Schooner MAGIC by Magic's Craig - scale 1:8 - 1993 cruising schooner - Radio

[MAGIC's Craig]

18 hours ago, Bob Cleek said:

Beautiful photos! Quite a clever display solution, too!

 

If you don't mind a few curious questions:

 

How does she sail? Have you noticed any similarities in sailing characteristics between the prototype and the model?

 

How ded the R?C sheet servos work out? Is it possible to let the sheets run free in the event of a gust of wind and a potential knock-down?

 

I also am curious about retrieval options. She doesn't appear to be powered, so what do you do if she is becalmed or otherwise "incapacitated" in the middle of the pond? In the old days, when "free sailed" pond yachts were in vogue, they'd only sail them on purpose-built model sailing ponds and the boats that "went their own way" would eventually drift to the edge of the pond and be fetched with long poles or they'd have a row boat that they could use to go out and retrieve the model boats. As far as I know, there are only two such model yacht ponds in the U.S. anymore, one in New York's Central Park and the other, Spreckles Lake in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park. (See: https://www.sfmyc.org/ )

Bob (and others so interested)  For a model, she seems to slip along nicely.  She is reasonably quick in response to the transmitter's signals. The first sea trials indicated that additional rudder area would permit less rudder to need to be applied. Tacking was not crisp because both the headsail and the foresail lazy sheets were hanging up against the standing rigging.  And, you know, after years of sailing the original MAGIC from the cockpit, changing headings was intuitive. Rudder control while standing ashore as the model sailed away was also not a mental stretch...but keeping it all together when she's heading back will take more training of the operator.

The jury is still out on the functionality of the sheet servos because of the lazy sheet issue. The servos seem to have the necessary torque but they do take time to tighten the sheets on the working side, however I'm not trying to make foiling-speed tacks.  Not sure  whether the sheets would release as fast as simple rudder action would let her up. More trials required there.

When she gets becalmed or "otherwise incapacitated" ( that expression got us chuckling, Bob), Vicky or someone else serving as "Rescue", paddles out to get her. 

Here is Skip Allan serving as a reverse tugboat when the wind died the first morning. (Photo by Vicky Johnsen)

And Herself in WOODSTOCK. a Tom Hill ultralight glued lap canoe

Edited July 26, 2023 by MAGIC's Craig
photo credit and additional text

[Bob Cleek]

Hadn't thought of a kayak. That'll do it and it's easily car-topped, too.  She sure does look pretty under sail.

[MAGIC's Craig]

To deal with the somewhat ineffective rudder issue, we added crew aboard and to assist them, I created an additional rudder blade which bolts to the lower portion of MAGIC's scale rudder when needed for actual sailing times.

In the so-far not-very-effective effort to cut down the drag against the lazy sheets, both the mainmast's fore lower and foremast's intermediate shrouds were released from their respective turnbuckles and secured to bails on the forward faces of the masts. The correction of this tacking problem however still remains to be sorted out.  

 

MAGIC, for accurate display purposes, needed additional deck hardware and rigging detailing. 

Dorade cowls were made up from drilled out 1" diameter wooden balls and 1/2" brass tubing, then painted. The two after cowls also required sheet guards, which were fashioned from brass rod and small drilled plates.

A 2-speed-style windlass was created from carved yellow cedar, plywood and turned wooden gypsies.

 

The chain for the anchor was fed through a brass-lined opening in the bulwark, then over a newly-fashioned chain roller at the staysail tack band down
to a (painted wood) CQR hung below the bowsprit.

 

Rigging enhancements included reef points and tackles, a topping lift for the main boom and a jib downhaul.

 

The crew needed a Shellback dinghy for shore liberty (and to transport the cat). This was built up from a 1-1/2" to 1' (1:8 scale) "kit" sold by the WoodenBoat Store, which consisted of a set of scaled down drawings, 2 sheets of carbon paper, a set of printed recommendations for a building sequence and various-sized pieces of pine and plywood. We painted it to match the original aboard MAGIC and lashed it down.

And this brings the construction blog up to date - July 2023.  There will probably be a post or two more when I get her sailing smoothly. This post has perhaps exceeded the limit for photos, so I will start another reply with a final picture or two of MAGIC sailing on a local lake.

Craig

 

Edited July 26, 2023 by MAGIC's Craig
cut out duplicate photos

[MAGIC's Craig]

 

Both photos were taken by Ray Talmage

[Roger Pellett]

Remarkable!!

 

I also enjoyed your Tom Hill ultralight canoe.  It appears to be just like the one that I built from his plans approximately 30 years ago. Instead of the recommended Ocumme (sp?) plywood I used cheap Laun floor underlayment.  My son and I took it up to the Boundary Waters only to discover the hard way that it would not float the two of us plus gear.  Fortunately we were going with a friend who had space for our gear in his canoe.  After that trip I set it up for double paddling for one person and enjoyed paddling it around the Duluth Harbor.

 

Roger

[Jim Lad]

That dinghy looks good, Craig. I'm afraid your model will never be truly complete until you add a model of Archie to join the other two crew members.

 

John

[MAGIC's Craig]

21 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

That dinghy looks good, Craig. I'm afraid your model will never be truly complete until you add a model of Archie to join the other two crew members.

 

John

We are searching for a suitably sized cat figurine, John, because we agree with you.

[Mirabell61]

Lovely model Craig

 

Nils