals, most will even take a look at your trim. Forums are great for certain topics but not others, they easily go off subject or alienate you if your oppinion is challenged that can then very quickly just turn you against even looking at them. So, if you need advice on what rx batteries are best, this is the place but if you ask what design IOM is the best to buy you will soon realise a Forum isn't the best place but lakeside maybe.is. There is also the problem on forums of people not using there proper name, a bit like a bank robber using a mask to rob a bank but they don't want anyone to know they rob banks.

Remember to factor in any tax or postage.

Gates, gates and more gates, add to that a couple of outer buoys to add a little more luck to which course you opt for. Won't be long before we just forget the adrenalin filled racing part of the sport and just set boats off every 30 seconds and just do time trials. Hang on there, I may of stumbled upon an idea here, time trials with no promotion or relegation, surely not, well maybe just for the seedings? Concentrate on ways of identifying the culprits and bringing them in line instead of watering down what we love, racing around, not boring sailing around.

If we must have a windward gate (not a big fan) then maybe we should just have both windward marks as port rounding, for the obvious reasons.

Putting it like this does make you think that maybe there is too much weighting on the Nationals ranking points that needs to be tweaked for next year. Looking at the present system ,if this was used last year neither myself or Walshy would of made this years GBR team and we came 3rd and 6th at last years Euros, surely this example gets the point across.

Hi John, use a piece of soft rubber about 1mm thick, don't use foam or sponge for the obvious reason and don't use vaseline as all sorts of foreign bodies will stick to it.

It's a wrap. Envelopes opened, all points calculated and confirmed in the presence of 2 independent witnesses. Obviously most had BG in 1st position, except for one entry, guess who, followed by RW, CR and PS, not necessarily in that order I may add ,but Josh sort of spoilt that party. Thanks to everyone that participated in a bit of fun, we will do it again for the Worlds, top 10 though. RESULTS....... VICKY..........13 POINTS GRAHAM.....12 POINTS ANDREA......12 POINTS JIM L R.........11POINTS MICKYBOY....10 POINTS TRACEY.........10 POINTS HARRY............9 DARIN.............9 JOSH...............9 WALSHY..........9 BRAD...............9 PRESIDENT.....8 JIM E...............8 ROB Mc...........8 Tiger................8 1 spoilt paper. Well done Vicky, spend it wisely with any radio sailing manufacturer in the UK.

Opening of envelopes on the Saturday of the Woodspring ranker, in the pub. Remember, 1 point for correct name but in wrong position and 3 points for correct name and position, winner takes all. Obviously we cannot payout until the final list is done which is usually a week after the final race.

Electronica, only 2 built, no longer in production. Uno, Vam in SPAIN, now replaced with Ivy. Scurry, Alex Corry I think, not moulded a boat for a few years now. RG class is massive in Europe, over 70 entries for French Nationals and over 40 for Dutch Nationals but struggle in the UK, mainly down to the lack of builders but a great size to 3D print.

I have registered for the final IOM ranking race at Woodspring but before I look for accommodation around Portishead I have heard there is a chance the race may be moved, to Durleigh possibly, which does look like a fantastic piece of water, is there any truth in this?

VAM (Victor) makes the Ivy design, he also makes the older but still very competitive Uno design, he is based in Spain but does ship, I think he also supplies the rigs in both kit form and ready assembled.

Absolutely yes but one of those little kids scooters maybe easier to get on and off than a bike, seen one being used in the past.

Good question Liam, I think the que jumping ticket would definately be worth the Shekels. Also, don't bother with Gladiator 2, load of rubbish compared to the original.

Ditch the lot except for the gooseneck that you can put on an old Widget or something similar that will still compete at club level. Sorry to bring this sad news Rob, happy memories of 94 for sure!

Roger, you make the point exactly, F.2.3 should be adhered to, this is why the oversized Potter gooseneck with the plate was banned, it gained an advantage in area. This was back in 2015 and amazingly the very same technical personnel find this new oversize kicking strap, with its carbon plate as fine and no restrictions to size mentioned, so in a few years time we will all have 20mm kickers that extend from the gooseneck to the end of the boom and then to infinity and beyond if a restriction isn't added like in 2015. GBR29, the deck on Brad's boat compared to the Vizz is a million miles apart, a bit like comparing the Himalayas to the Bonneville Salt flats, no raised foredeck, no raised aft deck, all very smooth and flat throughout, bit like what we used to sail 20+ yrs ago, nothing new, as for his kicking strap it's just a piece of string, well 3 actually, probably cost about 12pence compared to £££££'s if no restriction is added.

Only one Widget design, no mk2. Deck layout changed from the original flat deck that Ken Roberts built to the skiff deck that Dave Creed improved upon. Gadget was a completely different design. Both these very successful designs came from one of the greatest model yacht designers, Chris Dicks.

This looks good to me, no need to ask about compliance as nobody else seems to be bothered to ask, just turn up, sail and then re-write to suit. Note the kicking strap around the whole boom as no restrictions and also the gooseneck above the boom. The gooseneck is a Potter one, it used to be a lot wider but they made me cut it down in 2015 when they did add a restriction. Please don't copy my idea. Now to get printing....

There is an IOM ranking race on September 28+29 at Chelmsford, this is the home of Sails etc, why not ask if anyone would pick the masts up for you, I am sure someone would.

Tobi has kindly organised the next RG65 TT race to be hosted by Woodspring on Saturday 6th July. Entries will be open shortly. There is also a club race on the Sunday for RG, DF65 and 95 and I am sure Woodspring will welcome anyone that wishes to join the fun.

https://www.bgsailsanddesign.com/uploads/7/0/6/9/70698521/choosing_a_design_for_homebuild_2.pdf This is an article from a few years ago on the BG Sails and Design website, it may be titled homebuild but will help with your decision on which design to look out for.

1. Grey boat 2. Grey boat 3. Grey boat 4. Grey boat 5. Possibly the orange boat.

Blues knackered. Simple P and S, overlap finished once you leave buoy.

Too many races and classes maybe? Clashes are unavoidable, Lester came up with what seemed at first an over complicated system for doing the calendar and we all fought against it but when you looked closely it was real easy and logical. Skippers supporting club events, lots of clubs now getting 10+ boats, this is great as the MYA is a collection of clubs.

Strangely enough Guzz, in 20+yrs of measuring model yacht sails, I have never once had to crawl around the floor to measure a sail, just use your pasting table to place them on and this is why an online course would work just fine, save your knees mate.