Hi, this boat has really caught my eye!
Irene is designed as a realistic model of a trading Schooner a couple could live aboard and handle. She can be as simple or as detailed above deck as desired. She's also designed as an FPV camera platform. Videos can be made from onboard viewpoints. She can be sailed from an onboard viewpoint with FPV radio gear and a viewscreen or goggles!

RC Schooner "Irene" set up & sailing (4 min 44 sec)

I hope some of us will build her this winter.
I've ordered and downloaded the plans. I like the scale-like design, simplicity of construction, low cost of materials, and good humor evident in her inspiration.

Next steps for me are finding a printer and doorskin plywood in this small mountain town. No instructions seem available so I'm hoping some of us can help each other. May the Bear sail on!

Thanks for looking,
Paul Brabenec
Steamboat Springs, Colorado

You can build this boat!

Added Nov. 17, 2018 My Schooner Irene named Deborah is my first model boat build. I spent a winter of spare time on her at a rather leisurely pace. She's now sailed dozens of times. I'm delighted by her appearance, her performance, and the enjoyment people get from seeing her!
Irene has been masterfully designed by Gary Webb for stable, balanced, and lively performance. She can be built and sailed without expert skills.

Very happily, this thread has grown very long as dozens of Irenes are being built, sailed, and enjoyed all around the world! Here you'll find info on each step of the process, videos, illustrations, discussion of what didn't and what did work!
To help us find the information we want, an index has been created!

http://tomcrusoe.racing/rcg-topic-finder-ver-4/

This index will help you find info on specific topics without scanning this entire thread. Hurrah! Thanks robcrusoe!!

Can't help you find door skins. For the printer call the UPS store in Steamboat Springs.
Here is their webpage.......
https://steamboatsprings-co-4730.the...ional-printing

They will probably prefer the plans as a pdf file. Give them a call and ask.

Try a mom and pop lumber yard Lowes and home depot stopped selling them awhile ago. looks like a fun build.
Mike

Through the kindness of IRENE's designer and promoter we've been provided with the sail plan information for the boat. So builders now have a source for white, woven Dacron sails for this nifty little craft. Our only problem is to stop holding the hull panel patterns up to our chunk of door skin material, and get back to the sewing machine. http://CarrSails.com

I love it also.
Is there any other Schooner kits available anywhere?
Jim

Try to find a used hollow core mahogany door from here and make it out of real doorskin plywood:
http://www.steamboatsmyhome.com/blog...terials-cache/

All the interior doors in my house are made of this, so I would have a great supply of 1/8" doorskins for boat-building if my better half allowed it

Skin the doors she will not find out till the boat is built.
tongue firm placed in cheek.
Mike

Now that you mention it, she would not notice the inside of some of the closet doors missing their skins until the spring...... hmmmm.
<Big Grin>

UPS provided the prints for under $15. Nice job.
A local cabinet shop gave me several large pieces of 2.5mm plywood, 8 feet by various widths. It's a hardwood veneer looking stuff.

(Added 12/24/2017) This material is lauan with oak veneer on one side. It has worked fine and my Irene seems like she will sail for decades!(end addition)
(Added 4/9/2018) This lauan plywood is very similar to what's available at Home Depot for about $10/sheet. Expect imperfections and splinters.
Talk about making silk purses from sow's ears!

A closer look at the plans seems to show a lack of radio sail control. The controlling ends of the sheets slide across the deck on brass "horses". I'm new to sailing but it seems you would want radio sail control like on my Victoria. I'm thinking of a separate servo and channel for each sail. Two of the channels would be slaved to the third on my six channel radio.

Victor Model products has a schooner, Mary J. Ward. It is about 45" long. It uses one, large servo for all three sails and a small sevo for the rudder. I built one. It uses a Hitec HS 815BB for sail control and a Futaba S3010 for the rudder. These work just fine.

Another source for a rc schooner is Tippecanoe model boats. Its a 47" long and all western red cedar. I have three of his oats and they are great.

