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The club races mostly DF65s, but there is a growing number of DF95s showing up for the mixed fleet racing. Dan Shier is the organizer of the little RC yacht club, and he regularly lets people try out his Dragonflite 95. After racing my DF65 for a few weeks and then trying the bigger DF95 I soon decided I wanted one of those two. The boat is bigger and faster. I am still very new to the DF racing experience, with only about 6 weeks with a DF65 and one day of racing with my new DF95. But even as a newbie, I thought I would share some of my impressions about what sets these boats apart.
Let me start by saying they are both great boats. They look very similar. They are both available with all the radio parts installed in the hull. All of the tedious work building the mast and boom is done. You need to assemble the rig and sails. Both boats are quite intricate to build and require great patience and dexterity to complete. It really helps if you have previous experience with sailing and previous experience with miniature models.
These are both race boats, and as such they have more sail adjustments than the average cruising sailboat. The small scale of the boat means that many of the lines must be tied with exacting measurement. All of the measurements are metric, so it really helps to have a metric ruler and a metric tape measure. I found the DF95 was slightly easier to assemble. It is a bit larger in scale, which makes things easier to see and to manipulate. And it is a later design than the DF65, so there are a couple of improvements in the build process that make things easier to put together. For instance, the line that ties the jib boom to the deck is adjustable on the DF95, but it is not on the DF65. The adjustment makes the installation of the jib boom much easier.
On the water, the DF95 is a fast forgiving sailor. It is well balanced. Although the DF65 can be well balanced too, but it takes a bit more tweaking of the rig to get things lined up just right. I have seen it happen twice where a DF65 skipper launched their boat before turning on the radio receiver in the boat. Both times the boat was well tuned with a balanced rig that sailed away on a true course into the wind and just kept on going! The first time was in a pond, so the pilot just had to walk around the path to get to the boat. The second time was in the bay, and it required a fast paddling kayak to get that boat back.
The DF65 is a less forgiving boat to sail. It requires a tender hand at the controls. If you over steer the boat it slows it down. If you don't pay attention to waves, gusts, and your turning speed it is real easy to find yourself in irons, sailing backwards. So far the best method I have discovered for getting out of irons is to sheet out all the way and wait for the boat to turn, then sheet in and sail away on the new course picked by the boat.
It took me several race sessions to finally get the boat tuned up so that it was performing as well as others in the group. I had a long string of last place finishes that were getting quite frustrating. A single blade of grass on the keel acts like a sea anchor on these little boats.
Once I had the DF65 properly tuned for our conditions it quickly became clear that I was now losing races because I lacked the skills I needed for good racing. As long as I didn't make any big blunders I could keep up with the pack, and sometimes finish close to the front of the pack. But then I learned I could lose if I missed one turn, or if I let the boat stall and fall into irons. I could end each heat of racing with a short list of two or three things I could have done better. My biggest mistake is steering too much and too often. It is tempting to play the controller like a video game and just push the levers to their extreme settings all the time. I have to keep reminding myself that in my full size boat I never turn the rudder hard over to the limit. The DF65 needs the same finesse.
So the secret to success with the DF65 is to first tune your rig to match the conditions, and then sail her with a gentle touch, paying attention to all the little details.
The DF95, at least in my brief experience, is a much more forgiving boat to sail. Over steering doesn't slow you down as much. It has more weight, so it glides through the turns and does not fall into irons as often. It is bigger and easier to see at a distance. And it is fast! It is so fast that it become difficult to perform tasks that require you to take your eyes off your boat for even a few seconds. Things like writing down the scores at the finish line or changing your gloves are a real challenge because in windy conditions the boat will cover a lot of distance in just a few seconds.
The two models are close enough in speed that we occasionally see a DF65 finish ahead of the DF95s. So the DF65 is no slouch either.
I had a choice for Christmas between either the DF65 or the DF95. I favored the DF65 for two reasons. There were many of them being raced in our local club, and the price was affordable. When it came time to make the order the DF95s were out of stock, so I went for the DF65. I recently picked up my DF95 because a club member accidentally ordered an extra one. I was able to pick it up from him even though the supplier was sold out again. I scored. Having raced both boats now, I can say that I would recommend the DF95 as your fist boat if it is in your budget. It is almost twice the price as the DF65, but it is easier to sail, which makes it easier for beginners (like me) to learn with.
On the other hand, starting with the DF65 will force you to master the fine motor skills and finesse needed to make that boat sail well, and those skills will pay off with many victories when you advance to the bigger faster DF95.
When I raced the DF65 I had some real challenging days, days that made me want to quit and go do something else. On my first outing with the DF95 I started finishing well on a consistent basis. The only person who beat me consistently was Dan, our club organizer and an experienced club racer. That may have just been a good case of beginners luck. Time will tell.
Both of these boats are awesome. I see myself using the DF65 when portability and size are important, such as traveling long distance or carrying it on a boat. I will use the DF95 when I want to be a little more relaxed and focus on the fun more than the technique. With one design racing it will always come down to racing the same kind of boat that your friends are racing. And now I am ready for both.
