Radio controlled sailboats — do you want one?

By Peggy Walsh-Sarnecki

August 24, 2014 at 10:24 am Grosse Pointe Farms

Dragon Force radio controlled boats raced around the Crescent Sail Yacht Club harbor Saturday night. Photo by David Morrow.

It was the after party for Crescent Sail Yacht Club’s annual regatta and the harbor was filled with racing boats, zipping around each other.

Racing boats in the harbor? Let me clarify – radio controlled racing boats.

Wick Smith (below, right) and John O-Dell, owners of Great Lakes RC Racing in St. Clair Shores, brought the boats and let people enjoy them. And yeah, they hoped to maybe even sell one or two.

These boats are called Dragon Force, a one-design RC boat developed by championship sailors in the United Kingdom, Smith said.

There are no motors – they are operated strictly by maneuvering the sails. The sailing knowledge behind the design makes them easier to operate.

“This boat really sails well,” Smith said.

The boats comes in a kit and cost about $250 for an in-the-wate, ready to sail boat. It’s a starter boat. Larger, more complicated, carbon fiber RC boats can cost thousands.

They’ve sold about 40 of the Dragon Force boats and hope to sell about 40 more. Their goal is to hold inter-club RC regattas and even a junior sailing RC championship.

For more on the world of RC racing, see the American Model Yachting Association’s website, at www.theamya.org.