RC BOATING YACHTING Builds Predators Force2 60 Catamaran

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      Thought I may as well start a new topic for the Cat.

      Looks like there are at least 7 on their way to Tassie with 2 in the North (Mr P & PhotoKat) and 5 in the South (Snit, Predator, Murzwern, Mr T & Kyle).

      Not bad for their first day of sales. Lets just hope they live up to their advertised hype and their DF65 breeding (well input anyway).

      NOTE: Pics “borrowed” from Hobby Warehouse site listing, hopefully will be replaced with real “Tassie – In Action” shots by next weekend.

      For anyone looking to purchase, here is the link:  https://www.hobbywarehouse.com.au/joysway-8806-force2-60-rc-yacht.html

      To follow the breaking news (worldwide) on these boats ShipShape RC topic link is here:  https://www.shipshaperc.com/index.php/forum/force-2-cat/1536-slow-force-2-catamaran#16832

      cont…

      Well the package arrived yesterday & so far I’ve assembled the stand (around 1 minute) and fitted the keel fins & rudders.

      Also stepped the mast to see how she looks but have not started on the rigging yet.

      Have a problem (same as everyone else is reporting) of the rudders binding badly so first priority tomorrow will be to rectify that by probably drilling out the rudder posts.

      There is also quite a bit of flexing between the hulls & cross beams so I may disassemble this and see if it needs to be epoxied or the screws tightened as this part came pre assembled.

      I intend to remove the supplied radio gear and fit my standard yacht radio system – a waterproofed HK-T6A V2 6 channel 2.4Ghz programmable radio system with the antenna installed inside the hull – under the deck.

      For anyone using the standard radio system with antenna exposed to the elements outside the hull, make sure you seal the top of the antenna wire with silicone (RTV732) to prevent water ingress to the wire & subsequent corrosion. Believe me, the water WILL wick down the exposed antenna wire very quickly & start to corrode.

      Some more pics cos we all like pics better than words. 8)

      The packaging is very good

      The assembled stand is quite substantial construction

      One Keel fin fitted & one to go

      Sail Winch & Rudder Servo

      Battery holder & Rxr (will change all this).

      An overall shot with the “A” mast installed

      cont…

      This is the start of Rebuild No 1 of the Force2 60 Catamaran from Joysway.

      We are attempting to rectify some of the percieved manufacturing faults.

      First off all rigging, mast, rudders, keel fins are removed.

      Next is to gently remove the (NOT) sealing  tape over the eight bridge fixing screws holding the hulls to the bridge.

      Whilst it is unlikely these will be re used it is wise to store them safely just in case.

      Next the battery/radio tray & the servo/sail winch trays are removed, each has 4 screws securing it and the battery tray also has a remote switch operating lever to be disconnected before tray removal.

      Now remove the 8 screws holding the Bridge to the hulls. This will quickly reveal why these boats leak (badly).

      Whilst the captive nuts that the bridge fixing screws go into are sealed the rear bridge arms contain the servo wiring and this runs through a large hole in both hulls. Unfortunately NO attempt has been made during original assembly to waterproof this area and any water flowing over the hulls or splashing on the  bottom of the bridge piece WILL end up in the hulls which just happen to contain all the NON WATERPROOFED electrics.

      The sail winch & rudder servo appear to be non waterproof.

      The servo extension leads are of the NON LOCKING variety and will need to be glued together after filling with Vaseline as once the hulls are reattached to the bridge they are near on impossible to check for looseness or corrosion.

      Once all was dismantled the hulls were filled with water and leak tested. Ther appear to be NO leaks around the eyelets, the keel fin tube seems to be sealed well (doesnt look like it but tests OK) and apart from the two sets of gear tray screw holes & the servo wiring holes ihe integrity of the hulls seems fine.

      Now onto the bridge dismantling & checking .

      Dismantled the Front Bridge arms by removing the 16 small Stainless Steel self drilling screws & then GENTLY prising off the locking rings from the front & rear of the centre pole.  Use a wide blade screwdriver for this and with a bit of gentle pressure they will slide partway down the pole & release the two halves of the bridge.

      You will notice that the centre pole is actually in two pieces which does not help with rigidity but it does let the mast step lower into the bridge frame.

      I intend to simply run a bead of RTV 732 silicone adhesive/sealant around ALL the mating surfaces including the mast step & centre pole & then reassemble.

      You will note on the bottom assembly (RHS last pic above) that the wiring slots (not used on the front bridge arms) allow water to drain from the entire arm into the centre housing due to the slope of the housing, this is OK till the boat heels over then the water will (as factory supplied) drain into the hulls (rear only).

      If there is any slight water ingress after sealing this design flaw can be used to an advantage & a small hole drilled in the centre housing of both the front & rear arms would allow any trapped moisture to drain out while the boat was stored.

      Small bungs could be provided to stop ingress when sailing.    Hopefully this won’t be needed but one must prepare for all eventualities.

      Once the front bridge arms are reassembled I will do the same for the rear & post some more pics if anything is found to be different.

      For now it’s onto waterproofing the new Rxr (HK-T6A V2) and the sail winch & steering servo.

      As waterproofing electronics for salt water use has been covered on this site before I will simply link to that post rather than do it all again.

      https://www.rctoystasmania.com/apps/forums/topics/show/9280916-how-to-waterproof-electronics-for-salt-water-use

      Continuing right along.

      As it turned out the rear bridge arms are identical to the front ones with the exception that they have two blank plates fitted where the mast step is on the front arms.

      Both the Mast Step (top & bottom) and the blank plates (top & bottom) need to be sealed with silicone before reassembly.

