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MODELLING the Professional Approach BOATING ON A BUDGET SANDCASTING WARRIOR’S GUNS AN ARGUS SPECIALIST PUBLICATION MYA news Not a lot this time, as we are on the run up to the AGM asI write. There will be some major changes at the top of the Association at the AGM as both the Chairman and Vice Chairman are retiring, and will be replaced. It is a pity that the plans that were made to ensure some continuity when Norman Hatfield came to the end of his long stint in the chair have not worked out, but the problems that arise from the same individuals holding office both in the MYA and in the expanding and active IMYRU have been very visible in the past year. The decision that we should so far as possible avoid this situation for the future seems to be the right one. There is now a club to make use of the Docklands water. The Secretary is G. R. Turner of 2 Benson Avenue, East Ham, E6 3ED. Uxbridge The open air swimming pool in Park Road, Uxbridge, does nothing useful during the period from the end of October to the beginning of April. The local authority are anxious to see it used, possibly by model yachtsmen. It is 200ft. long and reasonably open to the winds. Any club, group or individual interested in making use of the facility, for which there would be a nominal charge, should contact Mr. K. J. Gilligan, Assistant Manager, Uxbridge Swimming Pool, Park Road, Uxbridge. The telephone number is 0895 59762. Llandudno The piece I wrote about Llandudno visitors’ regattas in the November 1986 issue has struck a chord in the memory of Eric Shaw who was a regular visitor there on holidays with his family. He wrote me an interesting letter about his memories and the first real model yacht, as opposed to a toy boat, he had owned. He had it built specially to take part in the Llandudno races by one of the local builders. Llandudno was the favourite holiday place of my mother, and consequently myself, during my schooldays, when there always had to be a model yacht, and, into my first job, I actually had one of their 36in. models built for me, starting in 1930, going through to 1935, so can tell you a bit about their boats, and their racing. Racing was, as you say, organised in those days by the town council — (there was a club formed in the late 30s) — and the racing I saw and competed in was for Classes up to 18in., then up to 27in., then 36in., and the biggest was over 38in., although there were certain cups for 10-raters, which are part of the story. Their lake, in case you haven’t seen it, was a sausage shape, even to the slight bend in the middle! just short of 200 yards long, with six or seven widths to the length, and the usual summer breeze gave a long 78 and short, usually taking three longs, equally usually using a very strong beating guy on the short, and one finished between two quite closely spaced buoys, not flags on either side as Fleetwood and Gosport … more tricky guying! This racing was to windward only, picking out at the windward end and carrying back; racing in pairs usually (note photograph to prove me wrong!), on a knock-out basis… and, as you say, often the boats weren’t fitted with rudder or steering gear … my own for one! The local ‘crack’ builder was one John Evans, and he really was a very fine craftsman, always rib and plank: mine, fairly typical, was planked in pine, with mahogany stem, counter, sheer plank, covering board, hatch coaming and hatch; position — but this must have been just ahead of optimum, for she was never prone to luff (but she didn’t bear away either, and had to be considered very good to windward). Allin, cost was £8 … a Braine gear was optional at £2… which I couldn’t afford. The model changed slightly from year to year, with the general tendency towards ever more powerful hulls, while, as the snap shows, the changeover to Bermudan sail plan was being made by ’35, when this was taken; the boat to windward was, I think, owned bya local dentist, who was very good — she was two years older than mine, narrower, lighter, and the first to try Bermudan rig, and he was reducing foot lengths by this time. clear varnished above water, colour to This is a fascinating account of a type of model yachting that has now disappeared, depth 15in., weight 141b; the only about on another occasion. It confirms that choice underneath; beam was 11in., overall photograph I have of her out of the water is too firmly stuck into an album for me to send, but I will make a sketch of profile as near scale as I can manage from it, but profile showsa fairly upright spoon bow, with a quite wide, low counter; greatest beam must have been almost midship, with a quite pleasing plan shape. Rig was cutter, with a long bowsprit, jib, stays’l, boom well over the counter, and jack-yard tops’l, giving an area of over 1,200 sq.in! Fittings were very simple, but of good quality nickel plate — as you say, no adjustment of mast except at Southwold, which I hope to write there was a local cottage industry in seaside towns, producing models for sale to the visitors. This goes back a long way. The sentimental illustration (1) comes from W. G. Kingston’s The Boys’ Own Book of Boats of 1861. It presents the cliché fisherman carving models for the expectant young masters but, as in most clichés, there is a grain of truth under the commonplace. This sort of thing went on in most towns and villages that could expect summer visitors, and in Llandudno was a well developed trade. Eric’s photograph (2) gives a very good impression of the style of boat developed for the middle range of Llandudno classes in the 30’s. Llandudno was at the upper end of this sort of racing with a wide range of classes up to “over 48 inches overall” and witha class for 10-raters. A substantial proportion of the competitors were adults rather than children, and the racing was