The Model Yacht: Volume 13, Number 3 – Winter 2009/2010

LINCOLN MEMORIAL POOL, WASHINGTON, DC NEWSLETTER OF THE U.S. VINTAGE MODEL YACHT GROUP VOLUME THIRTEEN, NUMBER THREE Winter 2009/2010 Page 1 NEWSLETTER OF THE U.S. VINTAGE MODEL YACHT GROUP VOLUME THIRTEEN, NUMBER THREE Winter 2009/2010 Editor’s Welcome Stars fell on this issue — well, “Stars,” anyway, the famous Olympic “Star” class and models it has inspired. In particular, we feature the earliest such model we know of, a 36 inch LOA version by the great English designer W.J. Daniels, which he did in 1929. It offers an interesting contrast to the John Black Starlet we published way back in our first year, and which is still available as a back issue. And speaking of Starlets, we have turned up the plans for a 16 foot class of that name that was used as a training boat by the San Diego Yacht Club and which, like the Daniels and Black boats, would make a nifty Vintage 36 class racer. We also have updated the information on the schooner Prospero that we featured last issue and have published some pretty spectacular plans for a Marblehead called Spindrift. And, as always, we are lucky to have Mark Steele’s ever fascinating Windling World column. I think this issue makes for a good finish to our thirteenth year of publication, and I hope you do too. Earl Boebert Ebbs and Flows The President’s Message Vintage Membership US VMYG annual membership is $25 for three issues of our newsletter – The Model Yacht. It is $30 for members outside North America. The VMYG lifetime membership is $125. Our members also have access to technical assistance and vintage model plans, plus reports and notifications of VMYGsponsored events. To subscribe to or renew your newsletter and services membership, send $25 or $30 check (payable to US VMYG) or cash to: John Snow, c/o US VMYG, 78 East Orchard Street, Marblehead, MA 01945. For more information you can call John at 781631-4203 or visit the VMYG Web Page: www.usvmyg.org 2010 VMYG National Regatta The VMYG will stage its 16th annual “Vintage Model Yachting Days” National Regatta for our VM, V36 and Traditional Sailing Craft/Scale models July 23-25 at the Mystic Seaport Museum for the first time. It will be on same weekend as the Antique and Classic Boat Rendezvous for full-size craft. This should provide increased interest for participating and viewing of our national regatta, given there will be a synergistic vintage design relationship between these events. Check future VMYG newsletters and our Page 2 website for more details as they become available. If you should have any questions, feel free to contact John at jsnowj@comcast.net America’s Cup Hall of Fame AMYA J Class Model Display VMYG member Fred Abbe’s highly-detailed R/C J Class Enterprise model will be on display throughout the 2010 season at the America’s Cup Hall of Fame co-located with the Herreshoff Marine Museum in Bristol, RI. Model was scratch-built in 2001 by Tod Johnstone of Mystic, CT. It has realistic hull, deck and sail rig configurations plus a keel with internal mounted centerboard based on Harold Vanderbilt’s 1931 Enterprise book. 1983 Australia II 12Meter Wing Keel Model Yachting Design Origin VMYG is still researching photos and a related 2004 letter in our archives that could link Ben Lexcen-built model yachts with the wing keel he designed for Australia II’s 1983 America’s Cup win. These R/C Ten Rater Class racing models have winged keels and are from the early 1980s; thus, they may predate his 12 Meter yacht wing keel development. This keel design was then considered a unique design performance breakthrough that helped a foreign challenger win the Cup for the first time after 132 years. If this found be to true, it will reinforce Lexcen’s prior induction into the Hall of Fame at Bristol, RI. Also, it will provide our sport with added visibility as example of a documented design source for America’s Cup yachts. We still plan to share this story and these photos in a future newsletter however it may turnout. VMYG “How To” Model Books Visit the VMYG website for details on ordering our “how to” vintage model building books and video authored by our Historian Earl Boebert. These are based on the wooden plank-on-frame method to construct 1940s era model yacht racing class designs (with video) using modern adhesives, plus our Yankee III book describing the J Class history and modern building techniques with an available molded hull for an R/C 36-inch model of the 1930 Yankee J Boat design. Yankee III model is based on the 1935 plans by John Black which also qualifies as an R/C Vintage 36 (V36) design for VMYG events. Construction Articles in Back Issues Here is a list of construction articles we have published over the last thirteen years. Each of these articles includes plans and a more or less complete set of instructions—keeping in mind that in the past, authors assumed their readers had some shop experience. The issue numbers are Volume and Number, so V1N1 means Volume One, Number One; this is how we keep track. Back issues are $6.50 each or $5.00 each for more than one, to the address on the masthead. It is our policy to keep all back issues in print. V1N1: Zip, a Marblehead by George Baron (1934) V1N3: Starlet, a Vintage 36 sharpie by John Black (1942) V2N1: A 25 inch sloop by Claude Horst (1933) V3N3: A Marblehead by Claude Horst (1939). V6N1: A 12 inch catboat by E. Armitage McCann (1926) V6N3: A 40 inch schooner (ca. 1940) V7N1: A 24 inch sharpie by William Crosby (1944) V7N2: A 25 inch racing sloop by Vic Smeed (The MM Class, 1954) V7N3: A 20 inch Snipe Jr. by William Crosby (1932) V9N2: A Vintage 36, probably by Archie Arroll (ca. 1935) V9N3: A 31 inch sloop, the Boucher Curlew (1930) V10N3: Kiltie, a 6 Meter by John Black (1940) V11N3: Festive, a Marblehead by W. J. Daniels (1951). V12N1: Black Watch, a Marblehead by John B. Duncan (1938) V12N2: Delta Class, a 50 inch/600 sq in sharpie by Harold C Kethman (1954). V13N1: A simple 24 inch schooner (ca. 1930). John Snow Page 3 Earl Boebert Give a Man a Model Sailboat ! `Give way to your dreams the seagull said while cleaning his feathers with glee, model sailing my friend you simply must try on a pond, lake or silvery sea’ he first issue in a barely unwrapped `new’ year. Time to reflect on the many types of wonderful sailing boats we’ve all seen or heard about since the Fall edition. What it goes to show, I think anyway, is that model sailing boats are varied in style, are often excitingly `different’, and that the sailing of them is being practiced in a great number of areas of the world. Let the bug of enthusiasm (there’s that word again !) bite, and man will build his boat and find a lake or pond upon which to sail it. The bowsprit-fitted fishing boat, gaff rigged and sans topsail seen howling