Commercial RC multihulls that are available

There are probably more production RC multihulls that I don't know about so feel free to add to the list.

The Skate trimaran:

http://youtu.be/_uEwQkBwhlY



The Shinobi Mini40

http://www.aardvarkracing.co.uk/rc-foiler-tri/

 

Volans is another tri but it gets poorer reviews than the Skate. Also the Joysway cats-very small extremely prone to capsize. Anybody considering a "commercial" multihull should get the largest version they can afford-tremendous improvement in handling as size goes up.
One of the best RC sailboat sites: http://www.rcgroups.com/sailboats-59/

modified Skate-1st minute of the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs99rjdQc3M


Un-modified Skate:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVVmrVDJkYE

 

Joysway rc cat-65cm

Joysway thread on rcgroups: http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2217396

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXnHOc_yqd8

 

Barracuda

See post 1 for a $200+ version of the Skate and go to this link for a $900 "Barracuda" version of the same boat albeit with a lot of improvements:
Some components are carbon(not the hulls or crossarms) and it has a new rig a bit further back then the standard Chinese inexpensive version. In my humble opinion, not enough improvement to warrant the massive price difference.
http://www.stockmaritime.com/news_presse/print_news.php?action=start&id_news=4600&art=3

 

Flying Hulls

Not much info available on this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYgDuPk6VcM


https://www.flyinghulls.com

 

FlyingHulls A40 has been in production since September

FlyingHulls is having an Extreme Holiday Sale on the A40 carbon fiber RC catamaran until January 10, 2016. The basic kit is 30% off, making it $465.00. The completely finished and assembled boat, Ready for the water, is $995.00.

Here is the FaceBook page:
https://www.facebook.com/FlyingHulls-LLC-286941264706830/

Here is the Web Page:
http://flyinghulls.com

Here is a picture of the FlyingHulls A40:

 

Fancy that - I purchased a Skate model trimaran on-line from the US about a month ago. I have no intention to take up model boating as a longer term hobby, at least I dont think I have. I got it because I have some ideas for hydrofoils that may be a bit different to what people have done before and I thought that testing on a radio controlled model might be a way to get started. I dont really expect a model to give all that good an indication of how a full size craft would behave but it hardly seems sensible to start by buying a £200k F-boat or similar then start cutting it up to fit experimental hydrofoil systems. I am also thinking about testing parts of the hydrofoil system by attaching them to a frame work extending from a powered vessel. For this kind of test I think the hydrofoils might be intermediate between full size and those to suit the Skate model.

I havent even had my Skate afloat yet. One thing I note is that the hatches that provide access to the radio control system hardly look watertight, I would imagine that I am going to need to seal them up with silicone or something. If I do that I wont be able to even switch the internal electrics on or off since the provided switch is inside the hull. I have purchased a waterproof toggle switch to mount outside the hull but have not fitted it yet. The hulls of the Skate look quite well made. The mast is a nice aerofoil aluminium section, just like a real yacht in miniature, but it is not a rotating mast. The standing rigging looks dubious, at least to me. The arrangement of shrouds is not one that I imagine would work well at full scale and the thread used for the shrouds is pretty stetchy , dont know how much that matters for a model. The boom vang does not look much good, I think that may need to be improved otherwise the gooseneck is going to get damaged. Mind you, these are comments from someone who has never tried model yachting.

For mounting experimental hydrofoils I am thinking of first mounting very light aluminium extrusions to various parts of the structure of the Skate, then mounting the foils to those. That will allow adjustments to be made without drilling too many holes in the original structure.

Overall the Skate is clearly more of a 'toy' than a 'serious' model yacht, but I think there is at least a chance that I will learn something from it. But then again, all yachts are toys, no?

 

John, models(preferably larger than the Skate) can work well for testing hydrofoils. In fact, the planform area can be the same on the model as on full size: if the model(to scale area) is 2 sq.ft. then its likely the full size area will be 2 sq.ft. The sections will be different. This was discovered by Dr. Sam Bradfield when using one of my trimaran platforms to test the foil system for his 40' SKAT.
Are you going to use surface piercing or fully submerged, altitude controlled foils?
Good Luck!
John, this is one of two threads about the Skate on the RC Groups forum:
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2293611&highlight=Skate Trimaran

 

Yes, I would prefer to do model testing with a larger model than the Skate, but I havent heard of larger models being available ready made and I can imagine that building one would be a building project very comparable to building a smaller size manned vessel. I am already in the process of building a rowing boat, I have sent posts about this to the 'design a fast rowboat' thread on this forum. I just thought that if I have two building projects at the same time nothing is ever going to get finished, also my workshop space is limited at the present time, I need to have a clear out! The Skate comes almost ready to sail at a price that is negligible compared to costs full size boat owners tend to incur, so I ordered one from the US and the package arrived only a few days later. It was an impulse buy but if it gets me started on a potentially interesting project I think its worth it. Incidentally, if you are in Europe you need to remember that VAT will be added to the advertised cost of the Skate.

I say 'almost ready to sail' - there is some minor assembly work to do and the crude flimsy stand supplied to support the thing on land is useless so the first thing I did after opening the package was to make a substantial stand. I think this will be useful when rigging the model alongside a pond and when working on the model to fit experimental features. Since the hatches on the Skate dont look very waterproof I guess I better be careful until I have an idea how much water is likely to sweep the decks. How waterproof do hatches need to be on a model yacht I wonder?

I rather thought someone would ask me exactly what kind of hydrofoil arrangement I have in mind! Well, I dont want to say too much at this stage. That is not because I have even the slightest intention to get into any kind of commercial boat design/building activity but simply because I really don't know if any of this will work at all and I don't want egg on my face. I think I can say that there is nothing all that clever or complicated about the basic idea I have in mind, but its not something I have heard of being done before which does not mean that it has not been done before. Also the initial idea spawned a host of variations on the theme, so altogether it becomes a bit of a nebulous cloud of possibilities and difficult to actually describe at this stage. You may well find that I quietly drop the whole thing and build or buy a relatively conventional yacht!

 

The first thing I thought of yesterday was to ask you about the foil system. I decided not to because I figured you'd say something when you were ready. Don't worry about "eggs"- describing the foil system would be a public service-after all I described my foil system on the Fire Arrow way before I sailed the test model.
Hope you have fun with the Skate project! Make sure to put your receiver in a small bag and seal it and seal the hatches as best you can. If the boat didn't come with a sail winch or rudder servo, you can order waterproof servos from "Servo City"
in the states . The brand is "Hi Tec" and they're probably available in the UK.
Good Luck!
PS-please describe your foil system!

 

I would think for rc a gyro might help for foiling. At least for the planes they work extremely well! If I kick on gyro on speed run its worth several mph for level fast flight.


Barry