Post by brenthg on Dec 4, 2018 16:31:00 GMT -5
My apologies ahead of time for this being a bit long, but if you plan to buy one of these, hopefully some of this will help with what I learned in the process.
After contemplating for the past several months on whether I should add another boat to my fleet, I decided 1 boat is enough for now. I had been sailing a Soling 1 Meter this past year, then George handed me the controls to his Dragon Flite 95 one day, and I was hooked. So the Soling went up FOR SALE, and someone from Kings Point Model Yacht Club bought my Soling and the next day I ordered my DF95 Ready-To-Race, complete with transmitter and receiver. I had read a lot about this boat on a variety of other club websites and was very surprised how much information and discussion there was, quite the popular boat.
You can find a very detailed evaluation in this forum by Terry. I would like to add to his evaluation with my comments and observations while it's fresh in my mind and offer up any help for others who decide to build the DF95. I'll start by saying I'm very impressed with RadioSailing.net and their website ordering process. I placed my order on Wednesday night, the order was fulfilled and shipped the next day and tracking info was sent by email and, to my surprise, I received a status message on Facebook also, because I had joined their group. Fedex tracking promised a delivery by Tuesday, and it was delivered Monday afternoon, a day early (since when does that happen during the Holiday Rush).
MONDAY 4PM
Now for more detail: I had heard from several DF95 sailors, the rigging line (Dyneema) that comes with the boat is subject to fray and sticks to the deck when wet, so I included a 50m spool of 80lb 8 Braid Premium Quality PE Line in my order. Upon opening the box, the cardboard sheets protecting the mylar sails were in the top and the rest of the boat, keel, rudder, transmitter/receiver and hardware were packed nicely in custom molded styrofoam. After inspecting all the components and making sure everything was there, I realized this boat was very high quality and the attention to detail was not spared.
OK, so on to building the building/display stand. My first thought was...maybe I'll custom build a field cradle and incorporate this plastic stand into it. The stand is well built, but shouldn't be used at the pond, it will easily blow over in a breeze. On to assembling the keel fin and ballast...these are very high quality parts, carbon fiber fin and painted lead ballast with a custom plastic molded shoe that fits the fin into the ballast slot. The ballast is connected to the fin with a stainless steel cap screw that threads into a stainless disc installed in a pre-drilled hole in the fin. The fit was perfect and I had no issues lining up the cap screw with the disc. Next, the keel/fin/ballast assembly was installed into the keel box at the bottom of the hull and a stainless cap screw threaded down through the top of the keel box and into another stainless fixing disc the same as at the ballast connection. The overall fit was perfect and there was no noticeable movement.
Next was the rudder installation, and I had heard about other DF95'ers complaining about a sloppy fit. I got a tip from another DF95 discussion forum about how to fix this issue that was very simple. I wanted to get this boat built and in the water and was reluctant to drill out the plastic rudder post fitting, then try to find some brass tubing that would fit the rudder post supplied. My solution took about 30 seconds to fix, I threaded a piece of Dyneema rigging line through the fitting and pushed the rudder post up through the fitting with a little lithium grease, and VOILA, no more slop. The rudder arm is well made of metal, looks like a CNC machined part with high precision and the fit was perfect.
The final rigging came next and now I know why others recommended using a different rigging line. The 80lb braid I purchased extra with this kit has a coating that stiffens the braid and makes it easy to thread through the bowsie's and tie knots. My procedure for cutting this braid is to add a drop of CA glue at the spot where you want to cut, spread it out with a Q-Tip then using a sharp knife, cut and an angle, and it makes for an easy tapered tip to push through all those tiny little holes. This tip is is explained in detail in the instruction manual, for those who read instructions.
Here is where a lot of tedious detail and knot tying starts. It is very important to follow all instructions step by step, paying attention to the dimensions as noted. The Main Boom and Mast are assembled next. To install the luff rings on the Mainsail, I layed it out flat and clipped each ring into the 6 grommets provided. Sliding the Mainsail onto to Mast was no easy task. Some of the luff rings were a little tight and I had to unclip them to get the Mast through, and then reclip them once I got past the shiney ring that's at the top. Now more knots and more knots attaching the Head to the Backstay Crane and making up the cunningham adjuster at the Tack.
