September 1, 2007
Hi Sailors,

Welcome to the BLOG portion of the website of the Okanagan Model Sailboat Association of Kelowna, B.C.

We welcome you and your comments re our website or r/c racing in general.  In particular, our many web viewers would be interested in your building and sailing experiences.   Please let us know how useful our web site is and what we can do in the future for you.

Just click on " Post Comment" below this message.

good sailing,
 James Anderson, webmaster

 

Our annual JB Schwab Memorial regatta is coming up soon, but is being held in the same time and location as the Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival.
Can our two groups get along?? Will there be riots like the great "Regatta" riots of the mid '90s ??
Should we move to another location ??
If we move, we won't have all that drum beating in the background to inspire us on to greater racing.
What would you like to inspire you ??......a Starbucks at the start-line, hula-dancers or cheer-leaders......
"Gimme an O, gimme an M, gimme an S etc etc.

What do you think?? Here's your blog, write something sensible or silly, we don't care.

Congratulations very nice web! So useful step-by-step tutorial. Thank you all guys. Greetings from Spain.

Today Monday September 24 I went to Waterfront Park and sailed for about an hour and a half. It was the seond time I sailed my new Victoria and the circumstances were perfect. It was quiet, the wind was strong and steady and the weather was wonderful. I had plenty of opportunity to get to know my boat and the way she behaves in stronger winds. Although it was nice to be alone and enjoy the quietness I also missed the competition.
Unfortunately I will not be able to participate in the Saturday Regatta, because I work at those hours. Good luck everybody and I might be coming by later.

Pieter Rijke
Brandnew member

just found this blog and give it thumbs
up to its creation.
boom vangs
anyone have a perference as to
vangs above the boom to those below?
mast step
anyone have a perference for moveable steps
if yes do you use it?
an exchange of info will makes us
all go faster right?, right!
cheers and go sailing.

Hey Frisky,
I agree...this blog is cool. Thanks James.
I like the vang above the boom as it eliminates the sail catching on the boom in light air. Also I find the boom rotates more freely under load...not sure why but I will investigate.
I have a movable mast step but found I only used it once when I had to move the spar forward in really heavy air. I seemed to adjust the length of the forestay more often.
Just my thoughs. perhaps others have ideas?

Oh yeah...
Well done Mr. Wagstaff on your regatta, and thanks for the report.
Anyone have any interest in sailing on Virtual Skipper over the winter? All you need is a relatively new computer and fast internet connection. Oh and the game as well. I think it's about 35 bucks. It is incredibly realistic and a gas to play. It should keep our tactics sharp over the cold months. We can race on-line. Let me know if need any additional info. Perhaps I could do a demo at Jim's one night!
Cheers!

Thanks for creating the blog James, this is a great way to keep tabs on what is going on. Missed not being able to make the trek up there this summer from Seattle but will try to make it there next summer.

Hi from theUK! Since I found the OMSA site I have had a lot of fun building my first ever yacht Victoria after years of gliders, etc. The info is outstanding but I have never been able to access the "victoriarc.org" website constantly referred to. I can get cached pages with no pics from Google searches, but just get error messages otherwise. Does anyone else have this problem? I have tried from several PCs, and all are the same but the webmaster for the site tells me there is no problem? Cheers, Dave.

Hi Dave, testing here shows no difficulty accessing www.victoriarc.org but it does seem to require the "www" part of the URL. Hope that helps. James Anderson

Jim - been in Kansas City for several months - miss sailing. great blog wish OMYC had similar page - for some reason there has been no activity in Portland lately.

Cool blog. I am headed out today for the maiden voyage of my Victoria. I am in Victoria B.C and hope to find others owners here to do some casual racing with..Do any of you know If there are any Victoria owners in my city?

Maiden voyage was a great success. What a fun boat. looking forward to some racing .

Good for the new Victoria. Here is the website for the group closest to you. It is the Victoria Model Shipbuilders. http://members.shaw.ca/VMSS/

I am going to join the VMS group in the near future. This seems like great boat. Today we have some nice wind so hope to get out and really give her a go.

Thankyou, I live in "down under" in a small group of islands known as New Zealand, you may have heard of us our sailor have won the odd trophy or two. This my first use of blogging but watch this space (especially any Kiwis) as we need to get together sometime. I took up R/C yachting 15mths ago & got hooked. We have a small lake in our rural town of Waihi where a group of about 10 enthusists meet on the 1st Sunday of the month. Back then there was an assortment of different models & only 2 Victorias. This was not much fun as there was no level playing field for fun races. However, by purchasing second hand Victorias, renovating & on selling them, there are now 6 Victorias in the area, with a total population of about 12000. I have found the Okanagan Web sight very helpful when upgrading each boat (on 4th one) & eventually got this one under minimum weight. Throughout the process with typical Kiwi trial & error, on a shoe string budget, I have some a few, possibly new, ideas which I would love to share with you all (including photos). Where & how can I do this? I'm still learning & have got a few Question I'd like answered. The main one being the height or distance between the deck & jib boom. Is the measurement in the original kitset instructions a typist error or some sort of joke? I have searched all the photo of Victorias and none appear to be anywhere near that small. What is acceptable & what is considered the optimum? I look foreward to your replies. Bob

As ;)

Hi Bob,
I have been through Waihi a few times. Are they still digging those mines in the middle of town ?
I grew up in Wellington, but now live in the Okanagan. My uncle lives near you in Omokaroa and sails a IOM there.

