robbe pirol

[tim glover]

Recently at a yardsale I found a robbe pirol. a very large sailboat. The hull is about four feet long. and in good condtion. the keel and rudder are also there. I emailed robbe about this boat. there reponse was. we stopped selling this kit and parts. a long time ago! thanks guys for all the help! being a modeler myself. airplanes and boats. I would really like to put this girl back in comission. with a hull this size the mast must be at least seven feet! anyone with Information about this boat. plans/magazine articles e.t.c would be a big help. thank you fellow modelers

[Soling 1084]

Tim,

I lost an ebay auction on one of these boats about a year ago. The Pirol was designed to sail in a class called "50/800" if memory serves me correctly. 50 for 50 inch hull and 800 for 800 square inches of sail.

I think there are still rules posted on AMYA.org for this class as well a a lot of good links to radio sailing information in general.

The only other specific I remember was that the plastic of the hull is called "plura". I did locate some information online but am not sure if it is still out there or where it would be.

Other wise, what do you need to know to get going? This boat should be able to me set up with a 2 channel surface sadio system (a rather large sail servo for 800 inches but not too extreme) and provide a lot of fun.

Let me know how I can help.

Jay Nesselroad

[A.Mack]

Tim,

I may be of some help to you with your Pirol. I bought one in Germany and brought it back to the US about 20 years ago. I still have it and the instructions. At least I think I still have all the instructions. It's a pretty cool looking boat when compared to lifesize race boats from the time. The design was based more on lifesize boats than an efficient model. My Pirol is not put together right now and has been modified a lot from its original form.

I put it together on my own when I was about 14 years old with no prior RC model building experience, so I struggled to get it right. I did take it sailing a few times, but it leaked badly and had other issues. Over the years I have modified what I thought were the weakpoints of the boat. #1 is the hull keel joint and the keel itself. #2 I hope you have small hands and arms, or you'll never get very far installing the hardware through the tiny opening. I cut my cockpit away to open it up a bit. Maybe I'll finally get it finished and sailing this winter. I know my wife would like to believe that.

If there's anything I can help you with let me know.

Good Luck,
Andy

[wyshyvanuk]

Andy, how is the keel constructed on your Pirol? Does it come "pre-made" or does it need to be "built up"? I'm trying to determine if a particular kit has all the parts it should have. Thanks!!