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JUNE 1994 : , as UK’s TOP SELLER Yacht Lines gets you started BUILDING- NEWS-REVIEWS-REPORTS|> eae PULOMLT Sirmar’s TID Tug reviewed ; —” S zs” = A : ae — 06> INO B . = = m . i fenh 3 PRED IB $k) Fee Pre . eS Hai,» : 1993 Match Racing Championship Round-up Top, answer to last month’s puzzle. Taken in 1993 at Bournville: 72 years on, and still YACHTING building, designing and racing his own yachts. Fred Ivory doesn’t use pudding cloths any more! Inset. Long established in the UK as a multi-hull skipper and oft representative at Continental meetings; Chris Jackson is currently without a yacht so took on the Race Officer Role at Milton MIKE KEMP brings his respected yachting column from R/C Boat Modeller — League News — Tess Cup — New Products Keynes — it was a happy meeting. Below, as the B fleet charge away from a start at the eastern District Ranking Race, Brian Wiles’ yacht lies some 6 metres below them. fter 5 events reported the Radio League is shaping up for another keenly contested year. There is not yet a new leader in either part of the championship, but the top individuals and clubs are bunching up. Top Five Clubs Ist 2nd 3rd 4th 5th Club Chelmsford Swanley Clapham Guildford Brentwood Top Ten Individuals Ist 2nd 8rd 4th 5th 6th= 6th= 6th= 9th 10th Skipper Phil Playle Tim Townsend Graham Bantock Mark Dicks Derek Coleman Mike Weston, Christian Lindholm Chris Dicks Mark Dennis Keith Skipper Score 184.5 184.5 154 152 151.5 It’s a bit late but we have a look back on a series that has now become established and has been one of the large driving forces in the renaissance of the 6 metre yacht. What has it done for Radio Yachting as a whole, and could it help any other class? How is it going this year? Four years ago the Radio Yacht Match Racing circuit consisted of an idea fostered by a vane racing skipper who had just purchased one of the first Carbon Fibre sixes of the modern era from its original owner, Martin Mickleburgh. This yacht, ‘Night Vision’ is a sister ship to ‘Renaissance’ and ‘Transition’, both of which have been seen at fleet racing six metre events. ‘Night Vision’ was taken along to the first of these early Match Race Regattas by Bill Green and teamed up with one of the first Revival designs ‘Chinamite’ built by Bill Akers, and the original Roger Hatfield ‘Dolphin’ design named ‘Karma’ which had just recently been purchased by Neil Rothwell from John Osborne. A number of us survived that first season by borrowing one or other of these yachts until the ‘pool’ increased to a point where we were able to acquire or build yachts of our own. Purely as a result of this friendly approach the word spread through a number of ‘new faces’ and some of those who were becoming disenchanted with the high cost of trying to stay competitive in the Radio Marblehead class. Match Racing brought a new ‘gentlemanly’ approach to Sunday race meetings; this has largely prevailed despite the fact that competition has become very fierce. The circuit was given a boost by being presented with a Trophy sponsored by Marine Modelling magazine; to give us all something to race for. In parallel with this development the 6 Metre Owner’s Association came into reality as the class ‘got the chop’ by the IYRUMYRD: many would say that this was the best thing the organisation could have done! There is certainly much more interest in the class now than there was when it was administered by the International body. I have been fortunate enough to have been permitted to win the Match Racing Trophy every year since it was first presented, but it is getting harder every year! In 1993 the whole championship hinged on the very last of the seven qualifying meetings. With one’s best four meetings of the seven being counted towards the final result the conditions required for me to retain the trophy were that fifteen or more entries had to be received for the last event; and I must win every one of my matches to stand a chance. Both of those were achieved, yet the others in contention did well enough to force a tie for the championship after the final regatta: so it was that Mike Wareham – now 6MOA General Secretary – and I had to take part in one last match to decide who would take the trophy home. It was a long race as the light and the wind began to fade over the Bournville lake: the blue and red Renaissances set off, with very little between them, and proceeded to swap the lead throughout the race: that trophy is back on my cabinet but it could just as well be residing in Swindon. With good luck and good will the competition will be as tight during 1994 and will see yet more new skippers taking part although the opening event was not party to that good luck. Sunday 13th March saw the country swept by high winds that are not, in themselves, a