- Description of contents
Model DECEMBER 1972 ‘“z; EXHIBITION 1973 HOBBY MAGAZINE PRICE 15p U.S.A. & CANADA 75c INSIDE—full-size plans for R/€ competition model for 12cc! DECEMBER 1972 Lord Roberts, so spick and span she must have been almost new at the time of this picture. Bibliography G. Grimshaw. British Pleasure Steamers 1920-1939. R. H. Coton. A Decline of the Paddle Steamer (pub. P.S.P:S:). Thornton. Thames Pleasure Steamers. South Coast Pleasure Steamers. F. C. Hambleton. Famous Paddle Steamers. (pub. M.A.P.). Paddle Steamer Preservation Society magazine ‘Paddle Wheels’. Drawings PREMIER (1846). Shipbuilding and Shipping Record. Feb. 1938. p. 201. GRACIE FIELDS. Shipbuilding and Shipping Record. June. 1936. p. 744. QUEEN OF THE CHANNEL. Shipbuilding and Shipping Record. June 1935. p. 688. PRINCESS ALICE. Engineering. 26.3.1880. p. 252. PRINCESS ELIZABETH. Shipbuilder and Marine Enginebuilder. Feb. 1928. p. 123. bette Shipbuilder and Marine Enginebuilder. April 2×17. 18.9. Boston Steam Tug Co. WORTHING BELLE ex- DIANA VERNON, bt. porelay Curle 1885. 180. 5x 18. 1×7. 1. Sold foreign PRINCESS MAY. Bt. Inglis 1898. 165. 5×21. 0x 6.0. Scrapped 1952. CYNTHIA. Bt. Eltringham 1892. 153. 4×21. 4×10. 3. Saw service on Thames and in Ireland. Broken up 1933. NEW RESOLUTE. Bt. Malpas 1882. 71. 2 15. 1×6. 7. Served in Truro and Falmouth. SIR WALTER SCOTT. Bt. Wm. Denny 1900. 110.6 19.1 x 8.9. for Loch Katrine. Model by Mr. Ian Smith Descriptions of vessels in photographs. BOSTON. Wood paddle tug, bt. S. Shields 1875. 81. of Milngavie. Readers Write… A wallet of chrome-vanadium spanners in the small B.A. sizes is sent to writers of letters offering something new or interesting to say. The Greater Promotion of Radio Control Model Yachting During the year 1972 the Model Yacht Association has embarked on a drive to promote the sport of radio control model yachting throughout the United Kingdom, in order that this branch of the model yachting sport may take the place it so richly deserves alongside its sister sport of free sailing models. Although R/C model yachting has been in competition existence in the South of England for quite a number of years, the fleet has not grown beyond a total of 25 ‘Q’ Class boats which are registered and sailed in organised racing. Before the year 1972 is out, the Model Yacht Association will adopt the ‘M’ class and 10 Rater class boats as R/C classes, and if there are found to be other classes in sufficient numbers, they too will be adopted by the association, thus opening the door to a large number of model yacht owners who may want to convert to R/C. Over the years, the small band of R/C ‘Q’ class (ex A class) skippers have done a lot of spade work for this branch of the sport. They have drawn up the sailing rules, evolved sailing schedules which allow as many as five boats to race together at one time, produced switchable frequencies and generally made the sport the great and exciting game it is today. : The skippers have become highly polished and skilled, and no one who has witnessed a R/C Regatta of the existing Q class boats can fail to have been enthralled by the performance given, even those who sail full size yachts have commended us. All this will now be open to other classes of model yachts, so why not come and join us, be you ‘M’ class, 10 Raters, or One Design? By joining a club, not only will you find enthusiastic R/C friends, but you will learn much from them about sailing rules applied to racing and R/C techniques, and you will learn of the joys and excitement of full size racing without the dis- comfort of a wet backside. It may well be that a reader may want to form a club, but whether it be to join a club or create one, in either case write to Mr. R. Gardner, 6 Rowner Close, Rowner, Gosport, Hants, or to Mr. N. D. Hatfield, 26 Shanklin Drive, Westcliffeon-Sea, Essex SSO 9XU, either of whom will give you all the help you need. | feel sure there are in this country quite a lot of R/C ‘M’ class and 10 Rater models yachts already operating, though not in organised clubs, and to such owners is this correspondence especially directed. The United Kingdom is lagging behind overseas countries in R/C model yachting; the Canadians and Americans have recently sought to compete with Great Britain on an English water in 1974, but alas we have at this moment in time little with which to compete with them, in the classes they. sail, ‘M’ Class, 10 Raters and ‘One Design’. So come on, you owners and prospective owners of R/C model yachts, join us in our efforts to show the rest of the world that we are as great in numbers and enthusiasm gentlemen given you as they are. whose addresses herein are waiting The | have to hear you. C. E. Brazier, R/C Sailing Sec., Gosport Models Yacht Club, and R/C Officer (Europe), International Model Yacht Racing Union, On the other hand… Dear Sir, from With regard to the article by R. Dunster on alternative keels — why not — most of you experts have bent the rules almost double anyway? Also, if the ‘M’ is an International Class, why is this not prohibited by the rules and not, as you say, discouraged, Mr. Sheward? The ‘M’ class is not an L.W.L. or displacement class, so why not change up a keel as you change down a sailplan, etc., maybe the writer has not heard of Noryema V.G.X. or other fullsized yachts which can derwater configuration 511 alter their unwhile racing. Surely if you are prepared to hump an ‘A’ boat keel about, you could manage about four ‘M’s. We have a boat in our R/C competition this year with this idea, even down to a plain alloy plate for the lightest airs. As far as one person having a great advantage over the others with only one fixed keel, this naturally leads one to think that you are afraid of some unknown person suddenly coming up and winning an ‘M’ class Championship, but you need not worry, because | expect by next season all ‘M’ skippers will have at least four each, probably of different depth, chord and weights. As you also state, Mr. Sheward, why not have an experimental class? That is the trouble with this country, we tend to sail a class until they stagnate and then someone says—there were only six entries in a National. The ‘A’ class, for example, resemble the full-sized ‘J’s, which were decadent in 1933. The 36 R. almost dates back to the Ark and is almost a non-runner. What about the 6 metre? There is even a club named after them —! wonder how many they have got? All these are recognised classes only by leaves the the M.Y.A., 10 rater which as a really class where there is scope for original think- ing, and if these get much longer they will be down to ‘} M’ sail plans. It is also for the above reasons that | advocate a new class for R/C, whether large or small, or else you will have what has happened with the ‘Q’ class. These are generally old has-beens with a couple of servos, etc., that have been acquired, as almost none are designed by the owners, or even built by them, although | do appreciate not everyone has the time, ability, etc., to always build their own. Gillingham. Trier Cc. S. Gould Dear Editor, I’m boy from Poland. I’ve 19 years. | should like enter into correspondence with modeller 18-30 year’s. | ask for mv an advertisiment in a Model Maker and Model Boats. | think, that will been little of place at my request. | can write in English, Polish. Sincerely, ‘ Stanislaw Szendzielorz Dzierzynskiego 49/3, Knurow I, Poland-Polska. MODEL BOATS A Simple Vane Gea 1. Tools and Construction This gear can be made with a minimum of hand tools. Files, a small hacksaw, drills etc. are all that are required, although a drill stand is useful to ensure that the hole in the main support block is vertical. If taps and dies are not available, the counterbalance arm and self tacking stop pin could be cemented or epoxied into the main support-block and other small threaded components adapted from scrap electrical fittings (old 13-amp plugs are a good source). Incidentally a 5 B.A. thread is better for 4 in. dia. rod than 6 B.A. The sketches are largely self explanatory. The vane feather is a tight fit in the cage built up of rod. The self tacking assembly should be an easy fit on the main pivot tube, and there should be 45° to 50° rotation on either side of the centre line with the stops screwed out as far as they will go. Hard soldering is preferable for all brass to brass connections. This can be done quite simply with a small butane-fuelled blow torch. 2. Materials None of the materials used or dimensions are critical. 16 s.w.g. brass sheet was used for the quadrant assembly for stiffness and the main support block was made from perspex, but Tufnol would be equally suitable. The friction pin and the tiller arm linkage pin were both adapted from pieces of a 13-amp plug. 3. Operation The self tacking motion is obtained by allowing the quadrant and feather assembly to rotate about the main pivot tube. This motion is limited by adjustable stops working on a screwed brass rod (6 B.A. studding is suitable) attached to ears on the quadrant plate. The SNIPER (continued from page 519) a razor blade or sharp knife because the paring can curl away. More than this really requires sawing away, leaving only a slight amount for trimming. The bow of the boat is laminated from } in. balsa and carved to shape. Apart from being easier than bending or twisting ply, it provides some unfloodable buoyancy, and it provides a solid bow to take knocks from hitting buoys or banks, or even other boats. After carving and sanding, it is a good idea to paint or varnish the inside of the boat, which is slightly more accessible at this point, putting a coat on the outside of the balsa bow each time. Cut the nicks in the tops of B2 and B3 to receive the coamings, and add the two extra pieces on the bulkhead tops. Fit the coaming sides and cut and bend the front coaming strip; this is easier if the outside grain of the ply runs the short way. Add the 3/32 in. sq. strips and the various shallow triangular pieces which complete the sub-frame for the deck panels. The deck could be curved