Comanche 32

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

This is one of my longer running projects maybe 3 years so far 😀 I had access to the builders drawings from 1978 and thinking this would make an interesting sailing model, the original boat is grp but I have made the hulls of blue foam and the bridge deck of depron & glass cloth & resin, there are some earlier pictures in my album, I now need to build the rig, I have some sails from Frank @ Nylet and with the lock down now would be a good idea to finish it off at last she is 32" long 😃

Regards Ray

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Cruising Cat

[Tim RoweParticipant @timrowe83142]

Hi Ray

I have seen your album photos and have been following.

Tell us some more. Is the rig scale? Will you be having internal or external ballast? Are you adding fins as well as the keel that look like they are scale?

Can't get blue foam or Depron very easily here in Spain otherwise I would like to try these materials.

I think you are having a lockdown-light compared with what we have here.

Tim R

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hello Tim,

Yep we are going stir crazy !! We can walk for exercise, go to the shops for vittals and that's about it, same where you are? The cat has had a blow over with primer and looks promising, it will have the scale rig, probably with a ping pong ball on top of the mast just incase, it will have twin detachable fins & lead bulbs as the Wild Duck, extension rudder are made to add to the scale one's, I will see if it sails without the fins? The lightweight construction I'm hoping it floats on it's scale waterline 😀 I have a bargain Hitec lever servo for the main sheeting, probably a self tacking jib on a horse.

Lovely weather, we had our video team meeting on Microsoft Teams this morning with our 3 Spanish planners in Palma, they said it was cloudy !

Regards Ray

[Tim RoweParticipant @timrowe83142]

Hi Ray

No outside walking for exercise here and no travel to work unless essential services. Whole of Spain is on the motto "quedate en casa" (Stay at home). Yes , cloudy in Palma with a general high overcast so we are not missing too much good weather.

Have just started a flying boat kit for a bit of light relief and in the early stages of a Precedent Huntsman 31 (Don't tell Chris) My excuse is there is a lot of paint drying time on Galileo but really I like starting projects better than finishing them. I suspect I am not totally alone.

Looking forward to seeing the cat taking shape and especially how it sails.

Salud

Tim R

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Ray – yes, it will be good to see this one getting completed having given us glimpses of it before. 3 Spanish planners, you must work for quite a large international building company?

Tim – the cat (pun intended!) was already out of the bag, with you mentioning you had a Precedent Huntsman to build on another thread. Good to hear that you are making a start on it. Is it a timber or plastic hulled version? Flying boat as well, you're both certainly making me look bad. Be glad when I've finished this flippin' DIY and decorating and can spend some serious time on the builds.

Chris

PS. Couldn't believe it over here. Firstly, last night a Pakistani embassy official handed over a bunch of flowers at No. 10 for Boris and a policeman took them from him at the door, they must have only been a couple of feet apart. And today I looked out the window and saw a Council worker mowing the verges on a ride on mower. I know the risk is low but that goes against the rules for the rest of us. Nice to see our grass on the estate being kept neat but his job is hardly essential is it! 

Edited By Chris Fellows on 08/04/2020 21:58:14

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Morning Guy's

There are some photo's of my kit built H31 in my album, only the outside, no woodwork.

Comanche day today, I have a small scale rig GA just trying to scale it up for the mast fitting positions etc 😀

Regards Ray

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Ray. Interesting pro ject, good size. Keels…hmm might not as it’s a cat. Not that I know ‘owt but do model sailing cats need keels like a monohull?

Tim. Yes.. I always try to finish one before starting another, but…

Ashley

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

To do anything other than drift downwind, all sailboats need something in the water for the force on the sails to act against. A rounded hull might not be as effective as wanted.

So some kind of fin, even if it isn't weighted. I did read about a type of sailing punt (flat bottom, vertical slab sides) that relied on the slab sides effect when heeled over doing that job, but I suspect that if it worked that well, it would be a very common arrangement.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Malcolm,

The full-size boat sails with the stub keeps that are moulded into the hulls, but to improve the righting moment I will have removable fin keels as I use On my sailing barges. But it will be interesting to see if she makes any headway to windward without them?

Regards Ray

Edited By Ray Wood 2 on 10/04/2020 11:24:20

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

As variety is the spice of life 😀 I have been going back to being 12 years old and built another KK Invader glider, only 52 years later, all that 1/8" X 1 /8" balsa strip really sorts you out ! !

