CA or cyanoacrylate, is actually acrylic plastic. CA's cure or polymerize when pressed into a thin film in the presence of a slightly alkali environment. The only trigger it requires is the hydroxyl ions in water, which is convenient since virtually any object you might wish to glue will have at least trace amounts of water on its surface. In general, ambient humidity in the air and/or on the bonding surface will provide the proper pH to initiate cure in a few seconds. The best bonds are achieved when relative humidity is 40% to 60% at room temperature. If the surfaces to be bonded are excessively dry or are acidic, the curing can be much slower or not happen at all. Most manufactures will agree that depending upon humidity, CA's may take as long as 24 hours to achieve full cure. As a point of interest, gel and thickened CA's are produced with additional components to induce various levels of thixotropic or gel qualities.

Only use a little! CA glue needs room temperature or higher to cure. Place the pieces together and drip a small amount of glue at the edge of the crack. Capillary action will draw the glue down into the crack. Use acetone or nail polish remover to remove unwanted glue.

White glues, like Elmer's, bond by solvent evaporation. The solvent in Elmer's all-purpose school glue is water. When the water evaporates, the polyvinylacetate latex that has spread into a material's crevices forms a flexible bond. Super glue, on the other hand, undergoes a process called anionic polymerization. Cyanoacrylate molecules start linking up when they come into contact with water, and they whip around in chains to form a durable plastic mesh. The glue thickens and hardens until the thrashing molecular strands can no longer move.

CA glues do have a lot of shear strength. CA glue is used to "tack" a part in place while epoxy or other glue hardens. CA or super glue comes in several forms, such as gap filling, and thin or thick. The thickness relates to the amount of dripping associated with the glue, thin CA runs a lot. And a gap filling glue expands when drying "filling" in gaps. All CA's will cure only with an air tight joint! The absence of air causes the glue to set. CA glue will not work well on porous material and any joints that are not near perfect. One way around this problem is to use a spray hardener that will "set" the glue when applied. This hardener is a MUST when using CA on wood.

Once a bottle of CA glue has been opened, it is important that it be kept upright and not exposed to extreme heat or cold, and most especially, dampness or water. Find a glass or plastic jar with a tight fitting lid. Use the change-a-tip package to replace the tip that comes on the bottle with a change-a-tip cap and stopper. It is recommended that you place used replacement tips in a small bottle of Acetone for storage and cleaning.

Place the CA glue bottle in the jar along with a dry pack, which will have a blue color to the package and seal the jar. Keep an eye on the color of the dry pak, as it will change to a pinkish color when it has absorbed all of the moisture that it can. When this happens, place the dry pak in a microwave for a couple of minutes to allow it to dry out, and the color will change back to the bluish color. It can then be re-used. You can place more than one bottle of the CA glue in the jar.

It is extremely important not to place either the accelerator or the de-bonder in this jar with CA glue. If any type of leak were to develop in these products, it will ruin the CA glue in the jar. This procedure will maximize the life of your product. Do not store CA glue in the refrigerator, as the normal moisture in the refrigerator will ruin the glue. Properly stored CA glues will last a long time.

If you think cyanoacrylate's only ability to glue things together, check this out. Super-glue fuming is sometimes used in criminal investigations to detect latent fingerprints. It works like this:

· The object to be checked for prints is placed in a heated, airtight container.

· Cyanoacrylate is introduced; it evaporates and is circulated throughout the container by fans.

The gaseous glue reacts with materials that may have been left behind in fingerprints (such as amino acids and glucose) and makes them visible. Another interesting application is the use of cyanoacrylate to close wounds in place of stitches. Researchers found that by changing the type of alcohol in super glue, from ethyl or methyl alcohol to butyl or octyl, the compound becomes less toxic to tissue. With further research, the practice may become more widespread and could eventually replace the need for stitching up lacerations._/)

We have all heard then and at one time may have been one - someone who whines and complains about the wind conditions at a pond. I'm not talking about days at the pond where there is no wind. What I'm talking about is ponds that don't have a steady wind that is free of eddies, and skippers who whine and complain about it and don't try to deal with it.

First, there are no ponds that have wind conditions that make it a sailor's paradise. To have a pond that has strong and steady wind, it will require absolutely no ground cover around the pond (no surface friction) for at least one half mile. No hills, no buildings, no trees, no nothing, just a pond on flat barren land. If a pond can be found with nothing around it, can permission be given, is there restrooms, is it in a decent area and be enjoyable to sail at.

Since there is no pond that offers no obstructions, we have to deal with what we got. To fully understand why the wind is not like what we want, skippers have to understand the dynamics of airflow around obstructions. As soon as this happens, the sooner skipper can learn to handle the wind conditions or say home.