in a normal camber if preferred. Thin (1/32 in.) ply is adequate for decking. Sand the complete model to a fine finish all over and glue on the ¢ in. sq. spray strips. These are a necessary feature of the design, so don’t be tempted to omit them. Cut the slit for the dagger plate and epoxy the brass plate securely in place; roughen the buried part or drill two or three holes through it before insertion to give the resin a chance to grip, as brass is a naturally slightly greasy metal. Drill 514 as these things go! You can make it on the kitchen table, says designer A. B. Whiteley. stop pin on the top of the main support block, passes through a slot in the quadrant plate to engage with the screwed stops at either end of its travel. The self tacking motion can be locked in the central position by means of a pivoted latch attached to the quadrant plate and engaging with the self tacking stop pin. When the self tacking action is so locked, the whole gear can be rotated on the main pivot tube to any required position where it is held by the friction pin. The self tacking action is improved by means of an over-centring elastic or spring attached between a wire slider on the guying rail and a suitable point on the counterbalance arm. When the slider is in the central position the overcentring effect is equal on both tacks and a given tack is held until the boat is turned at the bank side when the combination of wind and heel ‘flip’ the vane to the other tack. If the slider is moved to one side or the other, the overcentring action will be strengthened on one tack and weakened on the other. If the boat is sent out on the ‘weak’ tack, the vane will sooner or later be ‘flipped’ by the biased overcentring effect and the boat will go about in mid-pond and con- tinue sailing on the ‘st ‘ong’ tack. This gear requires less precision in construction and assembly than other designs of ‘break-back’ gear that I have seen and appears to be at least as positive in self tacking and guying action. This is the second gear I have made to this principle; the first model, although made of lighter gauge material and soft soldered, has survived 18 months of pleasure sailing when fitted to a China Boy (M-Class). The present gear has, however, been designed to meet the stresses of competitive sailing and is fitted to my new ‘M’, a Witty Bambi. through and fit the rudder tube, and epoxy the water pick-up tube through a hole drilled and filed in the bottom ¢ in. off the centre line to starboard. The hatch is a fairly simple job, but with a large flat area of ply, care must be taken to avoid it warping. Either curving it or sticking a sheet of balsa inside it would reduce any tendency to warp. Cut the ‘plug frame’ from 4 in. balsa sheet, about 3-4 in. wide. The boat can now be painted, two or three undercoats at least followed by a coat of gloss, well rubbed down between, and a coat of wax polish on the exterior. A smooth, glossy, and waxed exterior in theary does not give a speed increase, but in practice it appears to; in any event it makes it much easier to keep the boat clean. Instal motor ,tank, radio, etc., and you are ready to go. The usual tank position is as close to the engine’s spraybar as convenient, height such that the fuel level when full is approximately level with the spraybar. With a large tank, a feed sump and/or internal baffles are desirable to prevent fuel move- ment from interfering with the feed. A_ silencer system should be considered as a normal part of the boat nowadays; more and more engines come with exhaust manifolds and simple silencers are available or, for diesels at least, very easily made. The responsible attitude of organised clubs towards noise is beginning to influence more local authorities in the consideration of making lakes available, so let us all keep this firmly in mind. Even a small engine makes an irritating noise to people out to enjoy the peace and quiet of the park or countryside! rod.basi3/2″RlGuyngeY 6b.a. screwed rod dia.1/8″ “compas” nd feathrvnsowigVScp 1/8″PinStop 15″.x3Aprox stopackFienagtherl.fVdnrBl(sGu1y/i8n”g \1Plbord/vueSig-a8cnst.” 6B.A. Sor ao “Ss A.BWhitelybdsigne DECEMBER 1972 U/ 1|Bd/rai8s”. re AA,a MODEL BOATS AQUAPLANE An interesting enlargement of the ‘Plane Jane’ design to fit Marblehead rules By GEOFF DRAPER Geoff lives in the south of France and sails in the salt water ‘etangs’ which border the coast, The Mediterranean is just over the far bank in this picture, which shows Michele Draper with her father’s International 10/40 design Coquette. Faint white mark on the sand is the ‘sailing aid’ described in our July issue, Drawings of Aquaplane (opposite) are MM1154, price 50p inc. post, from Model Maker Plans Service, 13/35 Bridge Street, Hemel Hempstead, Herts; alternative body plans and lead are full-size, sheer and plan half-size, This design is recommended for builders with previous yacht experience. ft Bis exciting planing performance of the 36 in. Plane Jane design often provoked speculation about how she would fare if scaled