Builder's Tips
The boats sailed by the club are a challenge, but fun to build. With plenty of advice and help available from members at the SIMBC meetings, any reasonably handy person can build a beautiful and competitive model sailboat.
The club can provide many of the components and materials needed to build a Skipjack 48. They can be found on the Ship’s Store page. Builders who are in the area, can arrange to pick up purchases at the museum and save on shipping. The club also has patterns for tracing the building frames and rudder. This can be a real time saver, and helps insure accuracy of the model.
Useful Building Tips:
Skipjack Construction and Finishing Details
Deck Layout & Fitting Locations
Most fittings for the Skipjack 48 can be made using brass available at hobby stores. One useful item, that can’t be made, is a pelican hook turnbuckle. These little marvels take the hassle out of rigging and down rigging your boat. They are available online from Worth Marine
The large sail area of the Skipjack 48 puts a tremendous strain on the sail control servo. This is especially true on windy days. Many skippers who use a sail arm have gone to an enhanced servo setup that is available thru ServoCity. They have a gearbox attachment that multiples the pull of the servo 5 times. They are available online from ServoCity .
The recommended transmitter/receiver package is the FlySky i6 transmitter, with an FS-iA6B receiver. They are often sold together, and are available from any number of outlets, and are very reasonably priced. These radios can be programmed to handle up to 20 different boats. So as your fleet grows, you only have to buy additional receivers…a definite convenience and money saver.
Mike Hoffman’s RG65 Power Switch Installation - This is an ingenious idea, originally for the RG65, but can be applied to any boat.
General R/C Construction Guide - Specifically written for U.S. One Meter boats, has much useful information that can be applied to R/C boats in general.
Lester Gilbert's Radio Sailing - A very informative site.
Online Suppliers: