Breytac

After a lot of research, I've finally decided to buy myself a Victoria yacht. However, after running through the manual, I've found that I need rubbing alcohol. Unfortunately, I cannot find it anywhere that sells it, and it is the only thing I cannot get. Is there anything else I could use ie mineral turps? Either that or just be very careful with the glue.

Trakka

Hi Breytac

You should be able to get it at your local chemist.

I too built a Victoria but can't remember having to use any. Didn't buy any either!

It's a great little boat and will stand some hot-rodding when you're ready.

Enjoy.

Andrew

Breytac

Thanks for the reply Trakka

I think they recommend getting some rubbing alcohol in the manual to rub off any over-spill from either the epoxy or thin CA.

Unfortunately, I won't be getting it until the end of the year/beginning of next due to some other financial commitments. I can't seem to find anywhere in Australia that sells the Victoria, so I have to get it from overseas. Tower Hobbies quoted around $90-$110 US for postage, depending on the option chosen. Thankfully, I can get radio control equipment, including a high-torque sail servo, as I've been reading there can be issues with the sail control line and friction as it moves in and out from under the deck.

I'm not looking to race it or anything, so my next question is: out of the box, what winds can it handle? I was thinking 10 knots would be it the maximum the Victoria could handle - about 20km/hr (or 12 mph for those who don't use the metric system of measurement)

mfr02

In the instructions, its just for cleaning, usually prior to painting/glueing. Avoid turps, it leaves unwanted traces that the glues wont stick to. Your local hardware store should have meths, alcohol with a purple dye. Your chemist should have Surgical Spririt, otherwise known as rubbing alcohol. On my last visit to Cyprus, in a supermarket I spotted some small bottles labelled "97" in the offie section among the rum and brandy and vodka. The same bottles appeared in the household cleaning section. Apparently a versatile substance.

Dorsal

My Feedback: (17)

Isopropyl Alcohol should be available at your local pharmacy or possibly a grocery store. It's the stuff the doctor swabs your arm with before giving an injection or drawing blood. In 80% or better purity it works very well to thin epoxies to increase wood penetration.
Denatured alcohol also works very well for cleaning adhesives and is usually available at the hardware store here in the US. Do NOT try thinning epoxies with it though, as it will alter the epoxy chemistry and produce a rubbery cure.

Trakka

Hi Breytac

In all honesty, the standard servos are only suitable for very light winds. I have replaced my sail servo with a cheap ebay MG995 servo which are plentiful. It has worked well for me for the past 3 or so years.

I would commend to you doing some googling to research improvements for the boat. The okanagan site is a great one and the mods suggested make the boat pleasant to sail.

Hoping this helps.

Andrew

Breytac

I'm getting my radio gear from Radio Yacht Supplies Australia. They sell the Hitec HS-765HB, a high torque sail-arm type servo I assume a standard servo is all that's required for rudder control

Unfortunately, the mods are a little out of my price range right now. I really would love to modify the boat a little. Maybe after a few months of sailing it I'll look into at leat replacing the mast and push-rod. I just wish the Australian dollar would stabilise. It's up and down against the US dollar like a yo-yo. I have looked at the Okanagan site and the yacht they have fully built on their website looks awesome. Once I have some experience in sailing the standard Victoria, I just might look at getting all the parts to build a fully modified Victoria.

I find it a shame that this yacht hasn't penetrated Australian radio controlled yacht clubs. They all seem to sail Micro Magic's or IOM;s. Fine yachts to be sure, but from the looks of the manual of the Micro Magic, not something for a beginner. As for IOM's from a beginner's viewpoint, forget it.

Edit: Possible servo's for sail control:

Hitec HS-645MG. Torque (4.8v/6v) 7.7 / 9.6 cm. Weight 55g
Hitec HS-765HB Sail Arm Servo. Torque 11 kg.cm @ 4.8V & 13.2 kg.cm @ 6 V. Weight 110g
Hitec HS-815BB Sail Arm Servo. Torque 19.8 kg.cm @ 4.8V & 24.7 kg.cm @ 6 V. Weight 152g (I'm thinking this one might be overkill).