taken quite seriously. The local builders were in touch with trends in design and within the style of boat demanded by an overall length rule, produced boats that reflected the design Left, archetypal seaside model yacht scene from The Boy’s Own Book of Boats 7867. Photo: Russell Potts. Above, 36in. boats racing at Llandudno, mid-1930s. Photo: Eric Shaw. MODEL BOATS + Curved Air With Model Yachting Association General Secretary Russell Potts Vintage Marbleheads I promised to return to some of the other boats that were on show at the Vintage day in September, and the first of these three was there, though in the boot of her owner’s car for most of the day. The others are boats that did not make it to the meeting, but seem to me to belong together with her. The first is an ‘M’ that must have been built before 1939 or very shortly after the war (3, 4,5). She still has overhangs. I think that the last published design of this type was Bill Daniels’ Festive of 1951, and by then she was rather clearly behind the times. fashions of the day. A club was formed there in the middle 30’s and affiliated to the MYA, but I do not think that it reaffiliated after the war, though the North Wales club of comparatively recent date, now uses the water. Llandudno was also the home water of Mr. Perks, the originator and manufacturer of ‘XL’ salts. He lived somewhere in the hinterland, but sailed on the Llandudno lake. ‘XL’ sails were very finely made, but their distinguishing feature was that the Union Silk sailcloth was treated with a ‘secret formula’ to render it windproof. This was almost certainly a mixture of aircraft dope and glycerine, but the exact formula is now lost. I have seen a suit of ‘XL’ sails dating from about 1938, which appeared not to have been used; they were somewhat discoloured, but in good condition and would have been good for a few years serious sailing. Attempts to reproduce the effect without Perks’ magic mixture seem not to have been very successful. After the war, Perks did not reappear and most people went back to using untreated Union Silk until varnished terylene ‘tin sails’ came along in the early 1950’s. Bill couldn’t design a boat that didn’t look good, and I don’t think that he could bring himself to draw a plumb ended hull. This example is earlier than that, as itis clear that the skeg has been altered at some stage to take a deeper rudder when the boat was converted from Braine gear to vane. The deck view shows the pin rack remaining from the Braine gear and the deck mounted socket for the vane pintle set right on the counter. The boat is built of pine planking and the pins holding the planks are all punched down and filled. Ralph Nellist, who is restoring the boat, has had to soften it all with paint stripper and make himself a special miniature brush to clear out the residue. He intends to fill them again with the right stuff, that is, a white lead and gold size mix. He will also need to think how best to fill the seams between the planks which have opened quite noticeably, much more than hardwood boats tend to do over the years. The photo does not show how very noticeable the seams are when you see the boat in the flesh. Ralph plans to restore the boat to her ‘converted to vane’ state of about the mid 1950’s. Next are photos (6, 7) of a model recently built by Jack Roberts of Salisbury to the first British ‘M’ design, Bill Daniels’ Pocohantas, which appeared in Marine Models in 1963. She is built for radio, and terylene sails. She has been very lightly built; the planking is sixteenth mahogany, and the fin is bread and butter in pine, but with the centre cleared out to give a 1/8 wall. The deck is in ,,th birch ply, which must be much the same weight as the original design’s 1/8 pine. Despite the addition of radio, the careful building has kept the displacement at the designed 14lb. The fin was deepened by a couple of inches to give a bit more power. Even so she is easily overpowered and has to change down sooner than modern boats. The second boat in the background is another Pocohontas, not so carefully built and weighing 20lb. She is by comparison rather sluggish, as would be expected with a 40% overweight. What is a vintage boat? Jack’s approach to building a replica of an old boat is interesting and emphasises the importance of not exceeding the design displacement and not overloading and overpowering the boat. Only by preserving the original designer’s intentions will we get something like the original performance. If we do put terylene sails on a boat not designed for them, we must either make the sail area less or alter the keel to preserve the balance between sail Below, ‘M’ of the Braine era, probably before 71939. Note the extension to the skeg to take a deeper rudder, when converted to vane. Photos: Ralph Neliist. Eric also wrote about the bitter rivalry between Noel Lloyd, the local 10-r hotshot, and a ‘furriner’ from Stoke on Trent. Lloyd owned a Daniels 10-r, Thetis, and took exception to what he thought was a rule bending boat brought in by his competitor; this was the beginning of his association with the Birkenhead club. I saw Thetis about a year ago when she appeared in an auction sale of boats from the Lloyd estate. She was in good condition, with a suit of Charles Drown sails and fittings of very high quality, made of nickel silver rather than chrome plated. This alternative to brass was used as early as 1884 or ’85 by E. H. Lear, Secretary of the Serpentine club at the time. He was one of the top builders of this time and spared no effort or expense to produce a superior boat. He is also credited with the first use of Union Silk for model yacht sails. It had been introduced for light weather sails in full size yachts very shortly before, and was widely used by the keen group of sailing canoeists that shared the magazine Model Yachtsman and