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BOAT SHOW MODEL PICTURES ‘““ARRAN” B.R. CAR FERRY ELECTRIC RAILCAR RACING FORDSON R/C TRACTOR MODEL BEAM ENGINE IN CARD SMALL MODEL DRILLING MACHINES SPANISH WINDMILL MONTESA SPRINT CYCLE MOTOR- OPEN WATER R/C YACHT TEST “SPIDER” MODEL OF THE FUTURE DIESEL RAIL ON THE CABLE RACING NEWS RIGHT TACK : Rigging CAR STATION LAYOUT RACING ABROAD FOR 00 GAUGE READERS’ LETTERS MOTOR TEST TUCKER’S TALK YA , oF 24″ SCALE OCEAN Pt. 3: CONCLUSION Full-size working drawings on three sheets available in Model Maker Plans Service Price 12/6 Post free inverted model after an oblong piece of 1 mm. ply, about 2in. longer and wider than the “deck”, is fixed to a building board by drawing pins and is packed underneath with plasticine to the same curvature as the sheerline, and the “deck” of the model is cemented to this. Around the edge of the plywood is built a wall of plasticine about 4in. higher than the dinghy itself, and finally the whole of the model should Dinghy The dinghy is a paper pressing made in a mould and finally waterproofed. To make the plaster of paris mould, a preliminary. model of the dinghy must be made of 1 mm. ply and plasticine. First the “deck shape” is cut and on to it is glued the “keel” and the “main bulkhead”; and then filled in smoothly with plasticine. The mould is made over the CARIBBEE – Sxter 2 OF 3 Pie SS SS ar al / NO / i. prin . -/ see “FORESTAY 2 Saiic. panos 4 / / fy / f ‘ f4 / ca) {Cc j | (F j/ / \ , (cfp) / / / / / / f f / f / j / [ / / / / / / / da / 7 abst ae y / / f / / Fe Ff ]/ ] / / / y / / f / / / / / eS SS SS Us / / / / / ¥ _ WOODEN FAIRING STREAMLINED / TENCILA WITH aK par git grangehee “aS — => = ST ap elepes SADDLE JID ATTACHMENT J / \ REEFING CRINGLES a FASS COTTON THRO & BACK TIE TOGETHER CLOSE TO Sat AD ONE END BACK THRO. bie 8B LARGE TO EXTRA FIT OVER TUBE _ * rena URAL RENT ROUND I Mid PLY a —— mom ros Se BINONS So eat = AT PORT LOWER AT MIZZEN BE BINO” wT ruse wre 1 MM PLY (BOTH SIDES To BE NOTE ALL PIANO WIRE . TUBE FOR GOOSENECK = aT Main TRUCK SPREADER 8 SwG THREAD 28 SECURE SAILS SWC (SEE TINNED PIANO WiRE SIDE ELEVATION) Tr PLAWO— THOROUGHLY SHOULD TINNED FEBRUARY, be given a very thin coating of oil. Dental plaster is then mixed and poured into the mould. To mix the plaster take an old cup, fill 2/3rds with water and add the plaster with an old desert spoon until it is like cream. A word of warning, stir gently to avoid air bubbles—dip the fingers into the plaster and gently rub over the surface of the plasticine and then pour the lot solid. When set, take the whole mould and remove from the building board, remove the plasticine wall and carefully prise the plywood away from the mould. The whole mould should come out in one piece. You may, however, have to remove it care- fully in portions. The mould must now be thoroughly dried. This can be done in a COOL oven. When dry, it should be given a coat of dope inside. The actual pressing is done by first thinly oiling the mould and then cutting a number of pieces of newspaper (8 for port side, 8 for starboard) 9 strips down the centre joint, and 8 transoms. These pieces are then damped and placed in the mould, one by one, worked into shape with the fingers and then glued together with watered down Gripfix. When the dinghy is of the desired thickness, it is allowed nearly to dry and then the interior is filled with plasticine and the pressing removed from the plaster, turned upside down and allowed to dry completely. When absolutely dry, the dinghy is soaked in varnish and then primed and painted, in the same manner as the yacht, using about eight coats of paint. Rails The rails are made of piano wire, thus when knocked, they spring back into position. First take a lin. length of 20 s.w.g. piano wire and flatten one end sufficiently to fit into the head of an 00 gauge countersunk brass screw, and then tin the wire thoroughly. Next bend the top jin. at right angles and firmly fix the opposite end to the screw head by a blob of solder. Then screw this stanchion in place, by means of the bent top. The pulpit stanchions and those in the stern should then be cut, leaving in. horizontal at the top, whilst the others are cut leaving no horizontal _ piece. These should then be fitted with small flower-wire loops at the top, and the former variety should have 20 s.w.g. rails bound and soldered to the horizontal pieces. (The middle lifeline is merely white cotton tied halfway up each stanchion.) Sails The plan is self-explanatory except for the actual fixing. A length of tinned piano wire with a loop at the top is threaded