was looking at monsoon 900. she seems simple and to the point. i've been sailing my NW36 for about 100 hrs now, and want another boat. anyone have feedback. choice of monsoon, sanibel, or nirvanaII.

hi i am looking to buy an r.c. yacht myself and was looking for a review aswell, the one thing i can't look past with the monsoon is its sheer size and geting it arround fitting it places storing it ect. if that didn't bother you then i'd go for it , as with all hobbies everything needs tinkering with and without the option of the moonsoon 900 if somone gave you $300 and said build me an R.C yacht i dont think you could beat it.

The manufacturer had proposed a review and chosen a reviewer (me) However, due to communications problems, ( http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showt...677484&page=10 ), it didn't happen. I don't think there have been any further efforts to review the model since then. The thread that I've linked is quite long and might provide interesting reading anyway, as it covers needed mods, setting up etc.

I've assembled my Monsoon 900, and can provide some information.
1. the vendor's customer service is good to a point. I had some issues with respect to shipping and he was quite responsive and cooperative. I had a dead sail servo and he's gone unresponsive on me and I do not believe he will honor my replacement request. Per the email he stated the servo tested OK prior to shipping, but it's dead in my hands and I tested both the transmitter and the sail servo by switching controls (the rudder worked perfectly) and found I could control rudder with sail control while sail servo was dead when attached to rudder control. Apparently any electronics he tests OK is summarily out of warranty because you will not get any service on those items. If he can see outright physical damage in a photo I do believe he will service a request.
2. Packing was OK. The plate holding the servos came off its mounts in shipping and bounced around the hull with no visible damage. Some of the black plastic pieces mounted to the hull broke off, but I did not want something that tried to look like a scale sailboat so I removed them anyway for a cleaner hull profile. Otherwise all parts were properly packed and suffered no transit damage.
3. The Springrc transmitter is of poor quality. Mine has an intermittent on/off switch and I have to literally push it on then squirm my thumb over the slide to massage the connections into place, then it's perfectly OK. Overall feel is cheesy though, but remember the pricepoint. No manual comes with the transmitter. There's a slide switch below and to the left of on/off that has no reason (it's the beginner switch - push up to limit rotation, push down for 'expert' setting full rotation) and the 3 LEDs across the top of the unit show power level of the batteries. I had to ask Springrc directly for the manual and they sent me an airplane manual with references to their transmitter. Remember, it's built to a price...
4. The manual is utterly useless save the pictures. I read the Surmount and Monsoon manuals and both are pure tripe and balderdash. The vendor should be ashamed. The boat is sufficiently pre-assembled though, that you can get through it just on the photos, which are clear. I had to replace my sail servo and had to re-thread the sail sheets, which took some effort. I employed a HItec HS-785HB and would recommend it particularly if you will sail in strong breezes.
5. Sails are good dacron, with faux battens and all. Honestly, they're good quality units and better than the Nirvana sails I've seen. The lines that hold the sail ends in place are poorly done though. You have holes punched in reinforcing ends and the line is knotted to stop at the hole. Very poor. I had some very thin model plywood (1/32) and cut 4mm disks with an xacto knife and drilled holes just big enough for the line, the knotted the line, pulled it through the plywood, and held it all in place with a bit of epoxy. The line won't pull through now.
6. The mast is actually a reasonable product. The boom is stuck in a horizontal position due to the method of joining it to the mast, but I'm not tweaking here. The spreaders are not visually appealing, but they do their job. The holes punched in the sheet metal of the spreaders needs to be deburred though. I used an old Xacto knife blade as a burnisher and smoothed the holes so the line won't get cut.
7. The mast lines are poor cotton/nylon string. This was quickly replaced with Spectra fishing line. In hindsight I'd have exercised more choice in the line. the stuff I got has very little slipperiness, so tightening up bowsies is a bit of a chore. Be sure to get the line in your hands, bend it, and feel how rough or not it is first.
8. The hatch foam gasket is easily addressed. First generously slather silicone sealant on the foam and rub it well into the foam, lightly scraping it down to squeeze out excess. Use what you scraped off as a thin skim coat across the top of the foam tape and let it cure. Apply the foam gasket and it will provide a very effective seal.
9. The control rod from the rudder servo to the rudder is very poor - a bicycle spoke with a yoke end. I bought a proper control arm with threaded yokes at both ends and have adjusted it to take up slack. There's still enough slop in the general rudder assembly to leave you with static play, but that won't be an issue under way.
10. The bolt used for the keel both to attach the bulb and to attach the keel is quite poor. This has been hashed out in detail in other posts. In my boat there was very little free thread so I could not use the lock washer. I had loctite on hand and used that for the bulb, which I don't intend on removing. The washer provided to provide a base for the attaching nut holding keel to hull was way too small, so I found a washer that just fit inside the hole and itself had a very small hole so weight and stress could be better spread to the hull. I am concerned that the threads may fail at some point in time due to the small shaft diameter, fine threads, and cheesiness of the threading. I'd buy another keel blade.
11. The nuts holding these items in place are very small, and the black plastic cylinder that comes with the boat MUST be kept. You probably won't have a regular socket in your toolbox that will work. I finally found one, not metric surprisingly so - 7/32.
12. There is no on/off switch for the 4 AA cell battery pack. I bought a cheap throw lever at Radio Shack and soldered it inline on the red wire. The batter pack tests to 6+ Volts, so I'd pop for a larger NiMH batter pack (normal life is around an hour I'm told with the 4 AA batteries) and solder the recharge plug into the wiring so you can leave the battery pack in the boat and not have to pull its plug out of the receiver, which can damage the fragile receiver.

