Part 2 - Making the Keel

Part 2 - making the Keel. What's the keel you asked ? It is that middle part underneath the hull that is sticking into the water and carrying some weight or ballast (please see pic ).

In my simple understanding of its function, the keel with weight helps to keep the sailboat balanced while in water. It acts as the counter weight when the wind acts on the sail. Thus the sailboat will not flip over when the wind blows and is able to keep upright when the wind dies. With this in mind, the keel is important and must bear the weight of the whole boat. The keel must therefore be made of strong material and ideally also not too thick as to obstruct the flow of water. I found that the easiest material to use for the Keel of a footy is the cheap "made-in-china" wooden 12 inch long ruler !! It costs only 20-25 cents per piece here in Singapore.

So where do U install the keel ? If U study the pictures of many footy boats, U will soon realise that the keel is usually located just after the main sail mast. And the longer the keel, the more stable the boat may be but that may likely cause your boat to sail more slowly - well that's what I thought - U might have to experiment to find out if that's the case. U may also find you need 2 wooden ruler glued together ( using 5 min epoxy ) on their flat sides to form a broader keel.

The pictures shown below illustrate how the keel could be installed onto the Hull. A piece of foam shaped to sit nicely within the hull is glued ( using 5 min epoxy ) in position. The wooden ruler is cut on one end to form an "L" and this "L" end is then slotted right through the hull on the outside through to the foam on the inside of the hull. This is done through a slit opening cut through the foam and the hull. The installed keel must be such that it is perpendicular to the hull and does not lean to one side. The installed keel must be glued using 5 min epoxy and excess epoxy shall be applied to seal slotted areas so as to prevent water from entering.

More examples are shown below. After the keel is installed, further reinforcements using depron must be made within the hull so that the keel is able to hold the full weight of the boat and remains perpendicular to the hull at all times.

Part 1 - Hull making

Let's begin. The hardest part of making a sailboat is probably the Hull. U might have a downloaded plan which indicated parts which are usually to be made from wood. Other than cutting, U have to sand, glue, seal, sand, lacquer and paint. Quite a lot of work especially for one just starting out !! Most newcomers would get turned off from here. Is there a better way to make hulls ? simple and fast way ? One U can make within 1-2 hrs not weeks ? I would like to share with U my method. There is a readily available material that allows U to do so -- 2mm EVA foam sheets !! EVA or Ethylene Vinyl Acetate is a chemically safe, flexible polymer that is itself waterproofing and does not get wet. Used normally for children's handicraft work in schools, the foam sheet comes in both B3 and A4 sizes and in various nice colours ( red, green, yellow, brown, white, black, pink.....) and U get buy them quite cheaply from handicraft stores or in schools in Singapore. Also check http://www.sesco.com.sg/ for the foam material too.

There are a number of ways to make a Hull using a 2mm A4 size EVA foam sheet, One basic way of folding EVA to form a conventional looking hull is illustrated in the pics shown below. Secure each fold temporarily using a clip.

Once U are satisfied with your folded hull ( it should be symmetrical ), it's time to apply glue to the folded areas. The glue I am using is the UHU Twist & Glue and it is very effective for all kinds of foam materials.

U may need to cut and trim the hull further after glueing to get a nicer shape. The blue hull which I folded for my blue footy is shown in the pics below. Notice that I have added a foam deck. U might want to use the 5mm (3mm?) foam sheets obtainable from ArtFriend for the deck. I have used Depron which is imported from USA. Also a triangular foam reinforcement at the base is added. Overall, depending on how U fold your EVA sheet, U should be able to get a hull shape like the one shown. So U got yourself a quick, simple and colourful hull without the need for further sanding, sealing and painting and it's already waterproof !! All can be done within 2-3 hours !!

I shall end the posting with a link to a video of my Blue Footy which I maiden sailed at Bedok Reservior not too long ago : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xY_ikfTqrWI Hope U enjoy watching it. Cheers !!

Hi and welcome to my footy building blog !

Hi ! Are U fascinated with small rc footy class sailboats and wish to own one too ? Yes U can make one and own one ! I started this blog to share what I have done and accomplished in making footies. I have just recently completed my seventh footy ( see pic ) !! I hope to show U that U can make one too without spending a bomb.
Like you, I have started from scratch , not knowing much about rc sailboats. Thanks to a number of friendly websites on rc sailboat making, U can get tons of information & plans for making one or even information on getting a nice footy sailboat kit. As a good starting point if U really are new to this hobby, u may want to look at http://www.footy.rcsailing.net/.
I realised the footies that I have made are somewhat lighter than those made by others in other parts of the world because of the lighter materials ( eg sails, masts, hull ... etc ) used. Nevertheless, the lighter footy seems suited for the milder wind conditions here in Singapore's ponds and lakes.

I would like to end my first posting with a youtube video of one of my footy which I sailed recently at Little Guilin at the Bukit Batok Town Park. Hope you enjoy the video. Will begin to elaborate more on footy building on my next posting. Cheers. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58K964Me2mY