Yachts

Activities
 

Most of our sailing boats are propelled solely by the wind although some of the scale models have an auxiliary motor driving a propellor in case the wind drops leaving  them stranded on the lake

 

Some members sail yachts which are made to either the International One Metre class or to the DF65 or RG65 classes. These yachts are purely functional racing machines, they are designed to race and have a selection of different rigs to allow sailing in different wind strengths. They are designed to operate in challenging weather conditions without sinking. Members race these yachts from April to September on two Sunday morning each month starting at 10am. See the Club calendar elsewhere for racing dates. 

 

Other members sail scale models of all manner of sailing craft whether they are schooners, sloops, fishing boats, barges in fact any type of ship or boat propelled mainly by the power of the wind. With scale models you may see them fitted with deeper keels than the real vessel would have just to prevent the model from capsizing.

 

All sailing model boats are equipped with at least 2 channel radio control. One channel controls the rudder for steering and the other controls a winch used to adjust the position of the sails. This is the bare minimum and is used for our racing yachts. Scale sailing models can have additional radio control channels - to operate a motor driving a propellor or to make certain features of the model work like the real boat such as working navigation lights or operating anchors - there is no limit, just the builders ingenuity.

 

Everyone is welcome to bring their sailing models to Westport. In addition to the monthly races we also sail on Wednesday and Sunday mornings from around 9am to 11am before retiring to the cafe for a well earned rest, cup of something hot and a good chat about all things to do with sailing models!