Something beautiful

Just strolling along the piers at Tradewinds. Nothing on my mind. This beauty was moored there. Had to sit down and admire the woodwork...

Port side

A click revealed it is some sort of beta version from ReneMarine. It reminds me just a little bit of the RM8; Another very pretty build from Rene.

Starboard side

I've been kinda offline lately, so maybe this has already been launched. Dunno. Next time I'll go look for at testsail at Renes boat yard. Something this beautiful isn't meant for mooring. It's meant for sailing.

Weekend quiz

It's quiz time again. Yesterday, when I logged in to check my messages, I found the most amazing boat; It is probably the most fresh, fancy, up to date, modern design boat I have ever seen in the virtual waters of SL. Just have a look:

Probably the most modern boat I ever saw in SL

It is not very big. I'd say around 12 meters overall. Obviously a very modern design, - that includes the  keel. It is not extremely wide bodied, as can be seen on this next shot. Two steering wheels for optimum steering, sitting on the side, but... they are moderately sized and not far apart.

Two moderate size steering wheels

Now, steering wheels are not nearly as good as a tiller. Never. It is always a practical solution made to save space. Notice how bigger racing boats begin to have tillers, lately! Most 37ft family cruisers have wheels. The DS37 Matchracer - made for racing - has a tiller, and it is amazing how you can throw 37ft around with that. You can easily wipe the foredeck clean with just by moving your hand. That's called maneuvrability.

Weekend cruiser / daysailor / racer

The boat looks racy, but since it is around 12 meters, there's enough room for crucial "life support systems" down below. No detailed photos yet. It is work in progress, but what we have here is clearly a weekend cruiser disguised as a fancy day sailor, - and with a very modern shape. I like that.

Modern hull and rigging

My first thought was Micro-Wally, but no it is not. When I say it is probably the most fancy and modern virtual boat I've seen for long, it is not entirely true. There is one other, - built by a german boat builder, and it is precisely a pocket sized Wally. Never released. You might wanna search for Wally Yacht images and see some amazing boats.

What is it then?

Back on track. If this is not a Micro-Wally, then what is it? It is definately something I want to own and sail, but that's another story. Rene tells me it is made after a real boat, so here's the weekend quiz: Does anyone know the country, designer, size and name of the vessel... anyone?

A strange day at sea

Went out for a short sail in my latest toy, - probably one of the prettiest boats ever built in SL. Cruisers, racers and all inbetweens taken into account. Just look at those lines and curves...

The RM20

It's the RM20 from ReneMarine. The instructions are lengthy, and the boat has so many features I gotta try out before I'll even think of writing about it, and to be honest, I kinda forgot to take notes today, because...

Mayday?

This is what I met on my way to the Blake Sea. Running aground at high speed may lift the stern a bit, but this? This would require a speed way over normal boatspeed. This was not the only incident. A few minutes later I saw...

Dive, dive, dive

This... Very strange! Especially since my RM20 seemed to sail just fine. No glitches what so ever. Not even sim crossing problems. I scratched my head and thought ReneMarine must have done something right here; Then I headed back home, and...

There's a UFO south of Tradewinds

This one nearly hit me. I mean a flying saucer dressed up as a sailboat? Is that allowed in the Blake Sea? Where's the air traffic control when you need it?

Smooth sailing; At last :-D

The rest of the trip went pretty smooth. When I finally arrived safe and sound at Tradewinds, I realized that something new was going on. The Boatbuilders show has closed, still there's loads of boats. I am sure it will be announced on the Tradewinds website; If not, - expect pictures here. Soon.

More fantastic builds from ReneMarine here. Be sure to scroll down and check the Zeeschouw.

A new one

Here's a new little cutie. It was on display at the Tradewinds boat builders show, but only for a few days.  It's from ReneMarine. Not sure if it is released just yet, but it was a boat builders show, remember?

What's it called?

It looks like a lot of fun, though the design is a bit old school. I wonder if this is the smallest ReneMarine boat yet? Sure is different from the Hanuman. Somehow it also looks familiar, but I can't quite figure out what the RL version is called. Can anyone help?