      Mast Step (Front arm bottom plate)

      Mast Step (Front arm top plate)

      Rear Arm (Top Blank Plate removed for sealing)

      Rear Arm (Top Blank Plate reinstalled & sealed from inside)

      Rear Arm (Bottom Blank Plate removed for sealing)

      The Servo extension leads run via the rear bridge arms and penetrate both the arm & the hull proper (Both Sides), these must be well sealed as this is where the water gets into the hull through. I sealed the arm penetrations on both sides with silicone & then sealed the arms into the hull

      After all the internal sealing work was completed satisfactorily it was time to reassemble the bridge arms,.

      A bead of silicone was run around the entire external mating surface & all screw holes then the arm covers reinstalled on the centre post.

      Be aware that both bridge pieces are identical so make sure they are assembled correctly on the shaft and in the correct orientation (I stuffed up first time and had the front arm facing in the wrong direction – a real pain to clean all the sealer off & start again).

      Once the surfaces are screwed back together & checked against the hulls for spacing etc you need to clean off the excess silicone that will have been forced from the join when all is screwed together.

      Only use dry facial tissues & / or rag as turps etc can penetrate the seal and ruin it before it is properly cured. It cleans off the plastic quite easily as long as it is done BEFORE curing has occurred.

      Last but not least small O Rings were fitted under the Keel Fin fixing knobs to provide a seal & assist in holding the knobs tight. DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN.

      The Cat hull is now reassembled & the electrics reinstalled.

      I have fitted a new waterproof Rxr as mentioned previously & a 5 cell AAA NiMh battery pack.

      The rudders were a bit tight so a 1/8 drill bit was carefully run through the rudder bearings to alleviate the binding, all operate freely now.

      Will start a new post on the Rigging.

      cont…

      Finally got around to rigging the Cat today and actually got it in the water for its first sail.

      The Rigging is a no brainer, just follow the supplied instructions and you can’t go wrong.

      Once all the rigging was completed & tested it was time to do some measurements

      Sailing weight inc 5 x AAA NiMh Battery pack 1038gm

      Masthead weight 56gm

      Calculated that a 50mm x 50mm x 25mm block of LPDE foam would float 56gm of lead weight.

      The Prototype Mast Float

      In practical testing at our local sailing venue this proved to be just too small

      Boat floated on its back just fine

      but was not up to the task on its side with the additional weight of the wet sails.

      And why do we say you need to install mast floats, in a flip over it takes about 3 seconds to go from this

      to this

      When totally inverted rescue is very difficult.

      A couple of pics from today’s sailing.

      More pics & videos can be found in the appropriate sections of this site.

      Tomorrow I will test with a 75mm x 50mm x 30mm mast float & with the predicted high winds no doubt it will get plenty of testing.

      cont…

      I have been promising to update this build post for many weeks with the latest mod to our Cats down in Tassie so here it is finally- hope it was worth the wait.

      An update on the latest F2-60 mods from Southern Tasmania.

      Design & Installation of Arm Winches in place of the far too slow Drum Winches.

      Initially tried fitting an arm to the servo with the servo simply relocated to the outer holes in the servo tray.

      The Servo used is

       

      A slightly cheaper (but also effective) option is

      This proved ineffective as the hull clearance would not allow a long enough arm to be fitted to give appropriate sheet travel.

      Options were,

      1) fit a 90deg winch instead of a standard 60deg travel

      2) relocate servo & fit longer arm.

      As I already had the servo I wished to use ( 35kg Digital Hi-Speed with encoder) option 2 was chosen.

      This was done by simply cutting the side from the original servo tray and moving the servo to the outside holes & using 2 screws only to secure the servo.

      If this eventually fails a CF tray will be made and this will allow a further 5mm length to be added to the winch arm.

      A couple of small stainless steel eyes were added to the tray, one to guide the sheet and one to anchor the return end of the sheet (double pull setup)

      The result is a 43mm effective arm length which results is an 86mm sheet travel. Doesn’t sound much but it significantly greater than I was getting with the original drum winch coupled to an HK T6A-V2 radio system.

      Sheet speed is also increased significantly and the result is a boat that’s much easier to sail as instant sail changes are required with the Cat to get the best performance in anything other than steady winds

      Jib Travel (Full Out)

      Jib Travel (Full In)

      Also replaced the hopeless little rubber seals on the rudder arms, these ones were from HK but are almost identical to what the DF has fitted. They seal into the hull (needs to be drilled out slightly) and with a small amount of grease inside (or thicker servo links) the inner can be sealed as well.

      This prevents a significant amount of water entering the hull in a rollover.

      cont…

      Its another rainy day down in Hobart so an ideal time to do a few more mods to the Cat.

      I had previously decided to change back to the full “A” mainsail for the next round of tests so needed to complete the quick change rigging.

      Its not rocket science and no doubt its been done before but this was the simple solution I went with.

      1) get a piece of wooden dowel of appropriate size for your needs (in this case I used a 10mm x 40mm fluted dowel-because I had one and it was close enough)

      2) cut a groove the entire length & just under half way through (you can use a hacksaw or a Dremel style tool with grinding wheel

      3) clip dowel onto side of sail where you need to make mast loop

      4) tie first loop with a double wrap (prevents slipping while you secure knot – old butchers trick)

      5) pull tight & then knot off with second loop

      6) pull tight & trim to length then melt ends of dyneema (I use a “Hot Devil” but a match or lighter will suffice if you are careful)

      7) the finished loop that can be duplicated exactly for each fixing point

      I already had clips fitted to the top & bottom

      and a toggle fitted to the adjustable sail foot

      This is how Voodoo II is now rigged with the Arm Sail Winch

      It now takes less than one minute to change from the “A” to the “A-” sail.

       

      While I was tinkering, decided to make a few changes to the livery, can’t have them all looking alike.

      Also fitted a new slightly larger styrofoam float to the masthead (now 70mm ball)

       

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