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[BruceGraing]

Has anyone suggestions on how to recover model RC sail boats when they are having problems . I want to try to stay away from using another RC boat if possible.

[dougal99]

Depending on your water:


a long rope from bank to bank.


Fishing rod and line with small tennis type ball as weight.


Inflatable dinghy.

[Netleyned]

Learn to swim 

We have a telescopic fishing pole about 30ft extended
which helps a lot if the yacht is close.

Otherwise as Dougal advises
Waders if pond is shallow enough.


Ned

[BruceGraing]

  I can already swim but the temperature varies . The fishing rod sounds like a good bet

[Big Ada]

Carry a Springer Pusher Tug in the car.
 
Len.

[Netleyned]

I do that Ada but in a strong wind an out of control
yacht will overpower most springer type pushers.

Epoxy an old coat hanger hook into the end of an
old carbon fibre fishing pole. Works a treat.

If you use another rc motorised craft just
tow a fishing line out around the yacht and
back to shore and pull it in by hand

Ned

[tony23]

why are you sailing something thats goes out of control in the first place! all the years I have sailed IOM's, Marbleheads and 'A' Class yachts I have never had to retreave a boat.

[Netleyned]

You must have the best wind the best behaved yachts
never had a servo failure.
Even in World series skippers have gear failure.
Magic yachts in a magic pond methinks.

Ned

[sparkey]

I have never know model boaters not to have trouble sooner or later it happens to all of us,I got stuck fast in a tree branch just below the water line, tried everything,had to get the waders on in the end,our lake is in a golf club so golf balls land in the lake can be a problem, but you really have to unlucky to get your boat hit by one of them,I think fishing rod or rescue boat are the best idea,Ray.   

[tony23]

You must have the best wind the best behaved yachts
never had a servo failure.
Even in World series skippers have gear failure.
Magic yachts in a magic pond methinks.

Ned

Ned,
You will never get a day with no wind to get your boat back trust me,
and yes I do have the best behaved yachts as the classes I sail in if the gear is anything but the best then of course I will get problems while sailing that's why I don't buy chinese tat for servos and winches and R/C gear not saying you do!
World series skippers have failures because there pushing there equipment to the extremes I have been full size sailing for 30 years and never had gear problems because I'm cruising not pushing anything to the limits and I replace things before things break.
and sacasm is the lowest form of wit!

[Netleyned]

Tony,
I fully agree with what you say but not all things are perfect.
It never ceases to amaze me that after spending hundreds of pounds on
yachts you see one with radio failure and the owner says 'Those batteries were
new from the pound shop today'
Our lake  has areas where the Council have put mesh cages of reeds along the edge
to help keep the water clean. These are situated to leeward of our prevailing winds and
float just below the surface and will not support weight.
You can guess where any failures  end up.
With a pond with all round accessibility as you say the boat will eventually come within reach.
I was just giving advice to Bruce as to how we go about it on our lake.
I don't have many problems as I prepare my gear carefully before getting to the lake.
When you see the number of guys turn up with flat batteries and loose rudders or frayed
lines and loose fastenings you begin to wonder.
It takes all kinds to make a sailing club and they probably enjoy the lake as much as we 'experts' do


Ned

[john44]

You could use a dog exerciser, throwing stick with a tennis ball held in a cup
type. I have one with a self casting fishing reel fixed just above the handle
and a fishing rod eye fitted near the ball cup ( the eye is a must) or it will
not cast properly. Fit a rubber coated small grappling hook on a short length
of chord, at one end of the ball, and fix the line from the reel on the other side.
I just shove a length of wire through the ball, shape an eye at each end and
fix the lines to them.you then just have to release the reel bale arm throw
the ball past the stricken yacht "not at it"close the bale arm and walk along the bank
with the throwing stick held up. Gently draw the line over the yacht and
hopefully the hook will hold onto something and you just have to reel in.
This method has worked quite a few times for all type of boat rescues.

Still prefer the springer tug method.

john

[Stavros]

Right just a heads up on this.................I know you will all laugh and chastsie me on what I am about to say............MMMM fishing rods REGARDLESS of what you are doing with them You really do need a Rod Licence EVEN for boat recoverey....Even though you have tied a tennis ball or something along those lines to retrieve your model....I know of more than one preson who have been asked for their fishing lic when they have been seen with a rod and reel on the bank where they were sailing......Boat recoverey isnt a VALID excuse....so be weary.....
 
As far as Yacht recoverey ....use a springer or similar and tow a line around the yacht to snag up on the keel.
 
Top Tips for a succesfull days sailing
 
Check your rigging WEEKLY
Make sure the batts are checked and fully charged on TX and RX
Make sure if you have a bung in the boat...PUT IT IN
Check your deck patches ....if you got any
Check your rudder
Last but not least..........SWITCH IT ON........
 
The last you may well laugh at...BUT how many times I have chased a ruddy yacht accross LLanberis Lake with a rowing boat ......NO NOT ME
 
 
Dave

[tony23]

I race every Friday and Sunday whether at my lake or an event elsewhere, the most common failure is forgetting to switch on before launching ( and yes I also have done it) 
I wouldn't recommned throwing anything near your yacht you can bet on it it will hit the boat! 

[sparkey]

  Hi,guys,I like everybody else have done it,in our club we have a rescue boat but someone forgot to check the  battery in it so it stopped in the middle of the lake, we ended up with two boats to rescue, wader job I am afraid ended up a complete fiasco,just proves we are all human,hope you all get some sailing this weekend though I don't know about the weather after all it is a bank holiday!,Ray.  

[Netleyned]

Managed to rescue a Marblehead with battery failure yesterday.


I managed to get alongside with my Marblehead and coax it back to shore.


Why go sailing without good batteries?




Ned

[tigertiger]

Not everyone is born an experienced sailor.
Not every lake is user friendly or large enough to stay out of trouble while learning.
Not everyone can afford the best of the best equipment, but can still manage to get out on the water on a budget,
And there will always be Murphy's Law.

[malcolmfrary]

NEVER go swimming after a boat.  There have been far too many sad stories in the press due to the swimmer not being as good as he thought and/or finding something in the water that was previously unknown or the water being unexpectedly cold.  Waders and a third leg (big stick) if the water is known, OK.
For a large lake, a boat with a bit of go and a long floating line is the simplest solution. run out and pass beyond the target, hand wind them both back.  My clubs rescue boat is a 28" rescue launch.  Works very well.  So far we have only used a hand line, but one of the guys keeps threatening to turn up with a kite winch to speed up retrieval. The advantages are that you dont need to contact the target, which can be a problem at distance across a lake, and if the rescuer gets stuck on whatever the target got stuck on (unexpected weed, plastic bag etc), you have the line and manual horsepower.