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NOVEMBER 1969 THREE SHILLINGS U.S.A. & CANADA SEVENTY CENTS HOBBY MAGAZINE ‘i MODEL BYOYAUS 1969 Marblehead PSHERE were 29 entries for the Championships, but there was one last minute withdrawal, so 28 boats started, which meant two byes for everyone, and a certain difficulty in comparing scores. There had been gale force winds all week preceding the event; by Saturday the wind had dropped to moderate, but at least it was up and down the lake. It remained steady until 6 p.m. on Saturday, when racing was finished for the day. By then it was obvious that Colin Jones with M-4-Sis was going to be hard to beat. He had not dropped any points by then, Gay Gordon had dropped a run, Zaza a beat, and Mohawk two runs. On Sunday morning there was a light wind at 9.30 a.m. Everyone changed into their tallest rigs, some as Championships Birkenhead, Aug. 30th-Sept. 1st Pictures show, left, M-4-Sis sailing March Hare, last year’s winner, sailed this year by H. Martin. Centre, Colin Jones is presented with the trophy by Mrs. K. Jones; in background, 0.0.D. Ken Jones, incidentally Colin’s Uncle. Right, M-4-Sis in beating trim. (Photos by Clive Colsell.) RESULTS OF 1969 MARBLEHEAD CHAMPIONSHIPS 28 1. M-4-Sis 2. Zaza 3. Mohawk 4. Martini 5. Fantasie Impromptu 6. Hector 7. Gay Gordon 8. Mad Hatter 9. Wayfarer 10. March Hare 11. Green Top 12. Foxtrot Uncle 13. Carioca 14. Stalker 15. 16. 17. 18. Bugs Bunny Cutlass Thumper Usiba K79 Colin Jones K1676 Fred Shepherd K1582 Tony Gill K1686 M. Dovey/Harris 100 97 93 C. Dicks F. Shepherd Adams/Roberts/Perry R. Stollery 109 101 98 Clapham 98 1353 Ken Roberts K1537 Anne Stollery K1608 R. Seager Birkenhead Hove & Brighton Clapham 93 85 84 Hove Leeds & Bradford 67 62 Guildford Guildford Bournville K1590 A. Carter Forest Gate K1661 C. Colsell K1405 S. Rawnsley 1696 K1501 K1619 KS741 J. Mitchell Bob Dunning H. Dodd A. Wilson Fleetwood Birkenhead Birkenhead Vic. West of Scotland Fleetwood Fleetwood North Liverpool 23. Terion 24. Voodoo KS207 B. Cowan K955 J. Sixsmith West of Scotland Birkenhead Janice Hurricane Bagheera Tiki Jones/Norsworthy Birkenhead Bournville K1508 D. Latham K937_ _R. Mackarel K1499 F. Hunsperger 25. 26. 27. 28. 126 Guildford 19. Charmaine 20. Anne 21. Tom Cat 22. Nana 121 Birkenhead K1536 K1453 C. Sykes K1697 G. Reeves K1606 K1572 K1683 KS742 J. R. B. T. Gilmour Newport Bull McIntosh Bournville Clapham North Liverpool Birmingham West of Scotland Designer Heats K1597 Chris Dicks K1677 R. Stollery 29 Heats 97 79 75 60 58 58 57 52 49 48 46 40 39 37 37 37 17 14 _~-F. Shepherd 114. 106 ~—- Gill M. Harris/Dovey 103 Builder J. Pollitt F. Shepherd T. Gill Harris/Dovey R. R. K. R. Brooks Stollery Roberts Stollery Keel Bulb Weight 194 Ibs. Bulb Bulb Bulb Bulb 154 13 appr. 21 Bulb Bulb Bulb 13 appr. 20 R. Seager R. Stollery S. Witty F. Shepherd Adams S. Witty R. Stollery B. Dunning R. Seager F. Shepherd C. Sykes C. Colsell Adams K. Jones R. Stollery Adams B. Dunning Dodd A. Wilson Bulb Bulb Bulb Bulb Ordinary Ordinary Bulb Ordinary Bulb Ordinary Adams Adams R. Stollery C. Dicks Brady/Adams Sixsmith/Ballantyne Gilmour S. Witty R. Stollery Adams A. Levison R. Mackarel F. Hunsperger G. Reeves P. Brady J. Sixsmith J. Gilmour R. Whitehead Bull/Stollery A. Wilson Ordinary Ordinary Bulb Bulb Bulb Bulb Bulb Bulb Bulb Ordinary Only the top boats sailed all their heats because of the lack of wind at the end, so all boats are placed in the order they finished after 28 heats. 