I've started cutting parts with a Shark handsaw, it's going well. I'm using an awl to mark corners and connecting the dots with a Sharpie. I've also noticed on the plans accomodation for sail winch servo(s). It's a good thing winter's so long here!
Gary Webb, Irene's creator, has produced a plan and details for a gaff mainsail option. It increases total sail area, lengthens the bowsprit, and eliminates the bumkin. It may be a tough choice but not right away, there's little change to the hull.

Sail control has since been added to a boat of this design. See the set-up

RC Sailboat Build Detail - Sail Winch System (3 min 30 sec)

Also see more of these boats sailing

Sailing Scratchbuilt RC Model Yachts (2 min 27 sec)

and contact http://www.bearospaceindustries.com for more info. or advice about building schooner "Irene"

See a video of the build of a boat to the schooner "Irene"

RC Schooner "Irene" Build Part 1 Hull & Deck (5 min 19 sec)

Bosch jigsaw blade T101AO3 cuts nicely on this doorskin plywood.
Setting the jigsaw for no orbiting helps getting a smoooth cut.

Originally Posted by glidin'n'slidin'

Bosch jigsaw blade T101AO3 works nicely on this doorskin plywood.

How about some pictures of your build

Working from the plans I glued the horizontal temporary spacers just beneath the waterline. The video shows them placed below the servo rails.
I marked the bulkheads on one side only and then glued them to the spacers. Should have marked them on both sides.
Then I've laid out the deck on the top surface of the wood, once again putting the lines on the wrong surface.
At any rate the hull sides are the only major pieces left to create.
This is my first boat build. Eager to see the hull's shape.

With all the major parts ready I've started gluing the center section into the hull sides. With only one line per bulkhead they probably should center on the line but I chose to put the bulkhead ahead of the line.
Found a mast at Ace Hardware for $3.50.
Will wait for Tower to receive the Hitec sail winch servo.
1st photo: transferring lines to wood with mallet and awl.
2nd photo: the cold place where I can make dust
3rd photo: using first hull side to mark second side with exterior surfaces facing each other.
4th photo: the warm place where I can use glue
5th photo: tacking the joints with super glue

This is looking good, whats new?

Bill

My work in a kitchen is taking all my time during the holidays. January should get the hull built.
I'm thinking of laminating the doorskin ply for the deck beams, servo rails, and other hull fittings. Hobby size lumber isn't available here.
The Smith's epoxy products seem like a full-scale boat material I'll have to try to source in the Denver area sometime when we're down there.

Looks like you're off to a good start. The Home Depot store in my area gives away (free) paint stir sticks in 2 sizes, 1/8"&1/4" thick. The 1/4" sticks, cut to shape, make great deck beams for this boat. The 1/8" sticks are useful for other details. The servo rails might be ripped from a piece of pine lumber, like a 1x4. The epoxy filler (not free) can be found at.. http://www.smithandcompany.org ( Call 1-800-234-0330 to find a stocking dealer near you, or to order directly from the factory store.) They also have Clear Penetrating Epoxy Sealer which is excellent for sealing the woodwork prior to paint or varnish. I'm sure there are other equivalent epoxies, but I have been happy with the Smith & Co. products. Thanks for posting these build photos.

Today l made an a attempted to get the prints up loaded at Staples but there machine could not handle the size, Wow

What a bummer, ok next place

The lady said to print on the paper size 36x55?

Go to your local engineer or architect. They may have a plotter with roll feed paper 36 by 100 feet. (It is about 10 bucks a roll. ) Be sure to have them check the scaling on their plotter setup.

BP

The UPS Store here printed mine no problem.
I've purchased Minwax High Performance Wood Hardener and High Performance Wood Filler at Home Depot and will return for stirring sticks. Great idea, Gary! Popsicle sticks are good also.

FedEx office stores can also plot the drawings on large format paper. It will cost about $15.00 for a 30x42 sheet.

I found another print shop near bye, will see how this turns out Just dropped the f/d off.

