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Beginners Guide to ….Sail Numbers in Radio Sailing

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One of the things that immediately strikes the new entrant to Radio Sailing is the sail numbers. It’s not like big boat sailing at all !! By the way, the size, spacing and gaps of the numbers and country characters are quite carefully controlled in the International Racing Rules – see the radio sailing appendix.

Very quickly you will see that restricted by space on the sail, and as a general rule, we only use the last two digits of the hull number which should also be clearly shown on the boat…. so we all hope within 100 numbers we shall not to have any duplicates at an Event or in Club Racing. Of course, duplicates can arise in a race and on entry the PRO might ask one competitor to add an extra digit, by convention a “1”…. so that competitors can be easily told apart. A “1” is relatively easy to fit in to the space available. Remember this requirement though when you prepare to attach your sail numbers to the sail – leave a bit of space!!

If you think about it, a very small group of number combinations can be ambiguous when viewed through either side of the sail. I must admit, I’ve been caught out as a finish-line judge on a bright sunny day by this. By convention, skippers with such numbers can consider whether they also should pop a “1” in front of their number.

So if you have just one boat, one class … as most of us Club Racers do… then all that’s sensible and fine. Even if you have two or more boats, no problem really.

For multi-boat owners, there’s also another option – personal sail numbers. Each MYA district keeps a district register of 100 numbers and if there is one available you get to keep a two digit number for several years in exchange for a fee. All your boats can then bear that number on their sails. There are some things to think about:-

  • Is the number you are allocated already in use in your Club Fleet or in the Open Meeting Fleet in which you race? (Availability is rare, so in all likelihood you simply take the number that is offered. ) It might determine if you wish to go this way or not.
  • Realistically, and for re-sale purposes, you are going to want to go with stick-on sail numbers. SailboatRC say that using indelible ink is the only sensible option, but I must say that is not my experience so far. In addition to indelible pen based numbers, I also have stick-on numbers from K7yachts. No problem with those so far.

Is that it?? Not quite…..

If you are going to race Marbleheads and Ten Raters, they can share the smaller rigs. As most of the cost lies in the rigs, lots will have this on their minds. So obviously having the same number on each boat is going to help life a lot. At a club like Datchet which races both Marbleheads and Tens, this is a pretty topical idea – after all the excitement about the hulls, most of the money is in the rigs.

You can imagine that as the sport grows, the demand for personal sail numbers soon outstrips supply. Below, I attach a recent announcement for Metropolitan and Southern District that they are going to introduce another bank of 0-99 numbers to help meet demand. We had some chatter at the Club about why there’s no “1” on the front (or similar idea), but we have policy and practice to help with duplicates in any event, so it’s good to see MYA innovating its way forward on the subject.

Personal Sail Number Announcement- Met & Southern District

Transmitter Type and Snug-Cover, Best Fit…..!!

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We had something of an “ah ha” moment here the other day when the Domestic Steering Committee (a seamstress of note), reminded me that transmitters and snugs are a 3-dimensional design challenge not easily thought of or seen in 2D…

We went back to the snug and transmitter inventory and tried all combinations of transmitters and snugs to see if basically it really is “choose anything you want”. If you’re a Flysky or Futaba user, you might get an “ah ha” moment too.

First up, when I use my Radiomaster Pocket I realise now I’ve always tended to use it without a cover. The transmitter is so ridiculously robust I suppose it felt best to use it in the open air. It was anyway so small it is lost inside a snug.

The second really important thing is that my fabulous Catsails snug is a terrific cover and will basically take anything you want to pop in there with ease – with a Spektrum it can easily accommodate the stubby aerial at any angle you prefer.

It’ll be interesting to see what SailboatRC come up with in their forthcoming snug design.

What’s the Thing About a 3D Snug Design?

It’s in the implementation….

The Steering Committee’s head seamstress pointed out there are differing approaches here to creating a 3D space for the transmitter. Catsails are basically using what a dressmaker thinks of as “darts”… apparently… there’s a single seam with different material sizes each side of the seam causing a ‘compartment’ effect.

The Rooster…

That brings us to the Rooster…. with a different approach to creating a 3D shape based upon multiple seams. They are creating the 3D space more by design with seams along the edges of the 3D space. (see photo at the top of this article)

Can you see there are four seams on the Rooster?? Taped flat on the outside (the Catsails outside seam is “piped”) and also miraculously also flat on the inside for comfort maybe…

In sewing, this is apparently called “flat felling” or “flat locking”. Just so you know…

Given the two people that will have had a big hand (sic) in designing the Rooster snug, it suddenly comes as no surprise to me now that the Rooster 3D space is a really great fit on Flysky and Futaba, like it was designed for them. Like a glove….. My lovely Spektrum is a better fit in the Catsails snug. The antenna stem is something of a compromise inside the Rooster. Enjoy choosing!

Beginners Guide : Transmitter Snugs…

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Radio Sailors really can put a lot of thought into transmitter snugs. This brilliant one above, used by our Champion DB, looks like it has an exit for the transmitter aerial… Interesting!!

