Northwind 36
 

Well it arived yesterday. first impressions (remember this is the first boat ive EVER seen)

NICE hull. smoth, no molding flash or seams that need to be dressed. I was supprised to find i have to cut the top hatch off? (is that normal?)

the sails are ripstop nylon from what i can tell.

the mast is 2 piece AL with an metal splice. big lead weight bulb which had broke loose out of its cardboard box and i wonder how much bashing around the box it did, although none of the other parts seem to be bashed/crushed by it.

both the booms, the main and jib are plastic (thinking those need an upgrade)

I was supprised at the "compleatness" of it, including sail tape, double sided tape, various epoxy, hardware, etc.

i took pics while i was opening things up but for some reason my FTP was not behaving last night so the pics are still sitting on the puter. Ill get them posted tonight. (forgot to bring the camera to work [:@] )

OH and the directions, got those infront of me.... seem fairly complete. all graphical with no actuall directions (instert part a into slot b) Great for a person like me who has put many a RC together, but might be a bit daunting for someone that has never undertaken such a task before.

more to come

RE: Northwind 36
 

Thanks for the report. The kit sounds pretty typical. I don't like the idea of the plastic jib and boom. The wind can exert a LOT of force on these and I suspect will pretty well bend them at will.......which will make your sail shape go to hell. I see a carbon fiber rig in your future.

Cutting the hatch out isn't that uncommon. The Victoria, for example, is the same way. Just be careful, cut it neat and count your fingers when done. :)

Be looking forward to your picts.

RE: Northwind 36
 

as for cutting the hatch, the directions just show an exaco knife kind of thing. is that going to cut it (pun inteneded?) or should i step up to the dremmel?

OH and i have a paint scheme in mind. It transitions from white to blue at the waterline. so the question is, how to find the water line. I dont have my radio gear but i can canableize one of my rc cars for radio stuffs. add the lead bulb to the top/inside (i was considering just pluggin the hole in the botom (from the keel) with some modleing clay) then floating it in the bathtub to get find the waterline.

i could go through that, or i can gestimate, or can i assume that the pic in the other northwinds post transitions at the water line?

RE: Northwind 36
 

more questions

whats are these two thingies called? both are plastic on the northwind kit. are they all (on other kits?) this way?

http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailboat/sail_parts.jpg

RE: Northwind 36
 

mast crane and spreader

RE: Northwind 36
 

Schmism - I've been thinking about your parts and wonder if they are really plastic...or could they possibly be carbon fiber. I think a lot of such parts are often made from CF. CF has a more "grainy" look than plastic...which is usually high gloss.

The crane and spreader vary from kit to kit what they are made out of.

The Xacto will gut the hatch opening...but probably take several strokes. Do it neat as you will probably have to use the piece you cut out. Dremals have a tendency to run away with things sometimes.

The waterline??? Up to you. Since you are doing the "blue transition" thing, I don't know that I would worry about the exact waterline. Keep in mind sailboats seldom sit around on an even keel anyway and are normally rolling over this way or that. So the "waterline" appears lots of places. A boat the size of yours will probably sit 1/2 to 1" deep in the water and slightly down by the stern is my guess. I wouldn't knock myself out finding the "exact" line.......which you won't really know till the boat is built and loaded w/radio gear.

I suggest you paint it NOW.

RE: Northwind 36
 

Im inclinded to think most of those pices i have indicated are in fact plastic /ABS as they are on the "tree-o-parts" with all the others. Ill take make shure to include a few pics of the parts trees.

Im going to start the painting tonight, after i finish my "custom" stand. The cheezy wood they included in the kit didnt cut it for me (a woodworker also) so i have the parts ripped out of some spanish mahogany.

RE: Northwind 36
 

Yes--as he said, they are plastic. They are white as I remember. I've seen 3 Northwinds... we have 2 that have sailed in our club.... one of them got sold in favor of a Seawind, and the other's owner isn't too interested in racing, so we don't see him much. Those modifications in the picture I think are a kit you can buy from Vision Sails ([link=http://www.visionsails.com]www.visionsails.com[/link]) I think, and they are carbon and the sails are mylar I believe.

Remember, the Seawind for example is a $400+ kit (with electronics), whereas the Northwind is almost half that. So, you're paying for better quality parts. This is a lot of the reason the SW class is a strict one-design with very little modifications allowed to the kit, because it's expensive enough that expecting those who just paid $400 to have to invest even more $$ right off the bat just to be competitive would be a definate drawback, and from my experience unnecessary. In over a year of racing Seawinds in a variety of conditions, I can say the SW sails fine out of the box.

However, the SW isn't a class for those who like to tinker, or the engineering-minded, because those sorts of mods aren't allowed. The Victoria, Fairwind and proposed Northwind classes might be great for those with the itch to build.

Andy
[link=http://www.acmsc.org]Air Capitol Model Sailing Club[/link]

Andy
Air Capitol Model Sailing Club

RE: Northwind 36
 

;)

-$135 to my door,
-Scavanged radio (albit AM) parts from older RC cars- free
- sailing on the local pond for half of a seawind kit (priceless, well more like $-200 but it still sounds good right?)

RE: Northwind 36
 

I should also say that the two that sailed with our club had some reliability problems. The first one never did get fixed, and thus was sold. The other actually did get it running well, but like I said, he isn't really into racing. He had to tinker with it quite a bit, but essentially it's a stock boat.