All things stated above, I'd buy the boat again. Given my prior experience I may instead buy the hull, mast, jib boom, sails, keel and bulb, rudder, and sail winch cover (critical to keeping lines from getting messed up in the hull), then buy a much nicer transmitter, servos, bowsies, lines, and make a much nicer boat overall that's still quite within reason price-wise.

The deals on the boat are also very poor. I peeled them all off, and thankfully they do come off easily with no residue left on the hull. The fiberglass hull is very well done, and easily paintable. Honestly, I want a no-name RC sailboat that is cheap and to a certain extent customizable. I think this is it. I may see where I can find better sails if they will have a material impact on performance, as I read that there's too much sail on the boat for heavier winds (which I like to sail in), and I am giving thought to buying the Surmount 800 sails and trying them. Otherwise, I think this is a good product given the compromises imposed by price.

Hi guys i got my monsoon about 4mounths ago an i have to say its my first sailboat an i have found it to be a lot of fun there are a cupple of things i dont like about it (1) is the resever its a cheap thing an i dont think its going to last very long as it is open at both ends witch means it is lieble to getting wet all though i put it in a ballon to keep it dry. The othere thing i didant think was very goog was the foam around the hatch i took it of as i found that it was takeing a lot of water an i found bye puting petroleum jelly around the hatch an then tapeing it up with weter prof tap it has fixed this problem. The othere thing i have done is to get rid of the string an i have used wire trace this has made it a very good boat in big winds. All in all i think this is a very good boat for beginers. I like it enuff to bye one for my brother of Xmas an now we have a lot of fun with the both of them.

since everyone seems to be having a hard time with the monsoon. why don't you try to shift to other boats like nirvana, or victoria..
found this new boat carbon version. the [link=http://www.twift.com/RC%20Toys%20&%20Hobby/Phantom%201000%20Carbon%20Version%20RC%20Sailboat% 20RTS%20Kit%20(Shunbo).html]Phantom 1000[/link], you might wanna check the forums for reviews of it!

hi guys, new to rc sailing, bought a Sunbo monsoon, in the middle of putting together, does anu one have any you tube footage of it actually sailing ? i find the boat appealing to the eye,lets hope it wont let me down.

Question - On the Monsoon 900 what way around should the keel blade go? the radius to the front or the back? I have seen photos of the keel blade installed both ways, does it make a difference? the thread on mine is rubbish so I will have to glue it in permenantly and I am not sure which way to comit to. Any help is appreciated.

the radius points to the back, hope some one has video of it sailing, launching mine tomorrow , weather permitting.

Here's a video I took in April 2008, camera in one hand, transmitter in the other.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NSRQ54oc2Ko

it looks like it gets along real quick, a bit windy on that day by the looks of it, now i cant wait to put it in the drink.

hey guys i found this website where they have [link=http://www.twift.com/RC%20Toys%20&%20Hobby/Monsoon%20900%20II%20RC%20Sailboat%20RTS%20Kit%20( Shunbo).html]Monsoon 900 II[/link]

i think makers Shunbo made some upgrade and improvements on it. the old Monsoons we're great at sail as well. but they need a bit of work before you can really get to the "great" part.