What's a Hanuman anyway?

A few days back I got a call from ElMegro. He invited me for a ride in a Hanuman. I wasn't quite sure what it was, and googling didn't make it much better; Wikipedia says Hanuman is the Monkey God. Duh! It helps alot to google for Hanuman Yacht: Then it becomes clear that it's a J-Class yacht.

The Hanuman Yacht from ReneMarine

This one is the Virtual Hanuman from ReneMarine. Some yacht, huh! It's big. In fact it is way bigger than these small pictures are able to show. Hmm... Let's have a close up with something in the back; Just to give you an idea of the proportions...

Proportions

That's more like it. Now the Hanuman looks like a small yacht, hehe. She's 42 meters of super classic beauty with an extreme overhang. The waterline is just under 28 meters. Talk about old school design. This baby has to heel to go anywhere near maximum speed.

The tiny RM20 in the back

It turned out we were in a race against another beauty from ReneMarine, the RM20 from ReneMarine. I didn't quite catch the name of the handicap rule. The RM20 is much smaller but still kinda big. Not huge, but big... at least in the virtual waters of SL. The shot above shows ElMegro and me in the Hanuman with the itsy bitsy RM20 in the back.

Smooth sailing

Despite her size, she sails quite well. I guess its due to the ReneMarine sailing engine. Usually, virtual boats this big have problems updating fast enough. The smoothness is replaced with cranky, stuttering moves. Kinda like electric boogie. That makes the sailing experience uninteresting. Not so with the Hanuman.

Blue water cruising

She's definately a sailor. Probably a little too big for the virtual waters as they mostly offer inshore sailing. The Hanuman feels at home out in the open; Blue water cruising or long distance racing seems to be more  her game. There is another problem with the size. Silly technical limitations restrict the amount of details on moving objects in this virtual world.

Full speed ahead

The differences between a real boat and a virtual replica can be few on a small boat. On a bigger boat, compromises must be made. At least when using the technology available at the time, when the Hanuman was built. Today, we're getting used to new levels of details as seen on the Oceanic and the VO70.

Tall ship?

So, the virtual Hanuman sails surprisingly well. She's lively and fast. She looks great under sail too, - especially from a distance. The sails themselves are also well made, and the woodwork looks great. The interior is also nice. In fact this is probably the best J-Class available in SL. Still, I am not overly enthused by this fabulous build. Why?

In the cockpit

Somehow the virtual Hanuman doesn't quite have the sleek elegancy of the real thing. Whether it's the proportions or technical limitations I dunno. The deck and the interior is well made, no doubt. It is just that the the real thing has sooo many more details. To me the virtual Hanuman appears too clean cut. She is still a fantastic build, but seeing the real thing... oh my... Perhaps the virtual world isn't quite ready for this type of Yacht??

PS: Check one of Rene's latest builds with amazing details;

What a mesh

A few days back we were talking boats at Tradewinds, when Rene sailed by in her latest creation. While it is not exactly a classic sleek racer such as the 10m, it is still a very beautiful boat, and the details... so many details. It's really, truly breath taking.

Left to right: Ahab, Liv, me and Rene

In SL, the first boats were built using basic shapes such as boxes, cones & spheres. They would then be glued together to form a hull. Such a boat is the Tako. Then came the sculpts, which are shapes made out of plastic. Heat them up and they can be changed into any shape. A hull can be a single sculpt. The Flying Fizz is (almost) a single sculpt. Still, there are limits to complexity on sculpts, and so they invented Mesh.

Sailing the zeeschouw

I am absolutely no expert on building, but mesh seems to have few limits on the details. Rene seems to know just how to take advantage of that. Right after casting off and raising sails I was (naturally) looking at the beautiful sails. I think Rene saw that, and she asked me to look inside the boat.