I said I had seen 3... another one was a guy I sailed with at a larger lake in my area. He had taken a carbon fiber tube and slid it over the plastic boom to give it better strength. He had also replaced the sails with some home-made ones made of mylar. It sailed very well, but had some broken parts. I have no idea if that's a reflection of the parts, or just bad treatment from it's owner.

The Vic and probably the NW are good boats to do mods to, because the price is low, so adding some more $$$ to it won't break your wallet. Also, they actualy need the mods (or at least the Vic does) to be reliable.

A SW kit minus electronics is $299 I think normally from Tower, but sometimes you can get a better deal when you look for their special sales. Right now everything's kind of in flux, as Kyosho sets up their own distribution center here in the US.

Sounds like you got a great deal and will have some fun this summer!

Andy

RE: Northwind 36
 

Andy, all you say is surely true and if you've laid eyes on a Northwind you're ahead of me. And I think it's a pretty boat with very good lines. (As if I would know:D:eek:) I'm just starting to feel a little nervous now that I don't have anything to build. Finishing my Seawind was a double edged sword. Huzzay, I'm finished, on the one hand. But, "What do I build next?" on the other. [:-]

I wouldn't really classify myself as a guy who likes to tinker all that much. Anyone with a Victoria can tinker till they are blue in the face and still be class legal.

The Seawind for sure is NOT a boat for the tinkerer. In fact, the Seawind is a kit that will spoil a person because everything is there and good quality and good fit. The only part on it that's pretty much a throw away is the main hatch cover. Not many kits can claim that.

RE: Northwind 36
 

oops I did tinker mine pretty much:D:D...but could do better!! but now its time to move ahead :D

RE: Northwind 36
 

You're different, Wis. You don't have anyone to race with so it doesn't matter if you mount an outboard engine on your Seawind.

Speaking of which.......how come there aren't lots of Seawind fleets in Japan? That's home waters for this boat and Kyosho makes them. You would think every third house would have a Seawind in the closet? What do people sail over there?

RE: Northwind 36
 

they sail IOMs, 36/600. 10R, a few CR914..all of a minimum of 400km from my palce:(:(:(

Now I am heading into IOMs...tired of being alone, so I ll do the nationals next year

RE: Northwind 36
 

[link=http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailboat/sailboat1.jpg]http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailb...oat1_small.jpg[/link],[link=http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailboat/sailboat2.jpg]http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailb...oat2_small.jpg[/link]
[link=http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailboat/sailboat3.jpg]http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailb...oat3_small.jpg[/link],[link=http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailboat/sailboat4.jpg]http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailb...oat4_small.jpg[/link]

RE: Northwind 36
 

more tonight

RE: Northwind 36
 

Thanks for the peak, Schmism! Be looking forward to more.

-----------------------------
Wis - That sucks being so far away. Can't blame you for going after the IOM fleet. We'll be looking forward to your race results. It will be a shock when you arrive on the scene and everyone asks, "Who is that guy?" [8D]

RE: Northwind 36
 

Oh, Schmism, one good piece of advice that was given me........pin your sails out straight somewhere safe so they can be gaining their natural shape while you build and paint.

RE: Northwind 36
 

Minor progress last night. Got the hull masked off. got my "custom" stand assmbled. Put the mast together, assmbled the keal/weight, pinned the sails out.

I started late so it was even later when I was wanting to bust out the epoxy but i was getting tired so i left that for tonight.

Im going to get my airbrush back from my neighbor and hopfully shoot some paint tonight.

RE: Northwind 36
 

Good thinking. Don't push yourself. That's when we make mistakes. If I'm tired, I don't build.

RE: Northwind 36
 

[link=http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailboat/sailboat6.jpg]http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailb...oat6_small.jpg[/link] [link=http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailboat/sailboat5.jpg]http://www.snjschmidt.com/pics/sailb...oat5_small.jpg[/link]

The flash washed the color out a bit, its not baby blue but infact a dark blue (more like the color of the stern in the first pic)

its only a first coat but im happy with the way it came out.

RE: Northwind 36
 

Looks good to me! Keep after it!

RE: Northwind 36
 

One thing you might want to do is reinforce the area where the keel bulb and the fin go together
There's only the one piece of plastic to support the lead wieght (3.5 LBS) If you hold the keel
straight out you can see the end of it droop
I used fibreglass cloth and epoxy on both sides of the joint to strenghten mine.

RE: Northwind 36
 

I did notice the keel thing. I CA glued the 2 plastic halfs together and am in the process of reinforceing the seam at hte top with epoxy.

I also put a second coat of paint on last night. Turns out my neighbor down the street (that had the airbrush) was putting some dark blue/purple candy on some harley tanks, so we quickly masked off the boat and shot a second coat of that ontop of the blue i painted.

ill post some new pics. (ya looks killer)

didnt get much done this weekend on it. It was just 2 nice of a weekend to be inside working on the boat. (so i was outside running RC cars) ;)

RE: Northwind 36
 

well "major" progess or the past couple of weeks. primarlly this past weekend.

how come you guys didnt mention it would take like an ENTIRE day to rig the thing! ;)

anyway went for a float test in the neighbors pool shortly after i got it riged (still not radio stuffs installed) and i had noted before i took it outside that the jib boom swivel up front would probibly pull right out of the boom.... and it lasted all of about 30 sec outside just floating round the pool [:@]

so ive got to rig up some sort of diffrent way to connet the jib swivel up front. I was really suprised how stiff the "wimpy" mast gets once you get it rigged off!

anyway ill post a pic or 2 later.