through 83 BINNACLE WARPING CAPSTAN 1956 ) VENTILATOR BULWARK STRENGTHENER WIND DIRECTION INDICATOR 5) and mast loops, starting at the top, the bottom end of the wire being held in a cup, or tube. (This is the same for boom and mast, both main and mizzen) and the foot of the sail is held in place by a hook around the gooseneck. The top of the sail is hooked onto the loop on the fixing wire. There is no clew out haul or haliard hoist. Incidentally, when sailing, the main sheet may have a tendency to hook onto the helmsman, this is cured by having a loop of 28 s.w.g. tinned piano wire just higher than the man slotted into holes, one on each side of the cockpit seats, next the coaming, just above the Wheel. This throws the sheet clear. MODEL MAKER his A Class Yacht Painted Lady; Col. Bowden had his own A Class Yacht plus a model Flying Fifteen Open Water Tests and a wingsail-rigged boat, Col. Binnie and J. Hogg were also in attendance but unfortunately George Honnest-Redlich was _pre- with vented by business from completing the party. After tests had been carried out Col. Bowden supplied a R/C Yachts summary of findings, which can hardly be improved upon in setting out the results—both negative and positive—obtained. We accept his factual report as a fair picture of events, and would endorse most of the conclusions he has drawn from the tests. We give below in slightly condensed form Col. Bowden’s findings.— (1) The value of the meeting was reduced by the absence of Georg e Honnest-Redlich as he had the second set of plug-in reeds (matc hed to C.E.B.’s). C.E.B.’s set Electrical faults on also reduced sailing hours of his boats. (2) Using multi-channel reed syste m operat- suiting dior ae dinghs. Here Mr. Aldridge shows how it dvisable to rig boats ashore and take them to the should be done ing rudder and sheets, boats can be sailed out UST before Christmas MODEL MAKER was of visual sight of helmsman—thi s appears to be greater than quarter-mile (MOD EL MAKER invited to send an observer down to Poole, where Col. C. E. Bowden had arranged to conduct open water tests on radio-controlled yachts. Objects of these tests were as follows:— (1) To check whether plug-in reed units to check interference were a_ practical proposition. observer estimates nearer one mile). Conclusion: Radio range greater than helmsman’s range—a useful feature. (3) Waterproofing (a) Aldridge method: To make his hull like a submarine and seal it off. In heavy (2) To try out longer “open sea” courses as opposed to the short beat to windward and somewhat “motorboat” steering provided by pond courses. seas relay only faults after many hours ’ operation. Radio is slung below deck and batteries in the bilge. This method is being a central moored platform and, alternaby following up the race and stiff wind the boat shipp ed little Wet battery and slightly corro ded water. (3) To try out (2) with the r/c helmsman on tively of equipment: to stand rough water produced two metho ds: i in pursued, with completely seale d hull, inflated dinghies. Weather was good for the time of year. to detect leaks. (b) Bowden and Honnest-Redlich metho d: To carry radio, batteries and all gear in one box and seal this, on assumption that some though conditions were far more severe than would be expected in normal summer-time racing. A suitable dumb-barge was available as the fixed platform, having a freeboard of water will inevitably be shipped via hatches, mast, etc. about 15 inches, while Col. Bowden’s six-ton auxiliary cruiser Tentative II was also available the bilges. Box is suspended above water in On test water entered bilges as expected but none got into the perspex box, for use. This boat proved that operation from craft having any considerable freeboard was im- Which had radio inside a further box, which and proved invaluable. all attributable to a dry joint and not to practicable. was double sealed. Two dinghies were also in service Bowden’s troubles were any water infiltration. H. W. Aldridge came over from Bristol with 84 FEBRUARY, 1955 A flat dumb barge is the ideal platform for operation. in this picture Col. Bowden seeks in vain for a fault—with the complete unit removed from his boat (4) Operation of sail: Aldridge used a drum which let out and wound in the sheets satisfactorily (using, incidentally, one of the famous 5s. motors recently reviewed in MODEL MAKER). Contributory aid was the springtensioned boom which acted as an anti-snarl device. Bowden operated via arm and an anti-snarl horse. Geerwheel solder parted on second day, and generaily gear train gets considerable strain. (Value of silver soldering should be stressed.