along I have few details of. Mike Mayhew of Waverley Models in Britain, just before the turn of the century, made available for purchasers a fiberglass hull which dozens of people bought and built up into a variety of designs. This one, built by a member of the Clevedon and District Model Boat club I can neither tell you the name of, or who owns it for getting information on Y2K- hulled models appears to be a subject presently enveloped in a British fog of model marine secrecy. Anyway suffice to say her `crew’ are after fish in the photo and in a hurry to get there. (Maybe they are on a secret mission !) I like the boat anyway, whoever built it, whoever owns it and whatever its mission may be. It seems that advanced age is not a barrier either for Thomas Sanderson of Hartlepool in the North East of England who is in `advanced age’. He has built several boats including the pretty impressive looking 57 “ long French fishing yawl, Maryvonne which he is seen with in the photograph. Unidentified Floating Object sighted in the Clevedon, UK Area. Back of photo stamped “Windler’s Eyes Only” Thomas Sanderson and his yawl Maryvonne Schooners ! (I know that you know I just love em !) and Ben Eng, an American born and raised in New Jersey who started his ship-modelling with a plastic Revell Cutty Sark when he was just ten years old. has sent me photos of his Bluenose – his very first scratch-built sailing boat. Nice model, nice photo of her also, I think you will agree. Page 4 Ben Eng’s terrific Bluenose — a first scratch build. From Britain to the US and now to the Netherlands (or Holland if you prefer to call it that !) where two utterly magnificent images from my friend Hans Staal. The first (right) is of a lugger from Scheveningen (no it is not a schooner but a lugger used for catching herring) the 1.40 m model built by Piet Buitenhek, a member of The Hague Modelboot Club. A Herring Lugger by Piet Buitenhek Page 5 The model is not yet finished, a deckhouse and deck detailing still to be added, its hull and deck made from metal sheet, the kind used in beer cans. The picture was taken by Hans with the camera held 10cms above the water on Madestein. A spectacular photo of a spectacular model, both by Hans Staal The photograph above I consider even more superior for realism and captured `action’ is of Hans’ own model, a traditional Dutch fishing Hengst barreling along toward her owners camera, again on Madestein. Study it carefully, watch the bow wave forming, you can almost with imagination feel the spray and hear the whoosh of water, her midship crewman hanging on, the stern lowering in the water as the boat gathers speed. This is possibly the very best photograph I’ve ever seen by Hans Staal. And another schooner with which to conclude this issue’s Windling World, the lovely boat built and the photo taken by Philip P Hale, owner of Martha’s Vineyard Shipyard, Mass, USA. She’s a `drop dead gorgeous’ model named Deborah after his wife and I wrote more extensively about the boat in my December column `Where the winds blow’ online on Duckworks: www.duckworksmagazine.com if anyone is interested. Philip Hale’s schooner Deborah Mark Steele Page 6 How to Build ‘The M.Y.’ “Star” Jr. Editor’s Note he celebrated “Star” class of keelboats celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2011. In that long history it became well known as an Olympic boat and many world champions and America’s Cup sailors, such as Dennis Conner and Paul Cayard, achieved early fame sailing a “Star.” The boat also inspired many models; the most common today being the Star 45 class of the AMYA, a 45 inch long adaptation which maintains the canoe hull of the prototype. A second popular model was designed by John Black in 1942, which he called Starlet, and which fits into our Vintage 36 inch class. Here we present what we believe is the earliest of the “Star” inspired models, designed in 1929 by the great British designer William J. Daniels. Both designers increased the displacement and reduced the overhangs of the full scale boat, and neither chose to duplicate the distinctive “Star” fin, skeg, and rudder. The Daniels design is beamier and heavier, and has the characteristic Daniels underbody. It has a lower aspect ratio rig and slightly more sail area1. The biggest difference is in the construction. Black was a shop teacher and his boat is clearly designed to be be built by novice hands. Daniels describes a much lighter hull which, combined with the greater displacement, gives his boat a superior ballast ratio. The Daniels design appeared as a series of articles in The Model Yachtsman magazine at the beginning of its second year of publication in April of 1929. It was the first serious construction article published in the magazine. It is interesting to compare the Daniels and Black boats and see how these two accomplished designers approached the basic hull form of a hard chine boat with a rounded bottom and a fin keel. Black Daniels LOA 36 36 LWL 28.5 28.5 Draft 6.88 7.6 Beam 8.25 10.4 W/L Beam 7.44 8.8 Disp. 9 lbs 11 lbs. (est) Mainsail 431 465 Jib 160 156 Total 591 621 Vic Smeed’s 1966 Starlet, which is not based on the “Star” but which is often confused with the John Black boat. If you wish to race your “Star” Jr. as a Vintage 36, you will need to reduce the foot of the mainsail to 20 inches. 1 Page 7 Earl Boebert Page 8 How to Build the ‘M.Y.’ “Star” Jr. At the present rate of progress, the time is not far distant when the authorities will have to seriously cater for the demands of the rising generation of model yachtsmen, and although there is already scope for youthful enthusiasts in helping their elders in sailing the larger models, there is not quite the same interest in assisting others as in trimming the yacht oneself. Nor can sailing be learnt as quickly as by making mistakes with one’s own craft and anding the correction for oneself . Lessons thus learnt are far more beneficial than any amount of book learning, and it is with the object of encouraging the beginner to possess his own craft that the following is put forward. another time, but the manner in which the little boat came through, coupled with the reputation the Class has for going out to race when much larger yachts keep their moorings, is sufficient indication of their ability. There is considerable prejudice in Europe against the Sharpie type, which is a chine boat, but non-success is often blamed to type when really the fault lies in inferior design. The “Star” Class shows that when this type of boat is correct in design, it can not only give a good account of itself in a blow, but also put up an excellent showing in light winds. The American “Star” Class was designed by Mr William Gardener2 who was responsible for the design of the famous Vanitie, which put up such a