I'm thinking of getting the HS-765HB as it has more torque than the 645MG, but I'm nore sure as it (the 765HB) is double the weight if the 645. I'm planning on sailing in winds no stronger than 10 knots, if the Victora can handle it. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

mfr02

Mine (got 2nd hand) needed re-rigging due it looking like a washing line. I ditched the original thread - previous owner had been a bit liberal with suprglue in the lines preventing adjustment - in favour of some fishing line - "Ryobi Masterline 30lb Salmon Backing". Brown, inexpensive, no noticeable stretch and very little surface friction. For standing rigging I would have used the thinnest Venetian blind cord I could get my hands on - a smidgeon thicker and more surface friction, also available in a range of colours. My only departure from the rigging instructions was to fit a leech line to the foresail. This gives actual control over the shape of the foresail.
The sailarm servo is a Futaba 3004, which is the ordinary standard servo with a ball race. This is fine in 10 mph, much higher than that needs defensive driving - to pull the sails in needs the boat facing into the wind. If the arm is fitted so that when pulled in, it faces forward and effectively goes just over centre, the rigging locks, and the wind has less chance of pulling the sails out against the servo.
If you are racing a Victoria and need an unfair advantage, the aftermarket sails would be a good idea, but for learning and solo sailing, the originals are very adequate. For the improvement a new set would give, I would save up a bit more and consider building something from a plan where I could expect to see the performance and build on the sailing skills learnt on the Victoria.

Breytac

Thanks for the tips mfr. We have some string lying around that my girlfriend uses when cooking. I'm hoping that not only will it be stroing enough for rigging, it won't stretch too much. I'm guessing it wouldn't as it's used in the oven, and quite often the often is at 180 degrees celsius.

As for the sail servo, I've decided to go with the HS-765HB. A bit more torque than the 645 (unless someone's suggests otherwise, remember, this is a pleasure boat, not a race boat). I just hope it will fit into the radio box.

mfr02

My personal preference is for braided line. The low surface friction is important when hoping to let the sails out in light airs, and avoiding tangles. The line supplied with the kit seems OK, but you get just enough to get it as shown first try. Mine was 2nd hand, and the previous owner had been a bit liberal with superglue, preventing adjustment.
Finding a fishing tackle shop or a venetian blind factor might help keep your girlfriend a bit happier, as well. The plastic based line has the advantage of not rotting with age, as opposed to the organic stuff.

Islander51

I put a HS-625MG in my Vic a few years back, and I've had no trouble with it.
Enough torque for those little sails without having to luff up to get them in,
metal gears for long life, and standard size so it fits in the servo tray easily.
It also weighs much less than the others, only 55g.
785HB (drum) is 110g ; 815BB is 152g. (Aprox 28g=1oz.)
I remember it being quite expensive, about £30 I think,
but there are now a lot of much cheaper 6-10 Kg/Cm servos out there.
There's this one http://www.howesmodels.co.uk/RadioCo...hp?ProdID=2918
or this http://www.howesmodels.co.uk/RadioCo...hp?ProdID=2914
Even with postage, this might be the way to go.

Islander51.

mfr02

Thanks for that, Islander, I might just do a bit of shopping myself!
Good grief! What am I saying?

Breytac

Yes, thanks for that Islander. I might actually get one of those servo's as the torque seems to be the same but at a much lighter weight than the Hitec servos.

I had read that Thunder Tiger supply just enough line for the rigging and control lines. Hence the reason I would like to use something else other than the supplied line. If I make a mistake with the measurements, I know I have enough to cut another length of line.

Edit: Would [link=https://store.bcf.com.au/productdetails.aspx?PLU=303956]this[/link] be suitable to use for rigging/control lines?

mfr02

I'm a bit uncertain about the colour, and the pack size, which makes for a very expensive deal.
The site in this link tells you remarkably little - probably plenty for a fisherman who knows what he is buying anyway, but we are using the stuff for something else.
A suitable alternative is the thinnest Venetian blind cord you can find, which is often available in hardware shops and home improvement stores. A quick google found this

http://fasteners.hardwarestore.com/1...rd-177253.aspx

The lighter stuff further down the page would be my choice, but obviously I would be looking for a supplier nearer home.

Islander51

If you've got that store near you, then this
should be OK

https://store.bcf.com.au/ProductDetails.aspx?PLU=128480

Much cheaper, and enough for lots of boats!

