Swing Rig (out of DF class of course )

[ChewbeeDoo]

Hello,

I like the DF very much, but it is obviously a British Boat :) 

Let me explain this joke 

When winds are weak, very weak, DF is not that fun, while when winds are British ;) it is total joy 

For those days that I often experience inside Paris (very weak) I would like to build a Swing Rig 

I know that the DF will then just become a RG65 for the time, but It is fine I will keep the boat pure DF, I will just give this rig swap-ability for those very weather conditions.

Then the question : Did someone built a Swing rig for the DF, and if so, he/she willing to share how he did it ? 

I know from Mike that the mast front Hole is designed for this, So it just on how you did the swing part, which sail plan, using a pushRod ? 

those kind of things

Many thnaks 

[Thomas Armstrong]

It has been done. Look these two examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0cUsEY6szBA

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=772876&page=81#post27978555

A friend of mine here in Chile is doing the same as you: changing the DF65 to make it faster when the wind is light. He build a new sloop rig with higher aspect ratio, keeping a DF65 rules compatible boat. His new rig is clearly faster than the stock one, but he is still not as fast as other custom boats (like mine, for example). The DF65 needs to go on a diet if it wants to be competitive in light winds. So we encouraged him to build a new lighter and shorter keel. This will make it lighter and reduce wetted area (reducing drag), and will keep the boat "DF65 legal".  Hope these ideas can help you.

[Joanne Sharpe]

I built a swing rig for mine.

As a basis for construction I used the following:

Sail plan from:  rg-andy.blogspot.de  plus Google Translate

I have since bought the sail plans from Arne Semken too which are at x-sail.de, but not made an 'AA' swing rig yet

The rig itself I built like the article from Eric Rosenbaum here:

http://iomdesign.wordpress.com/rigs/

Under the right conditions it goes very well, although as Thomas points out, the DF is heavy in the company of top development class boats. Using the forward mast step, I got a balance straight away.

I attached a short cord with a spring clip and attached that to one of the jib deck eyes, so that I could lift the boat out by the mast - not elegant, but it works.

Of course, the beauty of this set up is that you can simply swap rigs and you're back to a Restricted Class boat in a couple of minutes.

I hope this is of some help.

Joanne

[ChewbeeDoo]

Thank you very much for your help 

Exactly what I was looking for in content and spirit ;) 

All the best 

GH 

[David Foster]

I have started on both a Swing Rig and a McRig, but haven't got either finished yet, as I haven't had time. Any spare time has been spent sailing instead of building!

Maybe I have my priorities wrong?  :-)

David

[ChewbeeDoo]

Which "measurement" did you take for the Mc Rig ;) 

I Will do one after the swing As I love Mc Rigs BUT

the pivot point has to be further forward (on my Footy it was One centimeter ahead ) I did a Una Rig From Alp Yachts

On the DF I will not drill a hole ;) So I have to use the Forward one like for the swing ring 

Are you usinf the Mc ring  from the same issue of "model yachting" that contains Eric Rosenbaum paper on swing rigs ? 

many thanks

[David Foster]

The McRig is based on the article in Model Yachting. I am using the forward mast position and hope to make any minor balance adjustments by altering the angle of the pivot to boom to move the C of E. Bigger adjustments will require the making of a new Z crank to move the whole rig back or forward, but I doubt that will be necessary.

My swing Rig is based on a hybrid of ideas gleaned from various people and sail dimensions based on the suggestions by Chris Spalding in the Model Yachting swing Rig article. Time will tell whether this is a good idea or not, but that is the reason for trying them out!

David

[ChewbeeDoo]

Many Thanks David 

My swing rigs is done, sails are ready (ugly but ready), i hope to set up everything this week end.

If good enough I will share some pictures.

And probably start working on a McRig, a UNA Rig from AlpYAchts (BTW I aam not related to them but their Rig is really beautiful ) I did one for my footy and it looks great and works beautifully

[David Foster]

Sounds good! You are putting me to shame though. I really must make an effort to finish them off.

I look forward to seeing some pictures in due course!

David

[ChewbeeDoo]

Not my intention of course !! 

Here are some pics of the construction, and the two fist navigation (yesterday and this morning (with my number on the sails) 

This afternoon, I did some changes according to this morning tests 

. I shorten the forward part of the swing .. minus 3 inches 

I took the jib lower (easier without the forward swing part in the way ;) )

I took the jib as close to the mast as I can 

very funny and quite more sensitive to light air