magnificent performance against Resolute that the Selection Committee had great difficulty in deciding which of the two yachts should defend the American Cup against Shamrock IV. Both Resolute and Vantie are now rigged as schooners, and the latter has had much the better of it in racing under this rig. In the United States there is a small class of real yacht named the “Star” Class. It was started somewhere in the region of twenty years ago, and to-day the boats number many hundreds. Clubs from both the Atlantic and Pacific Coasts, also the A full size “Star,” as Daniels would have Great Lakes and Cansailed in her in 1922. ada, send their chosen The Class in America is, representatives to comof course, a one design class, and its popularpete in the Championships, and there is some ity can be ascribed to the fact that the boats wonderful racing.Whilst in America with Enare simple and cheap to build, coupled with 1 deavour , it was my good fortune to race with their all-round sailing ability. Mr. Lindfield, of the Bayside Yacht Club, in his “Star” boat Mala. The story of how we Although the design published herewith is were caught in a summer storm whilst renot an actual replica of the actual American turning from Port Washington to Bayside, “Star” Class boat as certain modifications are when the wind blew l00 mites an hour, rootnecessary for the miniature, the main eleing up large trees, is one which I must relate ments are incorporated, and whoever carries Daniels is referring here to the first International model yacht race, held on Long Island Sound in 1922.—Ed. 1 It is now believed that the “Star” was designed by Francis Sweisguth, a draftsman in Gardner’s firm. — Ed. 2 Page 9 out the following instructions will not only have a model that, is cheap and simple of construction, but also one that will give a most satisfactory performance and encourage them later on to aspire to larger and more imposing models. Construction It must first be impressed upon the beginner that in all kinds of mechanical construction and especially in that of model building, it is essential that care and exactness should be the main considerations. Small mistakes passed over will only lead to difficulty later on, with the result that at the finish it is regretted; and an eyesore in a model yacht becomes greater as time passes and one gets more educated in technique. Therefore, as you proceed, let care and exactness be your watchword right from start to finish. It is my intention to give you exactly what my own procedure would be in building this craft and to leave nothing to the imagination. Our first consideration will be the base upon which to erect the moulds. The moulds are sometimes known as shadows, which are really templates of the shape of the inside of the shell of the boat at the positions shown by the sections of the design. You will require for this a piece of wood 39 ins. in length, 4 ins. wide, and 1 in. or more thick. This should be planed dead true, care being taken that it is not winding. This can be tested with winding sticks, which are pieces of wood about a foot in length and of sufficient thickness to stand on edge planed so that the edges are dead parallel. These are placed across your base board and it can easily be seen by sighting if the surface is dead true. You now mark off on the flat of the board lines spaced according to the spacing of the sections as shown. It will be observed that in any boat there is of necessity a bevel on all sections except the one that comes at the point of greatest girth of the hull, and therefore, for convenience, we must arrange for the largest face of each section mould to come over the designed position. This means that those moulds forward of the largest section will have their after face over the line, and those aft will have their forward face over it. In order to attach the moulds to the base board, cross pieces 4 ins. long and 1 in. square should be screwed on, arranging them Page 10 The moulds, or as we would say Stateside, the shadows for the M.Y. “Star” Jr. The forward sections are shown on the right and after sections including transom on left. The small piece on the bottom right side is the stem. Half size. so that the edge coincides with the section line with the mould forward on the fore sections, and aft, on those aft of the greatest section. These can be fastened by means of two inch No. 6 screws. It will be noticed that the mould does not actually form the complete section, the lower part being what is known as the floor bearer. A floor is that which binds each side of the vessel together across the keel. These floor bearers are merely placed in position on the moulds, being held by the centre keelson and chine stringers. This enables the hull to be lifted off when complete by simply removing the stern and transom screws. Another hull can then be built upon the same jig simply by repeating the floors, etc., in the manner I shall now describe. It will be noted that the angle made by topside and waterline is exactly the same on all sections, and if you have not a bevel square you can easily make one by screwing two pieces of wood together arranged at the correct angle as shown. The mould should be one quarter of an inch in thickness and economy of wood can be made by reversing the angles when marking out. You will require for the moulds about 4 ft. of timber a 1/4 in. thick and 5 ins. wide. Mark and cut out the moulds as shown from datum line to top of floor line. Mark on each the vertical midship line and also the load water line as shown on the design. These moulds must now be slotted to receive the central fore-and-aft member of the jig, which serves to locate the moulds in an upright position and also locates the floors. Also it allows the bending of keelson to the correct curve of profile and gives support to the latter whilst building. The practice should be to first cut a fore-andaft slot in the cross pieces a 1/4 in. wide and a similar distance deep. If the central member is slotted three-quarters deep, it will exactly allow the edge to drop down to the datum line. The cross pieces could be also slotted each side and the central member only slotted 1/2 in. lengthwise, otherwise it will be necessary to fasten strips on either side to locate the central fore-and-aft member. All parts should be slotted and fitted before the final fixings otherwise you may have to take down again because one part will not quite fit home correctly. The sections or moulds must be arranged so that they drop into the central piece, otherwise the slot for the floors will not be in the central piece to receive the floor pieces. Page 11 It will be noted that the stem piece forms a continuation of the central piece and has a tag left on for the purpose of keeping it in position whilst