Islander51

Guiri

If you can't find "Spectra" in your local fishing tackle shop, look for "Dyneema", which is more or less the same.

Breytac

Thanks for that Islander. I thought $100 for fishing line was a bit steep. 150 yards equals about 137 metres in metric, so yes, that is more than enough for my needs. And I doubt very much that more than 50 pounds (about 22kg) of wieght will be exerted on ANY part of the rigging or control line.

Now. for my radio equipment. I was thinking of going for the [link=http://www.rysa.com.au/part/faa2.htm]Futaba Attack 2ch[/link] with a [link=http://www.rysa.com.au/part/HT765.htm]Hitec Sail Arm Servo[/link]. 110g sounds like a lot to me, but remember, this is just for pleasure, so weight really isn't a concern.

Just rememner, I live in Australia, so suggesting anywhere outside of Australia for radio equipment would be futile as it would be more expensive for radio gear due to increased shipping costs and freight.

Islander51

The Futaba Attack should be fine, just remove the spring from the left hand stick, and route the aerial from the Rx up the shrouds to get best possible reception. The Tx is not power hungry,unlike more expensive computer sets, so with some 2500 mAh Ni-MH cells sailing all day is easy.
I still think that the 765 is overkill compared to the 645, not just the weight, but also the size and ease of fitting into the servo box. Remember that a lighter boat will be more responsive and accelerate faster than a heavier one-more fun!
Thinking of weight, your local archery club will often have damaged arrows that you can use to replace the stock mast and booms, or CF tube can be found at a kite shop.
Don't forget this site: http://www.victoriarc.org/index.html
lots of good stuff there.

Islander51

mfr02

The servo box as designed is a close fit. Anything physically bigger will need a redesign.

Breytac

Thanks for all your help. When the time comes, I'm not only going to have fun building it, but also sailing it. I've looked at the Victoriia resource centre site, and will definitely be getting some of the upgrades, the mast, booms and sails in particular.

Just for your info Islander, I've decided to go for the Hitec HS-645. Lighter,smaller and similar torque to 745 (I think it's around 2cm/kg difference).

Once again, thanks for everyone's help.

Now to start saving...

Trakka

Hey there Breytac!

If you haven't yet found a supplier, try here...

http://www.modelflight.com.au/boats_sailing_yachts.htm

Cheers,

Andrew

larrykin

Breytac - just wondering. You live in Qld. From what I've seen on the net most people up your way are sailing bigger boats. Like A Class, Marblehead, 10 Raters and IOMs. You want to buy a Victoria . A small boat at 780mm length. Costs $199 PLUS radio gear and sail servo. So that's about another $130. From memory the upgrades are a new mast and sails straight off. Guess that's another $120. And new rigging line, and ancillary bits... say $40.

You're now looking at a spend of nearly $500 for a 780mm boat. And the Thunder Tiger MRP Victoria is rated as a beginners boat. Before you step-up to a "real" rc sailboat.

My first boat was 750mm in length. I was happy with it for about ½ an hour. First time on the water, guy arrived at the lake with a 1m Kyosho Seawind which he had paid $200 for on ebay. It killed my boat on handling, speed, and FUN. It was a much better boat to sail.

One of my boats is an MRP 1m Voyager. I paid $110 for it. Also from ebay. With all my upgrades and radio gear, HiTec HS-645MG sail servo it still has only cost me just over $500 all up. The IOM mast, booms and rigging alone cost me $280. This boat flies now and handles like a dream. I personally would not go for a boat less than 1m in length [8D]. Bigger boats are easier to sail. They can withstand stronger winds and the upgrades cost the same. If I were you I'd keep my eye out on ebay. Lots of boats for sale in Qld. But DO NOT buy one of those cheap Chinese boats. I recently saw a 10R in Qld for sale on ebay at $600 with radio etc.

Larry L.

mfr02

So, got an inexpensive 6Kg servo.
It is a drop-in fit, the supplied horn will need modding to take the sail arm and the splines are different to those on the Futaba.
Initial trials indicate that a better battery pack is needed. Everything jitters furiously with the new servo, but the servo works OK when plugged into a different model with a larger battery. Could be a wiring harness problem as well. It looks like the more powerful motor is de-stabilising the power supply, giving everything that is voltage referenced a constantly changing aiming point.