Hi all. School holiday project for kids is to build 2 x jif 65 from MMI plans. Feel reasonably happy about building hull. Main questions I have concern the rig. What are people using aluminum or carbon fiber, are people using spectra or wire for stays etc, what are people doing for the gooseneck ? Photos of these areas and any helpful suggestions gratefully received. Will post photos as we progress Cheers from NZ
I use 6mm carbon tube for masts. You could go thinner and use spreaders but it gets hard to work fittings on such small stock. 3-4mm tube is good for booms although 6mm won't weigh much more and be easier to work with. Goosenecks are made from linkage parts, ball joints, or screweyes. Mounting a short bit of tube of wood along the mast will give you a platform for creative solutions. Tour your local hobby store for likely parts. Good luck John
Hi - and welcome.... If you haven't already - take a look at the RG-65 section of threads on this forum as there are photos of completed boats that will help with your current questions - and future ones as well. (I hope) A simple but effective gooseneck can be made using two interlocking screweyes. One is attached to mast, the other to the end of the boom. Not "hi-tech" but for kids, it is easy and inexpensive, works and isn't difficult to fabricate. As John mentioned, ball link from r/c car steering system mounted to end of boom, and a "C" shaped brass strap attached to mast. Drill a hole on top and bottom tab of the sideways "C" and use a small piece of brass rod to go through the top tab, through the ball link, and finally through the bottom tab. With your big boat experience, the goosenecks can be fabricated since they are small and seldom made from tough stainless steel like the big ones - but concept is the same/similar. You can also spend some big $$$$ by purchasing some pre-built stuff from suppliers if you want ot go that route. I would also suggest a visit (and a request to join) the US RG-65 Group pages. They are located at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/RG65SailboatsUS/ and a real person approval is required to visit the photos and files section. Again, a lot of us have posted photos in albums there which will also include what you are looking for. My mast is 1/4" (about 4mm) inside diameter and is plenty strong. You are limited to deck height to mast top by rules, and I haven't seen any boat photos sporting spreaders. Sail area is too small to need the spreaders. There are a bunch of owners sailing with "swing rigs" - but here in U.S. - not too many yet. For years the swing rig was used primarily by Marblehead class and it wasn't that big of a class here in U.S. Again - in the "Google" link, you can find info on building a "swing-rig". Most use Spectra (or similar) instead of wire, and adjust using bowsies (sliding 3-hole plastic) - I've stayed "old school" using black Dacron fishing line. I hate gluing knots in Spectra to keep from slipping, and I find the Dacron to hold knots as well as bowsies just fine. Good luck witht he project. Please consider photos during the project, and start your own thread so others can see how YOU "engineered" your project. Best - Dick
Hi Gasman. Its a great pleasure for me that 2 JIF 65 are build in New Zeland. Excuse my poor english. Here I attach a photo of my gooseneck. cheers Maximo Lange
Found them, swivel ball links http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?I=LXD916&P=8 Like Maximo showed on his gooseneck, this just makes it easy. A small section of threaded rod 4-40 will also fit inside 6mm carbon tube. Epoxy it inside the boom and you're ready to go. Mine is an inverted vang but the idea is the same. I also used some adjustable linkages for the vang. The left handed thread self taps into another swivel ball link and, poof, threaded vang. Instead of a wrench, I added a glob of epoxy my fingers could grab it. Have fun, John
Hi, if you have access to Graupner products, you can use the Gooseneck fittings for the Micro Magic. It fits well also for the RG. Have a look at https://shop.graupner.de/webuerp/servlet/AI?ARTN=2415&SessionCheck=4711&language=en
Hi all, thanks for all the replies. One last question, what diameter spectra/dacron are people using for the rigging. Cheers
Gasman, the most difficult part of making a gooseneck is the adjustable vang. It is also the weakest part of the rig. I am a swing rig designer so adjustable vangs and goosenecks are things of the past for me. A swing rig is more efficient as the jib is never "blanketed" by the main and one's carefully tuned jib-to-main relationship is carried on all points of sail (since as remote sailors we can't really see what is going on with the sail's interactions at a distance on offwind legs a preset and consistent relationship of the jib and main simulates a slotted wing mast). On these rigs the whole rig rotates using the mast as the pivot. On a swing rig there is no adjustment of the main boom, it is in a fixed position relative to the mast and extends forward to provide a place for the jib's pivot to be attached. The adjustments for controlling the leach tension and twist (as well as camber) are done using line, with bowsies to control the position of the corner of the mainsail in space rather than by tension of the vang. So then, sans the vang the gooseneck need only function as a hinge, there doesn't need to be any up-and-down function if the adjustments are done at the aft end of the boom. This makes the construction of the gooseneck simpler and lighter.
Hola Maximo, estoy empezando ahora la construcción de 2 Jif65 para mis 2 niños, aqui en Alemania..a ver como se quedará el resultado final. Gracias por los planos..