Canoeist with the modellers. FEBRUARY 1987 79 An elegant Clyde built 5rater The photos (8-9) show a beautifully built and finished 5-rater which has recently been given to the Swansea Maritime Museum. She is 44in. overall, but I don’t have other dimensions at present. Despite her present home, she was built by a Mr. William Hutchinson in Paisley in 1895 who wasa memberof the Paisley MYC. She is an elegant and studied piece of design. The Rule to which she is built is Dixon Kemp’s Length and Sail Area Rule of 1887, which modellers continued to use after it was abandoned by full size yachtsmen in 1896. Waterline length = sail and lead. Just adding lead is not a solution. My preference is for what Jack has done, which preserves the original appearance of the boat and makes the compensating changes where they can’t be seen until she Top, another shot of the Braine era ‘M’. Photo: Ralph Nellist. Above Pocohontas replicas by Jack Roberts of Salisbury to the first British ‘M’ design. Of course, bringing new construction techniques to the building of replicas can give us advantages over the original builders. The plank on edge boats of the ‘1730’ Rule depended absolutely on very large amounts of lead to hold them up under the pressure of large and unmeasured sail area. If we build to the old designs and use modern materials and techniques, we can achieve structure weights substantially less than were common, or indeed possible, in the 1880’s; the saving can go into the lead to improve the performance at no increase in the total displacement. This could be done quite easily by using balsa and resin techniques or GRP. I know of only one source of GRP hulls for 10 tonners, and these are taken Honesty is the best policy is out of the water. from hull of about 1890. The shells are by the standards of modern ‘M’ structures very heavy, and there are only one or two of them, but if anyone is interested, I can put them in touch with the supplier. But which is the ‘right’ way to do it? Isit ‘fair’ to use modern methods and materials to build old designs? Should we really be putting radio into old boats? There is perhaps no point in getting too concerned about this so long as we recognise that we are all doing it for fun. When we get to the dealing in boats the problems start to be more important. 80 Mi Photos: Jack Roberts. There is obviously a difference between a genuinely old boat and a totally new construction to an old design; but what about when incomplete boats are completed or when lost and worn out elements are replaced? We all know the story about Grandfather’s axe that is still as good a when it was new “… it’s only had five new heads and eight new handles.” I don’t think we should be too fussy about what is and what is not a ‘vintage’ boat. If people want to build GRP 10 tonners, why shouldn’t they? If metal masts are a way of getting an old boat back on the water, why shouldn’t they be used? All’s fair, but fair play demands that we should be completely open about we are doing and should not pass off a reproduction, even a careful and faithful one, as an antique, and that when old boats are being restored, we should be able to say at the end of the day. “The hull and deck are 1910, the fittings and spars are contemporary, with the exception of the rudder which was replaced and enlarged in the 1920’s and the bowsprit, which is a modern reproduction. The sails and rigging are modern.” This is essential if we are to use these old boats as evidence. area, all divided by a constant of 6,000 gives the rating. The hull form is very much up to date for the period, influenced by the ‘small raters’ that were raced in the Solent under the Rule, very shallow and with the profile much cut away. The fin is again influenced by the sort of form used by Sibbick and Paine on some of their small raters, but much deeper of course. The skeg mounted rudder is a very early example of this style that I have previously tended to associate with George Braine and the steering gear that bears his name, introduced in 1904. I would be tempted to suggest that the design is later than the date given of 1895, or at least that the appendages are a later redesign, but I think this cannot be the case, because anyone Early vane gear The photos (10, 11) show an ‘M’ dating from the late 1940’s or early 50’s, with a fin and lead something like Lassell’s Sunkiss, and with an early style of Fisher Vane gear. The gear is very obviously home made, with lots of solder, but probably worked none the worse for that. The design of the gear is very similar to that shown in a series of articles by C. H. Farley of the – American MYRAA, which appeared in Marine dnd Aero Models in 1949, just before it folded. If I remember correctly, the sequence was not completed before the magazine disappeared. Even in its truncated form, it did a great deal to bring British model yachtsmen up to speed with what the Americans had been doing with vane gears while we had been otherwise engaged. Despite this, the British were slow to take to the vane, which many regarded as taking all the skill out of design and sailing and making the whole thing too easy. This view has been expressed to me by a number of people old enough to have had experience of serious competition with both forms of control. A 1940s ‘M’ with home made Fisher vane gear. Photos: Pennington of Chorley. Rita an 1895 5-rater from Paisley, now in the Swansea Maritime Museum. The steering gear pre dates Braine gear, but provides most of the features of that form of automatic steering. Photos: Swansea Maritime Museum. who had sailed the boat and was replacing the appendages would have known that the design was faulty and moved the fin forward to balance the sail area disposition. The fact that there is still an obvious ‘afterthought’ brass blade forward of the fin to correct this argues that the