Most people have the Victoria jib boom about 25-50mm above the deck. There are different opinions why.
Some sailors like to get both the sails as high above the water as possible to get up where the wind is stronger. However, guys that sail in windy areas try to lower the sails so the boat doesn't tip over too much.
Some feel it is important to keep both the booms at the same height so the beneficial flow coming off the jib onto the mainsail is maximized.
Some try to raise the jib as far up the mast as is legal. Personally I mount the top of the forestay as high as is legal, and the jib boom is about 30 mm above the deck (at the pivot). This allows for a wide vertical slot between the jib leech and mainsail luff. Many people feel it is important on a Victoria to keep a wide slot here to allow lots of flow through.
I use a small fishing clip and swivel to attach the jib boom to the deck, and these total about 30mm. Because there is a lot of load on this fitting, I feel it is more important to have a strong, easy-to-pivot, and removable fitting here than worry too much about its height.

In North America we use these rules...
http://www.victoriarc.org/classrules%202007.htm
Pay attention to rules 9.7 and 10.5 when mounting the jib.

I hope this helps, Mike

Hi Mike,
Thanks for all the info on the jib height & attachments along with all the personal wims & preferances. I guess I'll just keep on experimenting till I too find what best suits our lake conditions. Yes the hole (open cast) in the middle of Waihi is still getting bigger. For those of you that think we are joking we're not the gold/silver mine is less than 1/2 (half) a mile from the main street. Take a look on Google Earth. Also have a look at Gilmore Lake where we sail. It's a pretty spot but we do have a few obstacles to watch out for, lilli pads, twigs & branches & the odd black swan or snowgoose can get quite aggessive. However, as in golf these just seem to make for a more interesting days sailing. Anyway, good sailing to you all.
Bob.;)

I am new to RC Sailing but not to RC. I have flown gliders and nitro and electric airplanes. I am a also a certified ISPA sailing instructor and racer.

I am wondering if anybody has an already constructed Victoria that they would have for sale. Please fell free to contact me. I am in Calgary, Alberta.

Grahame

Today Tuesday July 15 I went to the pond and what did I see?...Nobody there! I was all alone. The weather was perfect and screaming for a race, strong steady wind from the north. I entertained myself for more than an hour. Hope to see everybody on Sunday again.

Pieter Rijke (04)

Just wondering, is anybody here? Dug out my Victoria kit I've had for years and decided to build it, so why not as a race boat instead of a toy?

I rigged the sheets as in your instructions and Chapter I. The main sheet only has a 6 3/8" difference between all the way in and out. I need about 8". The jib sheet has 6 5/8" travel, with about 5" to 6" needed. The sail servo pivot is 3 1/2" aft of the stock mast center. The guides on the sail arm are 5 1/2" apart. The mainsheet thru deck hole is 1" aft of the cockpit wall.
How can I get more mainsheet travel? Thanks for any help.
Alan in Maryland

Re: mainsheet travel
In order to achieve the desired amount of sail travel, it might be necessary to move the attach point of the sheets to the boom. For a given amount of sheet travel, the position on the booms where the sheet attaches can achieve the desired end result. Also, if you have one of the new Spektrum radio controllers, the amount of servo travel is controllable through the setup mode of the transmitter. Hope that helps. James Anderson, Okanagan Model Sailboat Association.

Hi from Sydney, Australia!
Purchased my Victoria from Wings'n'Things here in Gladesville and built it. Found the rigging and hatch access ordinary. Found your website and rebuilt the boat ( and then some!). No longer class worthy(6" extra on shroudless drop in mast and main to suit) but a delight to sail.

With reference to the gentleman with the sheet issues.
If my experience is anything to go by, then your sheet control arm should have been closer to 6" long to give full articulation to the clubs.
When close hauled, both main and jib clubs should be slightly angled by roughly 5 degrees(subject to correction!lol!)

Hoping this contains useful information!

Cheers,

Andrew

The instructions for building the Victoria refer to a "kit". However, I cant find any information on the purchasing a kit. Looks like an interesting hobbiy. Any information will be helpful.

Hi John, the kit that we refer to is the unassembled Victoria in a box that is in stock at many hobby stores. It is manufactured in Taiwan by a large company called Thunder Tiger. There are many good places to buy it online, or your local hobby shop would be able to order one for you.
The kit provides a basic sail boat, but if you want to get a little better performance out of it, you can add the Longbow fittings mentioned on the OMSA site, and a set of racing sails.
Send an email to James jimander@shaw.ca and he can give you some great advice to get you started.
It's a great hobby with a reasonably priced and conveniently sized boat.

I have read every word of your manuel at least three times. Great job and extremely informative. Anyone there sailing RC multihulls??? I know they sail beach cats on Oyosoys. Sorry about the spelling.

I have tried several times to download the PDF version of the building chapters. It tells me it has downloaded them but I cannot find them on my PC. Any ideas? Thanks
Tony

Great format. I also am impressed with the OMSA website. I am new to model sailboats, and have been hanging around the lagoon at waterfront park on Sunday afternoons for the races.

I am checking out the Victoria class boat and associated hardware, and hope to get my own boat soon. I am having trouble finding suppliers of radios, sails and boat kits from suppliers in Canada.

There seem to be great deals available from US hobby stores/online but by the time one considers the exchange and shipping, it starts to get pricey!

to Tony Little, re PDF download problems.
Tony: give me a call.. 250-763-6012
James..

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who supported FAST sails this year. We have all gone through a steep learning curve, but in the end I think the results speak for themselves. We will continue to develop new ideas and processes over the winter. Thanks again for making FAST sails the fast choice for Victoria sailors.

I'd like to build a Victoria and I am trying figure out the best place to order one from? I am in Ontario.

Thanks in advance.