Model Yachting – Page 5 – anderswallin.net

Radio installation idea

What's the simplest possible way to install the radio components in the boat?

Here's an idea: Use an FR4 glassfiber PCB-board (yellow) cnc-cut to the correct shape and with cut-outs for the winch, rudder servo, and batteries. Mount it to the deck with long M4 bolts with Y-head screws that mount flush to the deck. Use 50 mm long 10 mm diameter aluminium spacers (blue) to position the plate at the correct height below the deck.

Simple: yes! Works with both HiTec and RMG winch: yes! Easy to manufacture: yes!

Comments?

Update: top view of a shaped radio-board:

Update 2. Here I have drawn 50mm deep U-shaped glassfiber supports that hold the radio-plate from the sides. Also, there is an L-shaped beam which is glued to the finbox and to the sheet-tube which gives additional support to the radio plate:

More PIKANTO hull nr 1 pictures

Some more pictures of hull nr 1. The weight of the hull and deck, including mast/finbox and rudder-tube is 600 g. We hope to improve on that since this prototype hull has a bit too much resin in a lot of places. In 2003 I made this weight-budget for an Italiko, which shows the Italiko hull with fittings and ready for radio-gear weighing 623 grams and requiring more than 100 g of corrector weights.

Hull nr 2 will probably be moulded next weekend, and we hope to make a few changes to the lay-up etc. to produce an even nicer looking boat.

PIKANTO hull Nr 1

We've moulded the first PIKANTO hull!

This is a bit of a prototype since it's some time since Jari or myself moulded a boat, and also because these are brand new moulds and we have never made a boat in one-go like this before: closed mould with the hull, deck, mast/finbox, and ruddertube all attached in one session. We need a bit of routine and practice to get the whole process of "release-agent > gelcoat > resin/fiber > fin/mastobox > close-mould > seal deck-joint" running smoothly. I am sure by hull nr 5 or so we will have learnt the workflow pretty well 🙂

Having said that, this first prototype hull came out of the mould pretty good. There are some problems with an uneven gelcoat layer, and a few places in the foredeck where there is trapped air between fiber/gelcoat. We're considering either cutting away the rounded flanges on the foredeck, or alternatively moulding the deck from many smaller pieces of fiber that would drape around the challenging shapes better. Anyway we are pretty happy that the boat comes out of the mould with deck attached and fin/mastbox + ruddertube in place. I've been thinking about a glass-fiber rudder-tube moulding also, and there's obviously a possibility to add a support under the foredeck for the jib-attachment point, maybe even the mainsheet post tubing also?

This is with a "home-made" gelcoat made out of laminating resin, colloidal silica, and colour-paste. I'm not sure this is optimal and I remember reading on some RC-airplane forum about using 2-pack (polyurethane? or epoxy?) car-paints as gelcoat. Does anyone have links or experience with that?

Polished PIKANTO hull mould

The PIKANTO moulds were polished first with "Oskar’s buffing and polishing compund M-50" and then with "Norpol Rubbing R-10", both from Terpol (www.terpol.fi) in Turku.

Shine mould, shine!

After sanding with 1200-grit and a 10-15um particle-size fine paper it is time for polishing. We have two grades of polishing-compound. These pics show the coarse type which is polished with a spinning soft disk on a power-drill.

After polishing follows release agents: first Frekote and then wax. It's still possible we will mould a prototype hull this year. Stay tuned.

Rudder mould Rock

Pikanto hullmould sanding continues...

I hope to proceed with 800 grit and 1200 grit sanding during the week so that the Pikanto moulds would be ready for baking the first hull over the weekend before Christmas.

Pikanto rudder mould

Jari cnc-milled rudder moulds for the Pikanto IOM this weekend. The design is similar to the Sails ETC rudder, but slightly larger and with a NACA 0006 airfoil profile, and a slot for a 4mm rudder stock.

240 and 400 grit sanding

When not shopping online for lathe-electronics/parts I have been busy sanding the Pikanto moulds. First the last bits of 180-grit today, then all over with 240 grit, and finally started with 400 grit which I will have to continue with next in the next session. The flat bits and large gently curved areas of the hull are easy and quick to work with but as always the devil is in the details. The deck mould has a lot of edges and features that are tricky to sand, and all moulds have a sharp 90-degree edge which is easily damaged when handling the moulds.

The plan is to go 600-800-1200 grit next weekend and do a bit of polishing after that.

Pikanto moulds

Our three-piece hull/deck-moulds for the Pikanto IOM (designed by Graham Bantock) are now ready. The next step is to sand the surface smooth and polish the moulds. We hope to mould a prototype hull before the new year.