For all info re the Dragon Force and the Dragon Flite click the link below

I WAS GIVEN THIS SET UP GUIDE FOR THE DF 95 in May 2019 use with caution cos I dont know who compiled it .

Also I shall try and impart a bit of my knowledge on the DF 95 set up etc at the lake on Sunday 26th May 2019 a lot will be visual but here are a few words DF 95 only

Welcome to the DF 95 specific training. 26th May 2019, Nothings changed for 2020 , so dont worry , Its just that Mr Tushingham has got faster.

This is Mick Chamberlains view on things I am not a teacher and most of what I do is by sight and from memory and listening to people who win most of the time. But they say not listening most of the time .

First and foremost try and remember to follow a process right from the start , that includes the minute you take your boat from the back of the car and putting the fin on, ( process can be taken back to home where you check everything from charging batteries to loading into car for a days sailing ) Put fin on and do up finger tight ,, I always put the boat on the stand facing into the wind with the port side facing me. All the sheets and bowsies you need to adjust are on the side, First pop the mast in the mast hole, then get the jib tack pulled down and adjust the bowsie till the jib boom is a slow as you can get it. Next get the backstay on, and tighten up the bowsie, no need to set it at this stage , now attach the jib sheet and main sheet and close the hook. Your bowsie on the forestay should be where it was last time, try and put the boat on the cradle at an angle , as if it is beating on port tack, with your bowsie set the sheet up on your jib boom to where it should be roughly on your gunwale or where you have been shown by a more experienced skipper , do the same for the main sheet, Roughly get the desired twist in the mainsail by adjusting the kicker, now get the desired twist in the jib using the boom uphaul at the back of the jib boom. You are now close to ideal setting, and only experience in different wind strengths will get your perfect setting. Finally you pick the boat up and hold by the fin as if you are sailing downwind and ease the sails out on your tranny until full out, have another look at your twist in the mainsail, the main boom will be almost at 90 degrees and you need to ensure that you do not have to much twist so the top third of the mainsail is not falling forward , ( again let an experienced skipper show you what you need to look for ) if the twist is to much ,, with the sail still full out adgust the kicker to take some twist out. When you have done this sheet in again and you will find you have no twist in the mainsail for the beat, you must have twist !!!!! so now what you need to do is pull down the bowsie on the backstay ,,, quite hard , sheet out and then in again whats it look like now ,,,, need more twist honk a bit more on the backstay , don’t be shy, if you find you have pulled down as hard as you want to and the twist is still tight , with the main sheeted in just ease the kicker a couple of mm ( it’s called compromise) until you see the twist you want. All this sort of stuff you can play with at home while waiting for this corona viras to go away, try it with all the rigs you have and then they will be roughly right when it comes to launch day ,,, Never be afraid to ask a skipper who is always winning if he can show you his set up.

Try and follow the process of setting up every time and you will find it becomes a habit that you will do eventualy, subconsciously each and every time, this is the same for any boat and rig.

SO ” PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS”

Enough of all that,

Stuff to play around with at home (getting used to your boat and rig)

A / Jib boom (strings bowsies and up haul)

B/ Main sheet bridle (3 point attachment, position of ring,) mark with felt tip?

C/ Main mast position (slider, 6/7. Cunningham, nil. back stay/fore stay)

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DF 95 Only

) “PROCESS PROCESS PROCESS”

This was my talk when we first did the training back in 2019 so worth a read.

1/ With boat on the stand facing into the wind and PORT side facing you get the rig of your choice and put main mast in the hole it is supposed to go in.

2/ Then get the string of the jib down haul and thread thru the first two eyes and put over the HOOK, the tighten down the bowsie so the boom is a couple mm from the deck, or as close as you can get it.

3/ Put the back stay on and take out the slack with the bowsie. Once your forestay bowsie is set there is not many cases where you need to change it, just be sure it does not slip.

