KIT IOMs

We will take a look at pure kit manufacturers as well as the kits available from our complete boat builders. I am not a kit builder myself, so I cannot offer first hand advice, but will try to get you as much information as possible.

WINDSTAR - The first kit that has come to our attention is made by Robbe in Germany, maker of many kits for various types of powered boats and reported to be a quality manufacturer. The boat is called the Windstar and a construction article that was printed in Marine Modelling International is included by permission from the author, John Cox and the publisher Traplet Publications Limited. To read the article in full, click on the pages of the Construction Article below on the right.

Looking at the web site for Robbe you will see that the basic boat kit costs about $205 US, plus shipping of $49 for a total of $254 from Germany. There may be the opportunity to order the kit directly from your local hobby shop. There is a note on the web site: For competition work an optional non-pigmented hull can be used. Be sure you do this, as the boat does not conform to the class rules with a hull that is pigmented through and through.

John Cox was kind enough to give us some additional thoughts:

• There are no problems with the slightly underweight fin/keel set-up, in fact on the middle or working suit there might be a slight advantage although this would be minimal. (The keel is about 300 grams lighter than the maximum allowed, and is at the minimum weight.)
• My Windstar  was fitted with high quality sails very similar to Graham Bantock's.  With these rigs it would out sail the other Windstar on all points and was very much faster into the bargain.  I was not impressed with the Robbe sails and their mast MIGHT not comply with the rules, but I'm not sure on that point. (As a comparison, the Robbe rig costs $116 US if shipped with the kit, but we agree with John, the sails are your engine, saving $92 on this item may be foolish, save it on the winch, see the following notes.)
• (On the subject of winches, they can cost up to about $150 US, and can be quite nice, but John Cox says:) On the other hand the sail arm servo is a less expensive alternative)!  I used a HiTec HS815BB,  (check Tower Hobbies servos) with one end of the sheeting line secured to the hull and a small pulley on the arm.  By moving the pulley up and down the arm, the sheet travel could be set up fairly simply.  When sheeting in or out the speed is VERY rapid.  On the down side it is not as powerful as the rotary winch and battery consumption a bit higher. The main concern is to ensure the arm and the attached sheet has a clear arc of movement.  This meant mounting the steering servo well aft. The kit contents of Windstar can all be adapted for sail arm without additional cost. (There is a nice, if not a bit complicated, discussion about using a lever arm sail servo on Lester Gilbert’s site, look at Arm Winch Oct 02 down the left hand column. It is a money saving alternative, and with the higher capacity AA batteries available now, it might not be a drawback.) A site with a simpler schematic and explanation is the US 1M Construction Guide,  on the American Model Yachting Association (AMYA) web site..
• In all I probably invested about £30 ($47 US) in the hull on top of the kit price.  Of course I have a lot of materials to hand in my workshop as I cover all sorts of sailing models for the magazine.
• You might be aware that the Windstar retailed with the white finished hull does not comply with the regulations, only the hull produced clear glass fibre which can be sprayed with car paints.  Another point to remember is that the fittings must use the recommended adhesives.  Epoxy adhesive will not bond.

The following is a cost summary based on John Cox's and our thoughts about the boat needs. This represents about $500 less than the least expensive boat that comes to you already built, see our Cost Comparison - Complete Boats page.

The Robbe rig is listed at $116 on their web site, but the shipping cost makes it out of the question.

Some of the costs for equipment by the supplier are lower, but we recommend you go with our standards that are outlined at the bottom of the Cost Comparison - Complete Boats page and are as follows:

• Mast; The mast is a 1/2 inch diameter.
• Booms; The booms are the SAILSetc, extrusion for the main and the lightweight arrow shaft for the jib.
• Rig Fittings; The fittings are the SAILSetc parts noted in the fittings section.
• The above items, in a complete kit from Great Basin Model Yachts is $133 including shipping.
• Sails  $60; The sails are Housemartin, about $20 under other sails

• Remember, the savings between the component price and the price including rigs by some manufacturers will be made up with your time putting the rigs together, not a quick job at all. The cost of all the parts for your first rig, including sails, is estimated at a Total Cost of $193.This complete rig is available from Great Basin Model Yachts and you can see the details on our Rigs page.

• The radio is a standard at $70, plus about $48 for 13 batteries and $40 for a charger. For details look at our Electronics page. Be sure to get at least 1800 Mah AA batteries, the higher capacity the better!

(The only exception to our standards for the complete boats is to use a sail arm servo instead of a winch, see our Winches page, based on John's recommendation, and the cost savings of this selection offsets much of the cost of a better rig and sail combination.)

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Robbe Windstar

ROBBE WINDSTAR

Construction Article

Click on the page below to read the full article courtesy of the Author and Traplet Publications Limited

Page 1

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01/09/2006