fin is the original. The steering is an anticipation of Braine gear. There was a plethora of systems deriving control for the off wind legs from a link between mainsheet and tiller. This one I have not seen before, but it has the essential characteristics of a means of transforming a pull on the main sheet to give weather helm and a meansof limiting the amount of helm given by means of a pin rack. The forward element of the tiller lacks any way of adjusting the leverage, unless it is a two part tiller which adjusts in length, and the limit on movement appears to be only by means of the pin rack over the tail. Braine had a wide adjustment of leverage and an elastic centring line, which gaveita very subtle range of adjustment. Once introduced it became near universal for the next 50 years. I can’t make out whether the fitting immediately aft of the tail of the gear is an anchorage for an elastic or a catch to lock the rudder central when going to windward. The brass disc right aft could bea removable bung to allow bilge water to be poured out. The hatch looks too small to be used to sponge it out, which was the other method used. The rig is conventional for the period, though the curved gaff is characteristic of Clyde practice at the time. The use of halyards brought down to the deck is unusual on what is clearly a racing model. It appears to be the only concession to scale practice. Again the sails are not contemporary with the boat. 81 Above, heavy weather in Zurich, Switzerland. Z82 is Lupart’s famous Anja, now on Mark 16! Right. American Bone is made in Austria, Yugoslavia, Tasmania and no doubt many other places. Heading, the writer (centre) tries his hand in a 50 boat fleet in Austria. Photo: H. Kronke. he growth of world interest in the sport of model yacht-racing over the past ten years has far exceeded the rate which its adherents would have forecast had they been asked to do so. Ten years ago in the British Isles model yacht racing by vane steering had reached a high level of interest and stabilised mainly because of the practical requirements of suitable size waters, and in few other countries had there been an equivalent background. In some ways directly because of this, radio-control became more quickly ‘popular’ in countries such as the U.S.A. and later in many European countries, leaving the British to develop more slowly at first, together with Australia which had also had an influx of vane steering adherents who immigrated from the U.K. Tremendous Growth Suddenly the advent of lightweight cheap R/C gear, purpose-made winches and waterproof servos transformed what available for some time now and the number of boats sailing has risen dramatically as a result. Taken together, the IMYRU and NAVIGA 1986 world championships took entrants from twenty countries and all continents of the world. Across Five Continents France has really taken the lead in the competitive Marblehead class and supports a national league somewhat spoilt by the divisions within its boundaries between two rival authorities. Multihulls are being sailed as well as small numbers of 10 Raters and the continental 1 metre class. Germany has seen the establishment of a well organised sailing season and a good arrangement to sail jointly the IMYRU and NAVIGA rule boats. Italy has a similar situation with around 250 registered boats, mostly in the industrial north but south as far as Rome. originators of practical commercially In Eastern Europe, Chechoslovakia, Hungary, Rumania and Poland all have active fleets which have problems of material supplies because of their America. the U.S.S.R. have some highly skilled model sailors. One aspect of their sailing is a much greater interest in encouraging young sailors with the incorporation into had been a keen, but numerically limited number of people into the mainstay of the hobby. It happens that many of the available equipment such as winches were British, but similar small enterprises are busy producing the same items in the U.S.A., Hong Kong, Australia and South Thus the basic goodies needed to help the home builder have been freely currency restrictions, and further east still major championships of a junior competition for the under-16 age group, something other countries might usefully copy. There is a small fleet of radio Marbleheads in Yugoslavia which is just beginning to join the advanced technology race, having previously been totally dependent on home-produced sails and masts. They have however been using the American Bone design which pops up in a number of countries well removed from its original base. Moving further east, the Chinese have a high quality fleet and dominated the NAVIGA event in Moscow this year. Like their model aircraft flying compatriots they show great discipline and determination and have used unusual materials for sails to overcome their lack of indigenous sailcloth production. The Japanese model sailors are small in number but keen, and they have increasing contact with other countries such as Australia and New Zealand which have long had a tradition of sailing in both full-size and model form. Australia supports fleets of Radio A class and 10rater as well as the ubiquitous Marblehead and the number of sailors as a percentage of population must place it high on any comparative scale. The continents of North and South America have active fleets from Vancouver and Quebec in Canada, through the strong AMYA in the U.S.A. down to Brazil and Argentina. MODEL BOATS SEE IMYRU Publicity Officer Chris Jackson reviews progress over the last ten years, and offers some thoughts for the next decade manufacturers with the possible mass distribution of hitherto difficult to locate kits and parts, the more so if they know that any item will meet class rules in any part of the world. Costs will hopefully stabilise, although it is wishful thinking