The lamp is rocking

Not a bad idea. Loads of fantastic details. The lamp is even rocking as it is hanging from the ceiling. Here's another shots from the inside:

3, 2, 1, beeeeep and smile

... and another one:

Cooker, shelfs, books, table, sitting, - it's all there

Here's the view from the lookout:

Sailing is great too

Yes, the sailing is great too. Even though this boat does not appear as a classy racer, ReneMarine has made it sail really well. It is definately worth sailing, but it's hard to keep concentrating on the sailtrim, when there are so many things to look at. 

Luxury sailing 

So. If this is what mesh can do, I'll say what a mesh. This boat is absolutely beautiful. The details are fantastic, and the illusion of being on board a real boat takes a huge step forward. Everywhere you look, it looks real.

What a mesh

If this is the future of virtual boatbuilding, then I can't wait to see the future. ReneMarine is already there. First they had the Fries Yacht, and now there is this... bigger sister. Hopefully more boatbuilders will follow and take mesh to the max.

The Fries Yacht

The mini schouw is a cute little thing. It may not have the looks of a tall and sleek classic racer, but it has a high cuteness factor. Honestly, it doesn't really look speedy, right. Well, reality is different. Last week I saw the Fries Yacht "speeding" around Tradewinds. When Jet asked if I wanted to try it, I had no second thoughts. Yesss!

All aboard

So here we are. Me admiring the Fries Yacht, and Jet talking about all the wonders I will experience in a few minutes. Now, I like Jet, but too much sales talk usually make me go on stand by. However, just looking at the details of the boat kept me awake. It's that beautiful.

Motoring

We had to motor a little, because someone was fishing inside the marina. Strange idea. Maybe we need those signs from RL: "No fishing in the marina". Anyway, that gave me time to study the onboard instruments. Lotsa little buttons there.

Sails up!

Sails up, and whooohooo... If I had expected this thing to be kinda sluggish, I was sooo wrong. It does not sail like a dull fat bottomed keeler. At all. The sounds were very enticing as we heeled over and accellerated, much like a Wayfarer or even faster. Not that a Wayfarer is considered fast these days. 

Speedy little critter

Here we are going full speed ahead. It feels great. I mean... the feel is great. It's moving, sounding and behaving - in so many ways - like a real boat. It is not a Tako, not a Bwind, it's... is it Superman? No, it's a  ReneMarine boat, and it's wonderfull.

Instruments

It wants so much to be a real boat. Check the instruments. These aren't meant for mooring. They're clearly made for racing. Jet insisted on all the little buttons actually working. Not sure I tried them all, but the ones I did try, they clearly had an effect. On the display.

Downwind

There's no keel. Stability is built in. The sideboards prevent sidetracking, and they seem to work by themselves. Automagically. What's left for us to do is steering and trimming. Dunno how these boats are sailed in RL, but I suppose a little balancing would be in place at times.

Reaching

Never mind that. There's luffing sails, a vane at the top of the mast, and I am sure I can push a button to get a compass on the instrument. But the best part is this: She sails like a dream. Simple as that. I don't know what Rene put inside this boat, but it feels so alive. It almost carves around a mark. On top of that it is very responsive, so you feel totally in control. It sure is virtual sailing.

ahh... beers out.

That's not to say it wont do cruising. It absolutely will, and you can even let your friends steer it, while you grab a beer, relax and get some tan. That feature wasn't quite finished yet. The steering part I mean. I tried it. It worked for a little while.

...and then some relaxing

So how do I feel about the mini schouw... aka "The Fries Yacht"? It's a strange mixed feeling. The boat itself is beautifully made. The boat type does not excactly have the appearance of a sexy race boat. Nevertheless, it sails so well I would not be surprised to see an active racing fleet. The sailing engine from ReneMarine is to blame for that. It's fantastic. Is it a fun boat to sail? Definately. Is it one of those boats you just gotta have? Absolutely. Once you've sailed it, you will love that feel and want more. Thanx Jet. I had a great time.

Incidentally, one of my first posts showed a ReneMarine Zeeschouw.

Something strange and beautiful

I was out Fizzin. Just a short sail to test stuff, when all of a sudden I heard the sound of boats sailing, and these  two cuties started circling around me.