prohibition to match racing but coming from a westerly direction were a very unfavourable direction for the host club in the Cotswold Water Park just outside Cirencester. There was much agonising by the Race Officer, David Wilkinson, as a number of skippers were somewhat reticent about placing their prides and joy into the wet stuff. Eventually most of us had a bash and found that things broke as we had varying degrees 56 MODEL BOATS JUNE 1994 Left, one of the oldest of success at handling the awfully gusty and turbulent oblique off-shore winds. We proved that it was possible to get a six metre to sail a course but there would a premium placed on seamanship. Close racing was not really going to be possible because of the necessity to leave a safe distance between yachts to allow for the unpredictable behaviour as a swirling gust struck. Any failure of a component would switch sailing from racing to survival mode and yachts would need to instantly give way to such a disabled yacht to ensure its recovery. Events during this warm-up proved that this could not be guaranteed so the wise decision was taken to abandon the meeting to avoid the almost inevitable sinking that such a collision might bring. Thus we returned home to effect repairs and contemplate what might have been; had the wind been a little less strong; or from a better, more constant direction, or perish the thought – if someone had had ‘that sinking feeling’! competitive multi-hulls on the circuit; Red Rag is said to be in excess of 20 years old. It is still quick enough to lead the fleet when Malcolm Harris gets a chance. New Products Tony Abel has a new range of Carbon Fibre Fins and Rudders available which includes a One Metre foil for 32.00 and one suitable for Marbleheads for 140.00. They are just about interchangeable with his range of wooden foils though they taper to a much more slender section at the outer end. Their construction is interesting for they are pressure moulded into a female mould, oven cured, and then injected with a waterproof foam core. It all adds up to a very stiff 6 ozs (approx.) of effective foil. Tony is also promoting a new Futaba Lever Arm winch which has ample power to handle One Metre racing. I can vouch for the effectiveness of this device for it was installed in Tony’s Cygnet 3 that I borrowed during the Fiji Trophy meeting: it was every bit as quick as the better of the drum winches and showed no hesitation in hauling in the sails in the brisk winds of a February New Forest. Sails etc. also has produced its new catalogue and I intend to take a closer look at what is on offer from these and other suppliers next time. Tess Cup This was to be the first One Metre league meeting of the year and produced a reasonable turn-out on Clapham Common considering the bitterly cold conditions prevailing. Home skipper Rob Vice was starting the season in devastating form and stormed into an early lead which he never really looked like losing despite the attempts of one or two of us. He was sailing his ‘camouflage’ decorated Comick and stayed most of the day in Number One suit although many of us changed down during the early part of the day as the wind rose. A few of us stayed in the Number Two suit even when the wind suggested that it was time to change back up again: I certainly feel that my new boat prefers an early change to lower rig and a late change back up again. The meeting was fairly incident free except for Brian Wiles who had swapped back to his earlier ‘French Kiss’ Fe-Fe design and allowed namesake Peter Wiles to beat him with his own Stella named ‘French Bread’. Brian was obviously not happy with these conditions and was even less so when he saw his successful white yacht slowly sinking into the murky depths of the lake. With lightning speed he leapt into the rescue boat moored conveniently close to where the yacht was disappearing and managed to reach it before it finally sunk. Although he fitted a new rudder servo to replace the original sodden device and continued to sail his performance was not up to the high level we have come to expect from the reigning League Champion. Despite the difference in sail area carried by many of the yachts racing continued to be close right through to the end of the day even though the wind continued to reduce. By the time most had packed away Derek Cross, the MODEL BOATS JUNE 1994 race officer, and his club assistants had computed the results from the two fleet EOYRS system and were able to announce and present awards to the top seven skippers. Eastern District Ranking Race Brian Wiles finally managed it! The ultimate sinking feeling swept over Brian shortly before eleven on the morning of Sunday 6th March. Having completed the first triangle of the B seeding heat of the Eastern District Ranking Race and on his Starboard way