to imagine that the numbers will ever rival model aircraft or car sales. But then again why not? The next few years Rules and Regulations In recognising this world-wide spread of the sport IMYRU has taken the lead in establishing a series of world and regional championships to give a focal point for this competitive effort and has seen attendance grow rapidly at each event until organisers are faced with establishing a quota system to limit entries to practical numbers. The nominal system is to allocate places in relationship to the number of boats registered as active in the country involved. On the rules side, the IMYRU has pursued a policy of regular review of the class rules and is at present consulting its members on their view of the International Marblehead rules. Despite the inevitable delays when one asks an opinion from such a varied electorate, the final draft will be ready for adoption at the January 1987 meeting of the governing body, and if adopted will allow sailors plenty of time to adjust their boats before the next world championships in 1988. In undertaking this review, IMYRU has sensibly consulted NAVIGA Officials and if all goes well the same rules will for the Far left, Chinese X class seen at NAVIGA event in Vienna. Left, a pretty 1 Metre design by Paul Lucas, now adopted by the French NAVIGA section as a one-design. Below, Swedish Circus Il, builtin Hong Kong, sailing in England. Right, ultimate in Hi-tech ‘off-tle-peg’ boats, the new Oliver Lee Tornado. Just switch on and sail and available worldwide. FEBRUARY 1987 first time apply to all Marblehead class yachts. If anyone doubts the need to clarify the rules in certain areas such as sail area measurements they have only to consider the fuss in certain quarters caused by the measurement instructions for last year’s Fleetwood Championship, mostly as a result of misconceptions of the existing rule and differences in interpretation in different countries. Coping with World Politics and Trade In seeking to improve co-operation with NAVIGA which has in its membership many Eastern Bloc nations, IMYRU is hoping to ensure that model yachtsmen will all share the same racing and class rules to encourage individual opportunities to race together and maximise cross-flow of new ideas and developments. In no way does it expect to disturb the existing status-quo on the internal administration of model-sailing in those countries which organise through NAVIGA, but it believes that such efforts to co-ordinate rules will help the total growth of world interest. Fortunately NAVIGA officials have shown similar concern and if such co- operation continues it can only produce benefits for model yacht enthusiasts Like most world and international organisations the Union is often perceived as solely interested in a few highly competitive sailors, but the work done in these areas of rules and regulations by the Union actually takes great account of the needs of club sailors with a wide input of ideas from its committee members. 1987 sees world championships for the 10-rater class in Sweden and a European championship for M class in Holland, and this will hopefully be followed by a joint IMYRU NAVIGA world event in 1988 at a site in Berlin. Other classes recognised by IMYRU include the EC12m which has a world championship in Queensland, Australia over the new year period, and of course the A and 6M classes. General opinion seems to be that these give a good range of rules for international events and others should be allowed to develop separately at national level, but I havea feeling a 1-metre rule may yet become of wide interest. All in all the IMYRU can expect to have much more work to do in the next decade in controlling the organisation of a broad based leisure interest and the present committees are well spread in nationality so as to try and ensure that all member countries feel they have a say in matters. If you have a view on anything connected everywhere. with racing model yachts then write to your local member and let him know.: interest from more hobby-industry course of action. An increasing market will bring with it Only by such input can we judge the best is often to solve what ethods tricky problem M ost modellers can construct a true hull or buy a fibreglass one and build the superstructure fairly accurately, but a job For scales of %in. to 1ft., 1:32, and over, I have used several methods. The first and cheapest is to slice gin. ply into Y,in. or thoroughly wash off and allow to dry. This will remove most of the yellow colour and planking. A well planked deck on a model sub deck, caulking the gaps with crochet cotton. The method I now prefer is to use a to study the deck plan to note the lay of the planks and how they are cut around the hatches and how the edges are finished. If it is possible to photograph the prototype, it that often causes problems is the deck looks as if the modeller who made it has put his best efforts into the task and has made a really professional job. Many words have been written on the subject andI feel I could not better the method of W. Mowll with his Great Britain. His method of staining the edges of the planks with indian ink held ina modified felt pen must be the best for small scale planking of ¥,in. to 1ft., 1:48and finer. ¥,,in. wide strips and glue them down toa close grained hard wood such as pear or apple or even ramin. For this article I will refer to ramin as it is easily obtainable from most DIY stores and it is not expensive, although when varnished it is a little yellowy. A carpenter friend gave me a tip to remedy the latter. When the ramin is cut and planed you can wipe it with household bleach and leave for an hour and then the planks will come up nearly white. Before starting to plank it is a good idea is well worth taking a few shots of the decking, especially around the