Rio Grande Racers of El Paso - Sail Boat Division

The Rio Grande Racers Model Boat Club is pleased to announce that in 2013 it will offer a Sail Division. The powerboat portion of the Rio Grande Racers is operated under NAMBA guidelines. The Sail Division will follow AMYA guidelines. AMYA is very similar to NAMBA in that it serves as a governing organization that provides rules and guidelines for classes. It also provides national events and insurance coverage for its members. Members also receive a magazine that follows the hobby, giving extensive coverage to the ongoings within the AMYA as well as breakdown on certain classes and any rule changes or issues that have come up during the year.

The Sail Club meets most Wednesday's at Ascarate Lake from 5:30pm until 7:30pm, We also meet on some Saturday's and also on Sunday's in conjuction with the powerboat club.

Click here to View a sample issue of the AMYA Magazine
This issue has Soling 1M setup tips on page 49

The Rio Grande Racers Model Yacht Club is AMYA Sanctioned Club #148 - more information on the AMYA can be found by clicking on the image below:

Our club sail members presently consists of: JC Greenlee, Mike Lynch, Tony Solo and Jay Stone. More members have shown interest, but don't presenty have boats. We hope that you will continue to scroll down and take a look at the boats we presently sail as a club. Take a look at various websites and contact one of our members if you have any questions or if you would like to joing our club.













Soling 1M	Victor Model Products	The Soling 1M class is one of the more popular classes around the United States. This low-cost, kit-based class is designed to get new hobbyists inovlved in model yachting. This class is great for new hobbyists, yet they sail really well and offer a very competitive class that is appealing to the experienced skipper. This class is intended to be built off of the manufacturers plans and offers a race ready and competitive kit right out of the box. These kits are Just under 40" in length and 13" in depth of hull. The mast is nearly 4 1/2 Feet tall and offers nearly 600 square inches of sail. These hulls must weight a minimum of 10lbs once completed. Important web sites: AMYA Soling 1m Class Information Website Soling 1M Resource Center Victor Model Products Website Other helpful sites: Kings Point Model Yacht Club - Building Tips Another building tips website An informative Tuning Tips Video for your Soling 1M: Soling 1M's racing:











Victoria	Thunder Tiger	The Thunder Tiger Victoria is a simple design sail boat offered by Thunder Tiger of America. The kit is a low cost kit that averages $140 for the kit itself. Add your choice of radio and servos and you can be on the water for as little as $200. These kits are easy to assemble and offer good sailing characteristics. The idea of this class locally is to offer a readily available model that is inexpensive and a way for interested hobbyists to get involved. Construction generally takes a weekend or can be done over a week of evenings. The boats offer quality construction that will offer a new skipper an insight and relatively inexepensive beginning in model sailing. The Rio Grande Racers offer two variations of this class of boat. The Silver Rig Class which consists of a stock boat with stock sails and mast. No aftermarket sails or masts can be used. This typically means a boat straight out of the box. For skippers with a little more experience, we also offer a Gold Rig Class which allows the skipper to add aftermarkey Sails and Carbon Fiber masts and fittings. The addition of aftermarket sails and masts make the Victoria an extremely competitive sail boat. These kits are Just over 30" in length. The mast is a little over 3 1/2 Feet tall. Important web sites: AMYA Victoria Class Information Website Victoria Resource Center Thunder Tiger of America Other helpful sites: Victoria Building Tips and Instructions Building Tips PDF File An informative Tuning Tips Video for your Thunder Tiger Victoria: Victorias racing:















Footy Class	Developmental	The Footy Class is a developmental class within AMYA. The only requirements of a footy sailboat is that it must fit inside a 12"L x 12"d x 6"w box. The boat must have no more than 2 channels (2 servos-- 1 for rudder and 1 for sail) and be powered by 4 AA Batteries. There are tons of designs available. Several companies offer abs plastic, carbon fiber and fiberglass versions of this hull. The Rio Grande Racers has several members that have built their own kits off of plans from Class Secretary Bill Hagerup. The Razor 3 is a design by Bill that he has offered the plans readily on the web. Click here to download plans for the RAZOR 3 Stanley Townsend's Build Blog for a Razor 3 The Razor 3 offers a simple to build kit from Balsa wood that sails really well. Club members figure that they have about $80 in a boat including radio equipment from Hobby King. We will add a build list of parts needed as soon as we can. We also hope to hold a building class for these hulls later on the year at the El Paso Parks and Recreation department. More info will be posted as it is available. Important web sites: AMYA Footy Class Information Site Footy Site with tons of Info Video of a Footy Sailboat Race in Wisconsin: