Twelve years of racing high performance sailing skiffs in Australia and thirty years of designing my model yachts in Canada has lead to the building of my latest radio-controlled yacht, "Roo", in a form that I am now capable of duplicating using a vacuum forming process.

I wanted a boat that would skate downwind or zip along on a broad reach like those Open 60, single-handlers of Vendee Cup fame, but I wanted a boat that would also do well upwind. As well, my boat needed to look good, it had to be aesthetically pleasing. It had to look sleek and elegant and have the ability to capture attention.

After three years of imagining and experimenting, and the building and rejection of many molds built for the vacuum forming process, the boat has arrived and has been tested over two summers in conditions ranging from near drifts to heavy gusts, really heavy gusts. It has proven to be robust and is a pleasing performer in the full range of conditions.

As a result of a request from a fellow RC sailboat enthusiast, alternative sail configurations have been customized for his hull. This has allowed him to install his rig from a Laser RC as an alternative to the ISAF ONE METRE ONE DESIGN rig that are on my own hulls. He now has a boat that performs well upwind and downwind, with either single sail or jib/main configuration, to the extent that future customers may order the installation of the dual standing rigging system.

The controls are simple, two channel transmitter/receivers with a sail winch to control the sheets. Unique, under deck rollers for jib and mainsail eliminate the fouling of sheets. Mainsheet is fed out through a "spoiler"
that gives the boat the appearance of a smuggler's cigar boat, an appearance that has prompted those who have played with the boats to ask that an engine be installed to allow it to be used as a power boat.

Three years of building, refining, modifying, and product testing have lead to a boat that performs as well as it looks. It is not possible to produce this craft in kit form as yet so any prospective buyer would be required to commission its complete construction through BurkeBuiltBoats.

Mike Burke