—MopeL Maker.) Drum may be the better solution if anti-snarl device is good. (5) Open water conditions: Established that longer wave length in open sea is better than the short steep chop that can develop against a concrete pond side as at Poole Pond, but weatherproofing is a vital factor. radio expert,. responsible for seeing that the yacht was in perfect electronic order, one to take over the actual work of helmsman and handle the boat. and number three to be the builder. The team would have to work in close harmony; racing skipper helmsman putting up his exact needs to the other two, who would in turn produce equipment and hull to (6) Large flat stable craft of low freeboard desirable to operate from for open sea courses, which provide better racing possibilities than enclosed pond courses. (7) It is good practice to rig boats ashore and carry them out to sailing area in dinghies, as A Class yachts are too heavy to be easily dropped into water from any great height. (8) Following boats by dinghy is quite feasible. It is not difficult to keep up with an A Class boat by rowing (though not possible to follow the Flying Fifteen model in this way –does this prove anything?—-MopDEL MAKER). his requirements. We think the time has erided when the radio man acquires for a trifling sum any 30-year-old hull that will float and stuffs it (Continued on page 110) Our own comments on the tests are, that. within strict limits, owing to absence of actual two-boat racing, open water courses over triangular courses of at least quarter-mile legs are feasible, and would provide the answer that the expert skippers want, i.e. real tactical racing. We consider, however. that the ultimate answer lies in the development of vane gear fitted yachts, with vanes reset by radio control. In this way courses would not be a series of corrected errors but would follow true yachting practice. We do not think that this can be achieved while the impetus to this side of model yachting is given by radio control experts. More enthusiasts from the ranks of experienced model yachtsmen must be attracted who really know how to race their models. This is not intended to decry the present exponents—Col. Bowden has vast experience of full-size racing, but not of the specialist model racing—but we envisage regular teams, perhaps of three, one to be the Painted Lady in typical weather. In spite of fairly rough seas, wave length was not too much for her. The numerous hatches shown are not all in use—but reflect earlier models since discarded 85 i MODE MAKER si x Tucker’s Topical Talks CHAMPIONSHIP VENUES & ADVICE ON PLAN SELECTION > sideration. Hence, I have heard it argued that the allocation of more than a couple of days to an event like the M-Class Championships would result in a greatly decreased entry. In this connection, it must be remembered that by no means all the boats and skippers that enter 4 IN my “Talk” last month, I quoted a correspon- dent’s letter about the selection of Hove for the 1955 M-Class Championship and the allocation of only two days to an event which attracted the largest entry of any of the Class Championships. In the course of many years service on the M.Y.A. Council (since 1922, as a matter of fact), lL have heard much discussion on this point, and a number of «different opinions have been expressed. It might be of interest to summarise some of these to assist the rank and file of model yachtsmen to form their own opinions. The first, simplest and most obvious view of the National Championships is that they exist solely to find the best boat and skipper in each of the M.Y.A. recognised classes. A second idea is that Championships give skippers the opportunity of a few days’ good sailing, and the chance to meet men from different parts of the U.K. Often Championships have been allocated to various waters to assist clubs in their dealings with local authorities, especially when the club in question is struggling to retain a precarious hold on a lake, which is also used for paddle boats. The Hove water is an instance of this, and probably two successive days is the longest period for which uninterrupted use of the lake could be obtained. Yet another reason behind the selection of waters in various parts of the country has been “showing the flag.” There are additional considerations as to whether men can afford to give up more than a couple of days, or whether it means the sacrifice of part of their annual holiday. Expense also enters into con- In other words, showing the “stay-at- home” model yachtmen, who seldom get far off their home