Thats the same as the one I have, awesome boat, and a snack to put together, lets hope sailiong is the same, take it on holidays tomorrow and launch it,

i think they manage to improve some vital parts. but the rest seems to be the same. hi Hornet, did you do some modding/replacing of parts with your Monsoon?

no, put it together straight from the box, will put up video and some shots i took soon. it was great in the water and speedy with a good gust of wind.

Hey guys, as promised video of my day out with the monsoon 900 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUEpsqYXnF8before any comments ,I know the mast wasnt straight a line loosened, but seeing it was going so well i left it alone and enjoyed the day.

Boat was going so well.... don't want to offend you but the boat wasn't sailing at all well. In fact it was barely moving in a reasonable light breeze. If you'd had another boat out there with you, you'd of seen how poorly the boat was sailing re speed and handling. The mast looked like it was held up with spaghetti. I repeat, don't wish to offend. My guess you are new to this. Please have a look at two of my YouTube clips. I'm not saying they are fantastic but gives you an idea of how a boat should look and handle in light winds. Your boat did sail but could of been so much better and fun with just a minute spent fixing the mast. Then you could have started tuning the boat properly.

Voyager 1m Yacht -
www.youtube.com/watch

AU Class Yacht - 1.7m
www.youtube.com/watch

Once you tune your boat right you'll really have some fun. Should fly in winds just like those in your video. And make sure your mast is "tight". Sidestays should be like guitar strings! Jib tack just tight. Backstay loose. And make sure it is straight / perpendicular to the hull. Note: when you sail on a tack into the wind and the boat refuses to go to windward - try tilting the mast slightly forward. Loosen back stay, tighten jib sheet. That's "weather helm". If it keeps spinning into the wind do the opposite. "Lee helm". These are very slight adjustments and are basic tuning steps. Need to be done each time out to suit weather / wind. When correct boat should sail "hands off rudder" to windward and accelerate.

Look fwd to next video
Larry L.

the voyager went well.... so hornet, you planning on tweaking it?

yep tweaking sounds the go, but for a first timer, it was fun on the day, so have straighten mast and trying to tighten those stay, when you say" Looks like Spaghetti " what do you mean? the stays were tight as, looks like its downfall side of the boat, might look into some other means for stays, like tracer wire or fuse wire,something stronger than cotton,
videos were great, looks like i have to lift my game a bit, thanks for the imput, it always helps, now i know what to do with it.
Cheers

Hornet05 - glad you were not upset by my comments. Just trying to help. The sidestay's lines are cotton. Get rid of them and if you can use plastic coated wire trace (fishing tackle store) with screw turnbuckles for tightening. Also called "rigging screws". Buy from hobby shop. Should be two lines per side supporting mast. If you don't know what I mean I could post photos.

Also highly recommend - get rid of all your cotton lines and buy some "braided dacron ~24kg" also from fishing tackle shop. Dacron wont break or stretch. An idea is, after you tie a triple reef knot, add a dab of CA glue to hold the knot. With these Chinese boats you definitely need to make modifications to get them to sail. Fixing the rigging is the first step. It's also the easiest to get an amazing improvement in boat's performance. And when you have decent lines/sheets, you can start on doing the tuning I suggested in my first post. i.e. weather / lee helm.

Good sailing and let me know if you want detailed pics posted.

Larry L.

Larrykin, can you give the link to your hobby shop for the turnbuckles? also would it be better to leave the jib a little loose near the mast to catch wind, and same with mainsail ,but at rear of the boom?
or leave them tight ? and where do you sail your yachts, not far from fairfield.
any help is needed.
cheers

oh larry has a hobby shop?? hornet, have finish settting up the monsoon? can you post some pix?

not yet going to rerig it, the way Larrykin suggested.
Pictures below are before tweaking, just waiting for Larry to reply so I can get the turnbuckles, my store doesnt have them.

You don't need high priced screw type turnbuckles on an inexpensive boat like the Monsoon. Bowsies work just fine. If you don't like the line supplied withyour boat, just replacesome or all of itwith spectra type line or something similar, and perhaps some better bowsies if desired. I actually owned and sailed a Monsoon for six monthsa year ago. I enjoyed sailingit but am not promoting it as a"ahigh qualityboat".</p>