screws running up from within the hull into the
resin foundations fixed in the sail make fast the
sail to the hull, yet provide for quick and easy
separation of the two for transportation,
adjustment, or repair.
When the r/c SKIPJACK leaves the surface, an
unobstructed path for venting air, trapped in the
diesel exhaust fairing, has to be provided. Failure
to get all the air out of the fairing will upset the
boats trim and make it difficult to hold exact depth
when cruising along at slow speed. So, the
following operation has to be done before
securing the sail foundation pieces (sail-to-hull
mounting foundations-R) to one half of the sail
assembly: Grind a 1/8" deep by 1/8" wide vent
channel atop the after foundation piece. A
corresponding vent hole is drilled into the top,
forward bulkhead where the exhaust fairing meets the trailing edge of the sail proper.
You will need the ability to flex the bottom of the sail a bit to get the lower sail plane bell-crank (sail plane
bell-crank-T) on and off its bell-crank
shaft retainers (sail plane bell-crank
shaft retainers-S). To accomplish that
the sail foundations are glued to only
one side of the assembled sail.
This permits the unglued underside of
the sail to pull away from the other sail
half when flexed to install or remove the
lower sail plane bell-crank.
You see here how the sail plane
operating shafts fit within the rather
thick hub of the resin upper bell-crank
(sail planes and bell-crank-Q). The gear
portion of the upper bell-crank engages
the gear portion of the lower bell-crank
which works around its shaft to rotate
the upper bell-crank when subject to the
axial motion of the pushrod that runs
from the motor-bulkhead of the SD.
Here I'm grinding away the raised molded in place bores of the original operating shaft holes projecting
from inside the sail halves. The hole, as it is, is too big for the 1/8" diameter sail plane operating shaft.
You see between the trailing edge of the sail planes and the ground away bore of one sail half the as of
yet untouched bore. A small resin bushing (sail plane operating shaft bushings-N), installed into the
original hole reduces its diameter to the required 1/8" bore required by the sail plane operating shaft. The
two bushings are pushed in and CA'ed in place.
Note that a set screw, set within the hub of the upper bell-crank unit, secures the operating shaft of a sail
plane -- these set screws easily reached from the opening in the bottom of the sail assembly.
Tape the halve of the sail together. install the sail planes by running each operating shaft into the bore of
the upper bell-crank. With the two planes lined up with they're cords parallel to the top of the sail, and the
center of the gear section faced down and perpendicular to the cord, tighten the two set-screws to secure
the planes to the upper bell-crank part.
The Moebius Skipjack R/C Conversion Instructions
Page 9