Now for the most important part of the rigging: Backstay and Forestay. I've read the DF95 Rules several times, and it is important to follow the instructions exactly to be legal. The one problem area I found is making up the upper halyard bowsie adjuster on the Jib. There's not a lot of room up there for much adjustment, and tying knots are very tedious in that area. After several tries (and ties), I was finally satisfied with the Forestay/Halyard installation. The Jib Boom comes with Dymeema already installed on the end of the boom, for the topping lift, but I still used the 80lb braid on the upper section of the topping lift. Once the Forestay and Backstay were complete, I set the measurements specified in the diagram, but still can't quite get both dimensions exact. I'll work on tuning these at the pond. NOTE: It's a good idea to have a small cloth metric tape measure to carry with you in your sail box.
MONDAY - 10PM
At this point it was getting late and my eyes were completely shot with all those little bowsies and knots I tied for the past 6 hours, and the next step was to fire up the transmitter/receiver to begin making up the running rigging. This would wait for morning with a fresh mind, I was looking at a lot of wires and plugs and an unfamiliar transmitter.
TUESDAY - 8AM
OK, a fresh start, and looking at all those wires hanging inside the hatch, I knew I had to figure out what plugged into where. I didn't want to power the system up before making sure I had it wired right. The receiver was not installed, bagged separately, and the instructions didn't have any detail, other than the Rudder Servo goes to Channel 1 and Sail Winch goes to Channel 3 and the ON/Off goes to Battery Socket. The polarity wasn't marked either, so I hooked it up with a little common sense, took a photo and asked Terry, another DF95'er to verify it by email. This never happens to me, but Terry verified I was correct (wow, the first time). OK, CONTACT, Transmitter ON, Receiver ON, by the way, I really like the ON/OFF switch they designed on this model...push/pull at the stern.
After tying more and more knots, I rigged the mainsheet and jibsheet per the instructions and checked the measurements of the wench line travel, but couldn't get them close. After RTFM twice, I missed the part about adjusting the wench drum to get the required measurements to spec. They were close, and it didn't take long to go through the FlySky Transmitter settings and I was able to adjust the stop points right on the money.
TUESDAY - 10:30
Honey, it's all done, will you go with me and take a video of the maiden voyage of the soon to be chlristened vessel that will be called:
KNOT AGAIN
TUESDAY - 12PM
Splash time...Debbie and I head down to the local pond at Okeeheelee Park, I get the boat out of the trunk, walk out on the dock, and SPLASH, first time the bottom's wet. Only problem, there's only a slight breath of air, but it did sail away with the wind offshore and a nice breeze out about two or three hundred yards from the shoreline. My only thought was, after all this work and anticipation, my brand new DF95 was going to drift out to sea never to be seen again...maybe I'll have to rent one of those paddle boats to recover it. But it did drift around a little and I pointed her back to shore for fear of having to rent that paddle boat, and she inched her way back to the dock. I noticed one thing that wasn't right though, I didn't have any sheet control. I WAS able to get her back and brought her back up on the dock, and found the issue. The elastic wench line tensioner had come loose from the front eye and the wench line had jumped the drum. Well after sorting all that out, I decided to move to a different shoreline where the wind was better and blowing in my face, just in case I went drifting a dreaming out of sight again. She sailed very will in a breeze I estimate at being 10-12 knots, but close hauled there was a wrinkle in the main, and a few adjustments on the boom vang took those out. There's still more tuning required and that will have to wait until tomorrow when I put her to the test at Lake Catherine.
I hope these Building Comments will come in handy for anyone who is considering a DF95. Even though this model is mostly assembled, there's a few areas that require patience, but it's still an excellent boat, even for the beginner, like me. I'm sure the experienced radio controlled model yacht enthusiast will find this boat of the highest quality that will provide many hours of fun and excitement out on the pond in competition and just for pure relaxation.
