By: Mike Eades, Seawind US 089, Wickenburg, AZ (meades@w3az.net) 

First some background. I came to R/C model yacht racing about a year ago having spent the past 30 years racing landsailers in the UK followed by DN iceboats up and down the east coast USA. Now retired and living in the desert, I built a couple of KYOSHO Seabreeze R/C boats for my kids and grandkids to have fun with on our golf course pond and got hooked. Now I should point out that, while I am reasonably handy, have a few basic tools and have done enough iceboat repairs to be familiar with epoxy, for me the main fun with any form of sailing is in the racing and camaraderie rather than slaving away in a workshop. I suspect I am not alone! 

Through the Internet I found there was an AMYA Club, West Valley R/C Mariners (WVRCM), based in Litchfield Park, AZ which dabbled in everything from elaborate scale models through several sail classes up to and including J-Class. I asked the inevitable question “What should I build or buy to get involved in racing?” At that time there was not a clear answer. One or two members had become disillusioned with 36/600 and Marblehead class activities, which are the racing staple of two East Valley Clubs in Scottsdale and Mesa, and were casting around for something less focused on high-tech construction which could be built and raced for fun. It was suggested that a few members had recently built Seawinds and liked their ease of build and performance. I bought a kit from Towerhobbies and went to work. 

The build was easy, just follow the instructions, and I was soon on the water tuning the rig. At my first informal WVRCM sail meet I found that there was another group, Canyonstate Yacht Club (not AMYA affiliated) who raced every Thursday and Sunday in Sun City, AZ rotating between Victorias, Northwinds and Seawinds. I joined that group also. Over the past year Seawind sailing has become favored in both Clubs. In Sun City we race 5-10 Seawinds every Sunday year round. WVRCM introduced a new “1-Meter Sport Class” for kit built boats up to 1-meter and has held four semi-formal regattas including Voyager, Cup Yachts, Soling 1-meter, CR-914’s and Seawinds. Seawind has become the preferred and top performing boat and we encourage all newcomers to start with a Seawind. Between the two groups we now have around 15 Seawinds. 

The Seawind fleet itself covers the spectrum from regular kit “out of the box” Seawinds and one SE, through a variety of modified versions with after market sails up to one complete with carbon fiber/epoxy spars. One of the neat things to emerge is that sail trim and skipper performance determine racing outcome rather than level of modification, at least among the range of skills represented in the group. 

Against this background I have asked myself a few questions:

1. Why set up a new Seawind Class? Our experience suggests that the Seawind provides an excellent, if not the best, entry into R/C boat racing. It’s cost, ease of build and satisfactory racing performance “out-of-the-box”, coupled with the support of a reputable manufacturer, with international distributors, should encourage growth.
2. Should it be a “true” one-design, i.e. out-of the-box with no modification or substitutions allowed? My own experience, mirrored by several others, is that, while the kit produces a satisfactorily performing boat, the manufacturers specs leave skippers wanting to make several simple improvements. (In part 2 of these “thoughts I will summarize some of these “improvements.”)
3. If not a “true” one-design where should we draw the line before it becomes yet another 1-meter development class? I have looked at the AMYA class pages and resource web sites for the Fairwind and Victoria classes, which have recently been introduced, based on kit built boats. Reading between the lines and borne out by local experience, neither of these boats are at all satisfactory “out-of-the-box” either in construction or performance. Consequently extensive development and modification is needed to produce a satisfactory racing boat (see excellent articles by Dennis Desprois, Fairwind and A.J.Moritz, Victoria) and the Class rules have been built around the modified versions. The Seawind seems to lie more towards the “no modification needed” end of the spectrum and keeping it so will help it remain an introduction to racing rather than an introduction to workshop rebuilding.

• I would like to propose that no modification from the deck surface down is permitted and that a minimum weight is established. I could live with making installation of the rubber bootie on the bulb optional, although having installed mine I find it as fast as other boats and not prone to scratches and dings, which a naked lead bulb inevitably yields. Above deck, with spars, rigging and fittings there is room and need for some freedom to allow skippers to improve ease of trim and to seek to maximize performance from the basic boat platform. Setting some fixed dimensions and/or limits would keep experimentation costs reasonable and boat performance close. 
  
  

• In part 2 I intend to describe some of the perceived shortcomings of the kit above decks, some of the “improvements” we have tried and from these propose a few additions/changes to the draft class rules. Meanwhile I would welcome any comments from Seawind skippers as to whether or not the thoughts expressed above have any validity in their experience.

| Part 2 |