into the second beat he was involved in a collision with another yacht. ‘French Kiss’ proceeded without hesitation or deviation to the bottom of Chelmsford Club’s new lake: reportedly ‘the quickest I have ever seen’. Unfortunately I was not witness to the incident as my mind was set on staying in front long enough to win the heat; so there’s no photograph this time! There was short break in racing while an initial search was carried out. It was rapidly established that the lake is too deep to probe the bottom from the rescue boat. The weighted rope trick was tried, without success; although later investigations revealed the presence of numerous rocks, any one of which could have been the ‘heavy object’ felt to be snagging the rope during the search. As racing continued in earnest, at a fairly hurried pace in the number two suit West South Westerly, Brian managed to make contact with a local sub-acqua enthusiast who was willing, and able, to attempt a mission. Above, one of the latest Chris arrived just before lunch and set about probing beneath the turbulent surface whilst we tucked in to our lunch. Starting from an approximate ‘last seen’ position and working out in a rough spiral several sweeps were attempted without success. Chris Dicks’ One Metre Designs Crossbow, strongly resists the urge to bury its bow off-wind; unlike many current yachts in the class. 57. Some unkind words were muttered, and I suspect even more unkind thoughts about, the Chelmsford race officer following his decision Above, apart from the lack of a ballast weight and the outrigger hull supports, there is little to distinguish a multi-hull layout from any other modern R/C yacht; as demonstrated by Mike Howell’s craft of French origin. Below, one man and his boat. A freight train in a big panic is one description ofDave Andrews’ Mini 40. The centre hull is from the Freight Train desiqn and the outers are oversized versions from the Panic. Dave Andrews is of course better known as Mr Whirlwind Winch. not to prematurely halt or suspend racing. After all we had completed eight races, more than might have been achieved in a whole day had the wind been extra light. The diver was still present and willing to go down again, it would save him returning on another day. Many skippers were willing to put some of their racing time aside to permit the recovery; after all it could just as easily have been their yacht on the bottom. I suspect many would not really want to travel to the other side of the country leaving their creation to goodness knows what fate. What would you decide, were you in the Race Officer’s shoes, and what would you think if it were your yacht – interesting eh! Would a break-away marker be worth considering? Would it work? What would be the weight penalty? Is such a safety precaution a permitted or prohibited fitting? Now they are some questions! There is a happy post-script to Brian Wiles’ sinking story. During the weeks that followed Brian made contact with the underwater unit of the Essex constabulary who offered to make the recovery a training exercise; it seems it would make a change to actually practice searching for something. It all meant an early morning out for Rob Vice who agreed to be at the lakeside in readiness to receive the remains. Brian had provided the police with his expectation of where the yacht could be found based upon sightings taken by several at the lakeside incident. It seems that this information was pretty accurate for after only a short while the yacht was raised from its resting place, some 6 or 7 metres down. After the mud and sand were cleaned off and the radio removed and dried out all the basic bits seemed to be working once more. The cause of the sinking? Most definitely the collision for there was a clear hole in one of the deck patches while they were secure all around their edges. I suppose it is too late for redress to be claimed! Rumour has it that this yacht is being re-named from ‘French Kiss’ to ‘Wet Kiss’! Lets hope that other one doesn’t sink – ] am not sure I could cope with writing about ‘Soggy French Bread’! Multi-hulls in Milton Keynes undoubted agonising he decided to keep us going until ten races were completed. Hearing the news our friendly frogman decided to call it a day and withdrew with an undertaking that he would perhaps be able to try again later in the following week. The positions at the top of the fleet were being hotly contested between Rob Vice, sailing a Bubbles 2 – father Jim had taken over the camouflage Comick, Chris Dicks with his Racing was restarted while Chris thawed out in the clubhouse. By shortly after 3.00pm we were approaching completion of race eight and pressure was being applied to the race officer to halt while another, more systematic, rescue attempt was mounted. After some considerable pacing up