468 NOVEMBER 1969 of the Championship, she sailed well in all the conditions, moderate to very light. Birkenhead members also know that she can sail well in a She is the same hull shape as Floreana, with a high as 84 in. Enthusiasts like Roger Stollery carried spare suits of sails up and down the lake, so that the tall rig could be put up for running, and the squatter rig for beating. By mid-afternoon the wind started to drop, and some boats who had sailed well until then keel added. by its owner, Fred Shepherd, weighs about 13 Ibs., and is a variation of the Stollery March Hare/Mad was acquiring a good lead over the rest of the fleet, having 85/90. Zaza, sailed by Fred Shepherd, had and Hatter design, and built in glassfibre. The 3rd boat was Mohawk, 106 points. Tony Gill designed and built this yacht a few years ago, soon after he first took up model yachting, and everyone was very pleased to see him have this success. He has now decided to design and build another Marblehead, but making it lighter. Outstanding features of the Championships were the number of bulb keel Marbleheads, 21 out of 28, and the way the yachts are being built weighing less than 20 Ib. Whereas other classes have grown heavier, the Marblehead seems to grow lighter, and faster. By the way, sail numbers on Marbleheads seems to give little indication of the age of the yacht, as a few owners keep their old boats’ registration number, which seems to be a confusing habit. Gay On Monday morning the wind had turned round. It was still light, but by lunch time it had dropped, and the O.0.D. Mr. Ken Jones decided to have lunch early and see if things improved by 1.30. If anything they got worse, and for periods boats were running both ways, and then beating both ways. By the last heat there were only seven boats in the running, but Gay Gordon was on a bye then, so the top six boats sailed their last round opponents, the rest of the fleet being allowed to pack up. Colin Jones with M-4-Sis was a clear winner with 126/135 points, a remarkable score. M-4-Sis was the outstanding boat EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS (con. from p. 462) Class A2 (5 cc. hydroplanes) 13 entries (No British). 1. Jiri Sustr Czech. 2. Georgi Mirow Bulg. 3. S. Atanasow Bulg. L. Ladoni Hung. Class A3 (10 cc. hydroplanes) 20 entries (No British). 1. Filip Atanasow Bulg. 2. Ivo Malfatti It. 3. W. Subotin Rus. Class B1 (23 cc. airscrew hydros) 12 entries 1. Jiri Baitler Czech. 2. Janos Werderitz Hung. 3. W. Walkow Bulg. 6. M. Drinkwater G.B. 9. D. Drinkwater G.B. Class F1-E30 (30 watt R/C speed) 19 entries, no British. T. Kostow Bu Ig. 49.5 secs. 2. 3. 156,522 kph 150.000 150.000 150.000 1. H. Schwarzer Scale 91.0 E. Germ. Bulg. 84.0 Running 120.0 Bulg. Bulg. 93.67 90.0 Bulg. Bulg. Aust. 141 pts. 140 140 4. J. Johnson G.B. 139 200.000 kph 187.500 180.000 1. |. Marikow 3. K. Ripke pts. 100.0 5 8. 21,2 23.3 J. Johnson W. Pollitt F. Bradbury G.B. G.B. G.B. 138 8. F. Body E. Germ. 139 G.B. 132 ao In this class, power sources seem to be divided between silver zinc accumulators and Deac batteries. Salt cells, although they give the ultimate in power/ weight ratios, are hardly an economic proposition at £2 10s. per run! 3 One of the Czech competitors was using silver-zinc accumulators manufactured in his home country. These appear to have a vastly inferior performance to Venner cells, being larger for a given capacity, having a life of only about 10 cycles and only 3 or 4 pairs of plates per cell, with a consequently high internal resistance. Peter Burkeljc of Yugoslavia has a block of HO 75 cells and it would appear that either these or, better still, CGW’s would be the best choice 22.8 21.7 218 24.6 270 3. 140 Aust. F1-E30 Class pts. 20.9 secs. 21.45 2. L. Rovati It. 3. N. Merlotti It. 7. OD. Jeffery G.B. 11. C. Keeling G.B. Class F1-V15 (15 cc. R/C speed) 17 entries. 1. N. Merlotti It. 2. H. Hachmeister W.G. Belg. Bulg. K. Pesek be essential to use high discharge rate silver-zinc accumulators similar to the Venner type D.G.W. 96.66 93:33 90.0 83.33 73.33 26.7 29.8 P. Tiberghien P. Pandesow G. Bernd ELECTRICS IN BULGARIA (continued from p. 463) 203.6 7. F. Osman G.B. 11. D. Harvey G.B. Class F1-V5 (5 cc. R/C speed) 13 entries. 1. 1. 2. Total 211.0 212.53 205.96 W.G. Class F3E (Electric R/C steering) 17 entries, 6 junior. 