hatches, winches and bulwarks. Modern ships and boats tend to have welded decks with the planking bolted down to welded struts on the steel deck and very narrow caulking, as narrow as ¥in. in full size, which will be very fine in model form, (Fig. 1). Older boats had wood plank decks across beams and the planks were caulked with cloth and pitch poured in causing a black line between the planks of approx. Lin. in full size needing a bold black line in model size. (Fig. 2). A number of shipwrights plank from the hatchsides out to the ship’s sides and then back to the centre, with a king plank to fit the final gap along the centre of the ship. In model form I follow this same principle, first making sure that the line each side of the hatch is parallel to the centre line of the boat. I talk here in general terms from what I have read and conversations with shipwrights in local boatyards, but as in all things to do with boat-building jobs are done in various ways to suit local conditions and traditions, so study the prototype or drawings carefully. Ihave tried many glues for this job and there is not one that is perfect. With working boats a waterproof glue is essential. I have used the hot glue gun to some success, but you have to work very quickly. Araldite and epoxy glues are good but because they are thick they become rather messy for this job and difficult to clean off when set. Cascamite and Aerolite are waterproof but require pressure and that is difficult to apply. I have settled for UHU or Bostik Clear which are fairly water resistant and a little messy but easy to clean off. They are not perfect but so far I have not had a deck lift or split. I did some test samples and soaked them in water for a week and then dried them The author remarks in his opening paragraphs g. about William Mowll’s method of deck plankin g on Photo above left shows William Mowll workin a strip of the decks of his Warrior project, using the planks brass as a straight edge, against which are laid. Photo: W. Mowill. Photo at left by author shows joggling in against the margin plank. MODEL BOATS Modern type of deck bolted down to a steel sub deck _Plug over hole Deck planks Fig. 1 Steel sub deck Sealing pitch Bolt welded studs Older type of decking bolted to beams, caulked and pitched Caulkdag Pitch Pes and the glue held well. I have talked to some of the members of the Brighton and Hove Sailing Ship Society about glues for Fig. 2 oN. deck planking and they agree there is not one universal glue to recommend, but a number of the members use Bostik Clear. An idea froma friend at the Eastleigh Deck planks a ee ee see Model Boat Club, Ralph Stockton, is to glue straight planks with Bostik Clear and the margin planks and hatch sides and any other that might take a knock with Araldite. I have not mentioned aliphatic glue because I have not used it but I believe some people find it works very well. Deck beam My method I will describe how I lay a deck and for this example I will take a modern deck of 6in. planks bolted to a steel sub-deck with fine caulking. 1. Fix the sub-deck and make sure the surface is clean and dry, ready to accept the planking. 2. Mark on the sub-deck the lay of the planks, the position of the margin planks, the edges of the hatches, and two parallel lines equal distance from the centre line of the boat to use as datum lines. 3. Prepare the planking wood. With ramin I usually buy ‘jin. x lin. orif ’m lucky I might be able to buy jin. x 2in. in 8ft. lengths. Plane the wood down to the required thickness (the width of the planks). I was given a Black and Decker electric plane and stand for Christmas by my wife and this does the job beautifully, but a smoothing plane will still do a good job. 4. Plane the edge of the ramin, making sure it is square. 5. use an Acroy rebating saw to cut off each plank, but any small sharp circular saw could be suitable. Set the saw to ¥,,in. thickness and saw off one length of planking. 6. Plane the sawn edge of the remain. 7. Saw off one more plank. 8. Repeat 6 and 7 until you have the required amount of planking, usually two 8ft. lengths of lin. x /,in. ramin will plank a 38ft. model. 9. Clean up sawn edge of each plank ready to take the glue. You might find a light sanding is enough or a light rub with a smoothing plane but beware the grain as the wood is only ¥,,in. thick. 10. Bleach if required. I paint the planed surface of the planks with household bleach and leave for about 30 minutes and then I sponge off with clean water and allow to dry. FEBRUARY 1987 { Sere 5 z ——- —— %Y Car = ae plank width The plank ends are trimmed square Edge of hull (oulwarks) Margin plank Fig. 5 91 ay eee SSS Mitred joints on margin planks around hatches Fig. 7 11. Prepare the caulking, I used black sugar paper but any black paper would do.I used a sharp craft knife and a straight edge on a piece of Conti-Board. A piece of prepared planking can be used as a guide to the widths of the paper strips. Some modellers glue the paper to the timber before cutting. I have not tried this but if the slitting saw is sharp enough it would probably work very well. 12. Cut the first plank to be laid to length, and trim its ends to fit. 13. Smeara little Bostik Clear along one edge of the plank (too little glue is better than_too much) and stick a length of black paper caulking to it. 14. Apply a run of Bostik Clear to the underside of the plank and quickly press it down onto its correct position. I have some 17. Lay all the straight planking and then scribe across the joints as the small metal weights which I place on the plank whilst the glue sets. 15. Repeat 14 and plank along the other parallel line drawn on the sub-deck. 16. Repeat 12, 13, 14 on all the planks and plank into the centre of the ship and finally fit and glue the king-plank along the ship’s centre line. I have some cheap plastic clamps bought at an ME Exhibition which lengths and the joins are staggered. (Fig. 3). 