I believe when a skipper learns how the wind works and is able to sail in variable conditions, the better skipper they will become. The challenge is to be able to sail in fluky, changing wind conditions. To be honest, that is what makes sailing fun - the challenge to handle the given conditions to win.

Wind whiners just complain that the wind is too fluky and is not what they like. When the wind conditions get tough, they start to mumble and crumble more, and make it less enjoyable for other skippers. To be fair, if a racecourse is in a bad location, move it to a better location.

So, what to do about wind whiners? Just ignore it. Hopefully, after a while when no one is paying attention to the whiners, they will stop. If they don't, politely ask them to keep their whining to themselves or ask them to go home. If that does not work then there is not much more you can do. Just keep cool, go on sailing and try to enjoy the rest of the day. _/)

by Jordan Dobrikin
[The following article is from an email that came to me on the Victoria Resource Email Exchange. It has several interesting items in it. It has been slightly proofed with no loss in content. Editor]

By and large most 'wonky' radio reception can and will be traced back to a faulty, 'glitchy', antenna/receiver installation.

Most if not all modern transistorized, crystal controlled R/C receivers and transmitters are rugged and sensitive enough for R/C sailing. They were designed for heavier duty use in cars, trucks and boats using noisy, vibrating internal combustion engines with high-powered electric motors.

First and foremost is a good receiving antenna installation. Use antenna wire as long as possible, stretched out to its full length with minimal folds, twists, kinks or what have you. Best that it is oriented in the same plane/polarity as the transmitting antenna. This screams backstay and then vertical up the mast. If you have a metal mast use the mast itself as the antenna.

Plastic or wooden masts call for a thin, lightweight, minimal insulation, and even bare wire up the mast. Do a good solder job even spot weld any connections exposed to the elements inside and or outside the boat.

I don't think carbon fiber masts will conduct enough electricity DC or RF to be of any use as an antenna and probably as some intimate it might interfere with a wire inside or along side. I need to do some research on this.

If the 'wonky' operation is only happening to you then it's most likely in your equipment/installation.

Transmitter power is of lesser importance, however well charged batteries are a must. For R/C modelers with transmitters that use AA cells that were designed around the 1.56 volts of the non rechargeable batteries: I highly recommend the use of the newer heavier duty chemistry, XL, rechargeable alkaline batteries by the Canadian firm Pure Energy - http://www.pureenergybattery.com/. The black ones and the gold ones had some teething problems. You can also buy them on Ebay.

The 1.2 volts of nickel based rechargeable leave you a tad short and they require regular recharging and good battery maintenance procedures. As done by the electric R/C modelers who need the very high power to weight ratio of these batteries.

In R/C sail you can use the XL battery chemistry in the boat as well as the servo(s) draw very little as compared to the electric motor sin other R/C applications.

Regular connectors for DC wiring are fine but I would plug/unplug them on a regular basis to keep the contacts clean and functional.

If you are getting regular interference, 'wonky' operation in a specific sailing location you most likely have a faulty piece of high power electrical machinery in the vicinity spewing out RFI across the spectrum including the R/C bands. Call in a local ham radio club to help you find the problem and then go to the repairman to get the culprit fixed.

No need to freak out as some R/C clubs do and ban every kind of consumer electronics from the area, cell phones, ham radio transceivers, marine radiotelephone VHF radios and even portable radio receivers. Some want to ban cassette/CD players and now the iPod!! _/)

Windward Leg Tactics

by Pete Maxson
From the Rochester Area Model Yachting Association

In R/C Sailing, just as in "big boat" sailing, many races are won or lost during the windward leg (s) of the race. It is hard to make up lost time. The best tactic is not to lose it in the first place. There are many aspects, to close-hauled sailing, which come in to play.

The first thing that you should consider is boat trim. Does my boat "point" as high as the others in the fleet? Can I do something to the rig so that I can point higher? Ideally, you would like to trim your boat so that it points a little higher than the other boats in the fleet, without a loss of speed. Pointing higher, but going slower is not what you want.

The second item is clear air. If you are not in clear air, you are not going as fast as you can. The turbulence caused by other boats (shadow), most times has an adverse effect on your boat's performance. You can be in another boats "Shadow' if you are windward or leeward of the competition. The leeward position is the most vulnerable. I am sure that you have heard the phrase "you stole my wind". Shadow is the thief. You do not have to be directly down wind of a boat to be affected by its presence.

