DF95 sails

[Laurie Nye 0]

I have a A and B rig is is worth getting a C rig would I use it ? 

[ianrmcdonald 1]

Yes! I have had some great sails in 25 knots plus and you can actually sail and not just get round. Not sure about the D rig, when that is needed, standing up at the water is a problem

[Richard98 1]

I was really impressed by the DF95 after looking at the design process it went through and the great value for money. So I bought one and remained impressed. Only niggle was the rudder tube play; practically auxilliary steering ! I had proposed adoption of the class by our club; Loughborough Radio Yacht Club. I took the boat to Charnworth Lake one Sunday morning to allow members to play with it.  Now Charnworh is renowned for it's fickle/absent wind and here is the point of this missive.

The IOM's simply left the DF95 for dead in the light wind. Embarrassingly so in fact. There was the little chap bobbing about not even reaching the windward mark as it was lapped. Sadly the experience was repeated several months later when another member bought one and brought it along. Thanks Andy.

The boat is great and has rigs down to D, for heavens sake. I know it is a delight to sail in windy conditions and I know that top rig size was determined by "postability" but it desperately needs a decent top rig for light conditions. I toyed with doing that because I like "developing"  but decided to sell the boat on instead.

Richard

[David Donin 0]

Took the boat out a few weeks ago with the D rig. Excellent fun. F6 in the solent at the time so less than that at the lake at Gosport. Still tacked avenue when being blown on is side. It was 20 mins of smiles  

[GaRRy 0]

18 hours ago, Richard98 said:

I was really impressed by the DF95 after looking at the design process it went through and the great value for money. So I bought one and remained impressed. Only niggle was the rudder tube play; practically auxilliary steering ! I had proposed adoption of the class by our club; Loughborough Radio Yacht Club. I took the boat to Charnworth Lake one Sunday morning to allow members to play with it.  Now Charnworh is renowned for it's fickle/absent wind and here is the point of this missive.

The IOM's simply left the DF95 for dead in the light wind. Embarrassingly so in fact. There was the little chap bobbing about not even reaching the windward mark as it was lapped. Sadly the experience was repeated several months later when another member bought one and brought it along. Thanks Andy.

The boat is great and has rigs down to D, for heavens sake. I know it is a delight to sail in windy conditions and I know that top rig size was determined by "postability" but it desperately needs a decent top rig for light conditions. I toyed with doing that because I like "developing"  but decided to sell the boat on instead.

Richard

DF95 is never going to compete with an IOM in any wind conditions (well maybe a storm as it can keep going on d rig when IOM C rig is still to big). It was never meant to just like an IOM can't compete with a Marblehead. We have raced a fleet of DF95's in the lightest of breezes with out any issue. and I can't see the benefit of another rig for how little use it would get (probably less than the D which I have used 3-4 times in over 2 years).

[Michael Thomas 0]

Well I agree with Richard and I think I may have bought his boat if it's No 22 a couple of years ago when I was new to Radio sailing. I have since moved on to IOM and Marblehead's which are much more satisfying. A taller rig similar to that introduced to the DF 65 may help. I wonder if the low aspect rig was a deliberate decision based on the stronger winds at open venues like Fleetwood,  etc.

We sail in fickle and generally light winds at Eastleigh and I find this particular boat very frustrating. I know I am in the minority at my club but I am leaning towards a feeling that the whole DF breed is stifling development of RG65's and IOM's. After all, a good second hand competitive but older model IOM with a couple of suits of sails can be had for not much more than a DF95 and likewise a used RG65 with a swing rig is much more fun than a DF65.

I have decided to mothball both my 65 and 95 or sell them if anyone is interested.

[John Bennett 0]

Laurie, it all depends on where you sail, and who you sail with.  If you sail somewhere there hardly ever has strong winds OR nobody else has a C rig then I why bother buying a C rig !

I only bought a C rig as I entered the DF95 Nationals and I didn't want to turn up for a very windy weekend with travel and hotel costs and not be able to sail.  Was it windy ? No. Have I used the C rig yet ? No  .  Does anyone else in the two clubs I sail at have a C rig ? unlikely.

On the other matters raised above, the great thing about the DF65 and DF95 is that we all have the same boat.   With both my clubs having members who started getting IOM  Britpops, and now a Marblehead Grunge, it starts a bit of an "arms race" and there is no doubt that using boats such as these  does give an advantage (other things being equal) over your average secondhand IOM or Marblehead.

It's all good fun though :-)

[mdicks 0]

On 05/11/2020 at 14:27, Michael Thomas said:

I know I am in the minority at my club but I am leaning towards a feeling that the whole DF breed is stifling development of RG65's and IOM's. After all, a good second hand competitive but older model IOM with a couple of suits of sails can be had for not much more than a DF95 and likewise a used RG65 with a swing rig is much more fun than a DF65

Since I am one of the design team i totally disagree with this comment. Since the df65 was designed i personally have designed at least 5 new rg65's and probably the same amount of iom's. The df65 and df95 have helped grow the hobby of model yachts worldwide

[Mike Ewart 3]

I totally agree with Mark, the Dr yachts are good yachts for one Design racing good to get people into the sport and apart from that they sail nicely, if we start down the comparison route then you need to consider what you are getting for your money