137 126 Current records—A1 152.542 k.p.h.; A2 156.522 k.p.h.; A3 163.636 k.p.h.; B1 211.767 k.p.h.; F1-V2.5 20.9 secs.; F1-V5 19.4 secs.; F1 V15 16.7 secs; F1-E30 45.7 secs.; F1-E500 27.6 secs.; F4 10 balloons in 75 secs. 118.86 115.96 2. K. German E. Germ 3. T. Clements G.B. 5. S$. Davidson G.B. 7. J. Humpick G.B. 1. Jun. S. Lane G.B. Class F1-V2.5 (23 cc. R/C speed) 11 entries. 1. L. Albertini It 2. A. Parapetti It. G.B. G.B. 3. 5200/13 Bulg. 7. J. Cundell 18. L. Townsend 171.428 150.000 TLESTS 3. H. Schwarzer E. Germ. 88.33 115.27 Class EX (functional SR) 13 entries, 4 iuniors. 51.6 52.0 K. Panajot |. Markow A. Pruka 3. J. Poljakow Czech. 74.0 120.0 194.0 1. Jun. |. Kolar Czech. 76.0 98.56 174.56 Class EH (SR scale merchantmen etc.) 12 entries, no British 1. |. Marinow 2. N. Gerow Pol. Bulg. 1. 2. 3. 11. Mrs. Husband G.B. 150.000 Class EK (SR warships) 16 senior, 4 junior entries, no British. 2. |. Nikolow A. Rawski |. Markow Class F1-E500 (see p. 463). Class F3V (I.c. R/C steering) 24 entries, 4 junior. 163.636 kpn 163.636 161.146 bulb Zaza finished 2nd, 114 points. This boat is designed found the very light winds not enough, including Gay Gordon; Ken Roberts, having lost no points during the day, lost 12 during this period. By 6.30 M-4-Sis 87/100, Hector 73, Martini 71, Mohawk Gordon 70 and Fantasie Impromptu 64, wind Club gale. 21.6 for 30 watt boats. As far as power measurement is concerned, the authorities in Bulgaria were very badly organised in this respect, taking up to 30 secs. to complete the measurements on some boats. 17.1 secs. 17.7 19.4 It would seem that Naviga should decide on a (please turn to~ page 490) 469 NOVEMBER 1969 ORWAY possesses the third largest fleet of tankers in the world. Most of these tankers are owned by companies which charter them for various periods of time to the oil companies. Sig. Bergesen d.y. and Co. has some outstanding ships, and, at the time of entering service the Berge Bergesen was one of the largest motor tankers afloat. Now, however, S_ — LIGHT with a deadweight tonnage of just under 60,000 she is considered as something less than a medium size of ship. The appearance of the Berge Bergesen is typical of the ‘all aft’ tankers of the period. The superstructure is quite complicated in layout and shape and later vessels have been designed on a far more utilitarian basis. Although the plan has been simplified as far as possible, it would be inadvisable for a beginner to attempt a model. At a scale of 100 feet=1 inch, the painting of the large—mainly unencumbered — deck is not a simple process and the bridge superstructure needs particularly accurate and neat execution if it is to have any sense of reality. GREEN MIST TOPPING — RED OXIDE PPERWORKS — WHITE SPEBOATS, MASTS, DERRICKS — WHITE WES, BREAKWATERS MEE. DECKS, DECK MACHINERY WSER DECKS —PLANKED | GREY LIGHT A-Class Reflections NEL — WHITE — BLACK TOP MEEN 2 OWITH BLACK INSIGNIA SPMANENT AWNINGS —- LIGHT GREY Eric Shaw ponders A-Class trends following the 1969 Championships at Fleetwood STEEL, DECK =e HE British A-Class Championship week is over again, and the competitors have returned to their home waters, in many different parts of Europe, in moods varying from elation to near despair, to face a period of reflection, evaluation, and, one hopes, planning for another year. The young man with most cause for reflection, and most worthy of readers’ sympathy, was Chris Dicks; to arrive at Fleetwood the day before racing started with an unlaunched boat to his own design, to jump into the top three as soon as racing started, to drop the boat, damaging the skeg, midway through the week, to effect repairs and continue winning, to have to win the very last board of the tournament to draw level with the redoubtable Bob Burton was enough, but then to lose the draw for choice of berths for a ELECTRIC WINDLASSES beat to windward sail-off and then lose the actual sail-off by less than a boat’s length must have been completely heart-breaking. Hard luck, then, Chris, and well done Bob Burton, who sailed so steadily and magnificently