waters, that the M.Y.A. is not merely a body of old gentlemen who meet in London, but an active organising body controlling the sport throughout the United Kingdom. Each of these points of view has much to commend it. Yet, rightly or wrongly, it appears to me that the importance of National Championships must depend on the number of boats of the class on the official Register, and the number of skippers sufficiently keen to enter. If this is the correct point of view, then not only must the best available water be chosen, but sufficient time must be alloca- for national events are “Championship-Form.” If a man has a good enough boat and confidence in his own ability, he is liable to enter whether the event takes two or seven days. Hence, if our only object is to find the best boat and skipper, the loss of a few of the less experienced entrants would benefit rather than prejudice the result. In fact, it appears to me that a great deal can be said for all these divergent points of view, and it would be interesting to hear different opinions. I am sure the Editor of this magazine would welcome readers letters on the subject. —— Recently, an experienced model yachtsman expressed dissatisfaction at certain designs offered for sale. He agreed that many published designs are excellent, but commented that some are obsolete, or obsolescent, whilst others are downright bad. This model yachtsman pointed out that while a club member may not have the necessary knowledge or experience to judge the merits of a design from a set of lines, he can consult more experienced fellow members. On the other hand, novices far too often purchase a plan, possibly solely on the strength of a pretty name, and build a boat, only to find they have wasted time and money. He felt that in this way many promising recruits are lost to the sport. It is an undoubted fact that textbooks on model yacht building must perforce be illustrated with designs, and while the text and methods of building must perforce be illustrated with designs, and while the text and methods of building do not alter, after a few years the designs may become out-of-date. Hence, unless the textbooks are of very recent publication, it is wiser to make sure that the designs in it are still current before building to them. Again, a design may be perfectly balanced, and very satisfactory in the hands of an_ expert, but totally unsuitable for a novice skipper. In particular, | would cite designs with ultra-high narrow rigs. Not only are these hard to handle, but such sails are hard to set satisfactorily, and the rigging must be just so. If the novice builds a yacht with a rig of this nature and finds her too difficult to handle, I would suggest his getting in touch with the designer, ted for the event to be sailed on the Tournament who will probably be only too glad to supply an and hurried Final. Further, the time allocated must allow some margin for weather contingencies. Another factor, which has to be taken into con- To any reader contemplating building his first boat, I would proffer some advice. Buy a good textbook on building, but do not automatically select one of the designs in it. Anyone who proposes to build has probably decided where he will sail her when completed. Visit the water in question and system rather than in Divisions with a skimped sideration, is that the Country is now divided into Districts, each of which has its own Class Cham- pionships. In consequence, there are many more important events than formerly open to ordinary model yachtsmen, and these can be allocated to waters which are not available or suitable for National events. Hence many skippers consider that the M.Y.A. Championships should be concentrated on the best available sailing waters, and held under the best conditions possible to find the best boat and skipper in each class. 114 alternative lower sail plan. see what classes are used by the local Model Yacht Club. One good reason for this is that nothing is more disappointing than to build a class racing boat, and find the local club does not cater for her class. As a rule, model yachtsmen are only too ready to advise and assist the novice, and will give him full information about classes, etc. (Continued on page 116) —— FEBRUARY, 1956 bands, springs, etc., but the novice has only to look at a few championship winners to see how little string STARTING ON THE RIGHT TACK is needed for victory. It will be a great day when we build yachts which require no cord or wire; meanwhile let us at least keep the quantity to a minimum. A well-known skipper recently told me that he spent the first twenty