building. This tag is afterwards sawn of and the stem planed off to carry out the continuation of the topsides. The transom piece will of course form part of the finished boat, but for convenience it is made to reach down to the base board, being held in position whilst building by screwing to a cross piece attached to base board, the upper part being held in position by the keelson. The transom piece and stem piece should be of hardwood, mahogany for preference, the transom being three-eighths thick and the stem piece half-an-inch. Before fitting the stem piece in position a saw cut should be put in to form a rebate as shown to receive the topside plank and also cut away to receive the keelson. This latter will, of course, be fitted so that the thickness of the floor planking will come up to fall in line with the correct profile of the stem. The floors can now be made and put in position after slotting them to receive the keelson, which will be a 1/4 in. thick and 1 in wide. You will find that it will be necessary to slightly bevel the keelson on the underface to fall in curve with the floors, and this can be easily done with a small plane when it is in position. With regard to the fixing of keelson to transom piece, you call either mortice the transom or slot it right out and cut off the keelson flush with the outside. If you are up to the job of rebating the transom to receive the planking, the former method will be necessary, but it is much more simple to carry out the planking to the outer edge of the transom piece, covering up the edges of planking with a piece glued on with casein glue. The transom piece must also be cut away at the lower corners to receive the chine stringer which is a quarter square. You will require l2 ft. of quarter by a quarter for these and the inwales, which latter are fitted after the hull is removed from the jig. Having fixed all moulds, stempiece, transom floors and keelson, the chine pieces are sprung round into position the method being to fasten them first at transom, which will enable you to bend them into position. It will be seen that they will have to be cut at an angle forward in order to lie flush on stempiece, care being taken to see that the outer edge leads to the inside of the saw cut which was made for the rebate. You will note that the keelson will also have to be cut away to let the chine piece seat home. This is shown in the construction plan. The chine piece should now be chamfered to fall in line with the curve of the floor pieces, the latter being located by means of small panel pins not quite driven home so that they can be drawn just before the last floor plank is fitted. John Black’s Starlet from 1942, another variation on a sailing model based on the “Star.” The “Low Water Line” clearly came from a lubberly copy editor. Page 12 We are now ready to plank the floor, and this must be done in two or three planks a side. We can use for this either pine, cedar or mahogany. A board 3 ins. wide will be found most convenient; and the method is to first mark a centre line on the keelson. This is perhaps better done by gauging before that part is fitted. If you decide to plank the floor in three boards, the midship floor must be divided into three equal parts, or two if two planks are chosen. Offer the planking board to the floors, arranging so that the edge falls amidships at each end on the centre line, ignoring the width of planking at the moment. By adjusting to such position that it lies normally, it will be found if the edge of planking is straight that amidships the edge will be some distance from the centre line. Tack the plank temporarily at each end and mark at each section so that you can replace in the same fore-and-aft position later. Take your dividers and set them at a slightly greater width than that of the edge of planking to centre line, amidships and keeping the dividers square to the boat prick off about two inches apart positions parallel to the centre of keel. Remove plank and placing it flat on the bench draw a curve through these points by means of a spline (one of the inwales can be used). A sharp, hard pencil and absolute true marking saves a lot of trouble. With a fine saw cut down nearly to the line, carefully finish by planing down if you have a plane small enough to take the curve (which will of course be concave) or by means of fine glasspaper. You now set of the width that you have previously decided on for the planks at the midsection positions and placing your straightedge on this point amidships draw a line parallel to the centre line of the boat. If this is carefully shot straight the fitting of the next plank will be greatly simplified. Now theoretically you should be able to mark of the plank for the other side from this one, but wood even from the same plank does not always bend exactly in the same manner and it will be necessary to repeat the procedure in making the planks for the other side. It will be found of course that as the section is slightly smaller on the edge not on the section position, the floors will require to be chamfered until the plank touches both on fore-and aft edges. Having made the first two planks, they can now be fitted. This is done by nailing with small copper pins, casein glue being also used. The pins should be placed about halfinch apart both on keelson and floors. It will be noticed that I particularly refer to casein glue. This is waterproof and very suitable for model work. The next planks on floor can now be made and fitted exactly, the same procedure being used as in the first instance, roughly cutting the ends where they fall on transom and’ the chine piece. The last floor plank, the second or third as the case may be, can be marked by passing a pencil along the chines and after the last plank is fitted and the glue set, both planking and chine piece can be bevelled off to the angle of the topsides so that when the topside plank is fitted it will lie flush. When this is done, the rebate can be chiselled down to the correct depth of the saw-cut already put in the stem piece, after which the topside can be made and fixed. A board of sufficient width to allow for sheer is now offered temporarily in position. An easy method of getting the correct angle forward for the board to fit the rebate is to draw the board slightly aft of the position in which it will be fitted, and with a parallel piece of cardboard placed in the rebate draw the fitting line with a pencil along the other edge. See that the topside plank lies snugly on chine and against each moulding transom and draw a pencil line along the chine. Cut outside this line and replace topside and. fix copper pins along rebate, chine and transom after glueing with casein glue as previously. I should have mentioned that the edges of floor planking