I just picked up one of these in a trade. Never sailed before. I tried it today. I see why it needs a bigger rudder. I'm finishing up my rudder modification now. Just need to finish primer and sanding. Then finish paint. I made mine larger by wrapping a layer of fiberglass and resin around it. Then cut out the shape to start working with.
Here is a pic.
I've replaced the servos because they were corroded with some better stronger ones.
Also added flotation inside the hull just incase it takes on a bunch of water in a worst case senerio. I mean the thing has a weight on the bottom. It would sink for sure if the hull filled with water.
I also noticed the setup the manual shows you is missing a step on how to hook lines up. And seems to be important to how the sails open equally.
I sprayed something similar to corrosion x on all the electronics so they should be protected.
I may end up making a new weight for the bottom. But first will try stick on weights to see how beneficial it is. I fig if I like sailing and this my first sail boat. I may just skip all the extra work and get a new boat.
Other than that I'm excited to set sail again. It's a nice little relaxing change from my FE boats.