ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

Transcription

1 R/C R/C FOOTY FOOTY CLASS CLASS SAILBOAT SAILBOAT MODEL MODEL ASSEMBLY INSTRUCTIONS

2 OPALEK - THE LITERARY HERO Opalek is the second name of a widely known fairy tale character in Poland. His full name is Koszalek- Opalek [read: Koshawek-Ohpahwek]. He is one of the tiny heroes, occurring in the fairy tales. They were written in 1896 by Maria Konopnicka. She is most beloved for her children's poetry, especially the popular fairy tale "Little Orphan Mary and the Dwarfs" (Note: The Polish Dwarfs are little and friendly as Light Elves). Footy Class models are one of the smallest sailboat models, as small as Koszalek-Opalek among humans. The Polish Dwarfs are one of the most popular symbols of Wroclaw, which is now the main center of the Footy Class in Poland. Giving these boats the name of the Opalek is a word play in the Polish language. "Koszalek" is a word derived from "a basket". "Opalek is a something like "a little piece of firewood". I think this is appropriate for the model which is made with plywood from citrus and fruit boxes which mostly after use are intended for kindling in the fireplace or stove. But here is a warning! The name Opalek is quite close to the Polish expression "byc w opalach" - which means "to be in a fire" i. e. "to be in trouble... GENERAL NOTES Opalek is a quite simple model to assemble, especially from a kit with laser cut hull parts. But in assembling, there are a few steps that must be done very carefully. It is difficult to correct any mistakes. For this reason, Opalek is not a good model for ''greenhorns'' or really young skippers by themselves (<12 years old). Help from advanced modelers may be necessary. Opalek is designed primarily for recreation, learning model building and remote controlled sailing. But, it is also a good boat to race in Footy Class Regattas and internationally, too! We continue to work on improving the model. The current kit version is Version 1.7. The pictures may show slight differences from previous versions. See the latest version of the model at the Opalek home web page at for the latest Tips and Tricks. HULL SKELLETON AND COVERING Start by using a sandpaper block and a file to clean the plywood hull parts. Warning! Use the main drawing to distinguish needed parts from scrap! Assemble the hull by attaching the deck to a straight assembly board. Secure a PE film sheet to the deck before attaching it to the assembly board. Attach the deck with two temporary pieces by screws or nails. Insert the frames in the slots of the deck. Glue them with cyano-acrylic (CA) adhesive only after checking all of them for alignment. Warning! Do not glue the center of the keel box. It will be removed later with a drill. Do not leave other gaps.

3 After installing the skeleton of frames and parts on the deck, prepare the edges of the bottom for the planking and where it will contact the frames and pads. Use a block of sand paper. Attach the bottom planks to the frames first. Then attach the two pads in their slots and to the bottom. Warning! One of the hardest things in assembling this model is fitting the planks perfectly. That is especially in the middle of bottom. Be careful to be really accurate! Do not glue any hull planking to the curved frame edges! After you glued the bottom planks, you can easily mount the servo shelves, aluminum mast tube, stern and antennae plastic tupe(e.g. from model bowden cable) if you have an old frequency" R/C system, velcro for the R/C receiver, battery pack, etc. After aligning the edges of the sides, attach the stern then the right and left side planks to the bottom and deck. Check again for alignment and good gluing on the inside. Warning! The plastic ( profi ) or plywood (in eko kit) panels in the kit have approximately 2 mm surplus. Sometimes from lack of planning and bad fit, this may not be enough, at the bow for example. KEEL AND RUDDER The keel and rudder are shaped to give them a hydrodynamic profile. Make slots in them to glue (C-A or epoxy) the metal parts. The keel is to have the screw M2 attached. The rudder is to have a 2 mm steel rod attached. Impregnate all of the plywood with thin CA (diluted), epoxy or resin to waterproof them. The two parts of lead ballast bulb need a little work to be adjusted to fit to the keel. Glue or epoxy them together. You can use a screw. Paint the keel and bulb and rudder. MAST AND BOOMS The two part mast is cut for transporting. It must be glued with two beech wood rods for the eko (plywood set) or carbon tubes for the profi (plastic set). Check with the drawing for the corresponding connectors. Cut both booms to the desired length. For the light wind sail versions (maybe in next version of sets also), the booms (especially jib boom) will may be longer. SAILS The kit version 1.7 only contains light Dacron material for sails. They should be cut preferably with a soldering iron to the appropriate margins. The jib and main may be a bit larger in the next version. Sew or glue them according to the main figure. The excess edge of the sail material is cut and glued in place. Battens and patches can be cut from the remains of sail material and glued to the sails with CA or polymer. Holes in the corners can be made with a paper clip, heated with a gas stove, cigarette lighter or other source.

4 FITTINGS Black plastic accessories of mast and booms rings, mast head, boom tips, etc. are provided in the profi/ plastic sets. Glue them to the mast, booms or sails in accordance with the main drawing and photos. See for examples. Prepare and tie the lines as shown. For a quick change or to remove the rigging, use the threaded couplings. Put grommets through the deck for boom lines. They can be made from empty cartridges of ball point pens. The flanges will wrap easily if heated. It is also possible to use for this purpose a brass tube bent 180 degrees in the stern instead. LAUNCHING The Opalek is now prepared to float. It should be easy to flip the booms from approximately 0 to +/- 85 degrees. The rudder has to rotate up to +/- 45 degrees. Openings in the deck should be sealed with adhesive film (preferably transparent) for the maximum surface area. Warning. Self-adhesive hatch covers should be tightly glued (bonded) on the clear surface! Do not use them double! (If it comes off - use a new film). SAILING The ideal water area for sailing this small model is standing water, depth from 1 to 2 feet, where in case of failure of the sailboat model, it can be rescued by young skippers. In deeper waters it is necessary to pay more attention to safety rules! Sometimes a stick or fishing pole, a stick, a pontoon or a suitable R/C model will may be needed for rescuing. This little boat is unsuitable for sailing in overgrown vegetation or contaminated ponds or any river. After checking the controls on the land, put a sailboat on the water. Running these types of models, as opposed to flying air plane models, does not release so much adrenaline. Some say that model boat sailing is pure relaxation. Most new skippers learn quickly how to sail these models after a few minutes but this is only if you study about it earlier with the sailboat on the ground. You can learn the theoryby asking about what causes it to sail one way or another whenthe wind blows in different directions. Lengthy descriptions are not necessary if the skipper just tries it for him or herself. Learn more about the Opalek on the home website - There, you will find answers to frequently asked questions and workshop Tricks and Tips. If you have any new doubts about how to assemble the Opalek, send me your questions with the illustration. I will gladly help you. I hope that you will want to send me some photos of your new boats and write me about your impressions. Have fun! Wroclaw/Poland, February 2011 Thanks to Milton Thrasher for help in translating this instruction.

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