should be glued, the edges being adjusted to coincide before allowing glue to set. After glue has set in rebate, chine and transom, the hull can now be removed from the jig. Take out the screw holding stem piece to base-board, also the screws holding transom, and lift off. The floors will of course come away with the structure. From your drawing mark off the rise on transom and transfer the depth of topside at each section position by marking off from chine. Below these points set off an allowance for the thickness of your deck. With a spline draw through these points the sheer line as Page 13 shown in the drawing. This can now be cut down, after which the inwales are fitted. Before actually fixing these, the positions of the deck beams must be marked and the inwales cut to receive them. In fitting the deck beams careful checking of the beam at each section should be observed. The top of the inwale will have to be chamfered to allow the deck to lie flush. Our deck could have been prepared whilst waiting for the glue to set, the hatch opening and the mast hole being cut. The deck should be a piece of pine. If you have difficulty in getting a piece wide enough, you can join two narrower pieces by shooting their edges straight. Then after putting newspaper down on a board, glue the edges and tack them down to the board. If veneer pins are placed on the outer corners which will be cut away and in such manner that the edges are pressing, it will only need weights placed upon the centre line to get an excellent joint. Paper should be put along to prevent sticking, and casein glue will again be used. You will now set your small block plane very sharp and fine, and smooth down the deck, afterwards glass papering to a good finish. Mark out the hatch opening and mast hole and on the side which is to be the under side glue some fabric. Cuttings from your sailcloth will come in for this purpose. This is to prevent splitting where the deck is cut. The size of the hatch should be 4 inches long and 2 1/2 inches wide. Cut out a coaming of 1/8 mahogany or cedar to form a frame 3/8 inch wide around the opening and also a ring of the same wood 1/ 2 inch wide at mast and glue these in position. A neat hatch cover can be made by fitting a piece of quarter sheet cork on to a pine top made to represent a skylight, the latter being set out in Indian ink to represent the glass and protecting rods. , Having slotted the inwales to receive the deck beams, the former can now be fitted. Having cut out topside sheer in the flat, it will be seen that the inner edge of it when fitted will be higher owing to the angle of the topside. It will, therefore, be necessary, in order for the deck to lie touching at the outer edge, to cut it down level. This can be rubbed down with glass paper wrapped round a flat piece of wood long enough to reach across to the other side. The glass paper will, of course, only be round the end being used. Great care is necessary to get the sheer line true, as it is very unsightly if not so. The inwales can now be fitted, and these are sprung into position, being made to butt Page 14 against the transom and splayed off forward to seat into where the topside and stem meet. These are glued and pinned as before. It is the practise in yacht building to fit knees aftand what is known as a breast hook forward. The latter is a knee binding the two gunwales together. This is not necessary, as everything in a model of this size is considerably stronger than the strain ever likely to be put upon it with fair treatment. Before fixing fin and skeg in position the hole for the sterntube must be drilled, and this must be arranged so that it falls half-and-half with the groove in sternpost of skeg. You will notice in the design that there is another line drawn above the rail sheer line. This line is the mid deck line which is necessary so that the deck at centre shall be fair in fore-and-aft curvature. This line gives you the rise necessary of the deck beams to assure this curve being fair. There is also a slight rise at the transom which, as before mentioned, should be marked off and cut. The lead keel is our next consideration and we must first make our pattern. This will require two pieces of pine 10 ins. by 2 1/2 ins. by 3/4 in. After cutting the outline, square off the sections as shown. Make cardboard templates which serve to check the shape on each section as you carve it down to its proper form, finishing with fine glass-paper. You could mark off on one edge of each piece the fore-and-aft shape, and if a saw mill is handy, you can get the the two parts cut on a band saw for a few pence. This would greatly facilitate matters. The deck beams can next be cut and fitted. They should be a 1/4 inch wide, the thickness at centre being 3/16 plus the rise at centre, tapering to 3/16 where they engage the gunwale. They should. be five in number spaced 6 1/2 inches centres, starting from stem head. Before fitting the deck we must make and fit our fin and skeg. It will be noticed that this tapers downwards to the lead and is 3/8 inch thick where it joins the hull and 3/16 at lower edge. This can be cut from one piece of hardwood, mahogany being preferable. This will have to be 3/8 inch thick at the start and after cutting to shape it should have a gauge line made right round the edge to give the centre line. At the sternpost it is a 1/4 inch parallel in thickness, starting from the fourth section from the stem. The leading edge of fin should be 3/16 thick, rounded off at the corners. The top fitting edge tapers down to this, leading into the skeg aft at 1/4 as mentioned previously. You will now with a. morse drill carefully drill holes through keelson spaced 3 inches and of sufficient size to just clear No. 6 brass screws. Plane a flat where fin will fit to hull. Offer the fin to hull and mark carefully the position of screws. Great care is necessary to drill these holes for the screws, which should of course be with a drill of suitable size for the thread of screw to get a proper grip. The skeg should now be routed out half round for the rudder and this is done with a rat-tail file. Before finally glueing and screwing fin and skeg in position, it should be fixed without glue in order to assure that it is perfectly true with the hull. It can then be glued and fixed finally. Molten lead is a dangerous thing for juvenile model makers, and the cost of having the keel cast from your own patterns is comparatively small. Therefore, take the patterns to the foundry, and when you get the castings clean them up with a file and glass paper. You now have to drill them and fit to the fin. Brass No. 12 screws should be used. Make the holes in one side of the lead and through fin large enough to clear the screw. The holes in the other side should be