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My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

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My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

Old 06-20-2010, 03:17 PM
  #26  
R.J. West
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

Basswood is a neat lightweight easy wood to work with. I do plan on building another Ace soon. As Jet says the Dumas plans were tough to decipher when it comes to rigging and when I was a kid it was pretty much guesswork on my part. It has a small sail area so yeah your gonna need a breeze to get it going however mine handles chops & winds up to 20mph no problem. The sail'sare fully adjustable for any sea conditions.
The keels shouldnt be a gig deal my first thought was to get one of those small melting pots over at the fishing shop and buy some bulk lead. You can probably make a simple plaster mold from the original...and some brass or steel sheet and there ya go.....
Old 06-20-2010, 07:24 PM
  #27  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

oh yeah, basswood will be fine for this. I built planes with with my father for years, So I got a bit of a handle on the stuff my biggest choice in bass wood is economy for the assembly line. the models will be painted solid and I'll be using wood fillers for the gaps this time so there's no need to use mahogany on those.
One thing you can't see in my pic up there is that I took some scrap planked mahogany to end cap the stern and that looks pretty nice with the finish. the mahogany is not stained, its only the poly coating providing the sheen.. The next time I do one for myself I'm thinking of using planked mahogany set at a 45 degree from the bow. The biggest concern there is that the planked sheeting is prone to cracking along the ribs. Thats fine and encouraged for a tight radius bend, but can suck if yer trying to make a gentle slope and it splits on you! Steaming the wood should make it easier though. I usually use 90% iso alcohol for bending balsa and what not. I find its not as prone to accidentally warping the wood. But I got a steamer so I'll be putting it to good use.

the keel bulb? yep... already ahead of you friend I'll be using the drawings to make a balsa form of the bulb half, make a two piece mold in plaster of paris and in a tin/lead alloy. you might know it better as reclaimed wheel waits from the tire shop Considering these things will be given away to small children I'll also be coating the keel bulbs with plastic tool dip. Y'know? that stuff you tip wrench handles in and what not to insulate and provide grip? they sell that stuff in cans in a multitude of colors. I figure its the best way to protect the kids from the lead in the alloy. Just regular galvanized for the keel and rudder like in the kit. I can get a roll of that stuff from the hardware store that'll last me years!
Sail material can be regular rip stop nylon kite material.

Oh! I also solved my little problem with the mast shrouds.. in my big pile goodies I found a couple of packs of random cotter pins. picked out some that slid right into the 1/16th brass tube stock. A little shot of regular rosin core solder will secure them and now I have a nice tight loop!

Been a long hard day in the beer mines so I intend to get some grub when I get home, and pass right the eff out. but, I'm jazzed to get the rigging done in the morning
Old 06-20-2010, 11:39 PM
  #28  
R.J. West
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

Sounds like a good deal! Show some pics when your done!
Old 06-21-2010, 03:46 PM
  #29  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

Gotten into the rigging today. And finally had to get around to making a stand. Soon realized that yes, they give you just enough rigging line that if you screw up... you're screwed.

next step is finding a spool of tiny nylon rope!

I'm including a picture... lets see if I got the upload thing right

edit: located the nylon twine... at a bead supply store! the beaders apparently use it in macramé.
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Old 06-21-2010, 05:14 PM
  #30  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

Hey it looks great! Whatcha gonna do with that Cox Golden Bee in the background? Backup in case theres no wind?
Old 06-21-2010, 08:23 PM
  #31  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

you like that little guy? fully functional and older than me! I recently did a complete over haul on it and its running just fine! I actually have a micro stik waiting for her. that's also a simple and small build and I belive I can send you the PDF of the plans if yer interested. easily converted to micro brush-less.

i work mostly in small scale considering my work space and I like having stuff I can throw in the trunk and just go. My father, the master craftsman has all the tools and gear for his giant scale planes but hes come down with parkensons and cant really fly anymore. we occasionally go out and buddy box the big guys.
but thats a different story... Im leaning more towards the ground based stuff becuase they're not as prone to exploding in clouds of balsa dust if you mess up. but I fly drive and sail. this boat is actually my first straight up sail boat so I'm learning that part of the hobby. but mostly I get off on the build.

and while I thank you for the compliments... up close the boat doesn't look that great. there are runs and sags in the finish, and the water line is... blah. the little sloop has defintly been a learning experience, and I consider this a Toy boat build. been showing it off to my regs at the pub, and I already got two preorders for the assembly line. had to tell them that it wont be as nice unless they want it to be.

