IOMICA Forum

Our club needs a new set of buoys, and I want us to do this right. In the past we've had a sort of rigid PVC pipe canister, surrounded by styrofoam donuts that can slide up and down on the canister; these get filthy, and in my opinion are too complicated. I've seen spherical, apparently inflatable, ...

When you say short do you mean taking the switch out and then joining the loose ends of reds together and the loose ends of black together? On my winch there are three wires coming out of the housing that go to the switch: red, orange and brown**. The switch connects the red and brown wires when it...

I have the documentation now so I'll get my scanner out sometime today and see what I can make of it. Well thank you kindly! My email is wahlcf@earthlink.net. If there's any way I can return the favor, please let me know. By the way, I did cut the orange wire going to the switch, with no ill effect...

I think you'll find that the ribbon cable enters the switch but only one of the wires is toggled by the switch. Thanks, Barry, but I don't want to put you out. Depending on the comprehensiveness of the winch manual, it might not tell me what I want to know anyway. The winch I have has had the origi...

I didn't ask for a lecture, but a wiring diagram; I think that I know what I'm doing. In fact, the switch shorts red and brown wires (that connect to it) in the "on" position, and the red and orange wires in the "off" position. I think that you will find, commercial ribbon wire being what it is, tha...

I bought a boat that has a Graupner Regatta winch in it, and I would like to eliminate the switch (just to make things simpler). The problem is that three wires are connected to the switch (at least on this one). Do they all do something? I believe that orange is signal, red positive, and brown nega...

Actually, I asked Håkan Grönvall about this, and he is quite aware that there are other anatomic features named sphincters -- it's just a joke that's a bit drier than usual, heh heh.

I think it's a bit disingenuous for someone who has posted opinions on the subject several times to be suggesting that the forum stop discussing it. The fire hydrant is clearly here for anyone to piss on, so y'all come and do it all you want! I find the defensiveness of the anti-Phigit camp sort of ...

I use AutoCAD for my work, and if you send me a file that's a DWG, I can save it "down" to Release 14 for you, provided that it was not written in AutoCAD 2007! We have AutoCAD 2006, purchased last year, and have already discovered that we can't open files written by the "2007" version.

I've been using Hitec dual conversion receivers (like the DCX pictured in an earlier post, or the Supreme 3500), with one of the short "loaded" antennas made for park flyers, but for the 75 MHz band in the US. Absolutely no problems with interference or range, and it's very easy to put this under th...

There are two general formulations of silicones available nowadays: acid cure using acetic acid, and the newer neutral cure types. Acid cure silicone is not so environmentally friendly, and in fact is now restricted or banned in places; however it has the catalyst for the curing reaction within itse...

I'm not an expert, but here are the features that I would find useful or essential: If you plan to compete in other venues than your home pond, I would say that the ability to change frequency easily is a big plus. This means one of a) owning lots of crystals for transmitter and receiver b) owning a...

Most designs I sail with (Ericca, Cockatoo, Disco, Bagheera, various others) actually have a fairly plumb transom viewed from the side, though the concave afterdeck("skiff style") is the norm. The Disco has a thwart across the upper corners of the transom, to which the backstay is attached, raising ...

Thanks for the advice, Lester, but really the problem is that the mast has a peculiar "hamartia": it's spliced about a third the way up, which makes the lower part too stiff/straight. Also, it's deck-stepped, even though the hull has a mast hole for keel-stepping. The mainsail wants more curvature i...

I realize that you're not in the US, but I will second the recommendation for BlackMagick sails. I've ordered a second suit, being so pleased with the first. I got them from Don Ginthner of Great Basin (www.gbmy.com), and purchased the standard set (neither of the lighter jib options). The jib mater...

BlackMagick Sails has a few pages that I've found interesting and helpful. Here's a good place to start:

http://www.magicksails.com/KiwiSails16.html

BTW, I have a suit of their sails, and like them.

Very nice work, and excellent photo documentation too.

How did you taper the planks (and calculate the correct taper profile), and what thickness planking did you use?

What weight fiberglass cloth?

How did things work out weight-wise?

Hello everyone, I was hunting for a way to compare servos, the closest I could find was this: http://www.fatlion.com/sailplanes/servochart.html but it’s not searchable & didn’t really give me what I wanted. So I came up with my own. Thinking others might find it useful I’ve had a stab at putt...

Thanks for the information. I have the plans, but a local sailor said the boat was suited for windspeeds of 5 knts. and under conditions only. Based on your comments, I assume it will do well in winds over that range. By the way, I seem to notice a trend to narrower beam boats, away from the wide s...

Has anyone tried Redwood? I did a Google search "cedar strip" and found a (USA/NH) source for stripwood to build kayaks and canoes. They can supply Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata), Alaskan Yellow (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis), or Northern White (Thuja occidentalis L.). While they generally cut str...

Rule 3.1: Materials shall not be of density higher than lead (11.300 kg/m3). If you mixed tungsten with some resin, you could get a mixture that did not exceed the density of lead, but the tungsten material (19,250 kg/m3) would not comply. I speculate that Rob's point is that this would be difficult...

1)No I am not talking about Spanish Cedar. No such common name exists here anyway - see 2.) below. I am all in favour of scientific names (as I have worked most of my life with trees and shrubs) and think they avoid the confusion of using common names which change from place to place and often add ...

If Roy Thompson is talking about Spanish Cedar (cedrela odorata, not really from Spain, but imported from Brazil or elsewhere in SA) then it's not the same as Western Red Cedar (thuja plicata); not that this matters that much. The former weighs around 30 pcf, while the latter is usually lighter, say...

Mahogany is relatively easy to work, and a time-honored boat material. Basswood (a.k.a. lime) is conveniently available from hobby sources, but rather featureless, if looks are important. Cedar can be beautiful, is fairly lightweight, and fairly rot-resistant; but the dust is toxic/allergenic. Anigr...

Having thought about this some more, it might be simpler to limit the extent of the swivel by relating it to the rig, rather than the hull/deck. Certainly this would be easier to measure. So how about Add, at the end of C.7.6: "Elements of the swivel and/or fittings, which are susceptible to changes...

Hullo, Lester, By "section" I assume you mean "slice" or plane. Quite right. Is the "underwater profile" any particular one (such as transverse sections perpendicular to the centreplane) The way I read it, it is the projection of the hull onto a vertical, fore and aft plane. A silhouette if you like...

Ref: Class Rules D.2.2 Is "waterplane" the section through waterline, or something else? Is "underwater profile" restricted to that (wet) portion of the hull beneath water when at rest in calm, or to any surface that might become "underwater" -- such as, the deck when the boat dives in a blow? Is th...

. . . it may be worth noting that a number of designs would fall foul of such a rule. In these designs, the swivel attachment point is recessed in a well or channel in the deck. And, in the case of a curved or peaked foredeck, as is very common, it would be difficult for a measurer to decide whethe...

Could you work your definition of "deck" up, and give us something that might actually be proposed as a new rule in place of C.7.6? Here's my humble attempt, consciously avoiding an attempt to define "deck". Add to C.7.6 one sentence: "Elements of the swivel and/or fittings, which are susceptible t...

The transmitters I use are oldies now: Futaba Super 7s ( model FP-7U[AorG][ForP]S); but they happen to have just the sort of features that are mighty useful for yacht use, namely programmable exponential response on the throttle (winch) and aileron (rudder) channels, and also variable endpoint adjus...