only large enough to permit the screws to cut their own thread into the lead. Give wood fin behind the lead and back of lead a good coat of thick paint before fixing lead finally in position. Whilst we are waiting to get the lead castings from the foundry we can get on with the hull. Our mast step must now be fitted, and this consists of either a piece of square tube with a slot to take suitable mast heel or a piece of hardwood with a square hole to take the tenon of mast. This is a matter of fancy, but in this instance the latter is the most simple for the juvenile. The sterntube can now be made and fitted. This consists of a piece of brass tube which has had two-thirds of its circumference cut away. The remaining strip will line the groove in sternpost. Page 15 The part of tube that will line the sternpost should be drilled for the screws to hold it, 3/ 8 inch No. 1 screws being used. The holes will be about 1 inch apart and counter sunk. Make a small brass plate to fit over tube and lie flush on keelson inside boat and screw this plate in position after fitting tube. Solder round the plate. Remove tube and plate, and after putting thick paint both behind tube on sternpost and under inside plate, the sterntube can be fixed permanently. The hull must now have three coats of varnish applied inside, each one being put on fairly thin and allowed to dry thoroughly before applying the next. The underside of deck can be similarly treated at the same time. The deck can now be fitted. I have previously mentioned that the inwales will have had to be chamfered off and this, of course, will have been done before fitting the deck beams. Care must be taken not to get varnish on top edge of coamings as the deck will be glued and the latter should be also left bare of varnish in the region where contact will be made. I advise glueing as it prevents the topsides creeping with change of atmosphere. The deck having been glued and fixed with small copper pins, it can be glass papered flush with topsides and transom. The upper side of deck was of’ course planed smooth and rubbed down with fine glass paper before fixing. It must also have two coats of patent size applied to prevent the Indian ink lines that will represent the deck seams from running up the grain of the wood. Finish is all important if the model is to be some- thing of which we are proud, and the deck is that which most strikes the eye. The lines should be spaced 3/8 inch and these are drawn with a draughtsman’s ruling pen. A line parallel to the deck line should be drawn 3/4 inch in to represent the covering board and this line should join up at the stern with a curved line drawn with the compass. Waterproof Indian ink should be used and the deck can be varnished about two hours after you have Finished the lining. A mahogany coaming can now be prepared which should be 3/8 wide and about 1/16 thick. A taffrail piece following the covering board line should be made. These are fitted after the model is painted, and if you use copper pins and cut the heads off just before they are driven right home they will be fixed. invisibly, We have now the fittings to consider, and as the saving in unnecessary deck weight is even more important in a small boat than in a large one we shall make all fittings and rig as light as possible. Starting at the stem where a small screweye will take the jib tack We come to the jib horse. This can be made from German silver Wire 16 gauge. The length of travel should be 4 ins, First turn ends of wire to eyes to take a 1/4 in. number two roundhead screw with 4 1/2 ins. between loops. The loops should then be turned square to the wire and then the wire turned down again so that the loops lie flat on deck and the wire runs parallel to deck 1/4 in. high. A similar horse will be required for mainsheet. The mast hole can either have a short length of tube soldered into a round plate to form a Page 16 flange 5/16 in. wide or a wooden ring of mahogany about the same width can be fitted according to taste. The hatch opening should be 4 1/2 ins. long by 2 1/2 ins. wide rectangular. This can have a 3/8 coaming 1/8 in. high round it and the hatch cover can be either flat or shaped to represent a shallow skylight as you fancy. Make a rectangle of cork sheet about 3/8 thick to nicely fit the opening and glue it to the underside of the hatch cover. The cover need only have a bearing flange of 3/16 in. We next come to the steering pulleys, and a pair of these, with sheaves, can be purchased very cheaply. Metal ones are more expensive than wood, but the latter will do quite well for so small a model. These must be fixed to deck, spaced 3 ins., each 1 1/ 2 ins. off midships and some precautionary measure taken that they do not tumble in an outboard direction, otherwise the running lines are likely to fail to bring them back, in which case the steering gear will be put out of action by the running lines fouling. We now come to the steering quadrant and rudder. The latter can be made by getting a suitable length of tube that is an easy fit inside the sterntube. This should have about 1/ 2 in. of solid rod soldered into the ends. The blade of the rudder can be made from a piece of mahogany first cut to shape and then grooved at its forward edge to fit the tube. The grooving of the blade can be done by first cutting a slight groove with a small gauge and afterwards cleaning down to a semicircular groove with a small rattail file. The tube should have holes drilled through it in the region of contact with the blade about 1 in. apart and countersunk on the forward edge. The tube will not quite come down to the bottom of the blade, as will be seen in the sketch, so that the pintle falls in line with it. The pintle consists of a strip of metal the same width as the skeg. This is drilled for fixing screws as shown and fitted with a pin for the rudder to work upon, a hole being drilled up the solid lower end of rudder. Great care should be taken to see that the hole is not too deep and that the rudder rests on the pintle’s point and not on the strip. Absolute freedom of action is necessary if the gear is to function properly. I cannot be too emphatic about this, as you cannot expect the helm to respond to the faintest breeze if there is the slightest friction. The steering quadrant should be cut out from sheet brass as shown and fitted with a short length of tube which is just a fit over the rudder stem. If you are not able to do this it can be soldered straight on, but will of course have to be unsoldered if at any,time it is necessary to unship the rudder. If the latter method is chosen a small hole should be drilled just large enough to allow the point of a rattail file to enter. Put the file in a brace and using it as a drill wear out the hole until it just fits the