yeah... wind... looks like we got a long hot summer ahead of us here. which if history has anything to say for it... I wont really be able to put this little guy in the water to truely trim her out untill september. its just gonna be hot and still between now and then
Old 06-21-2010, 10:13 PM
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

Yes thank you i would love to get a copy of the plans. I have an interest in trying my hand at C/L Cox planes and also for RC. I even built a small 18" Atlas van lines hydroplane powered by a cox .049 here on the forums. In addition theres a thread started by jetpack entitled "Dumas 1/2A boat club" you might want to check out here on the forums full of pics N' info of small .049 powered boats...
Old 06-22-2010, 08:34 AM
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

hmm.. the thingy wont let me upload a .pdf

well, here's a direct link to the file

[link=http://my.pclink.com/%7Edfritzke/lastick.pdf]1/8a ugli stik[/link]

the files are full sized for regular printer paper
Old 06-23-2010, 12:22 AM
  #34  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

well, I guess this littel girl is as far as i can take her. next step is putting her in the water and trimming out.
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Old 06-23-2010, 09:18 PM
  #35  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

There ya go! Yeah its a cute little boat isnt it? Looks good and I'm sure you'l be surprised by it when it hits the water......have fun!
Old 06-24-2010, 06:05 AM
  #36  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

Hey Ron that is cute! As an aside: it reminds me a lot of Star class boats. If you decide to get into R/C sailing (or even to check it out more), I think Brownsville is a hotbed of Star45 sailers.

Are any of you Ace Sloopers using vane steering or braine gear like on the first page of this thread? I'd like to know more about that and free sailing!
Old 06-24-2010, 07:48 PM
  #37  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

hey Al. I've studied that drawing and getting some ideas. so I might attempt a recreation sometime in the nearish future. I understand some free sail rigs can be set up to return to the launch point. With this rig... as I understand it right, is set up so that if all goes right, all you gotta do is walk to the other side of the pond to retrieve it

what i REALLY like about this design is the "toy boat"ishness of it. its not a scale model of anything, there is no strive of accuracy to anything protypical in the world.. Its simply a toy boat. sure its gotta be of good construction, balanced, then dialed in for proper functionality, but this boat has has no airs about it, she is what she is.
I'm calling this boat the prototypical "toy boat" and intend to have a lot of fun with it
Old 06-25-2010, 05:41 AM
  #38  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

There ya go: it's just cool because it is... great stuff!
Old 06-26-2010, 01:05 PM
  #39  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

Hi Al thanks for the input! I'll look into it, I have ran into one fellow that was running a 30" sailboat a year or so ago in the San Benito resaca. I do have my eyes set on a Dumas Star 45 on ebay right now.
That Braine schematic I found on a free sailing website I found while "googling around". I forgot the link sorry, but I remember it was a design from the early 1900's. I dont see why it couldnt be adapted for the Ace. The Dumas setup on the ace is designed to keep it on a straight track within reason of course. It works for the most part. I would suggest using heavier wire for the tiller arm other than the thin supplied wire as it flexes too much with the wind cauing my boat to make little zig zags sometimes.
I sailed my boat on a 12 acre lake which I thought was perfect size for this boat. It allowed me plenty of time to causually walk around & time to watch the boat sail thru the water....
Old 07-12-2010, 11:13 AM
  #40  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

not much breeze today, but I couldn't let her sit on the stand any longer and I had to get her wet!

I have to learn more about trimming her out, but I think she did very well considering.
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Old 07-19-2010, 07:48 PM
  #41  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

been playing around alot with my elliot bay steam launch, but we were having some 5mph winds with 8mph gusts. So, I decided to take the sloop out with me.

it was nice to plunk her in the water, give a little push, and watch her do her thing as the I was firing up the boiler on the steamer.

she did very well... lazely going this way and that across the lily pad pond.

in fact, after the steamer had done her thing and had come into dock. the sloop decided she wanted to go back to the middle of the pond.. when I went to go wait for her on the bank, she turned off and went into some reeds!

guess she wasn't done sailing for the day
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Old 09-01-2011, 08:01 AM
  #42  
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Default RE: My newly built Dumas Ace Sloop

I know this thread is a little old, but I'm just about to finish my Ace sloop and would appreciate a little help. Is there any trick to help get the rigging tight? I'm sort of fighting myself trying to get the fore, aft, and shroud stays secure. Seems like as soon as I get one tight, the other loosens up.
Also, does your main boom extend past the aft stay line? Is the boom not supposed to swiing freely from side to side? I'm guessing on a free sailer it doesn't really matter as it's generally not going to turn. I triple checked my measurements and made sure the boom was cut to the specified length on the plans, and the mast step plate is in the correct location. Did I screw the pooch on something or is that how it should be?

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