and down and 58 Comick, Mark Dicks with his interesting new ‘Crossbow’, Keith Skipper with ‘Tango’ and a certain yacht of New Zealand origin. Also in contention but just a little behind after an unfortunate double infringement retirement in the first seeding race was Graham Bantock. My own much improved performance was marred by a winch failure at the end of race eight which meant slipping into B fleet after nine and to the bottom for ten. Although both these scores were discarded that sorely hurt my placing for the day. The failure? The feedback pot. slipped off its driving dog, so the winch would only pull hard in: moderately useful to windward but hopeless off the wind. Sunday 20th March saw a small group of the British Multi-Hull Association gather at Furzton Lake in Milton Keynes, the home of the Two Islands Radio Yacht Club. Under the Race Officership of Chris Jackson, currently rueing the day he parted with his own operational Multi before ensuring that his new yacht was ready, a competitive but friendly competition took place. Sunday morning walkers paused to take a look at these rather different-looking craft sharing the water with some of the regulars. By arrangement with the local club this was one of the first meetings of the year for another class determined to make it in a world which seems to be intent on putting hurdles in their way – or so some of them feel. After some preliminary practice sailing during which Chris made up his mind about which set of buoys to use for a course the competitors were briefed: it reminded me of the way briefings were for early six metre and 575 meetings: emphasising the friendly approach expected. A starboard rounding course was set which was extended from its one triangle and sausage combination to have two triangles over which to chase. It was immediately clear that the skipper/yacht combination to beat was Andy McCulloch with his ‘Mongoose IV’ resplendent in its Rust Consultants sponsorship colours. Despite having a very quick action this trimaran could be beaten, though not often. Multi-hulls have their interesting, and historical, side too. Malcolm Harris brought MODEL BOATS JUNE 1994 It takes quite a lot of along his ‘Red Rag’; a design said to be in excess of twenty years old although it was using a mainsail of slightly lesser vintage, borrowed from Andy and occasionally seen leading its owner around the course. concentration to keep a multi-hull balanced on just its leeward hull. . Construction of the floats of this looked as if it aircraft fuselage while the hull shapes showed bat that flares are definitely a good idea on this sort rvS \ of yacht. A younger member of the association, Mike Dan, is currently studying boat design and construction in college in Norfolk: he , Next time Another One Metre ranking race will have passed, the Match Racing should have started and a whole bunch of league results should be in. Top Five in Tess Cup : ‘ Baa nod aa below which means that sailing is not just a 3rd Peter Wiles Poole Stella yacht is sailed almost ‘on the edge’ of instability: anything less and the yacht is not travelling as fast as it could be. Andy risked handing the controls over to me so I could ; a i Soo. this for myself: when you consider that the last time he did this I managed to flip his yacht into the lake at Birmingham this was ET a brave Ss . _ d that there were € this beast when it was moments while frustratingly slow; however these were more |» Mongoose IV. He made first place. more of this in the future. Ace but also juggling with the wind so that the Milton Keynes with this SA relationship between wind, waves, sails, and hulls were such that the yacht was flying those moments were exhilarating. This is one form of Radio Yachting that is worth a try: at around 2.5 Kg. There is not a lot of yacht case of finding the quickest way to windward vaginicert dure sia recent BMHA meeting at “, . «.Rust.Consulting Ltd- brought along his current college project, a very nicely produced red trimaran with the name of ‘Maverick’. Chairman of the Multi-Hull Association, Mike Howell, was sailing yet another trimaran, this time of French origin -a ‘Piranha’. Mike seemed to be developing an affinity for our little dustbin marker buoys; proving that trying to put a hull either side of a mark can really impede progress. such under the water and almost no weight down : ulting Ltd might have been more appropriate on a model One of those skippers who seems to turn up just about everywhere, having a go at any class, Dave Andrews came along with his multi. This yacht could be described as a ‘Freight Train in a Big Panic’ consisting as it does of a Freight Train centre hull while either side it has some slightly oversize floats from the Panic design. | found this yacht rather interesting from a technical point of