Fair Winds and Smooth Sailing,
Brent Headberg
Dragon Flite 95 #676
PBGMYS
After contemplating for the past several months on whether I should add another boat to my fleet, I decided 1 boat is enough for now. I had been sailing a Soling 1 Meter this past year, then George handed me the controls to his Dragon Flite 95 one day, and I was hooked. So the Soling went up FOR SALE, and someone from Kings Point Model Yacht Club bought my Soling and the next day I ordered my DF95 Ready-To-Race, complete with transmitter and receiver. I had read a lot about this boat on a variety of other club websites and was very surprised how much information and discussion there was, quite the popular boat.
You can find a very detailed evaluation in this forum by Terry. I would like to add to his evaluation with my comments and observations while it's fresh in my mind and offer up any help for others who decide to build the DF95. I'll start by saying I'm very impressed with RadioSailing.net and their website ordering process. I placed my order on Wednesday night, the order was fulfilled and shipped the next day and tracking info was sent by email and, to my surprise, I received a status message on Facebook also, because I had joined their group. Fedex tracking promised a delivery by Tuesday, and it was delivered Monday afternoon, a day early (since when does that happen during the Holiday Rush).
MONDAY 4PM
Now for more detail: I had heard from several DF95 sailors, the rigging line (Dyneema) that comes with the boat is subject to fray and sticks to the deck when wet, so I included a 50m spool of 80lb 8 Braid Premium Quality PE Line in my order. Upon opening the box, the cardboard sheets protecting the mylar sails were in the top and the rest of the boat, keel, rudder, transmitter/receiver and hardware were packed nicely in custom molded styrofoam. After inspecting all the components and making sure everything was there, I realized this boat was very high quality and the attention to detail was not spared.
OK, so on to building the building/display stand. My first thought was...maybe I'll custom build a field cradle and incorporate this plastic stand into it. The stand is well built, but shouldn't be used at the pond, it will easily blow over in a breeze. On to assembling the keel fin and ballast...these are very high quality parts, carbon fiber fin and painted lead ballast with a custom plastic molded shoe that fits the fin into the ballast slot. The ballast is connected to the fin with a stainless steel cap screw that threads into a stainless disc installed in a pre-drilled hole in the fin. The fit was perfect and I had no issues lining up the cap screw with the disc. Next, the keel/fin/ballast assembly was installed into the keel box at the bottom of the hull and a stainless cap screw threaded down through the top of the keel box and into another stainless fixing disc the same as at the ballast connection. The overall fit was perfect and there was no noticeable movement.
Next was the rudder installation, and I had heard about other DF95'ers complaining about a sloppy fit. I got a tip from another DF95 discussion forum about how to fix this issue that was very simple. I wanted to get this boat built and in the water and was reluctant to drill out the plastic rudder post fitting, then try to find some brass tubing that would fit the rudder post supplied. My solution took about 30 seconds to fix, I threaded a piece of Dyneema rigging line through the fitting and pushed the rudder post up through the fitting with a little lithium grease, and VOILA, no more slop. The rudder arm is well made of metal, looks like a CNC machined part with high precision and the fit was perfect.
The final rigging came next and now I know why others recommended using a different rigging line. The 80lb braid I purchased extra with this kit has a coating that stiffens the braid and makes it easy to thread through the bowsie's and tie knots. My procedure for cutting this braid is to add a drop of CA glue at the spot where you want to cut, spread it out with a Q-Tip then using a sharp knife, cut and an angle, and it makes for an easy tapered tip to push through all those tiny little holes. This tip is is explained in detail in the instruction manual, for those who read instructions.
Here is where a lot of tedious detail and knot tying starts. It is very important to follow all instructions step by step, paying attention to the dimensions as noted. The Main Boom and Mast are assembled next. To install the luff rings on the Mainsail, I layed it out flat and clipped each ring into the 6 grommets provided. Sliding the Mainsail onto to Mast was no easy task. Some of the luff rings were a little tight and I had to unclip them to get the Mast through, and then reclip them once I got past the shiney ring that's at the top. Now more knots and more knots attaching the Head to the Backstay Crane and making up the cunningham adjuster at the Tack.