Picture a boat going across a smooth pond. Waves or ripples appear on each side of the boat. This is also true of air. A boat moving through the air causes the same rippling effect as in the pond example. So, try to stay as far away from other boats as possible. If this is not possible, try to stay upwind of the competition. The only time that this philosophy should be ignored is when you are getting ready to round the windward mark. Remember that the leeward boat has rights for buoy room. You may want to get leeward of the competition, so that you can duck under and round the mark inside of them. This will allow you to have the upper hand in gaining clear air on the next leg of the race.

Another point to consider is which side of the course is the "favored" side. By favored is meant the side that will give you the shortest and or fastest route to the windward mark. The favored side of the course can and often does change during the leg. This is where experience and local knowledge pays off. It is often times known as home pond advantage.

Ideally, a course is set up so that the windward mark will be centered on and at an angle of 90 degrees from the starting line. This rarely (if ever) is the case. That is why there is always one side of the course that is favored. It is your job to establish the favored side before the one-minute gun. Take a few runs toward the first mark. Does one side give you a better angle to the mark? Do you see a pattern of wind shifts that favor one side? Is there an obstruction near one side or the other? Can you get to the favored side on a port tack, so that you are going to approach the mark on starboard tack? All of these questions need to be answered well be for you plan your tactics for the start. The last point I need to emphasize is to ALWAYS make sure that the lay line you have chosen will take you ABOVE the mark. It is always best to err by going to a point that will take you above the mark rather then being placed in a position of having to pinch to make the mark or worse yet having to tack again (usually on to port, as the rest of the fleet barrels in on starboard). If you choose the prudent approach, you always have the option of heading off the wind as you approach the mark, and as an added benefit, this will accelerate your boat into the turn. This in turn will give you more momentum as you tack and move toward the next mark.

If you follow the above-mentioned tactics, you will find that you are able to keep up with the "big guns". Sailing fast is as simple as having a well tuned boat and being in the right place at the right time. Finding the right place is what this article has been about and the first step in sailing faster. Getting to the right place at the right time is the second step. _/)

Racing Thoughts

by Michael Bacci
From the Rochester Area Model Yachting Association

Terminology: Getting headed or lifted.
What the heck does that mean? As you are sailing your boat on the upwind leg, the wind is sure to change its direction during the leg (especially on our pond). This can be due to a number of factors: ground effects, trees, or just the wind itself. As you are beating (that's a slang term for close-hauled) to the first mark (or the finish) on the upwind leg, these wind shifts are going to effect how you get there. If the wind shifts so that you can point closer to the mark, that is called a lift. Think of being 'lifted toward' the mark. If the wind changes so that you have to point away from the mark to keep the sails full, that is called a header; you are being 'headed away' from the mark. Although we are not on the boat and can't watch a compass and a wind vane to track these lifts and headers precisely, when you can perceive it from shore it is definitely something that should be acted upon. In the case of a header, you should tack as soon as possible. As soon as you are sure that the wind has headed and will stay that way for an appreciable amount of time, you should tack, otherwise you are just adding distance to the leg. Also realize that after the tack, you are now being lifted.

Efficiency: Don't turn so much.
This is a subject that I am particularly sensitive to since my job on big boats is helmsman. One thing that I see too many skippers doing is using too much rudder. What do I mean by this? Think about it for a moment. Every time the rudder turn it starts to act like a brake. The next time you are on a boat or just near some water, take a board, stick it in the water and turn it perpendicular to the direction of travel and you will feel how much drag there is. The goal, of course, while racing boats is to not slow down. Every time you move the rudder you slow the boat down (due to drag) and you sail a longer course. When you have to use the rudder, make the rudder moves slight, slow, very smooth and not jerky. Use as little rudder movement as necessary so as to minimize drag. In reference to the above: a lot of times if you get headed, the boat is already partly into the wind and will naturally want to move to the other tack, so go with it. Whenever you fight what the boat wants to do, you are usually sailing slower.

Tactics: Get ahead by thinking.
A race is not won on boat speed alone. You can also win by sailing smart. As mentioned in the first part of this article you need to look for wind shifts. Tack on headers, ride the lifts. Always look at the boat immediately behind you and try to stay between him and the mark. This is called 'covering'. If he tacks behind you, you tack too even if you think that it might be better to stay on the tack that you are on. If you don't want him to beat you, then you go with him because you never know if he might get a lucky wind shift that you wouldn't get if you stayed on your original tack. And of course, the best tactic is local knowledge. If you get headed halfway up the first leg, but you know that there is a huge lift up by the mark then you want to stay on that tack, regardless.

I hope that these insights will help you to sail better. Good luck this coming season._/)

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© 2005 David Acree. All rights reserved.