INTRODUCTION

After assembly of my first rc boat, I faced the task of having to transport my boat to and from the place where I sail. The following tips on how to handle and transport your rc boat are based on my personal experience. These are only guidelines to help new boat owners learn how to handle their precious boats, from transporting them, to preventing damage during transport. I currently own a victor Mini soling (named "Kalayaan"), which is a relatively small rc boat. The tips are also based on the vehicle I drive which is a 5 dr. RAV4. Hopefully the tips and suggestions can also be used by persons who have different boat size and the type of vehicle.

BASIC HANDLING

BOAT STAND
If you have a mini soling from victor boats, you will find out that victor doesn't provide a stand for the boat. If your rc boat doesn't come with a stand, it is strongly adviced (because it is a necessity) to make one. We advise that you make your boat stand, even before assembling your boat. This will not only be convenient to keep your boat while assembling it, it also makes it easy when you want to put down your boat before launching, it also provides a very good stand for displaying your boat in your home. How to build a boat stand.

CARRYING YOUR BOAT
When you carry your boat, you would like to hold it where it is strong. The strongest part of your boat for holding is often the keel. This is because this is where most of the weight is (thus needing support), and the boat is designed to have a sturdy keel because it is where the stress is when sailing. If possible, support your hold on the keel, by holding the side of the hull that is pointing towards the ground.

Often you'd be carrying your boat with the mast and sails on, as when you launch or retrieve your boat. You will find that holding the keel and keeping the mast diagonal or parallel to the ground, you'd be able to move better. It would be effective in clearing overhead snags, like tree branches. The position of the mast relative to the ground depends on the height of your mast, you can position it more diagonally if you have a long mast, and parallel if you have a shorter mast. (I learned this trick from a fellow rc sailor, Ramon, skipper of a CR-914)

VEHICLE TRANSPORT

This is one of the most important part of RC Boat handling, transport of your boat in vehicles. Unless you are one of those very fortunate to live very near a place you can sail, it is necessary to transport your boat in a car. Best way to do so is to detach the mast and sail from your boat so that it won't be too tall or long for you. The Mini soling's rig is easy to detach, however you need a bit of adjustments at the pond/lake after reinstalling. Note however that with the Mini soling, there is a possibility that the sheets (ropes that pull the jib and the main) might get pulled into the boat. It is very very hard to thread them back out, because your deck is glued to the hull permanently(sort of!). To prevent this from happening, I found that by hooking a rubber band on both hooks of the jib and main sheets, will form a closed loop which will prevent them from being pulled inside the boat accidentally.

You can also choose not to detach the mast and sail, but you'd have to have a virutally empty car, or a van. I found, that you can transport the mini soling in the trunk of the Hi ace van fully rigged and in upright position. If you have an SUV like mine and your main purpose is to go sail your rc, then you can transport your boat lying down, mast supported by something, like the back of the seats. Most back seats can also be folded if you don't have that many people riding with you.

One other trick that I learned from Ramon, was how to transport a CR-914 in a small Sedan, like a Corona or a Corolla. Lay down some cardboard in the trunk, put some holes in the center and thread a string or a wire (copper wire) fold down the rear seats of the car, then put in your boat through the trunk sail and mast first, then tie the keel on the string or wire which was threaded on the cardboard. The sail and mast will be in the car's cabin, while the hull will be in the trunk. The string and the cardboard will prevent the boat from moving while underway. This of course works very well if you are not lugging in a lot of stuff, you are also limited to 2 extra passengers.

If you are a pack rat like me, who goes to the lake with my RAV always full, then you will have to device some plan to protect your boat. Whenever I go to the lake, I would have several bags with me, containing cloths and ropes and sheets for my sailboat/dinghy, plus the sails for it. Among all these, plus the passengers, I have to squeeze in my rc boat. I once made the mistake of just laying her among all the stuff, after the trip, I found out that the rudder was wedged to something, and it broke the hull. I had to fix it with fiberglass. I hope no one makes the same mistake. The solution I thought of, that would prevent this problem from reoccuring would be to make a boat case. This, in it's simplest form would be a box that would support the boat and protect it from other stuff inside the vehicle. It would also be great for storing your boat in your house, if you have no space to display it yet. I am still in the process of designing my own boat box, I will post a drawing of it, once finished. However I urge you to design your own, the main objective for the box, is to protect and support both keel and rudder, prevent pressures to the hull and if you can, it would be a plus if it can take in your sail too.

I hope that you have learned a few things on how to handle your rc boats. I hope that the these tips would prevent you from making the same mistakes as I did.
Because of my mistakes, I will be able to take care of my boat better, plus I am forced to start planning to get a new boat, because due to all the "accidents" in assembly and transporting my boat, I think it is slower now than it should be. I however still love my "Kalayaan".

I would like to invite readers to please send in comments and suggestions on rc boat handling to me, I will gladly post them for the benefit of all rc sailors.