Now for the most important part of the rigging: Backstay and Forestay. I've read the DF95 Rules several times, and it is important to follow the instructions exactly to be legal. The one problem area I found is making up the upper halyard bowsie adjuster on the Jib. There's not a lot of room up there for much adjustment, and tying knots are very tedious in that area. After several tries (and ties), I was finally satisfied with the Forestay/Halyard installation. The Jib Boom comes with Dymeema already installed on the end of the boom, for the topping lift, but I still used the 80lb braid on the upper section of the topping lift. Once the Forestay and Backstay were complete, I set the measurements specified in the diagram, but still can't quite get both dimensions exact. I'll work on tuning these at the pond. NOTE: It's a good idea to have a small cloth metric tape measure to carry with you in your sail box.
MONDAY - 10PM
At this point it was getting late and my eyes were completely shot with all those little bowsies and knots I tied for the past 6 hours, and the next step was to fire up the transmitter/receiver to begin making up the running rigging. This would wait for morning with a fresh mind, I was looking at a lot of wires and plugs and an unfamiliar transmitter.
TUESDAY - 8AM
OK, a fresh start, and looking at all those wires hanging inside the hatch, I knew I had to figure out what plugged into where. I didn't want to power the system up before making sure I had it wired right. The receiver was not installed, bagged separately, and the instructions didn't have any detail, other than the Rudder Servo goes to Channel 1 and Sail Winch goes to Channel 3 and the ON/Off goes to Battery Socket. The polarity wasn't marked either, so I hooked it up with a little common sense, took a photo and asked Terry, another DF95'er to verify it by email. This never happens to me, but Terry verified I was correct (wow, the first time). OK, CONTACT, Transmitter ON, Receiver ON, by the way, I really like the ON/OFF switch they designed on this model...push/pull at the stern.
After tying more and more knots, I rigged the mainsheet and jibsheet per the instructions and checked the measurements of the wench line travel, but couldn't get them close. After RTFM twice, I missed the part about adjusting the wench drum to get the required measurements to spec. They were close, and it didn't take long to go through the FlySky Transmitter settings and I was able to adjust the stop points right on the money.
TUESDAY - 10:30
Honey, it's all done, will you go with me and take a video of the maiden voyage of the soon to be chlristened vessel that will be called:
KNOT AGAIN
TUESDAY - 12PM
Splash time...Debbie and I head down to the local pond at Okeeheelee Park, I get the boat out of the trunk, walk out on the dock, and SPLASH, first time the bottom's wet. Only problem, there's only a slight breath of air, but it did sail away with the wind offshore and a nice breeze out about two or three hundred yards from the shoreline. My only thought was, after all this work and anticipation, my brand new DF95 was going to drift out to sea never to be seen again...maybe I'll have to rent one of those paddle boats to recover it. But it did drift around a little and I pointed her back to shore for fear of having to rent that paddle boat, and she inched her way back to the dock. I noticed one thing that wasn't right though, I didn't have any sheet control. I WAS able to get her back and brought her back up on the dock, and found the issue. The elastic wench line tensioner had come loose from the front eye and the wench line had jumped the drum. Well after sorting all that out, I decided to move to a different shoreline where the wind was better and blowing in my face, just in case I went drifting a dreaming out of sight again. She sailed very will in a breeze I estimate at being 10-12 knots, but close hauled there was a wrinkle in the main, and a few adjustments on the boom vang took those out. There's still more tuning required and that will have to wait until tomorrow when I put her to the test at Lake Catherine.
I hope these Building Comments will come in handy for anyone who is considering a DF95. Even though this model is mostly assembled, there's a few areas that require patience, but it's still an excellent boat, even for the beginner, like me. I'm sure the experienced radio controlled model yacht enthusiast will find this boat of the highest quality that will provide many hours of fun and excitement out on the pond in competition and just for pure relaxation.
Fair Winds and Smooth Sailing,
Brent Headberg
Dragon Flite 95 #676
PBGMYS