view, being held together by a cunning combination of carbon tube in compression and stainless wire in tension. Slacken off the shrouds and the cross ties, and it all falls apart: over-tighten the cross ties and the float angles change – fascinating! All the yachts sailing conform to the Mini 40 rule which is close to being accepted by those that sail them as an Internationally recognised rule. At the moment there are not many of these yachts changing hands and new hull mouldings are thought by many to be relatively expensive. Progress is being made towards developing a hull set and associated parts to retail at around 4150 so should make this interesting class more accessible. With an assembled profile of about 1.2 metres square and a restricted area rig height similar to a One Metre there is a lot of yacht for the money although the weight is somewhat less concur money 2nd 4th 5th Chris Dicks Mike Kemp Keith Skipper Clapham Comic Two Islands Gopher Gold Gipping Valley Tango Top Five in Eastern District One Metre Ranking Place Skipper Club Design Points 2nd 3rd 14.1 aef Ist Robkere Vice Clapham Bubbles 2 A 4th 5th Keith Skipper Mike Kemp Gipping Valley Two Islands Tango Gopher Gold Chris Dicks Mark Dicks Clapham Clapham Comic Crossbow 6 35.4 BOLL than offset by those moments when the ATTENTION ALL NORTH AMERICAN READERS! Did you know that you can order an annual subscription to this magazine direct from our official U.S. subscription For more information and rates contact: Wise Owl Worldwide Publications, 4314 West 238th Street, Wo representative? Torrance, CA 90505 Tel: (310) 375 6258 MODEL BOATS JUNE 1994 59 YACHTING Many thanks to Chris Jackson for providing most ofthe photographs that accompany this article. Chris publishes Radio Yachting News, a quarterly magazine that covers R/C yacht events, the rules, design and construction trends. If you are interested in finding out more, try RYN’s special offer of the four 1993 editionsfor the grand sum of £7.50. More information from Chris on 07387 249365. 1d contributors seems to have declined and anyway, some of the content had become perhaps a little specialised for anyone coming to the sport. For the first of what I will try to sustain as a regular column, I am going to start by looking at the MYA and it’s classes of yachts. ] intend the future to bring a mixed bag which, manufacturers and distributors willing, will include looks at not only the many proprietary kits available in the market place, but developing classes like the multi-hull squad, America’s Cup Class and anything else that might appeal to modellers and sailors ANTHONY CORBETT is responsible for the Model Yachting Association’s Top, Anthony Corbett, a regular contributor to Radio Yachting News and recently co-opted to the publicity and promotion — he joins us on a bi-monthly Council of the Model basis Yachting Association, now joins the Model Boats team to help both new and existing readers find out more about the world of model yachting. Top, a beautiful timber 6 Metre built to plans produced by yacht designer John Lewis. This one, a Tern, is currently owned by a member of the Lee Valley Club. Above, a typical One Metre Class boat, a rule that despite the proliferation of amazingly different hull designs, seems to have produced long lived boats of very similar speeds. 60 aving put myself in the position of having to adopt the mantle of responsibility for publicity and promotion on behalf of the Model Yachting Association, it came as some surprise to find that the editor of this publication was keen to carry information about radio-controlled sailing yachts and MYA events. Why? Because as a relative newcomer to the hobby of model yacht sailing (or RCYachting as it is quickly becoming known), it struck me how little information is published about what I have found to be a really enjoyable and fascinating hobby. I assumed that this was because re- yachting is seen as being of minority appeal, but with new kits like the Tamiya Whitbread 60 coming on the market, perhaps that is about to change. Looking back through past editions of this magazine made me realise that in fact there used to be a reasonable number of articles dealing with rce-yachts, however the number of alike. (Yes, I realise there’s a difference between the two. What I’ve got to do is convince the modellers amongst you that racing can be fun and just as pleasing as those magnificent models that so often appear in these pages). As the active sailors amongst you will know, I may have already offended a number of the people who sail model yachts because MYA Classes full into two general categories, vane steered (or free sailing) and radio controlled. In my defence I would firstly say that I know little about the first and some would argue not much more about the latter. However I am prepared