Holding the first bulkhead in place for gluing seemed really awkward. It needs to flex the hull sides outward so there is a force pushing it toward the stern. A stack of various objects spaced it the right distance ahead of bulkhead #2. So the first photo looks really chaotic but the gluing was nice and easy.
The second photo shows the center deck beam glued in place with Titebond wood glue. The beam is two pieces of the doorskin laminated with Titebond.

(Added April 2018) Building my Emma I realized that gluing strips up and down the hull sides on the midship side of the bulkhead position creates "stops" that prevent the bulkhead from sliding out of position. Small blocks were then clamped to the sides above the deck line. They prevented the bulkhead from sliding upward. Then gluing the bulkhead in was easy.

Clamping the deck between the hull sides seems to show it's pretty straight.
First one side of the bottom was glued to bulkhead #1, then tacked to the other bulkheads.
I assumed some shaping of these bottom sheets would be needed but the first one fit beautifully.
The bottom-to-side joint was then tacked with CA and the transom glued to both the side and bottom.
If the other bottom side fits I'll be amazed.

(Added after boat was completed) These hull joints can be loose and even gappy since you can actually join and fillet them with epoxy paste like PC-7. So the hull goes together quickly and easily.

Here is my post-Christmas work space and some of the tools I've used. The tie-down strap from Northwest River Supply has really helped provide clamping pressure. I've got some open joints and hope the filler will fix them.
At any rate I hope to show that most anyone can put this model together with some simple tools.

Glad to see your project coming along. Thanks again for posting your build for us.

I lined the deck for a planking effect with a Sharpie and added some butt joints.
The deck was then used to hold the cargo hold pieces in good alignment for gluing. The deck was placed upside-down and the tops of the cargo hold pieces were down on the table where they could be set level to each other. The cargo hold box was then glued to the deck at the corners only. Next the deck lines on the box will be used to glue the box in all the way around.
It's going easily if not quickly.
I'm thinking of holding the covers down with those tiny super magnets and putting some plastic foam strips in to seal the openings. I'd appreciate thoughts on this topic. Gary, how did you secure the covers?

Hi Paul, Those planking lines are a nice touch. Securing hatch covers, "darn details". I would certainly welcome creative innovation here, but will show you what I did for "Irene", and my other boats as well. The covers are held by U shaped pins made from .040" stainless steel welding rod (tig rod). I bend them all over the same pair of pliers, so they are consistent in size. I drill the holes with covers in place using a bit held in a pin vise. Friction keeps the pins in place. They are easier to put in place if one leg is left longer than the other.
The wooden pieces fit well, and I have not made any effort to create a gasket or seal. Irene seldom takes water on deck, it does happen of course but I have yet to find water inside.
Magnets. You mentioned magnets. I gave these some thought, but worried that they might upset the ship's compass and lead Bear off course....

I will throw in some more on hatches. The cabin top on "Irene" and the aft deck cover are held same way as the cargo hold cover. I've placed another small, hinged hatch in the aft stbd corner of the cargo cover. This provides quick, easy access to the radio power switch mounted safe & dry below. The foredeck hatch cover is hinged also. These hinged hatches are secured with U pins as well. Irene's companionway hatch slides just like a full size boat, a fun detail, but tedious to build. Suffice to say that my other boats have glued in place dummy companionway hatches.

Looking good.

I've laminated strips of doorskin for the fin trunk and the long sail winch beams. The cabin side ends were mitered to avoid exposing the end grain. The cabin has been tacked in place at its corners.
A nice dump of powder snow prevented more effort. Skiing comes first

The fin trunk is going together. The vertical 1/4 x 3/4 pieces have been glued to one side. Now this assembly is getting a layer of fiberglass. Next the other side will get a layer of 'glass, then the two sides glued together, the horizontal 1/4 x 3/4 strips glued on, and finally the top glued on. I thought the whole inside surface of the top would be covered with epoxy to waterproof the entire interior of the trunk.

Is the sail plan included in the plan set Thanks Garey

Originally Posted by GFONG

Is the sail plan included in the plan set?