THE MAST RAKE YOU ARE LOOKING AT IS AROUND 1085 MM From the hole in the backstay crane to the top on the hook on the transom, for A suit, as you go down in rigs the rake of the mast increases and for instance 1085mm might be 980mm . and you would let forestay off a tad and pull on backstay equally, if you get my meaning.

I am now assuming that at home you have sorted jib and main sheets out to allow adjustment “in & out “.

Switch on tranny switch on boat sheet in and out and adjust sheeting angle of both booms

I WILL SHOW YOU THESE AND THEN YOU CAN MAKE A SMALL MARK WITH FELT TIP WHERE THEY SHOULD BE IN ALSMOST ALL CASES FOR A SUIT. If you wish.

I always do things by look; I have got a terrible memory but can remember most things on the boat. Birthdays and anniversaries cause me problems.

Once you have the jib booms angle right, we now need to work on the most important thing which is the amount of twist in both jib and main.

Ok lets start with the jib , ,, firstly the other bowsie at the front of the jib boom is for the luff , it just needs to be just on with hardly any tension ,,,,, If very light 1/3 knots I loosen completely and run my thumb and forefinger from the base of the luff of the sail upwards to create if you like a looseness ( crinkles) all the way up . if it gets windier, a bit of tension not too much.

Then turn your attention to the twist, and this is formed using the jib boom uphaul, at the back of the boom, with the bowsie. I WILL SHOW YOU WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. and we do this with the rig/sheets in the beating position, (full in on the tranny)

Next, we want to look at the main sail twist. So first sheet out as far as it can go, ok I SHOW YOU WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR , and just remember the adjustment for this downwind twist is the kicker, every time!!!!!!, once you have got the twist for downwind, sheet in slowly and you will probably find the twist in the main is now a bit too tight. (now because the DF 95 does not have a ram) we must induce beating twist using the backstay. So holding the boat I WILL SHOW YOU, Pull down gradually on the backstay and you will see some twist develop (please make sure you Cunningham is just nipped up, no tension)

Do not be afraid to pull on the backstay, you can practice and play with this at home till you feel confident about pulling on strings and things.

So when we think we have the main twist where we want it I WILL SHOW YOU , We then need to look at the boat from sort of sideways and behind to ensure our twist is following the same angle at the leach for both sails jib and main I WILL SHOW YOU .

Note you may have to do this a few times and compromise with settings , I WILL EXPLAIN.

Re the twist as a general rule if it get windier and a bit wavy give a little more twist . TINY ADJUSTMENTS, 2 mm

You can try out this twist thingy on the water set up like I have told you and sail ,, and then set up with little or no twist and see what happens .

So what we have done is a process of setting the boat up to sail in a race, if you can try to follow this process each and every time ( it is the same for all rigs) you will benefit and if you live long enough you should be able to do it blindfold. Process, Process Process.

When you have set it up , have confidence , even ask a more experienced skipper if it looks about right, if he adjusts stuff take note and have a good look at what it looks like before you put it on the water and try to memorize it, and then go out and race the boat and concentrate on the race course , the start line , getting round the weather mark etc etc forget about rig set up concentrate on the race . The fine tuning of the rig will get you to the weather mark 3 seconds earlier, if you are lucky, concentrating on the race and starting in the right place at the start , not luffing at all, keep the boat moving at all times during the whole race will get you to the weather mark 20 seconds earlier . You must concentrate, and also practice as much as you can on boat handling skills. Practice tacking, practice holding your boat on the start line, practice running down wind and gybing to get the jib goose winging, all these skills will get you round the course quicker, watch other more experienced skippers, try and understand why they tacked, was it a wind shift was it tactical ????

I have seen a lot of indecisiveness if you wanna tack TACK don’t go head to wind and think for a couple of seconds cos every time you do that you have lost 3 to 4 boat lengths.

The sport of sailing is probably the most difficult and complex sport to learn but take notice, practice and you will definitely get better, and by the end of the year you will be beating you old foe who always finished in front of you.

