Project Description and Construction Details
This project is the conversion of a schooner pond yacht hull into a radio control sailing model. The client already has a sister ship of the original pond yacht that was converted to radio control sailing some years ago. He lent me that model to use as a template for this conversion. The goal is to generate a sister ship to his existing model so his grand children can race the two boats on an even footing. Part of the process will be to update the radio control electronics in the existing RC model so that both boats will have the same systems. The conversion will involve changing the ballast, setting up the spars and rigging, installing the radio control sysems, building a cabin house and repainting the model. I will also sea trial the model on a local pond this spring.
This is the model that has already been converted for radio control sailing.
This is the hull that I will be setting up for radio control sailing. The first step was to cut and access hole in the deck so I can install the RC hardware.
This picture shows the deck opening with the panle I cut out removed. I will build a mahogany deck house to match that on the other boat to cover this hole. It is always a bit tough to cut into a perfectly nice model, but I had to start somewhere.
The already modified schooner showing the cut down lead ballast (outlined in red) compared to the original ballast (outlined in yellow). I will be cutting down the ballast on the other boat and building a wooden deadwood to replace the lead I remove.
Here is the other schooner with the lead ballast casting removed. The next step will be to cut the lead casting down to match the already modified model.
Today I cut the lead ballast down, built the new deadwood for the keel and built the cabin house. The cabin house has mahogany sides and will have a painted top. After I took this picture I started fiberglassing the cabin top and the new deadwood.
Since my last update I have been fairing and painting the model. The change in the ballast will cause a change in the waterline. So I moved the waterline to match the working schooner. As of today I have finished painting the topsides. I still have to paint the bottom and put one more coat of paint on the deck and cabin top. When that is done I will add the boot stripe. After the painting is finished, I will start installing the radio control hardware and building the rig.
I have now nearly finished painting the model. I still have one coat of paint to go on the topsides, but after that I will start installing the radio control hardware and then building the rig.
Since my last update I met with the client and we decided to make the hull brighter blue. Since then I have repainted the bottom and topsides and also painted the boot stripe. The next step is to start installing the radio control hardware and then to build the rig.
April 8, 08 - It has been nearly two months since I posted a progress report for this model. The reason is that I set the model aside while I finished off a couple of models ahead of it on my schedule. I got back to this model about April 1. Since then I have been working on the rig. As of today, the rig is nearly finished. I still have to complete the turnbuckles, shrouds, forestays and bobstay. When that is done I will make the sails and install the radiocontrol hardware.
April 19, 08 - Since my last update I finished building the rig. Today I made patterns for the sails from the orhte schooner. This picture shows the finished rig with the sail patterns taped in place for final fitting. I made a couple of minor changes after fitting the sails. Later today I will transfer the final sail shapes to the sail cloth. I plan to have the local sail loft cut out the sails with their hot knife so I don't have to stitch all the edges.
April 25, 08 - Today I picked up the cut out sails from the local sail loft and added the reinforcing patches at the corners and attachment points. The sails are made from 4.4 oz. dacron sail cloth. After I finished the saild I installed them and finished the installation of the radiocontrol system. The next step will be to test sail the model.
Arpil 26, 08 - Here is the finished model under sail on the mill pond in Somesvuille, ME. The weather was great although there was a bit more wind that I really wanted for a first test sail. Despite that, the schooner, now named Eagle performed beautifully.
April 26, 08 (cont.) - Here is another shot of Eagle under sail. She really flew when the wind piped up a bit.