hello all

I've been on the look out for one of these for a while now, something high performance but smaller than my mini40s.

I'm going to pick up a partially started kit later this week which came up for sale here in the uk and the seller obviously had no idea as it had a £50 buy it now, so snapped it up and off to collect on Tuesday I think 600 mile round trip but can't have everything.

Any ways I know that's the steel of the century so I'm more than a little chuffed. I'll post on here when I get it collected as I'm sure I will need some advice along the way with the build.

Originally Posted by yogibear

hello all

I've been on the look out for one of these for a while now, something high performance but smaller than my mini40s.

I'm going to pick up a partially started kit later this week which came up for sale here in the uk and the seller obviously had no idea as it had a £50 buy it now, so snapped it up and off to collect on Tuesday I think 600 mile round trip but can't have everything.

Any ways I know that's the steel of the century so I'm more than a little chuffed. I'll post on here when I get it collected as I'm sure I will need some advice along the way with the build.

Not sure what kind of a drive you have to make to pick it up, but I do know that you are correct in that at that price even including the cost of the fuel for the drive, you got one heck of a deal. Hope the boat is in good shape and the all the parts are there. That will make it all that much sweeter!
This thread is a wealth of information on this amazing yacht - lots of great tips on how to make the most out of your new boat.Congratulations! Look forward to seeing pictures.

Boomer

Thanks for the welcome, well the drive ended up being 650 miles so 10 hour round trip today to collect the boat. Its in very good condition considering it has been in storage for several years. I would say it has been 90% completed before work on it was stopped. All servos present , winch is an origional futaba one and futaba transmitter also included as well as a couple of extra brand new servos.

Only problem is a couple of parts missing or broken. The Jib boom , Pulpit and decals are all missing. All of the spreaders are either bent or snapped off So going to need to try and locate replacements for these parts.

Looking at the instructions the Jib appears to simply be an Aluminium Tube with 3 pairs of holes drilled in it. If that is the case that is somethink I will have no problem putting together in my wrokshop.

As far as I can tell non of the recomnded work in the thread has been carried out so whilst its not a blank canvas it might as well be.

So overall very pleased, £50 for the boat and £80 in diesel is still a huge saving over what I would have paid if I could have found one else where.

Some of those parts may still be available from Tamiya...the link is somewhere in the thread but I'm sure Boomer will be along to help out....congrats on the find..

Yogi
Looks like your are in luck. I checked the Tamiya USA web site and it indicates that the pulpit Pulpit: Item #9725363 and "stickers" as they call the decals are still in stock. There are two different sets listed RC Sticker A&B: 56202
Item #9495171 MSRP: $18.50 and RC Sticker C: 56202 Item #1425313 MSRP: $18.00

Here is the link to that site. http://www.tamiyausa.com/search.php?...x=34&image.y=5

If you can straighten the bend spreaders that would be great as there are no spreader or mast parts available any more. My sailing partner has broken a few spreaders and was able to repair them. His broke at the bend point - Having them broken is better than not having them at all. You should be able to repair or fabricate replacements. There are a few boats out there that have similar spreaders but the manufacturers typically sell them in a set long with the mast. Hard to find some one that will sell just some spreaders. Although in the back of my mind I think I have seen some on line, just can't recall that site. age thing I think, can't remember

The hardest things to replace are the metal stanchions (life lines) There are a few places on line that sell similar stanchions should you need some - again let me know and I will provide those links.

Suggest jumping on the items they still have. When they are gone that's it! A few years back, I ordered some extra parts to have on hand should the need arise - I really didn't know how rare these items were going to be at the time, but today I feel pretty lucky to have made that decision.

The servos that came with your boat in particular the S3801 is a true treasure and if that is in deed the servo you have on board, you again hit the "mother load".

Looking forward to seeing some pictures of the boat as looks now and then more once you complete it.

If you want any additional information - send me a PM with your e-mail address.
Congrats!
Boomer

Check out this link: http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...e-_-PRB3450#t4

Item: PRB3472 - spreaders for a Serenity sold as a pair-- I have purchased some parts from this boat to use on other boats - Their sails fit a Fairwind lll perfectly and are so inexpensive it is ridiculous!
Worth a look any way. The spreaders on Seawinds and Fairwinds are similar, but are sold as a set with the mast.

Check out this link - shows the boom set for a serenity - might work - have to measure the booms to be sure. http://www.horizonhobby.com/products...e-_-PRB3450#t4

Right well being that the boat is in my possession this is the link to the ebay auction where it popped up on.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281069587566

Obviosly pretty hard to tell that everything was there and what condition everything was in but for £50 I was willing to take the chance and obviosly it has paid off.

The Jib Boom does appear to be available but ive decided to just make one myself with a bit of 6mm aliminium tube which I think the origional is anyway.

Unless I can find someone with the Pulpit I will need to order that and also Plastics Parts B as they are the fittings for the Jib Boom.

Ive got a friend who has a sign company so I can get the Stickers made up very easily.

I also had a look at the servos and the Winch servo isnt the futaba S3801 but the S125 which I gather is a less powerful version, I dont plan on sailing it very aggressivly so I think it should be allright for me.

There is a little box with stanchions in it which I havent counted yet so fingers crossed they are all going to be there. Bought stainless wire for the rigging today and elastic cord for the hand rails.

