Author: Tim Long

Second in our series of top skipper interviews is Jonas Samson of Sweden, you’ll have seen the name, the photos and the videos too. What makes him such a consistent skipper? What can you learn from him? Check out the interview by clicking here.

We’ve given DFICA Chairman the job of interviewing as many top DF skippers worldwide as he can so that you can better your sailing and boat setup at events and also to show that they are pure athletes……..

First up is USA’s Mark Golison. Check out his top tips by clicking here.

So it’s been a while since a group of us all sat down for a meeting at TLC during the inaugural DF95 Globals way back in 2018. Since then there has been a lot of activity behind the scenes to get to where we are today. A Founders statement kicked the job off along with a working party to get a Constitution in place followed by some consultation with you guys as members of the classes.

So on the 13th June the inaugural meeting of the Founding Members of the DF Racing ICA met to elect the Executive Committee and have a general chit chat about any issues that have come to light.

The Executive Committee have released the following press release to let everyone know what happened at the meeting and give you some idea as to where we are heading as an ICA in the near future.

Thanks to all of you who have been involved with this, it is truly a momentous occasion in the world of Radio Sailing and in fact Sailing generally to have a brand new ICA formed to look after the two classes on the World stage.

Please find the press release by clicking the link below.

So, we’ve had a communication from the current rules committee who have sent us some new DF65 and DF95 rules documents which clarify a number of things that have come up since the last revisions, including the repair situation.

“The current DF Rules Committee have been hard at work collating and assessing all the small rule changes that have suggested for both classes, as well as making some larger, fundamental changes ahead of handing the rules over to the new DF International Class Rules Sub-committee. The new DF65 Rules (version 1.7) & DF95 Rules (Version 1.3) can be found under the relevant class headings on the www.dfracing.world website along with supporting diagrams where necessary.

There are two versions of each class rules available. A straight copy of the Rules and a version which highlights the changes and gives some explanation as why they have been introduced.

The main changes you should look at cover ‘Repairs’ (65 & 95) which try to clarify what is an acceptable repair to the minority of hulls that show cracking around the finbox. This issue is being worked on by the designers and the Licensed Builder, but for now this new rule defines the extent of the repair. The battery Pack rule now defines the positions of battery packs and many smaller changes covering items such as the Winch Line Clips etc.

The DF65 rules have been updated to bring the wording and definitions inline with the DF95 rules, mainly on the subject of Sail Numbering, which now removes the reference to the RG65 class rules. In the Sails section the Mainsail Foot Profiles are defined using a published template rather than the slightly vague ‘fair curve’  description in the old rules.

None of the changes should should affect existing boats, they have been made for added clarity and greater commonality between the two DF classes.

As ever, the most important Rule (A.5 Spirit of the Rules) should be your guiding light.

Good Sailing all.

John Tushingham”

So, it seems that there has been some confusion on the issue of repairing DF hulls that have broken and how that repair might affect the use of that repaired hull in another event in the future. Rather than have a million opinions on it and have everyone’s blood pressure rise unnecessarily we’ve had a chat to the DF Rules committee as it is currently and they have issued the following Rule interpretation for everyone to digest. The interpretation will also apply to the DF65 rules and more definition of what constitutes a legal repair will be detailed in upcoming rule revisions.

I don’t need to say any more than this, the rules committee statement below speaks for itself.

” The DF Rules committee have been made aware of a published interpretation by the American DF95 Executive of Rule A.7 ‘Repairs’ in the current DF95 Class Rules (Version 1.2). Their interpretation was never presented to the rules committee and does not reflect the original intention of the rule.

It is evident that in a minority of hulls there is an issue of cracking around the keel box, this is most likely due to inertia of the keel bulb during a collision or rough handling of the boat. In some instances it may be due to variations during the manufacturing process resulting in a thinner skin in this area. Rule A.7 allows for repairs to be made “provided they are not intended to enhance the original function or performance of the damaged items”. The Rules Committee and the rules author consider that a localised, internal repair around the base of the keel box is acceptable and will not enhance performance or change the original function of the hull. However, if the repair extends beyond this area or introduces additional structure, such as stiffening ribs or bulkheads, then it would clearly be a breach of rules A.5, A.6 & A.7.

Joysway have made several modifications to the moulding process to try and rectify this issue and are working with the designers on new ways to overcome this issue. In the next versions of the class rules, which will be published shortly, we will try to clarify the extent of what is considered a legitimate repair to the keel box area and there will be no time limit placed on the life of such a repair. In most class rules repairs are allowed, the DF classes should be no different provided they comply with any definitions in the class rules. Replacement hulls are available at a very reasonable cost but we feel that an owner should have the option to undertake a class legal repair and continue sailing their boat.

John Tushingham
28 May 2021
On behalf of the Rules Committee.”

Hi Folks, I have finally gotten around to migrating the 2019 onwards DF95 boom kit drawings over from the UK website so that they are now also on this website. Apologies that it’s only taken three years……but we’ve got there in the end!

Clicky here to take a look at how to build your new DF95 boom kits.

The UK NCA has recently published it’s 2018 race calendar which includes dates for both the DF65 and DF95 class championships. For more detail and up to the minute news and results head over to the UK Class website at DF Racing UK

 

There are 16 DF95’s in South Africa with the first order arriving Mid May, with the fleet set to build over the coming months.

Des Fairbank is the Importer and he is also the Commodore of the Maritzburg Radio Yacht Club . He can be contacted on the following E-mail: desf@telkomsa.net

So the new DF65 V6 was launched out in Germany at the Nuremberg toy fair back in early February and I’m sure many of you will have seen the excellent live video that Chuck put up which involved John Tushingham explaining the detail on the V6.

Since then the V6 has been made available worldwide, with all major distributors getting their stock and customers all over the world getting boxes in the mail.

To back up this new V6 version of the successful DF65 RC Yacht it was decided to give the rules a quick once over to cement the V6 properly into the class and also allow previous versions of the yacht to be modified with the new V6 radio tray. It was also decided that we should give the DF class a new rig to play with, the A+. There has been a lot of discussion about the new rig and not everyone is a fan but the reasoning behind it is sound and will allow better competition at all levels of racing.

So we have added the detail to the relevant pages which are, new V1.6 class rules, A+ rig template, new DF65 class logo and the new DF65 V6 rigging instructions. To find them please just hover over the DF65 heading on the menu and a drop down menu will appear.

 

Afternoon everyone, since its entry into the radio sailing world the DF95 has had it’s own bespoke set of restricted class rules which have served it well and allowed skippers to race on a level footing.

As with all new things there is always a little bit of work to do to keep the rules fair and up to date for all. With this in mind we have had a small update of the DF95 restricted class rules and we are now all racing to V1.2 with immediate effect.

Those competing in the US NCR this coming weekend should have had an email from Regatta Director Chuck with the updated rules. Those competing in the UK Nationals next weekend should take note also.

On updating the rules John Tushingham has also provided a short document that gives an explanation of what has changed so you don’t have to hunt through the document to find whats changed!

Click here for the update rules – dragonflite-95-restricted-class-rules-v1-2

Click here for an explanation of whats changed – v1-2-rule-changes-explained