Hi Garey,

You get six PDF files including the sail plan (PDF 01) and a second sailplan for the gaff version.

Regards, Jan.

Thanks Jan I will be ordering the plans tomorrow Garey

I received my plans. I hope to start building this weekend Garey

Originally Posted by GFONG

I received my plans. I hope to start building this weekend.

Hi Garey,

Have you had the plans printed out yet?

For me that was the most expensive part up to now (over 3 times the price of the pdf's).

Regards, Jan.

I have acess to a large printer also I am building Irene 28 inch long so I can fit it in my z3

Originally Posted by pompebled

Hi Garey,

Have you had the plans printed out yet?

For me that was the most expensive part up to now (over 3 times the price of the pdf's).

Regards, Jan.

most standard A4 printers can print longer sheets (of A4 width), often over 1m long.

Originally Posted by RW1966

most standard A4 printers can print longer sheets (of A4 width), often over 1m long.

Sadly not the printers I have access to...
I had the plans printed out at a printshop at full size, this required a large (industrial) machine which prints one line at the time, the largest sheets took close to an hour to print.
I'm not complaining about the price; once the guys at the printshop had figured out it was for a model boat and not a full size one, I actually got a discount.

Regards, Jan.

It's great to hear of others starting! Please keep us informed.
I'm gluing the chines with epoxy. Where there were small gaps blue masking tape was laid inside the hull to keep the glue under control. The tape peeled easily away from the hardened epoxy. I had a six inch length with a gap of about 3/16" and glued in a piece of a paint stirring stick.
A stand was built from doorskin ply.
BTW this plywood is extremely splintery. I'm getting lots of slivers in my fingers.

Added May 29, 2019 This stand has been flimsy and disappointing. Now I would do one with a 1 x 6 inch base plank and 1 x 6 end uprights cut to fit the hull and padded.

Our town doesn't have Smith's epoxy products but there is PC7 epoxy paste. Is it a reasonable substitute?

Hi Paul, I have not used PC7, but looked at a tutorial of it on youtube. It appears to be appropriate. I suggest you make a sample joint using scraps of the plywood, allow it to cure, then give it a stress test. Doing this would tell the tale and hopefully provide confidence in the product...Gary

Searching locally for fin material (aluminum sheet) has me thinking about a fin of plywood and fiberglass. I need the fin next so it and the trunk can be drilled together. This needs to happen before installing the trunk.
Meanwhile a stainless bicycle spoke has been bent and glued into the prow as the bobstay fitting. Also I can continue with the samson support, rudder support, deck fittings, and sailwinch structure. Hopefully Tower Hobbies will be sending the backordered sailwinch servo soon.

Hi Paul, I realize you are in a small town, in a larger town you might find a "metal shorts" dealer. Also a local metal fabrication shop might have scraps. Another source could be E-Bay (look for aluminum plate 3/16"). Whatever you use, make the trunk so that the fin fits loosely inside. A bit of clearance is no harm, and tight can be problematic. Cheers...Gary

Originally Posted by glidin'n'slidin'

Searching locally for fin material (aluminum sheet) has me thinking about a fin of plywood and fiberglass.

Hi Paul,

Biggest benefit of an aluminum keelfin is it's thickness (or better; lack of it).

A wood fiberglass construction would be a lot thicker to get the same stiffness, even if you would incorporate carbon rods to keep the bending at bay.

This adds drag and will slow you down (unless the fin has a foil shape)

Another way to get a thin, stiff fin would be to fold two (thin) keelfin shaped pieces of epoxy, or carbon sheet over a carbon rod, positioned at the thickest point of the fin, so an foilshape appears.
The hollows are filled with epoxy and microballoons
As the fin is foilshaped, it can be thicker than 3/16 and still have better hydrodynamic properties

This is they way a lot of IOM sailors make their keelfin.
They also incorporate a threaded rod parallel to the carbon rod and have the tip sticking out of the top of the keelbox where a nut holds the keelfin in position.

JL describes it better: https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/show...03&postcount=9

Regards, Jan.