Mick Chamberlain

Just a quick word this setting up is very different for the DF 65

Don’t be shy to ask an experienced skipper to help but try and remember with a picture or marker pen what he has suggested , This is the easy part of sailing it is on the race course where it becomes “ROCKET SCIENCE”

Nationals at Eastbourne

Tuning your DF 95 try this http://radiosailing.co.za/df95tuningguide.html

Sealing the Fin trunk on a DF 95 should you need to ,,, a Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWEeJF7mDzw

If you have got any interesting info for this page let me know , I am sure you know the email by now .

DF 65 racing at Lincoln in the early day’s

There is a selection of sailmakers for these class of yacht in our suppliers pages, so have a look and support all our suppliers.

If you need any help advise or whatever in purchasing one of these do not hesitate to email me or ask at the lake

Yes we know you wanna buy one try here my old mate Mike Weston http://www.rcyachts.org.uk/

Dragon Force 65 – Hints & tips

To assemble an A + rig go to the link below then scroll down to

Link to A+ Rig Kit Assembly Guide

Good luck

We have now started sending out the first batch & feedback is starting to come in. These are the suggested modification we recommend for your DF. If you have one of the second batch of boats you will not need to make the bow modification, seal the fin or worry about the range / binding problems as these issues have been addressed.

Stand: What no stand? – the DF stand is at the bottom of the inside packaging
Pulley Block: The sheeting pulley block has come away on a couple of boats – might be a good idea to un-screw add a small amount of superglue & re-screw.
Radio Set: Range & binding problems – suggest taping a drinking straw under deck as high as possible & thread the receiver aerial through the straw for better reception
Winch: The deck patch binding to the winch drum – Leave a small piece of backing paper on area above winch to stop it binding
Winch 2: As an alternative option to leaving backing paper on the patch you can re-mount the winch on the underside of the servo tray which eliminates any binding issues.
Bowsies: The instructions state to thread the cord through all three holes & then to the fitting back to the bowsie – this makes it hard to adjust – just thread cord though the first two holes then through the fitting & back to the bowsie
Servo tray: we have noticed that the ply is de-laminating if left damp – might be a good idea to treat the ply to make it more water resistant with varnish mixed with a small amount of white spirit or has been suggested thin superglue.
Main boom sheeting line: rather than go through deck eye 8 – we advised to take the main sheet straight from the metal ring to the sheeting line clip
Jib boom sheeting line: rather than go through deck eye 7 – we advise you take the jib sheet from deck eye 5 straight through to 8 & then to sheeting line clip
Fin: water ingress – we are suggesting it might be a good idea to seal both ends of the fin with clear silicon sealant.
Bow top area: At the top of the bow area behind the bumper the plastic seems a bit thin on some boats – we are looking at ways to give this area little reinforcement
Deck eyes: Some of these are leaking & have slight movement – best to seal these with glue & this will help with reinforcement
Switch 1: Some of these are leaking – loosen screws & seal with sealant then re-tighten
Switch 2: You may change the switch, but you must use a similar item that fits into the original location and uses the original cover.
Back stay crane: Some of the stainless steel wire cranes are not long enough for the top mast fitting so the rotating sail head fitting can bind with tension on the back stay – then fitting insert small amount of glue but be careful not to stick to fitting
Mainsheet Ring: It has been noted that the original metal ring is fraying the mainsheet on some boats due to it having sharp edges. It can be changed for an item of similar size, metal or plastic.
End Point Adjustment Devices: If you are using the supplied radio set there is no facility to adjust or set the end points for the sheet travel. If you have swapped out the radio set for your favourite you will probably have this facility on you Tx. To make life fair for those who don’t have a fancy radio set you can put an EPA device in the boat. It is up to you to find a suitable device.

Both the DF 95 and the DF 65 are great growing class at Lincoln , we probably have about 20 boats boats registerd for each class , not all sail regularly, we race the DF65 one sunday each month and the DF 95 also one Sunday each month check the calendar and come join in the fun .