General
Being a family oriented club, we put equal emphasis on competitive, social and novelty sailing. Radio controlled yachts are far more robust than radio controlled aircraft and most members are willing to allow visitors to have a sail. We also have a number of club boats available for sailing. Do not be afraid to have a try. Kids are especially welcome to have a play.
Our venue is privately owned and regarded as a wildlife reserve. The owner does not allow combustion engined boats on the dam, and high speed electric powered racers are discouraged as a harassment to wildfowl.
Boats
Unlike other clubs, we do not hold exclusively to recognised classes of yachts. Our racing programme has events that cater for all types of boat from cutting edge racing machines to the dust gatherer that grandpa built as a lad. All of these can race together with a Corrected Time handicap that gives any of these an equal chance of winning.
How much does a boat cost? This varies greatly. Boats such as the one shown top left can be purchased for around $300. https://www.hobbywarehouse.com.au/joysway-8812-focus-2-rc-yacht.html We have a fleet of Focuses (Foci?) and find them to be an excellent boat to start out. The price includes everything needed including radio control gear and batteries.
The boat below it is a top of the line Marblehead that can cost several thousand dollars.
The bottom boat is a kit that can be purchased from various hobby shops for about $500 and then needs to have the radio gear installed.
Alternatively you can build your own boat at a quite reasonable price. Various members build yachts in fibreglass and timber. We are happy to assist you to do your own thing. We have numerous fibreglass moulds if you wish to do your own building in that medium.
Second hand boats are advertised on the National and State websites. Feel free to ask for advice on these boats. Our Commodore also keeps listings of second hand boats available.
How to select a radio controlled yacht
Note : 8 foot long (2.4 m) 80 pound (36 kg) boats and 10 foot (3 m) masts are at the extreme end of the spectrum.
Calendar
We have sailing days on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Even when there is formal racing going on there is room enough on the dam for others to do their own thing.
Racing formats
We have three major racing formats, Corrected Time, Scratch (line honours) and Handicap (stern chase).
Corrected Time adjusts each sailors elapsed time by a factor determined from previous races in order to give all sailors an even chance regardless of the speed or age of the boat. The winner will be the sailor who performs best against his or her own correction factor.
Scratch Racing is decided purely on boat speed, first past the post wins.
Handicap Racing has boats departing from staggered start times with the handicappers' aim to have all boats reaching the end of the day as close as possible to each other.
Novelty events have various formats, endurance, slalom etc. and do not count towards end of season championships.
South Eastern Hills Model Yacht Club Incorporated Rules (Constitution)