throughout the week; this performance was a justification for Uffa Fox’s contention that the race is won by the man making fewest mistakes. But what conclusions are to be drawn from the event and the result? Is an entry of 26 British boats for a British Championship satisfactory? And does s CONTINUED STAY |S GIVEN =F WINDOWS IN VERANDAH SOF ADJACENT WINDOWS 7 JZ) the taking of the top two places by men not in regular A-class competition argue a very satisfactory state of affairs in the existing A-Class fleets? Does the handful of new boats indicate a satisfactory growth rate for the class? Are there sufficient new designs 8 WINDOW -+- 2 WINDOW available for Mr. Average Clubman? Is a full tournament the best method, particularly in light weather, when racing may run to twelve hours a day? Should a minimum windspeed be required before starting a 471 TA iHTH i mL MODEL BOATS Gardner’s mast, supported by three stays a side, apart from topmast rigging. Her rigging is meticulously cut to size, and she has no rigging adjustment of any heat? These are some of the questions occurring to an outsider, posed here in the hope of attracting answer and comment from all interested parties, with kind; her top suit is of American Dacron, cut very the aim of possibly improving this most important full, and making use of the full-size ‘Cunningham hole’ technique for flattening the sail as wind strength increased (the German boats are similarly fitted), and it was noticed that the use of this device pulled a marked bend in the mast. The forestay, plastic covered wire, ran through the luff of the jib (although not a double luff sail as normally understood); her jib is cut very low for maximum measurement advantage, and her jib-boom kicking-strap is a masterpiece of ingenious simplicity—a small bevelled rubber disc attached to the front end of the boom running on a semi-circle of some rigid plastic set just forward of the forestay at an angle of about 30° to the deck. She even appeared to have a hump in her deck above the normal camber to get her rig that bit higher, in the best America’s Cup tradition. A perfect example of rugged, calculated simplicity, wonderfully well sailed (and most ably mated by Fleetwood old-timer, event. Not that this event could be other than successful in the warm-hearted atmosphere of the Fleetwood b as we were, an efficient, hard-driving — given, Clu O0.0.D., who kept racing going to a successful con- clusion in spite of light, fluky winds, a jolly crew of members’ wives who ran the canteen throughout the long days, reviving flagging spirits with innumerable ‘cuppas’ and North-country jest, and a hard-working, long-suffering Social Secretary, who filled in the few hours left between racing and bed very pleasantly indeed. But what did happen to those famed and feared Fleetwood breezes? Only on the Tuesday afternoon did the lighter boats have to change down to second suits, and even then they were changing up again before the end of the day. On the Thursday afternoon there was a good top-suit breeze for little more than an hour, but for the rest of the time most boats had insufficient wind to reach a good sailing angle of heel; Bill Wright). Apart from Fascination and The Lady Isle (a beautifully plank-built version of a typical Roger Stollery what wind there was came nominally from South or design) all the new boats were fairly conventional. Dennis Lippett’s new Lewis designed Kami-Sama sports a slight ‘bustle’—a feature creeping into full- East, Fleetwood’s worst directions, but major wind- shifts were frequent, and a number of times these occurred in the middle of a heat, resulting in some boats scoring 3 for a spinnaker run, or 2 for a beat. Luck, and the fixed choice of berths, determined the destination of many points over the week, but in the size design, involving a deliberate distortion of the buttock lines between fin and skeg, putting some displacement into the skeg, thought out by the famous