Rene and Jet in the background

It was Rene and Jet out testing their latest creation, a mini-schouw. They looked so cute I almost wanted to pet them like a little dog.

Closing in

Rene and Jet are cute too, but I really meant the boats. Above you see one of them coming closer. Pretty fast little critters. A little too fast actually, but these are test versions. Rene told me, the release version will be a little slower.

Ooops. Almost too close.

In this shot it's almost too close; Whoa, it's pretty. It's a good thing I am using a mesh viewer, or the boat would look like a brick or something.

Lovely

Here's a shot of the boat with sails down and Rene on board. It's an absolutely lovely little boat, and it appears to sail really well. More details in a future post.

Cutter sailing

Again, I logged in to test Traps navigation device. After a few minutes at Tradewinds, Rene arrived in her latest project, - a  cutter. I gotta tell you... this might not be a racing boat, and it sure isn't a modern boat like the Moth or the Q-2m, but she is an absolute beauty, and she sails like a dream.

Me sailing Renes beautiful cutter

Just have a look! Click the image and resize to full screen. Huh! I will gladly admit I never expected a cutter to be this pretty; This is a ship, not some weird plastic critter. And the sailing?? Absolutely fabulous. The sailing has the same kind of dynamics as does the RM8; Very lively, but well adjusted to a boat this size.

Full speed ahead...

The hull movement caused by waves and the heel feels so natural. The sails look extremely good, and despite their complexity they are easy to trim. It was very easy to sail this boat even without any hud, vane, or info display. Just me, the sails, the boat and the heel. Did a 360 to establish wind direction; The rest was easy as pie. Lovely.

Going back north to Tradewinds.

So what would I do with a boat like this? Dunno really. Racing? Seems a little funny, but I suppose they raced these in the old days. Still, the chance of creating a racing class of cutters seems unlikely these days. However, should I ever need to arrive at a party by boat, this would be a fine choice. I am gonna get one of these. Definately.

Skipjack launched

I was lucky to login right before the launch of the the latest release from ReneMarine, the Skipjack. The Skipjack is not a fancy modern race boat, and that is why it deserves a little attention. In RL everybody gathers around the latest and greatest speedmonsters. In SL there is room for other boat types too, and that's really beautiful.

People admiring the Skipjack. Jake preparing the music.

Above you see us admiring the Skipjack, whilst Jake is preparing the music for the party. Jakes record collection is fantastic, but today he played something rather weird. It had a familiar sound or something, but I could not quite place it. Sounded like a cross between that Convoy Rubber-duck title song and Cotton-eyed-Joe or something... very strange... until they went "We don't need no eduction". Some cover-version :-D

Taking a closer look

Here we are, taking a closer look; Jet in the grey sweater is the proud presenter of the boat. It comes with a cooler for beers, room for four to six people cruising and fishing, an engine for motoring around, and it has the beautiful RM8 sailing engine; Probably one of the most dynamic sailing engines in SL. It is very responsive, and the boat reacts very swiftly to both your steering and trimming as well as windshifts and gusts.

About to set sail south of Tradewinds.

Jet promised us a testride, so here we are motoring around south of Tradewinds. You'll reckognize the lighthouse in the back. After a while we returned to the Marina, where Jake spun some of those old Disco Inferno things... there was no escape. I ended up dancing the night away. I will have to get a boat with that RM8 Sailing engine. It is soo..... alive.

Many more detailed photos from the event at Tradewinds, see link to the right side; Much more on the Skipjack including beautiful sailing shots at ReneMarine, - again link on the right side.

Real virtuality, take two

Another real deal inworld is Rene Marines beautiful "Zee Schouw". She might not be a full blown racer, but Kudos to Rene for the faithful replica.  I can easily imagine myself dazing on the deck with a cool beer, going downwind on autopilot, whilst palmtrees and coconut islands pass before my eyes.

Me admiring Rene Marines Zee Schouw.

Am I dreaming? Not at all. In the back - a view down south with the island of Wicktro on the horizon. Beyond Wicktro is the Blake Sea with its myriads of lovely destinations. The southern part of Blake is full of coconut islands.