Oh and Comanche sails & carbon tube mast 😃

Regards Ray

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

A very interesting project, Ray – and I'm quite keen, too, when eventually you get that far (and we're all allowed back out again), to hear how she does on the water!

Mattias

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Mattias,

That makes two of us 😀 this project has taken 90% thinking about how to do it, and 10% actually building it, you will find the H31 easy after Moonbeam with all her sails, did you get to sail her much last year ??

I should have remembered the "cunning plan" was from Blackadder !!

Well into 4077 Mash at the moment 😀

Regards Ray

[Malcolm FraryParticipant @malcolmfrary95515]

I doubt that the weighted fin pictured would be needed, but I do wonder if those mini fins would be effective. An article from waay back suggested a fin area between 5 and 10 percent of the sail area was good. The writer was discussing designing Marleheads, but I expect that the principle applies across many designs, including multi hulls.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Malcolm,

Yes it's going to be interesting , apparently it's not that hard to capsize a cat if you try hard or are not experienced !

But unlike a monohull yacht which eventually spills the wind when it reaches a certain angle, the cat also gets wind under the flying hull which makes it happen really fast !!

Time will tell 😀

Regards Ray

[BanjomanParticipant @banjoman]

Hello Ray,

No, I can't say that Moonbeam saw much time at the pond last year, as the first time I took her there, the water was lower than usual, aand the wind was fairly strong, too, so I managed to sail too close to a rarther rocky part of the shore, with as a result a number of (not too severe) scratches below the waterline.

I still have to take the entire rig down, and turn her upside down in the paint shop, to repair said scratches. Not a big job; just one that I've been putting off …

Cheers,

Mattias

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Mattias,

Well time is on our side at the moment to do a Pukka job of the re-spray of Moonbeam

Good to see so many new names on the forum !!

Regards Ray

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Another long running project this is starting to gather momentum, started with all the white spray primer I had On the whole thing, then with the water line marked on with 6mm Tamiya masking tape the bottom of both hulls Humbrol dark blue, white gloss good idea & red gloss waterline. I'm getting more interested in finishing her off now 😀

The black line in tape not a great idea, now removed. Black Fablon windows.

Regards Ray

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Just to let you know how this cat started life as 2" blue styrofoam, with Depron bridge deck.

regards Ray

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Looking the biz now Ray.

The work you've done on that foam shows that as well as other skills a bit of being a sculptor is required as well!

Chris

Edited By Chris Fellows on 28/04/2020 19:57:48

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Well this furlough is turning into the longest break so far in my 48 year career in construction, thank goodness for our hobby ! locked in my workshop only let out to exercise & eat 😄 normal people would feel imprisoned !! Me I'm loving it 😉

On with rigging the Comanche, it's taken a long time to connect with this cat, but now looking forward to see how it sails, with add on keeps and without as designed, carbon tube mast with various brass rings and jump strutt ready for silver soldering and the finished mast sprayed satin black shrouds , stays bottle screws tomorrow.

Regards Ray

[Tim RoweParticipant @timrowe83142]

We too are looking forward to seeing it rigged and sailing. Another nice job Ray

Tim R

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

Good day in the rigging shop (conservatory) with stainless steel nylon coated fishing trace for the standing rigging, copper tube crimps & the expensive part the 7 bottle screws and her lovely new Nylet sails, booms & more bits tomorrow 😃

Regards Ray

[Tim RoweParticipant @timrowe83142]

I am very glad you got your MoJo back on this one. The result has been thoroughly worthwhile.

Some questions:

What is the all up weight?
Can you show us how you are working the sails and the rudders?

Tim R

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi Tim,

Yes I'm determined to finish this one, rather different from normal monohulls but the same with the rig !

The all up weight is just 3 lbs as she stands, I have a mini servo in each hull, I'm going to install a Hitec lever winch on the bridge deck for control of the main sail & leave the jib as self tacking on a horse. This is very much barge type technology, I'm not to worried about speed on the run, not much danger of her pitch poling ??

The removable fins will be my standard 1 1/2 lb lead bulbs as used on Wild Duck about 8" deep to start with

*** The engines look like Zenoah's to me *********

Best Regards Ray

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