American designer Olin Stephens—and is probably the first model to do so. Arthur Levison and Roy Gardner has sister ships to Arthur’s latest drawings, distinguished mainly by an almost unbroken line from stem head to heel of fin, recalling the old time full size ‘Metre’ classes. The Northern Ireland boat, Erin, end two well-sailed ‘all-round’ boats came out on top, with the ‘specialist’ boats doing well in their own weather and falling by the wayside otherwise. Obviously, such a fleet as this will contain a number of ‘specialist’ boats, and, at Fleetwood, heavyweight, heavy weather boats in particular. Of these, probably is an enlarged Jill, Harpoon is a development of the best was the Lewis-designed Moby Dick, now extremely well prepared and sailed by the Pollahn brothers, from Hamburg; as John Lewis has said, once moving, these heavyweights tend to steam-roller Boreas, and only Chris. Dicks’ boat would seem to be completely original. In the main fleet, there was a number of Highlanders and Top Hats plus one or two of the Lewis heavy-weights, but, in spite of yet another win for the Highlander design, the time would seem ripe for at least one new design in the ‘Model along, and this Moby Dick certainly did, being among the top-scorers on both the light wind days, with 25 points on each day, finishing a good seventh overall. built; Emperor, Genesis, The Lady Isle mentioned Her younger relative from the same stable, Lutt Deern, did not do so well, but what a beautiful boat she is; 91 in. overall on a 59 in. w.l., giving her long, classically graceful overhangs, and she must be a winner when in tune. Kai Ipsen’s boat Fascination comes into the potential all-rounder category on Boats’ plans list. Some of the boats were beautifully above, and La Grande Vache (this latter with a planked deck) spring to mind immediately as first- measurements, but Kai describes her as a heavyweather boat, and certainly her worst day was Wednesday, the lightest day. For those who did not see her predecessor, Laila in 1967, she is a round-bottomed sharpie, about 55 in. w.l., and 55 1b. displacement, her topsides being pulled into an increasing tumblehome from midships aft, giving her a most attractive look, while she bristles with so many ideas and differences from the traditional English A-Class boat as to merit an article to herself. Her keel section is in effect an inverted T to get the C.G. as low as possible (an idea shown in “Model Racing Yachts” one should add), her skeg is removable with the rudder for transport, her mainsheet is braided terylene, running over a large diameter pulley to a traveller sliding in an internal track in the full size manner, and she has no separate running lines; her mast was rectangular section wood, with the luff of the mainsail running in a groove on the aft side, and supported by only three stays—in striking contrast to, say, Roy class examples of plank-to-rib building, and Trilby as a fine example of cold moulding; some were immaculately turned out, but quite a few were very far from smart. Sails and gear had little cause for failure; it was a surprise to find only two boats persisting with genoa jibs in doubtful spinnaker conditions, and these two must have found their faith justified. Varnished terylene has nearly vanished from the scene, but John Lewis and Arthur Levison still say this gives a smoother finish. In conclusion, what of the future ? New boats ‘in the pipeline’ seem to be of the 57 in. w.l., 63 lb. displacement type, but the Polliéhn brothers were prophesying that Moby Dick will be an average boat in five years’ time, and it will not take much of an improvement in sailcloth to prove them right. The cry ‘too big’ has been with the class almost since its inception, but with a new 10-rater rule in force, and a hard look being taken at the M-class, is this not the time to look again at the A-Class rule, and see if some slight bias towards lighter displaceme 472 cannot be evolved?