up to an ‘M’ and Aquaplane incorporates lessons learnt from a previous attempt. Actually two versions were designed and built, as some members of the London M.Y.C. persuaded Mr. Bert Littlejohn to draw some lines. I can only speak for my own version as I have not seen the other one sailing. To try and retain the character of Plane Jane I had virtually scaled up the hull to an overall length of 50 in. At this size the displacement worked out at 17 Ibs. with a beam of over 13 in. and a draught of 11 in. At this time 17 lbs. on a long waterline was almost unheard of as the deep bulb-keel was not yet in fashion; in fact I think I am right in saying that she was the only bulb-keel Marblehead in the clubhouse. This yacht had all the performance characteristics of the original 36 in. boat, but with 800 sq. ins. sail area she was undercanvassed in anything other than strong winds. I should have paid more attention to the problem of wetted area, as this particular chine arrangement makes the hull poor in this respect. To reduce the wetted area to a respectable amount the boat should have been even lighter on a narrower beam. About this time Plane Jane was fitted with a taller rig of greater area and this proved to be a revelation. Although the mere fact of the boom swinging over heeled her to her chines, she would rest on her bilge plank and sail up and down the lake when the 10 raters had packed up for lack of wind. It seemed logical, therefore, to start by considering the light weather end of the scale and accept the necessity of having to change down quickly to a working suit even if this had to be less than 800 sq. ins. There appeared to be no other way around the problem if one intended to retain the character of the hull. As the beam was to be reduced considerably a deeper draught was envisaged to restore power. Thought was now given to the problem of keeping to the original lines and disposition of the volume in the canoe-body, and it was decided to stick to the shape of the key section whatever else had to be altered. The best approach seemed to be to fix the beam and then ‘stretch’ the hull out to 50 in., keeping the sections to the same proportions as on the original P.J. By doing this the 524 wetted area was reduced by almost a fifth, but the displacement worked out at only 13 Ibs! I was tempted to deepen the sections, bringing the rocker back to that of the original and thereby gain some displacement, but this would have meant altering the character of the sections. I resisted this temptation although it would mean that she would be overcanvassed carrying 800 sq. ins. in anything but light airs. With the now very shallow rocker the potential planing speed would be even faster than the previous ‘M’ design. The only real problem concerned the bow overhang. It had to be kept short or the L.W.L. would be reduced in length, but on the other hand the height of the forward transom was now relatively lower. This in itself was not a bad thing, but experience with P.J. showed that the limiting factor on the run was reached when she failed to clear the wave tops. Normally, in the conditions found on the Round Pond at Kensington, the little boat would come off the plane in the rough water at the leeward end of the lake and ‘surf’ the rest of the course, but on one windy day she appeared to be leaping from one wave to the next, when suddenly she failed to clear the distance. The sharp, flat bow dug into the back of a wave and her speed was such that she did an almighty ‘pitchpole’— in fact it was nearly a cartwheel; the strain on the hull must have been enormous—as it was she came to rest with her jib under water, the transom high in the air and the rudder flapping in the breeze, looking for all the world like a duck searching for food amongst the weeds! She remained in this rather immodest attitude until the wind dropped sufficiently for her wide transom to drop back into the water. She then surfed the rest of the lake as though nothing had happened. Although this affair was not repeated with the larger *M’ model I kept this incident in mind when considering the height of the bow. Eventually I accepted a compromise although this meant making the angle of the forward transom more acute. Having arrived at the basic shape of the canoe-body a slight modification was made to the after sections. As the buttock-lines are so flat it was possible to give a slight double-curvature to the skin, thus gaining a wee bit of displacement. This also had the effect of stiffening the hull and eliminating ‘flats’ between the formers or floors. DECEMBER As the sides of the canoe-body in the centre of the boat are almost parallel it was realised that this feature could well augment the fin area by providing extra lateral area when the boat was heeled. To make this more effective tumblehome has been incorporated in this area. Some will find the forward overhang and consequent loss of waterline length ‘off-putting’ but careful observation of the model when sailing showed that she gained most of the overhang when heeled and only the forward transom was out of the water. 