| It rained last night. The local weather forecast calls for | | | | you get out your fleet of radio control race boats, take |
| occasional showers all day today, and tomorrow. | | | | the kids or grandkids to the pond, and compete with |
| Still too early for remote control airplanes and | | | | each other for the big prize? Are you holding timed |
| helicopters, so I'm thinking about boats. | | | | runs to see how fast your boat is? Or do you prefer a |
| As a kid I made a number of excursions on powered | | | | slalom event of some sort? Maybe you'd like a |
| boats fishing, skiing, and pleasure cruising. Those times | | | | combination of the above events. |
| gave me piloting experience on boats ranging from | | | | The design is simple once you decide the kind of race |
| 18-foot runabouts to cabin cruisers. Two things always | | | | you're running. Visualize it in your mind, and then draw it |
| come to mind when I think back on those trips: engine | | | | out on paper. Scale it so you know where to place |
| noise and exhaust fumes. | | | | your markers that show the outline of the course. |
| Couldn't get away from those. | | | | For your markers you need something to use as |
| One time with a group of friends, I rented a 42-foot | | | | buoys. Most anything that floats works for this |
| sailing yacht, and made a trip to the Bahamas. Sailing | | | | purpose. I suggest placing a number of corks to shape |
| doesn't produce exhaust fumes, and the only noise | | | | your racecourse. Paint them a bright color and make |
| (other than the rush of the water as you slice through | | | | them easy to see. Large fishing bobbers are good for |
| it) is the slapping canvas as the wind fills it full and | | | | this too. |
| pushes you along. That sound of rushing water was | | | | To keep your buoys in place, or to keep the wake of |
| new because the engines always drowned it out on | | | | your boats pushing them off location, you'll want to |
| the powerboats. | | | | weight them. Fishing weights perform this task well. Tie |
| I found sailing so relaxing that now when I think about | | | | them to the buoy with fishing line, and make the line |
| going to the water with an RC model a sailing boat is | | | | long enough to allow the weight to rest on the bottom. |
| normally at the top of the list. | | | | That way the buoy will stay where you place it. |
| Today is different because I'm thinking about doing | | | | If you design a few different courses, you can make |
| some racing. The rain dampens my desires for | | | | changes and spend the day staging a multiple of |
| relaxing, and that only leaves an urge for some action. | | | | racing events. You'll have plenty of thrills, and increase |
| Before I can race I need a racecourse, so I'll give you | | | | your aquatic piloting skills at the same time. |
| some thoughts about designing, and building, one of | | | | Now you're all set, nothing left to do but have some |
| those. | | | | remote control fun. |
| First consideration is what type of race you'll run. Will | | | | |