18. Trim ends of each plank to accept the margin plank. I used a very sharp small chisel for this. (Fig. 4). 19. Planea piece of ,in. wide by ¥,,in. thick ramin for making the margin planks (Fig. 5) to, then mark a line A, line B, line C. Saw line A. Carve line B and C. 21. Clean up and fit margin to deck planks. 22. Measure C to D (Fig. 6) to required width, and join up the D line and sand. 23. An alternative method of gaining the shape of the margin planks is to takea piece of stiff paper or thin card and place it over the area to form a margin plank. Ruba pencil over the card similar to children rubbing over a penny. You will soon seea pattern of the plank coming through and be able to cut a card pattern to the required shape. The card pattern can then be tried in its position and when I am satisfied the shape can be transferred to the ¥,in. x in. wood and a pencil marked around the card ready for cutting. 24. Trim the lengths of margin plank to length and sand the faces. Glue a strip of black paper along ABC edge and glue plank into position. 25. Fit the margin planks around the hatches noting that the corners are usually mitred as (Fig. 7). I usually plank up to the hatches and with a sharp craft knife and chisel I trim back to fit the margin planks. 26. Allow 24 hours for the glue to harden and sand all the deck planks in line with the grain of the wood until they are all level with each other. The black paper should sand with the wood but be carefully not to drive the black into the grain of the wood. I use a vacuum cleaner to remove the dust as I sand. This keeps the workshop clean and allows me to see what I am doing. _ 27. When you are satisfied with the deck planking paint a coat of thinned mat varnish and allow to dry. Sand and repeat until you are happy with the deck. 28. The varnish might show up a blemish in the wood or an ill fitting joint. When this occurs I remove the offending plank and replace it with a new piece of wood and revarnish. I have described a typical modern deck but for an older deck glue the black paper on both sides of the plank to make it look thicker. For larger scales such as */,in. to 1ft., lay the planks with Y,,in. gap between them; a piece of ¥,,in. ply will act as a guide. When the glue is dry fill the gap with black crochet cotton for caulking, and varnish. Do not use black wool as it is too hairy. I find handy for keeping the planks tight together whilst the glue sets. I move the small weights around but make sure the weights are clean so as not to stain the planks. Left, planking the restored full-size Warrior; above, another shot from the model Warrior planking. Photos: W. Mowll. Below, thod of finishi planking at stern and around a hatch by the author. prototype, planks often come in 12ft. MODEL BOATS Curved Air saa! | In a Curved Air Special, Tom Gorman of Marvon Models describes the restoration of Iolanthe, a vintage yacht circa 1890 was brought to us for restoration in April an 1890’s model yacht 1986 and, as received, was in very poor condition as far as paintwork was concerned. She was detailed in the August 1986 issue of Model Boats with notes by Russell Potts who visited us to examine the model and give of his expert opinion. Russell spent an afternoon at Beckingham, and together we sorted out the sail plan and many additional little problems; his continued help and assistance with much information has been an invaluable aid in this work. Detailed examination of the hull showed that it was in very sound condition with only a few spots where the planking had shrunk slightly. The deck had a hatchway cut into it as can be seen from the photographs and a second hole for a mast had been cut just aft of the original location. We first removed the bulwarks and rail which were pinned into the deck edge revealing the screws which held the deck to the hull. After removing the very fine brass screws, the deck was found to have been sealed down with putty which proved to be brittle with age and, in fact, was not sealing the deck at all. Examination of deck showed a number of cracks, one quite long running aft from the hatchway and a number of smaller cracks towards the deck edges. The hull was completely stripped of paint using a washable paint remover and taken right down to the bare timber. The planks forming the hull were found to be approximately lin. wide by about in. thick and in remarkably good condition. The lead keel was screwed into the frames and was very solid. After sanding the hull to a fine finish, the spaces between the planks and the area around the keel were filled using Isopon paste filler which resulted in a very hard sound surface when finally sanded smooth. Inside the hull we found the model had been skinned in what appeared to be tracing linen which had been varnished, but which had deteriorated badly. The linen was stripped out and the whole of the inside of the hull was coated with liquid resin and hardener. Two coats were applied with a layer of glass tissue and the entire inside of the hull finally finished with white undercoat topped off with good quality white gloss paint. Water testing proved that the hull was completely watertight. After priming the hull, four coats of flat black paint were applied, each rubbed FOR THE STEAM BOAT ENTHUSIAST, We stock copper tube for boilers & piping also a wide range of copper & brass sheets, brass rounds, hex, squares, some flat. Plus all your pressure gauges, fittings, rivets, screws, etc., etc. Catalogue 60p (Post Paid) Overseas Extra. Prompt Mail Order. Closed Mondays and Wednesdays MAIDSTONE ENGINEERING SERVICES, HEDLEY STREET, MAIDSTONE, KENT ME14 5AD. 104 TEL: 0622 62005 down with wet and dry abrasive paper to a fine finish and the model was then floated in a bath; the surface of the