1972 driven across the waves obliquely. As with all scows these boats like to be sailed ‘free’ to windward and they also go faster on a quartering run than on a true run. In this respect another very interesting point was noted repeatedly. In marginal planing conditions P.J. would come off the plane as soon as the jib goose-winged and started to ‘skate’ again as soon as the jib flew back to its original position relative to the mainsail. No doubt this was due to the extra load on the bow when the jib was in the goose-winged position coupled with the inferior aerodynamic ‘set-up’. Incidentally, the addition of a spinnaker appeared to make little difference to the speed downwind and all versions planed early carrying only jib and mainsail. Although this version of the design is to Marblehead rules I prefer to think of her as a very lightweight planing boat capable of giving amusing sailing to those with young legs. in fact the whole apnroach is lighthearted. These boats are particularly easy to build using the traditional hard-chine method, for the simple reason that the particular chine arrangement allows all the planks or skins to be shaped on the boat using the chines The most distinctive feature of these full-ended scows is the way the lines lengthen and straighten when the hull is heeled. To put it crudely they tend to change from a short flat plank to a long plank on edge. This feature is readily appreciated by comparing the shape of the L.W.L., in plan, with the main diagonal. To give some idea of the length of the latter, if it is continued to its logical termination on the centreline, it works out at about 84 in., which is roughly that of the A Class yacht Moonshine. On many occasions it was interesting to note how the ‘M’ version would accelerate on reaching a certain angle of heel (judged to be about 15°). When this occurred in medium to strong breezes at the windward end of the lake where the water was relatively calm it was probable that a degree of planing took place. The worst point of sailing was a true broad reach where it appeared that the hull form did not take kindly to being as a guide, thereby eliminating any ‘spiling’ and fitting. The only points to watch are the erection of the forward transom and, in this particular version, a certain care will have to be taken in the placing of the lower stringers (continued on page 527) ; AQUAPL ANE G. DRAPER (ose ) Gesigned by copyright of vs y The Model Maker Plans Service Herts 13-35 Bridge Street, Heme! Hempstead. MARBLEHEAD GLASS i i SS 4 i oS “SSS SS ~ — ; pee als Se — — ————s eer k Lu. AJ > eX : As 7 J A o ery NOTE RUN HAS SuIGHT ROUND’ To Give DOUSLE cORVTURE in PLY jis| 525 DECEMBER 1972 DECK CUT BACK TO SHOW CASEMATES [ U.S.S. ARIZONA December morning we e soon to hit back. Seven months later the decisive Battle of Midway was fought and four of the Japanese carriers that had participated were sunk. Akagi, Kaga, Soryu and Hiryu carried with them the crack air crews that nadseen victory at Pearl Harbour.These men were lost with their ships and the Japanese were never able to field as effective a force again. Particulars of the Arizona were as follows:— Built: New York Navy Yard March 1914- October 1916. Displacement: 32,600 tons (standard). Machinery: Turbines; 4 screws; 33,375 I af I 0 Armament: Aircraft: Complement: 21 knots. 12-14 in.: 12-5 in.; 8-5 in.AA; 4-3 pdr. 3; 2 catapults. 1358. Ships of the pre-wa U.S. Fleet were painted light grey. This is lighter than the haze grey in use today and is prepared by mixing 4 parts of Humbrol flat white with one part flat black. Weather decks were planked and can be painted with Humbrol HN 4 (Bleached Teak). Waterline was black and superstructure decks dark grey (Humbrol Sea Grey No. 27). Next Month: Italian heavy cruisers Zara and Pola. SHP= AQUAPLANE (continued from page 525) in the after-body to ensure that there is sufficient bearing surface for the skin, which might well be 34 in. marine ply. It will be seen that supplementary sections have been taken out where it is suggested the formers and/or floors might be positioned. These have been positioned in such a wey that synchronised sheeting of the sails may be used. To facilitate delicate balance, which is important with a boat of this type, I have suggested a method of moving the lead fore and aft. This is simply a slotted brass plate firmly fixed to the fin. The two halves of the lead bulb can be temporarily bolted on each side, the bolts passing through the slot. When the optimum position for the weight has been found the excess brass round the lead can be removed and the half-bulbs fixed definitively. Finally, remembering that this boat is verylight-weight, the rig should be kept as simple as possible and heavy fittings are definitely ‘out’. Also it is advisable to remember that the second suit is the working suit and that trials should be carried out with this rig. P.S. Don’t forget the small medicine-bottle cork in the 527 transom. 200