rudder stem. Do this from the upper side of quadrant and you will find that you will throw up a heavy burr on the underside. This burr will make a hold good for the solder. In fixing the quadrant be sure that you get the tail of it dead in line with rudder blade. If you do not, the boat will let you know it is wrong directly you launch her. If the sleeved tube method is chosen, you can either drill and tap and fix with a screw, or drill and fit a tapered wire pin. A pin rack is not necessary and only leads to using the gear wrongly. The quadrant can either have the end of tail piece turned down and filed out oval for the double rubber centring line or an oval loop soldered on the underside. Here again I must warn you that the rubber must be free to move in this loop whilst not being a slack fit. The after-horse completes the deck fittings. In larger models it is usual to have special gunwale eyes to take the shrouds, etc., but ordinary screweyes of sufficient length in the shank are quite sufficient. The main boom fittings consist of a small piece of tube at the inboard end to prevent the spar splitting. The eye for the hook gooseneck is a wire eye with a stem of about 1 1/2 ins. made from 16 gauge hard German silver wire. The spike should be flattened to prevent turning. The gooseneck is simply a similar spike flattened and driven through the spar. Let the point protrude 2 in. and then turn down at right angles on the foreside. Then make another turn of 1 in, pointing back to the mast and drive it back into the spar This will prevent turning and the hook can then be formed by turning down on the afterside, allowing sufficient gap to permit of free movement of the boom eye. The jib and main booms should be fitted with adjustable outhauls so that the sails can be slacked off when wet. A sail, however well made in the Page 17 first instance, will soon be spoilt if continually kept stretched tight on a spar. the gunwale each side to take the beating gye. In the mast a screweye will be needed at the fore triangle hoist position and the shrouds will lodge on this eye, the shrouds being in one length with a clove hitch (or knot) formed round the spar. We now come to the sails, which are just as important as the hull, if not more so. It must be remembered that they are the engine of the yacht and it does not matter however fast a hull may be capable of travelling, she cannot develop her speed unless driven properly. When when the wind is dead behind, a yacht is propelled by the wind passing across the sail from luff to leach. A sail that holds Bowsers and wire hooks will allow for attaching and setting up on the screweyes on gunwale. The latter should be 2 ins. aft of mast. Another screweye will be needed on Page 18 the wind simply forms a cushion of dead air upon which the main wind stream bounces with consequent loss of efficiency. Whilst dead-flat sails are not the most efficient, they are better than sails that are baggy at the leaches. The most efficient sail is one with what is known as possessing draught. In making full-size yacht sails each cloth is shaped so that a fullness is formed at the luff, which gradually fades out towards the leach. The correct form to aim at is that of the camber of the aeroplane wing. In a full-size yacht sail the process of stretching is very important as the sail, however cleverly made, can be spoilt in the early stages of use. A model sail, however, which is made from a single piece of cloth requires no such process and if it does not set properly at the start it never will. A good model sailcloth of fine texture is necessary, and the sails, must be marked off from the plan so that the leaches are in line with the selvedge. I have been misquoted in a previous article as recommending concave curves to the edges of sails that will be attached to spars. No sail has a hollow curve. If you require flat sails it is only necessary to cut straight lines for luff and foot but if you require them to be correctly draughted you must have a full curve and the amount of fullness will be determined by the amount of draught required. In the mainsail a curve of the character of the parabola is necessary both on foot and luff having the greatest fullness in each case near the tack of the sail. In the case of the luff of the jib, this should be dead straight as a jib properly sheeted will automatically adjust its own draught, the curve it takes being natural to the pressure on the cloth. The leaches must be hemmed upon a sewing machine as it is only an expert seamstress that can do this by hand without stretching the edge which is fatal to the sail. The luff and foot of each should be bound with strong line linen tape, the tape being put on in such manner that it will take the strain of setting up on spars without stretching the edge of the cloth. Batten sleeves (or pockets) of tape must be sewn on as shown and thin cane battens inserted. and sewn in to set the outward curve of the leach. The simplest way of attaching the mainsail to mast and boom is to have hooks sewn to luff and foot at equal intervals and hook them on to a jackstay on the spars. The jackstay is formed by passing a thin wire through small screweyes in spar, the screweyes being arranged to come between the hooks. The wire is attached at ends by making a small loop whipped with fine copper wire and soldered and screwing with a quarter No. 0 roundhead screw. If a slight bend is given to the spar when fixing the wire will be taut when the spar is allowed to straighten out. On the underside of the booms is a line set up with a bowser on which runs the trimming bowsers for the sheets. In the case of the main boom two sheet bowsers will be necessary and one in the case of the jib. If the jackline (which is the line on which the sheet- bowsers run) in the case of the mainsail, has a hook at each end of the steering lines, the latter can be then dropped on deck when unrigging. The jib-sheet will of course remain on the jibboom. The mainsail should have a small metal headboard fitted with a hole to take hook of main halliard. The halliard should pass through mast and be set up with a bowser on the fore side of mast. The jib should have small rings attached to luff through which to pass the forestay and the latter have a bowser to set up as shown in the sketch. The jib tack hook should be connected to the screweye on the underside of jib-boom by means of an oval link so as to give free movement to the boom swinging. The spars should be made of yellow pine. Beginners seem always to have an idea that the spars must be exceptionally strong, and pitch pine and lance wood are often mentioned. The mast of this model does not require to be more than 3/8 in. at its thickest part (which should be at the centre), 5/16 diameter at heel and 7/32 at