Yogi
I looked at the photos the seller provided and it looks like a very nice boat in great condition - and almost everything you'll need is there. Good show mate!
The decal that goes on the bottom of the hull is a bit unusual and if you want to have the original appearance, it might be worth considering buying it from Tamiya. The rear portion is the unusual part of the decal. Your friend should be able to come up with something like it.

What sail servo did you get with it. The boat needs a servo with as close the specifications of the Futuba S 3801 to be able to sail to it's potential. The boat carries a lot of sail area and will need a high torque sail servo to fully control the sails.

Boomer

Hi Boomer

The Servo in the boat is a Futaba FP-S125 not the S3801 which i believe replaced it.

I got the specs for the two servos here
http://www.servodatabase.com/servo/futaba/s125
http://www.servodatabase.com/servo/futaba/s3801

The one fitted is obviosly down on torque but if I run it at 6v that should hopefully bring it on par the the higher torque one.

I'm getting in touch with the UK Tamiya supplier tomorrow to find about ordering through them as the website is for customers in the US only which is a bit of a pain.

Anyways I counted out the stanchions earlier and I have 18 1/2 , one is snapped in half. Im not to concerned as im at a model show on sunday so ill pick up a similar one there

Strengthened the keel box today with epoxy and fiberglass and its sitting outside drying in the sun. Also modified the keel for additional strength, I ground out the reinforcing plastic bits parts then added 2 layers of carbon fiber the full length and round the keel weight and an additional small piece at the very narrowest part to help even for with the flexing and strength. Its all screwed back together and securly clamped up so that it retains its shape. i also tapped the rod that comes out of the top of the keel so that it can be secured with a washer any a nyloc.

Pretty happy with the progress , going out now to get some magnets for securing the hatch. If I get back early enough Ill try and have a look at making up a template for some mast spreaders.

No pictures in afraid , epoxy and camers dont mix, its bad enough getting the stuff off my hands and face

Very cool sailboat, wait and see how it sails.....
Pictures, pictures....

Originally Posted by yogibear

Strengthened the keel box today with epoxy and fiberglass and its sitting outside drying in the sun. Also modified the keel for additional strength, I ground out the reinforcing plastic bits parts then added 2 layers of carbon fiber the full length and round the keel weight and an additional small piece at the very narrowest part to help even for with the flexing and strength. Its all screwed back together and securly clamped up so that it retains its shape. i also tapped the rod that comes out of the top of the keel so that it can be secured with a washer any a nyloc.

Pretty happy with the progress , going out now to get some magnets for securing the hatch. If I get back early enough Ill try and have a look at making up a template for some mast spreaders.

No pictures in afraid , epoxy and camers dont mix, its bad enough getting the stuff off my hands and face

"Hey Yogi"
Always wanted to say that. Do you have both pieces of the broken stanchion?
If you do it could be repaired pretty easily.
If not I hope you were able to find a replacement. If you found a source for replacement please let us know - I know a few guys that could use a few.
Thanks
Boomer

Hi Boomer

I havent been able to find a source for replacments, they wouldent be that hard to make, they would just need to be cut out then pressed ( thats how they look like they were produced origionally) I've decided to go a different route as even if I replace them like for like they will probably get broken again.

Ive designed a replacemnt which I will be using instead, Made from 6mm Aluminium rod which I will be drilling and then putting an M4 tap into. Ive allready drilled out the stanchion holes on the mast and tapped them and inserted 2 1/2" M4 threaded bar.

They will be loads stronger than the origionals and if one gets broken it will simply be a case of unscrewing and putting a new one in its place. I'm going to my friends metal working shop on monday I think to make them. I know they wont be origional but I would rather they worked and werent going to get broken and most people will never notice. Ive allready made a replacemnt boom out of 6mm od Aliminium tube which fits the one end fitting that I have perfectly.

If any one has one boom end fitting it would be really appreciated as they are out of production .

Also I split the mast drilled out the middle sections and inserted a 12" section of Aliminium tube and tapped it all back together, fits perfectly , much more rigid and will be a lot lighter then brass.

Any ways the keel box is dried and so is the keel. The Keel is far more rigid now that it was, you can pick it up and it isnt floppy any more. I need to give it a bit of a tidy up as epoxy and carbon threads got all over it whilst I was working on it

Yogi
Sounds like you are making solid progress! Just a thought - if your friend can make some replacement stanchions, I'll bet there are some other Yamaha owners out there that would love to purchase a few or a set or whatever is fair.

I personally have not broken any, but as mentioned my sailing partner has. I am aware of a couple of on line Hobby stores that have a selection of stanchions but I'd have to pull out my micrometer to determine if they have something that would work, but in the photos they looked pretty close.

Let us know if your friend is interested in something like that, and if so what would he want for a set??
Couldn't hurt to ask, right!!
Thanks
Boomer

Yogi it sounds like you got it going...I'm surprised I haven't broken a stanchion yet. The flexable railing line is the coolest answer to prevent that. But I'm sure I will break something before I'm smart enough to re-rig....

I can ask my friend on monday but i doubt he will be interested tbh, Im just using one of his spare lathe's. His normal work is runs into the hundreds if not thousands of CNC Milled high precision components. Whilst I know of quite a few engineering companies that would do punching and forming they operate on a much larger scale making parts for heavy industry.

I am at a model boat show on Sunday so Ill have a look whilst I am there and see if I can see anything there that would be suitable. I did find stanchions on a couple of websites but they seamed pretty different to the ones tamiya produced.

Ive got elasticated thread to use for the railings so hopefully that will save the railings allthough I think that the railings will be one of the last things I attempt.