This second example looks totally amazing, but when you realise it is being used by one of our most ‘decorated’ champion radio sailors it gets your mind whirling as to what thinking is being poured in here.(!)

If you’re in a warm climate and don’t use a transmitter snug, consider that one of the most amazing and competitive sailors in UK likes to keep his fingers and switches out of sight, so that competitors can’t get to see what is going on in there. All you hear is a “click-click”. I love it. Fabulous gamesmanship. (See the story of Rodney Pattisson’s Centreboard aileron trim tab on Superdocious… allegedly simply done to distract competition!)

(Note snazzy BG logo sneaking in at the top of the photo to remind you that at least two of the greatest minds in sailing have thought about the design of this snug!)

Do you live somewhere with a climate where the idea of a transmitter snug doesn’t really apply?? Well, here in UK, we use them a lot !!

I saw Rob V with one of the new Rooster Snugs from Steve Cockerill (see above). Very nice it looked too. They make some really nice sailing products at Rooster, so this bodes well !!

There happens to be three different makes of snug in the workshop at the moment. Want to see the differences of design?? Read on….

Since I started radio sailing, I’ve only used a Catsails snug (see above). I borrowed one with a loan boat for a year, then simply stuck with the same. I like it. You’ll see lots of them around – a good well made, well designed, sturdy product.

I also have a snug from Wtotoy which I got from SailboatRC with the IOM. I hear that SailboatRC might be about to produce their own design – watch out for that. To be honest, I don’t take to the Wtotoy at all, but it does teach a lot about what sets Catsails and Rooster apart.

When you go to choose your next snug, here are some things to look out for:-

Transmitter Considerations – Access and Security

The Rooster and Catsails snugs both have stout strong zippers on the body-side of the snug, compared to a velcro closure away from the body on the Wtotoy snug (see photos above). Thinking through this, my guess is that you would all think the access from body side with a strong zipper was the most secure.

Rooster additionally put this little velcro storage loop inside the snug to secure your transmitter – but to what? Good for Futaba and Flysky transmitters (use the handle) but I’m less sure how to use it best on the Radiomaster Pocket or the Spektrum (slightly more awkward handle to access). Would I forget to do it after a few outings? Better to have it than not though.

Size – Big Hands, Large Transmitters?

(Top photo – Rooster on top of Catsails, bottom photo Rooster on top of Wtotoy)

I thought I had big hands until we ran our item comparing transmitters.

Beginner’s Guide to Transmitter Selection… Get Your Hands on All of Them Before You Decide…. !!

Most probably you’d say that your hands fit all three, but in reality these three feel very different in internal size. I have feeling that the Catsails snug is the most capacious (see photo above), but it might be deceptive. One of them would suit you better, for sure. The Rooster design comes higher up your wrists which is another consideration entirely.

By far the most capacious of the three is the Wtotoy, and the Rooster and Catsails do tend to feel different inside. The Rooster gives a totally different impression as it is designed more to come up your wrists like a pair of gloves. The “sleeve” on the Rooster compared to Catsails is quite pronounced. (see photo below)

If you are a large hands Spektrum user (largest transmitter we have measured) , it’s a double challenge – you are going to want to try both snugs before deciding. Don’t forget your switch clearance! (see our other article)

Beginner’s Guide : Choosing the Switches on Your Radio Transmitter…..!!

Neckstraps and You

Let’s start with the Wtotoy and dismiss this. It has no neck strap capability.

The Rooster and Catsails snugs both have an external eye, and the Rooster comes with its own neck strap and quick release buckle.

Both Rooster and Catsails brands have put the securing eye behind the viewing window, so I would guess that the centre of gravity will tilt both away from you if you take your hands off. It’ll vary a lot by transmitter (see our comparison article) weight and centre of balance, but you might want to check this out before you decide.

Weather – Warm or Dry or Both??

In Uk, we would be thinking both about keeping our transmitters dry and perhaps also keeping our hands warm. At our Club, we prefer to sail year round (maximise subscription value!) so both are a prime consideration for us. All three snugs here are made of very waterproof material, so no worries. The Wtotoy additionally has velcro adjusters at the wrists (is this a two person job?) and the Rooster is designed more like a glove to come up the wrist to improve closure.

As regards warmth, you are going to be happy with these, but consider if they would get too hot in summer. I’d guess straight away that the Wtotoy would be warmest and the Catsails the coolest, Rooster in between.

The Wtotoy has a furry lining which is not to my own preference

The Rooster and Catsails snugs both have that clever aqua fleece type of lined material which is robust and (to me) feels great.

I’ll test the Rooster and Catsails next winter to see what their thermal performance is like, but I’d gu ess by design (sleeves effect) the Rooster will be warmest and the Catsails the coolest. What would you prefer?? I confess, I’m not sure yet. When it’s properly cold, do you wear gloves too?

I’ll trial both the Rooster and Catsails snugs over the next year and try and form some conclusions then.