The Little Guys: Footy and Nano

The Little Guys… Footy and Nano 500

Low displacement yachts are just as easy to print as their bigger brothers.

A. The Footy

B. The Nano

Bill Hagerup loves the Footy. So we proceeded in that direction with what seems like great success. 

Then, in March 2016, Graham Bantock and the IRSA Technical Committee developed a brand new class of RC yacht called the Nano. An exciting new venture into modern 3d printing technology.

These images show some of the pathway to making these “little guys”.

A. The Footy

It is very interesting when things get scaled down. This seems to have been a real success story for the this project.

I have sent Bill a number of Footy hulls, keels, bulbs and rudders he designed, all to be tested during the sailing season in the USA. 

The first hull I printed out came in at 56g, the second hull at 36g, the third hull at 29g and waiting here is a 19g super ultra-lightweight when he wants it. The learning curve in the experiments just kept bring the mass down, thinner shells and yet still rigid and functional. A big “wow factor”.

This first image clearly displays the difference between the IOM, Rg65, Nano and Footy.

 

B. The Nano

A very interesting new class just released by the IRSA Technical Committee in a draft format designed to be an international class.

The main features include:

  1. The hull and main parts inside are to be all 3d printed.
  2. Only a clear coating is allowed on the hull for waterproofing
  3. Restricted height and draught
  4. Basically allows for innovation and ease of making to encourage new people, especially the young, to use their modern technology skills with CADS, printer software and 3d printers. This can be done easily from home or at school.

Of course Bill and I had to have a go at this one.

We are both on the IRSA, Bill as a Technical Committee member with Graham Bantock as the Chairman and myself as the General Secretary. We both loved the idea when Graham first proposed it. 

So here are the fruits of Bill’s design and my 3d printing.

Introducing the first Nanos on the planet, even though still in bits… they are coming along nicely. A beautiful yacht in many ways.

Lots of on water testing to come.

More on how to build these in future articles.