years of his racing career putting more and more gear on his boats, and the last five years in taking most of it off again. The novice is therefore advised to start with the minimum necessary for efficient sailing and to add additional gear only when experience proves it necessary. AN INTRODUCTION TO MODEL YACHT RACING PART THREE: FITTING OUT (2) THE STANDING RIGGING (Concluded) (3) RUNNING GEAR BY D. A. MACDONALD ‘THE clew of the mainsail can be attached in the Simple manner shown in Fig. 21. The outhaul is a simple cord and bowsie arrangement—a non-slip ring bowsie being preferred. A sail hook at the extreme clew of the sail is free to run on a wire runner, so that the clew can be freed off to impart camber to the sail as required. The wire runner is secured to the boom by screws. If made long enough to accommodate smaller mainsails on the same boom, it should be held down at intervals by passing it through small screw eyes. The three- eyed spider band at the end of the boom is also used for other purposes, as will be described later. The outhaul cord should be Terylene or fibreglass as its setting affects the trim of the yacht. Fig. 21 Sv. We are now left with luff of the sail to the the problem of lacing the mast. If the sails are Fig. 22 shows the running gear for a jib. A simple boom ferrule (A) is made of brass tube with two screw eyes brazed in position. The top one is for attaching the clew of the sail. The bottom one is fitted with the simple wire hook device (hereinafter referred to as a “woggle”), made up as shown at (B). A two-eyed plate made of T-section brass provides a termination for the jib kicking strap, and for the adjustable end of the jackline (C). The other end of the jackline is fixed as shown to the woggle. A normal ring bowsie provides for adjustment of the beating sheet (D), which runs freely through the ring part of the woggle. A flat-type bowsie or toggle is used to tension the jackline. The best material for the latter is white cotton laid line. The jib sheet should be of fibreglass cord or Terylene since it must not shrink or stretch in use even when wet. of normal union silk (Egyptian Cotton) I can recommend only a spiral lacing of non-shrink cord, for reasons set out in an earlier chapter. Terylene or other specially treated sails can, after their initial stretching, be hooked to a wire jackstay. The method of fitting the jackstay depends on the type of mast. It can be secured simply by screw eyes to a wooden mast; these should be positioned so that the sail hooks come near to the eyes but are in no risk of fouling them. The best method with a steel mast is to drill pairs of small holes, close together, at the same intervals as the sail hooks (usually 6 in.) and thread the jackline in and out of the pairs of holes. This sounds difficult but it is quite simple in practice.,An alloy mast will be thick enough to be tapped 8 B.A. to take cheese head machine screws, the heads of which can be closed up to form tiny eyebolts through which the jackline can pass. A composite woodand-metal mast could have a separate jackline for main and top sections. The lower end of the jackjackline should be tensioned by a short cord and bowsie or preferably a miniature turnbuckle. Running Gear One of the benefits conferred by the advent of the vane steering gear is the simplification of the yacht’s running rigging. Gone is the need for jib steering lines, spinnaker steering lines, deck gyes coupled to the tiller, and the many other “gimmicks” which grew up around the Braine steering gear. There are still many skippers who like to clutter their decks and spars with cords, bowsies, rubber KICKING STRAP The mainboom (Fig. 23) is preferably fitted with two sheets, one which allows adjustment from the close-hauled position to an angle of about 45 degrees, the other to cater for angles from about 40 to the full 90 degrees for a run before the wind. The use of two sheets avoids the use of a very long beating sheet, with possible variations in trim due _ to shrinkage when wet. A chain is preferable to cord for the main beating sheet, and it is of course advisable to keep this as short as possible because of its weight. The main requirement for the running sheet is adequate strength; braided flax Terylene, nylon and fibreglass of adequate breaking strain are all suitable. The main boom fittings include the end ferrule (A); that is a spider band made of brass strip, the “woggle” being secured by the bolt which clamps the band firmly to the spar. A plain spider band (B) is positioned about one third of the way along the boom (from the mast) and its