water being sprinkled with talcum powder. This clearly marked the waterline after approximately 2lbs. of lead was added to the hull to allow for the weight of the deck and various fittings, including radio gear, which would be added later. This is a very simple method of marking the waterline ofa model and the talcum powder is easily rubbed off. A white line ¥,,in. wide was applied at the waterline using coach lining from the local auto repair shop and a ¥in. wide gold line was applied about Yin. below the deck edge and allowed to taper up to the deck edge at the stern. The hull was finally given six coats of clear yacht varnish each well rubbed down to result in the finish shown in the pictures. The question of repairs to the deck posed some problems. The deck was beautifully shaped to the necessary sheer and camber and it would have been difficult to make a new deck, particularly as we wished to preserve as much of the AUTHENTIC SCALE PLANS SPECIAL OFFER YACHT AMERICA Ne This famous schooner yacht was built in 1851 and the race she won was named after her. This set of 2 plans from Nodel Shipways were drawn by George Campbell. They include lines plan, deck layout, longitudinal section, details, sketches, sail and rigging plan. Scale %,in. = 1ft. (1:64); hull length 19in. SPECIAL OFFER PRICE £6.00 (includes VAT and postage in UK or surface mail abroad, airmail 10% extra). Cash with order. Quote Ref. OF 30. Usual price £8.28. All orders must be received by 30 April 1987. Fully illustrated Catalogue and Supplement cost £1.50 ($7.00 or £3 abroad airmail). DAVID MacGREGOR PLANS 99 LONSDALE ROAD, LONDON SW13 SDA. MODEL BOATS Right top, deck fitted with lime planking and caulked – note cracks round deck edge where the margin planks will eventually fit. Right lower, showing coamings and planks trimmed preparatory to fitting margin strips – small hatchway above rudder position. original construction as possible. We first thought of laminating a new deck of 0.8mm ply to the original and re-drawing the deck planking, but we finally decided to lay the original deck with planking of 0.6mm lime strips with caulking of black rigging cord and fit a series of margin planks. This sealed all the cracks and proved to be an attractive finish. The planks were very carefully varnished and sanded to ensure a watertight finish. The margin planks were left off until the deck was refitted and screwed down and before the deck was planked a hatch was cut to give access to the rudder tiller. Coamings were fitted round both hatches. The photographs clearly show the deck planking and the coamings which were made from 10 x 3mm lime strips. The original fixed rudder was cut away from the keel, our client wishing to have the yacht operate under radio control, and a new rudder of 6.5mm marine ply made. The rudder shaft was made of \,in. brass rod secured into a groove in the timber with G.R.P. tissue and resin. The rudder was painted black and varnished to match the hull and laid aside pending completion of the hull and deck. With Jolanthe completed as far as possible to the hull and deck, attention could be given to the fitting up of the sails, masts, rigging and radio controls. When the model was delivered to us in a coffinlike box some 6ft. x 2ft. x 1ft. constructed of matchboarding and fitted with rope handles, the box seemed to be filled with sails. With Russell’s help this mass of sailcloth was sorted out into two sail suits (one for normal winds and one storm suit) with two small sails extra and a quantity of spare sail cloth. Most of the sails appeared to be unused, although some were soiled and it is possible that the sails are more recent than the remainder of the Far left, hull stripped and filled where necessary with Isopon filler paste. Left, painted and lined awaiting final rubbing down and varnishing. All photos: Tom Gorman. model. Each of the full suits comprised three jibs, a main and a gaff topsail and there were the necessary spars and booms, although some were damaged beyond repair and will have to be replaced. There were two masts in sections and here again some of the sections will need replacement; of the bowsprits only two of the three were suitable for re-use. With such large sails we decided to fit two sail winches, the first to handle the jib sheets and the second to control the main and gaff. The standard set of sails were laid out flat together with the appropriate spars and carefully measured to get as near an accurate guide of sail area and to allow us to plot the maximum sheet lengths that the sail winches would require to handle. The measurements also allowed us to locate suitable sheet guide tubes on the centreline of the deck through which the sheets would run and connect to the sail winch system below deck. Details of the rigging, sails, sheets and winches together with the radio control gear will begivenin the next article. Kingston Mouldings _ For your essential boat-building supplies your first requirement — VISIT DUNNS MODELS 3 WEST NILE STREET, GLASGOW. TEL: 041 221 0484 FEBRUARY 1987 We make a wide range of fibreglass model boat hulls. With each hull we also supply a copy of one of our own draughtsman-drawn scale plans. Over 30 different scale hulls are currently available, and if you send us 50Op in postage stamps, we’ll send you a copy of our latest illustrated catalogue and price list by return. Exports are no problem at all, and we’ve supplied our hulls to hundreds of customers all over the world. Outside Great Britain send 4 IRC’s (International Reply Coupons), £1 or US$2 or equivalent in currency notes, and we’ll send you full details by airmail. We do our best to answer all non-catalogue enquiries, but please send a : + if stamp or SAE (UK), or IRC’s with foreign enquiries — Thank you! Kingston Mouldings (MB) 411 Ringwood Road, Parkstone, Poole, Dorset. BH12 4LX. 105
