Post by Terry McMullen on May 13, 2019 4:32:51 GMT -5
DF95 Lessons Learned Winter Season 2018 - 2019
New Boat Lessons Learned
Reseal the keel box area according to the YouTube video.
Drill out the rudder support fitting and use a sleeve of K&S Precision Metals # 9309 aluminum tubing to fix a wobbly rudder problem.
Replace the main bridle ring with Owner 5186-508 round welded rings to avoid fraying of the main sheeting line.
Replace the original rudder servo with the KM1203MD servo to provide more rudder torque especially for heavy air conditions with minimal weight penalty. The aft end of the servo tray opening needs to be trimmed very slightly to get the servo to seat. The 1203 servo comes with plastic arms but there is also an aluminum arm available from DSNA.
Make a mark on your boat deck,165 mm from the transom fully sheeted in. Use this mark for setting up the shock cord location if the cord breaks in order to avoid wasting time searching for the correct dimension.
Protect the keel bulb, keel fin leading and trailing edges with pipe insulation or split pool floaties to prevent damage.
While the DF95 can run on alkaline batteries, a better choice is to use rechargeable Lithium Iron Phosphate batteries ( LiFe ). Alkaline and Nickel Metal Hydride batteries start at 6.0 volts but that voltage decreases as the charge is used up. The LiFe batteries start at 6.6 volts and maintain that voltage till about 80 - 90 % of the charge is used up and then decreases. The amount of torque and reaction time of servos depends on the voltage. Having a constant high voltage means better servo torque which is especially important on heavy air days. LiFe batteries only take about 20 minutes to recharge on a quick charger and once charged do not lose charge when stored. The charge has to be used up or the battery has to be put on the dischage cycle of a multi function charger. DSNA sells an ONBO 850 mAh. Venom also sells a 850 mAh battery through Horizon Hobby / Tower Hobbies. There is also a Zippy 700 mAh battery sold through Hobby King. Once charged, put Scotch tape over the leads for transporting. Put the battery into a small balloon ( get at Walmart party aisle in lots of colors ). Put the balance connector inside the balloon and power connectore outside of the balloon and seal with a twist tie to prevent water intrusion. Take off the tape when installing into the boat. It is also a good idea to tape over the battery to on/off switch connection just to make sure they do not separate out on the water. Use velcro to fix the battery into the DF95 servo tray.
Setup the FlySky FS-i6 per the YouTube video “ FlySky FS-i6 Sailboat Setup” by Johan Bergkvist
Seal the hatch cover onto the boat with tape all around the edges. This seals better than hatch patches.
Maintenance Lessons Learned
Check the condition of your elastic shock cord regularly. Loss of sail control will result if the cord breaks. It is a good idea to use two shock cords just to make sure. It’s a belt and suspenders approach but it works and does not result in any competitive advantage. Shock cord material can be bought at any store that sells sewing items like Joann Fabrics, Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Take a length of cord and tie a loop at each end so that the overall length tip to tip unstretched is 10 inches. Stick one loop end through the forward eye and then pass the rest of the cord through the protruding loop to attach it to the boat.
Don’t push down hard on the servo tray when it is installed in the boat by six screws. It can result in cracking the forward corners of the hatch opening in the boat shell. The cracks can be fixed by a little super glue but better not to crack it at all.
Do a nut and boat check on all threaded connections especially on the rudder linkage. Use a little Loctite 242 to lock in place.
Regularly check the jib line to mast crane for wear. The mast crane is carbon fiber with very sharp edges on the thru hole. The sharp edges over time can wear through the line resulting in total collapse of the jib sheet.
The DF95 is very sensitive to surface finish. Regularly check the wetted surface for nicks, cuts and rough surfaces. Smooth out painted surfaces with polish and extra fine sandpaper. Not sure what to do with damage to skins but replacement may be needed.
Sailing Lessons Learned
Make minimal use of the rudder control as the boat is very light weight and can easily lose momentum with too much rudder action.
If a boat gets hooked on the anchor line of a buoy, try to point the boat into the wind. A rescue boat can then approach the bow of the hooked boat on a beam reach. The rescue boat should pass in front of the hooked boat and bear off to tap the hooked boat’s bow with the leeward side of the rescue boat. This should push the hooked boat off of of the anchor line.