If you plan to try out a new boat, it makes sense to choose a day when you have the lake to yourself. That way if there are any problems you get to work them out without lots of “helpful” suggestions. This was the reason I drove down to the boat club this morning nice and early.
When I arrived, Mike was there fitting a new blind. A few minutes later a couple of guys turned up delivering paving slabs. Of course the landlord arrived as well. Quite a crowd.
Fortunately the Pie was placed on the water and apart from a list to starboard, behaved itself. Off she sailed, happily traversing the full width of the water with no radio problems.
The weight distribution was sorted out – it’s lead shot in plastic bags so is easy to move around. I removed a bit from the front as the nose was a bit low. I need to take more out but this can wait until all the fittings are fixed on as this might alter the trim a little.
Despite not having a proper charge, I managed around half an hours sail. This ought to improve as the battery is run through a few charging cycles. Pretty good though. An unprototypically high speed is possible but it’s not too ridiculous. Turning is excellent. With a little practise I doubt anything will be able to outmanoeuvre me. No need for a bow thruster on this boat !
The light breeze didn’t worry it so I expect to sail in most weather conditions. However before this happens I am going to finish the model. Plenty of fitting still await painting and sticking on and there is a lot of woodwork to do. Nothing better than running a model to give impetus to this process though.
What I have is a boat the right size for the water available that is really pleasant to sail. After all the hours spent on construction, enjoyable as they were (mostly), this is good.
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