clamping bolt is used to secure the flat triangular plate (C). This plate has 115 ii a MODEL MAKER 1/16 in. holes drilled at the corners, Starts at the aft hole in The jackline this plate, passes in turn through the beating sheet bowsie, the end of the “woggle,” the running line bowsie, the tensioning toggle (E), and eye (D) at the forward end of the boom, and finally ends on the tensioning toggle. The middle drawing of Fig. 9 shows the layout of the jackline, viewed from underneath the boom. The beating sheet is carried through the ring of the woggle as in the case of the jib. The running line is taken through a hook attached to the bottom hole of the triangular plate. The forward hole of the latter is intended to accommodate the kicking strap. Instead of the spider band and plate, a simple 3-hole fitting of T-section brass can be used as at F (Fig. 23), the plate being securely screwed to the spar. The additional eyes on the ferrule (A) provide for the attachment of a deck gye (to be described later), and for parking the beating sheet hook when the running sheet is in use. : Reh Fig. 24 A n i ji i t Fig. 10 shows a typical arrangement for the spinnaker boom. The inner ferrule (A) resembles the jib-boom ferrule but is provided with an insert, free to swivel on the bolt passing through the tapped hole in the neck. The insert consists of a short 4 in. diameter rod, to a slot in which is brazed a small plate. The latter fits in the slot in the neck of the ferrule and is drilled to clear the bolt. When the rod is inserted in the side lugs of the mast spider band (C of Fig. 20), the spinnaker boom is in effect universally jointed to the mast. The three-eyed spider band at B provides for a topping lift as well as the spinnaker forehaul and back-haul cords. The outer end ferrule (C) takes the spinnaker luff hook. A wire loon (D) inserted in the spider band (B), and held by the clamping bolt, enables a kicking strap to be fitted to the spinnaker. The other end of the kicking strap can be attached to the eyes the eyes on mast band.) the lowest The kicking strap is permanently attached to the spinnaker boom as shown. The boom can thus be positioned as desired in the vertical plane, and allowed to lift to any desired extent from any desired Starting point. The fore-and-aft sheeting of the spinnaker boom is shown in Fig. 26. The forehaul incorporates a spring (A), and can serve a dual Purpose if arranged to be suitable also for a deck gye. The back-haul is of cord only, and bowsie adjustments are provided in both cases. These two items of cordage should not in use. permanently be stowed on deck when The practice of to the spinnaker attaching cordage boom _ invariably involves the skipper in a major disentangling operation every time the spinnaker has to be set, and loss of time and temper often result. Tidiness is a virtue which in itself contributes to success in racing, and neat stowage of gear is mark a well-found yacht. on the mast ferrule (D in Fig. 20). one of the features which (To be continued) -— — TUCKERS TOPICAL TALKS (from page 1/4) @ HOLE OEE Having selected a class, the next step is to select a design to build to. As a general rule, the novice will be well advised to choose a design by one of the better known designers, and here again the advice of one of the senior members of the local club should be of great help to the beginner. What is required is a sound, well-balanced, easily handled boat of a modern design. Moreover, she should not have features that present difficulties to the novice builder. Of course, all model yachtsmen fancy their own boats, and the designers thereof, but enquirer In Fig. 25 we see the method of positioning the spinnaker cee in the bp sies sco Plane, as viewed from the bow of the yacht. An adjustable topping Fig. 25 lift is permanently secured to the jibstay fitting (see Fig. 19a). (When not in use this is attached to one of 116 must be prepared for this, and able to discount over-enthusiasm! I would also issue a warning against consulting too many people, as A will assure you that X is the best designer, while B will recommend Y, and C will plump for Z. However, if they all agree that Q is good, you will not go far wrong if you purchase one of Q’s designs. — And when your boat is finished, do not expect to win races right from the start. However well the boat is built and equipped, she has to be sailed correctly, and one cannot learn that in five minutes. After all, does the novice golfer win matches just because he has bought a fine set of clubs? Skill comes through aptitude and practice, so persevere and keep trying.