head. The main boom should be 1/4 in. at ends and 5/16 in. at the centre. The jib-boom 1/4 at tack tapering to 3/16 at clew. First cut wood to length and then give the required taper in the square. You then plane off the corners equally until the spar is eightsided and glass-paper will soon reduce the spar to circular form. Give the spars two coats of patent size, rubbing down after each has dried. Calibrations should be then made with Indian ink, and after thoroughly dry, a coat of good varnish will give the desired finish. Page 19 W.J. Daniels (1929) More on Prospero Potts: s is so often the case, once we run an article on a boat we get a response from our readers, and the Prospero article in our last issue was no exception. Here are extracts from some emails from Russell Very few people could build to the standards WJD designed to. Look at what’s left for structure weight on Prospero; only 5 pounds for hull, deck. fittings and effectively two rigs. A project I ran for a GRP1 version finally came to nothing because my moulder, who normally did shells for scale power models, couldn’t get it into his head how light it had to be. The design was clever in lots of ways. Not only the first published use of a vang, twenty years before it was first use by full size sailors on 14 foot International dinghies, but rigged so she was a 15-rater with her topsails and a 10-r without. Because she was in print for so long many examples were built right into the post war period, but, as you say there was never a strong schooner class. Many people boiled down the design to 75%, still rigged as a schooner, or 50% rigged as a sloop. One of the latter passed through eBay only last week. Though there never seems to have been a schooner class there was some schooner racing in the immediate aftermath of the design’s appearance. I recall seeing a photo of the pond at Blackheath, just down the road from me, with a dozen or so schooners, most of which look to be Prospero clones or close sisters. 1 This was from before 1914. Because the weights are so tight and because the boat looks so much better if she can carry her topsails in more than a whisper, some modern builders, who wanted to include radio gear, have give her a deeper fin keel to ensure that she can hold up her rig. This is especially important if you are going to use modern sail cloth rather than the original cotton. In the Prospero project that I envisaged, we re-drew the profile to set the lead an inch or so deeper than the original. This, we calculated, with the slight increase in the weight of the lead that could be accommodated by building in GRP, even with radio gear, would give rather greater stability than the original design. We also planned for the skeg to be a separate moulding which could be easily omitted if the builder chose to fit a more effective spade rudder for radio control. Member Art Holzman has been building one, in one of those long projects that involve periods of storage as other matters arise. Art notes that there is a dimensioning error on the sail plan; the leech of the staysail should be 29 ½ inches instead of 24 ½. The photographs show Art’s boat, the keel extension he has made, and the nifty vangs he’s put on the two booms. Earl Boebert, Russell Potts, Art Holzman Fiberglass — Ed. Page 20 Yet Another Starlet he Kettenburg Boat Works of San Diego was justly famous on the West Coast, especially for the beloved Pacific Coast Class boats, many of which still sail today. A history of the Kettenburg Works can be found at: www.kettenburgboats.com In the late 1920’s the San Diego Yacht Club was looking for a small boat to be used to train young sailors. Kettenburg adapted a reduced “Star” design and called it a “Starlet.” It had a boilerplate keel to make it easy to right after a capsize. It was an instant success. A restored “Starlet” is now at the San Diego Maritime Museum. A 3/16 size “Starlet” would make a fine sailing model and the 130 sq ft sail area of the original comes out to almost exactly 600 sq inches. Increase the displacement a bit, lowering the hull in the water as in the picture below, drop a bulb keel to 9 inches or so and you should have a fine sailing model of a historic boat. The lightweight construction method described in the Daniels article should work just fine. Our thanks to Ernie Mortensen and Prof. Iris Engstrand for the pictures and plans. Earl Boebert Starlets sailing in San Diego. Photo courtesy of Prof. Iris Engstrand. Page 21 Page 22 Spindrift hester A. Nedwidek was a prolific naval architect who had many plans, mostly powerboats, published in The Rudder magazine. He worked out of Bayside, Long Island, New York and also had an office in New York City. He appears to have specialized in designs for the amateur builder. He designed Spindrift to the Marblehead rules and the boat was offered in kit form by Marine Models, which was also located on Long Island. These exquisite plans, which clearly are from the kit, were published in Model Craftsman magazine for July and August 1939. The plans reproduced here are badly distorted by age and the original reduction process to magazine size. If you scale them back up to full size, the best way to get rid of the distortion is to lay out a grid on the proper dimensions, cut a copy of the plan apart and glue the pieces onto the grid, then trace and fair the lines. If you intend to build a planked model, which is what Nedwidek recommended, then only the sections need to be accurate. The photo shows a beautifully restored Spindrift by Charles Meister. Earl Boebert Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Sunkiss for Sale Wick Smith is interested in selling this vane steered Sunkiss, which has the Lassel sliding rig and vane. Wick can be reached at (313) 601-525 or wsmith5@ford.com The Model Yacht is published three times a year by the U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Group. Copyright 1998 to 2009 U.S.V.M.Y.G. Reproduction for noncommercial purposes permitted; all other rights reserved. Other copyrights are maintained by the original holders and such material is used here under the fair use provisions of the relevant copyright acts for nonprofit research and educational purposes. Editorial Address: 9219 Flushing Meadows NE Albuquerque NM 87111 Email: boebert@swcp.com Phone: 505 823 1046 Officers of the U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Group: President: John Snow Eastern Vice-President: Ben Martin Western Vice-President: Dominic Meo, III Midwest Vice-President: Tom Pratt Southeastern Vice-President: Thom Mclaughlin Vintage M Class Coordinator: John Henson Vintage 36 Inch Coordinator: Al Suydam A Class Coordinator: Rod Carr U.K. Coordinator: Graham Reeves Canadian Representative: Doug McMain Historian: Earl Boebert Archivist: Jim Dolan Page 27