Hi,

I have been interested in getting a rc sailboat for some time. I have been into rc airplanes and my son who is 15 now is interested in builing an rc sailboat. I would like to find a nice kit that would look good in his room. I looked at the Dumas website but there boats look pretty plain. Is there anything that would have some nice detail, not be too hard to build and preferrably be made from wood? I appreciate any suggestions.
Thanks!

Dave Adams

p.s. My other idea is to get a wooden boat for his room that is for show and a plastic boat for sailing.

Hi Adamsdp, and welcome to the sailing forum; by no means I am an expert, but what I've learned in the little time I've been in sailing is that basically if you want tons of fun and support your boat a lot has to do with what your local fleet/club sails. Sailing solo is fun indeed but if you have interest in racing you may want to go to www.modelyacht.org/ which is the web site for the American Model Yachting Association (AMYA) and find the clubs in your area and see what they are sailing that way you can race and get tons of support and transfer of knowledge as well as unending fun. Also If you go to the AMYA site, you will find a comprehensive listing of active racing classes There are many inexpensive boats out there but after you invest in all the mods and upgrades the cost comes equal to or higher than some of other great options, for example I have a CR-914 (distributor's site www.rcyachts.com/ class site www.cr914class.org/ ) and with this kit all you need is the water to sail it, it comes with everything needed yes that includes the radio and electronics. Also to my advantage the local fleets races this same boat. I bought it with the following points in mind: Easy to build, Better than average performance, Fits in most cars, Fair amount of class activity in my area and cities all over the US, Reasonable price (though probably more expensive than some models that others may list), Everything you need is part of the kit, except for paint, Very rigidly controlled design - you can't change the sails, the rigging, the keel, rudder, or hardly any other features of the boat. This means when you race you compete against very similar boats (levels the field, skipper’s skills and tuning determines the outcome and not the size of your bank account).
Again there are many great yachts out there, I will say that you can buy whatever you happen to like, but if you think racing would be fun, then you are going to want to buy a boat in the same class - design - as the rest of the competitors. So find out what your local fleets are sailing and maybe we can help you narrow it down from there once you have a list of options.
Good luck and welcome again.
Chas

Edit:
Here is a good getting started article http://www.modelyacht.org/start.html

I had a similar interest in R/C sailing this past winter and posted the same request. I was steared toward the Soling 1M. I could not be happier with the suggetion and now my neighbor and I frequently can be found on the pond having a grand time. Beleive it or not, I have found sailing much more of a challenge and more fun than the nitro boats I have been running the past 5 years.
The Soling 1M is fairly easy to build, has a tremendous following and support network and has great sailing charcteristics.

I wish you the best on your jouney

Dave,
Good advice so far, and I'd like to add the following to it.
Just like flying, sailing takes a bit of getting used to. You can't learn to fly over night, same for sailing, except much quicker, sort of. Teaching the brain/muscles those new reflexes takes longer than figuring out what to do when something happens (make sense?). It isn't that hard to learn. If I can teach myself how to sail, then anyone should be able to do it (and with a little help, do it right to start with! - LOL).

Wood/plastic/foam/metal or a combination of all of them, whatever you are comfortable with using. Each have their own 'pros-n-cons', all of them can produce a very nice boat. Unlike typical flying, weight definitely does have a use in boats, especially sailboats, so building with sort of heavier stuff is okay (to a point). Wanna 'show-off' boat for the mantle? No problem! But, that 'show-off' boat would probably sail as well as any other one.

Starting with something sort of simple is certainly one way of doing it. Not that the actual sailing will be all that easier/harder, but it's sort of easier on the wallet - lol. Diffrent boats have different characteristics, just like planes. Transitioning between different ones just takes some thinking and attention. Unlike planes, things happen sort of slower with boats, so changing boats isn't all that difficult, sort of. The "Oh Sh**!" thingys are still there, they just aren't as 'fatal' as with planes. Besides, that's half the fun of it, right?

Something else to think about is to select a boat that you (or your son) likes. That can be sailed where you have access. Isn't more trouble to transport than it's worth. And that doesn't require huge amounts of building ability, and/or money. Expect stuff to go wrong, it will. Does that remind you of your first plane? It should, same basic thing.

The 'mainest' thing is to enjoy it, even the mistakes. It may sound 'daunting' but it certainly isn't impossible for the average person. Your experience in building and flying will definitely be a benefit (even the mistakes, believe it or not). Remember to turn the electronics on BEFORE putting the boat in the water! that's the biggy!
Have fun...
- 'Doc

[carry aspirin. thats for those "Why did I do that?" thingys. Willow bark is one source for aspirin, but gnawing on trees will get you into more trouble than you'd ever believe.]

This one looks very good in display, IMO, and also sails well from reports:
http://www.ultimatehobbies.com/istar.asp?a=6&id=TTR5555!1009

Building instructions:
http://www.acehobby.com/ace/PDF/Boat/TTR5555.pdf

No wood though...

Hi,

My first (and only!) RC boat is the Northwind 36. Allegedly, it's a more advanced boat as it's a developement racing class (36/600 class - being 36" long with 600 sq" inches of sail) and a bit on the technical side. However, I bought it because it looked good in the shop. Construction was relatively easy (my first ever RC kit) and the performance is good. I do a lot of sailing in real boats, so I had a head start in techniques. But I found it straightforward to sail and it has some performance. I took the view it was better to start with something good rather than buy something simple and get bored with it quickly, only to spend more money on the good boat eventually.

There's a 15 page site on this forum about this boat with lots of tips on building and getting the best out of the kit. Plus, it looks really good.

Thoroughly recommended!

Thanks to everyone for their replies and I just wanted to mention that I have done some reading in the older posts and the Graupner Micro Magic seems like a nice boat. It doesn't have the looks I was thinking of at first but I ordered a seperate wooden boat for display and my son is excited about building it. I ordered a Mini-Mamoli kit (America) and it is kind of bare bones as far as instructions go but so far, my son is enjoying the challenge. Has anyone seen the Micro Magic? Thanks.

Dave

Have a look here for the MicroMagic. It's a very popolar class in Europe.
http://www.sailuk.org/news.php