to dedicate some time to promoting the interests of both through writing about the area that will probably have the most appeal to modellers and sailors alike, the radio controlled variety. The fact that you are reading this page is a good indicator of a number of things. The first is that you are probably interested in modelling; the second that you might be interested in sailing a model yacht and the last, I haven’t bored you yet. Of course you could be one of the hundreds of people out there who are in the process of building the “Rhythm”, the One Metre class yacht plan recently published free in this very magazine. But once you’ve finished, where do you go from there? This is what this particular article will address, but in the future I will try to pick up enough gossip to inform you about getting on with model yacht sailing, hints, tips, the occasional feud, new products, the designers… anything in fact that might help people understand more about this great hobby. MODEL BOATS JUNE 1994 Opposite right, the R36R is designed to a rule that requires the hull to fit into a box 36ins long, 11 ins deep and Yins wide with a maximum weight of 12lbs. The photograph illustrates how this restricts draft, although one can see that the rudder on this boat must have been rotated to fit in the box. Opposite bottom left, an ‘A’ class boat makes very graceful progress to windward. This page above, RM’s Sight it out windward. This class, probably the most demanding to sail at the top level, is still the most popular on the International stage. However within the UK it is receiving a strong challenge in numerical Until I sat down to gather my thoughts, I’d actually forgotten how difficult I personally found it to start. Apart from buying what terms from the One Metre seemed like hundreds of magazines, I remember my eye first being attracted to a second-hand One Metre yacht being offered for sale at the 1991 Sandown Exhibition. Thank God the owner didn’t accept my offer! Class, although they are two very different boats. If you’re interested in re-yachting you Left, the should realise that currently (and this might change to some degree over 1994 – watch this space!) most organised radio-yachting involves racing. Some seem put off by this, but as far as I can tell competition in some form enters every part of our lives, whether it is work or leisure. It seems that where ever people with a common interest gather to exchange ideas and enjoy themselves, competition inevitably results. For the modeller it can be judgement by one’s peers, or perhaps sailing the model Marblehead Class represents the cutting edge of design and construction. These two examples by Graham Bantock give an idea of how design has developed in recent years. Boat over a steering course. When it comes to sailing, it will be a race run on similar lines to the bigger yacht events, which in turn means learning a set of rules as , well as how to sail. However, don’t let this put you off. What you need to know first is what facilities are available in your area. The best way to do this is through the MYA, an organisation who have the responsibility for organising the sport on behalf of around 80 clubs throughout the UK. Contact Mr Ian Taylor either by phone on 081 446 1625 (between 2.00 & 9.00 p.m. please) or by writing to him at 115 Mayfield Avenue, London N12 9HY. He will send you a copy of the MYA Year Book, normally £1.50, which is a publication packed with information about the MYA, the recognised classes, Clubs and product suppliers. I now come back to why I was so grateful that I didn’t buy that One Metre referred to above. The MYA recognise six classes of RCYachts and they are not all sailed at every Club. The reasons for this are many, but choice can be dictated by the depth of water or local conditions. So firstly find the location of several clubs in your area, the more the better, check what boats they sail and go along and have a look. My local club do not currently support One Metres, so that particular boat would not have been a good purchase or way for me to start. It is also important to note that none of the proprietary kits currently available on the market have what is known as National Status. This does not imply that they are bad buys or that there are not groups of people out there quite happily sailing their “575”, “590”, or MODEL BOATS JUNE 1994 No. 70 is an Enigma and No. 99 a Paradox. The difference in the hulls is basically straightforward with the maximum waterline beam reduced by i Bee ea §=around 30% with the hull draft adjusted to give the design displacement. The main area of development can be i} seen in the fins, where the construction methods used enabled the fin to be lengthened without reducing stiffness whilst the section was reduced to the point where the drag was “Fairwind”. We know there are, however the similar to the earlier MYA through it’s Clubs, provide access to waters around the country whilst organising over 160 competitions each year. Apart from fins. This allowed less that, MYA classes are generally better all round sailing boats suited to a wide range of conditions. Having said that the MYA recognises the need to create a format that will cater for those that wish to sail other types of boat, but more of that in the future. Anyway, you’ve got your Yearbook; you’ve weight to be used to found your clubs; so what do you do next? Well decide what you want to do and how much you realistically want to spend. I say this because some rc-yachting can lead to serious competition, involving travelling in addition to equipment costs. But I’ll assume that like me, you are starting with a clean sheet. Having decided your budget, double it so achieve the same righting moment, reducing the design displacement, hull draft, etc. 61 Right and below, two yachts to give an idea of the variety of designs available in the ‘A’ Class. Right, the Vapour Trail is depth and weight restrictions. This plus the exclusion of high-tech materials from hull _ construction enables the average modeller tobuild competitive hulls at reasonable cost. The boats are simple in terms of rig and fittings, so you aren’t going to be outperformed by the guy with the cheque book. This must now be the most popular boat for entry into the sport with well priced and quick designs available from most suppliers. a hard chine design by Adrian Brewer available in kitform from David Coode Yachts. Below is Bob Stern’s Orca 3D. A Canadian designer who, judging by the photographs has produced an extremely well built andfair design Marblehead (RM) which I believe is aimed at the lighter end of the displacement parameters. you can then convince the spouse how much a cheaper these “toys” are than you ever envisaged. Then pay several visits to your local clubs to see what boats they sail. Check how active the club is and what help you might be able to get in starting up. You might be able to find a second-hand boat through the Club, but before committing yourself, find out more about the popular club classes, the best design and gear (if your initial objective is to win races) and whether the club suits you. If you decide to purchase a second-hand boat, it will be worth noting that the MYA are working towards establishing a nation-wide classified advertisement service. Once this gets off the ground, it should be possible to obtain a list specific to a class or area, giving details of all the boats offered for sale. Of course if you have already built the Rhythm One Metre, you will be looking for a club that sails this class, but this should be fairly easy as for reasons of size and cost, the One Metre is becoming extremely popular. If the idea of classes remains a mystery, model yachts are designed to sets of rules in the same way as their “full-sized” brethren. This may seema little off-putting to the modeller who may not be used to building to rules other than his or her own, but surely this is part of the attraction. Unlike the big stuff, it is possible for the amateur to design and build using their own ideas and resources, knowing that in competition they are playing on a level playing field where ability can be the dominating factor. Before looking at the classes, some general comments might be helpful. The real expense in re-yachts is with rigs and high-tech. RC- yachts do not have crew on board, so the increasing wind strength is dealt with by changing sails. In serious competition this might mean lots of sails or even complete rigs, so bear this in mind when choosing your boat. High-tech, or the use of very light but strong structures in weight sensitive boats can make some classes seem costly because the fabric and construction methods go beyond the materials available to the average modeller. Anyway the classes are as follows:- 36in Restricted Class (R36R) A boat built to a very simple rule. The hull has to fit in a box 36in long x 11lin deep x Yin wide with an all up weight of 12 lb. Although this means that they are easy for the amateur to design and build, the draft restriction makes them very sensitive to variations in wind strength which is answered by a large selection of rigs, adding to the costs. Unfortunately this class is suffering from a decline in popularity nationally, although they are still popular at lakes with restricted depth and size. This is a shame as they are a great little boat to sail and worthy of consideration if your local club sails them. Buy one secondhand as a diversion! One Metre Class (1M) A recently created class rule, it is administered by the I.Y.R.U. and is fast And for those of you building Rhythms, a shot of the deck layout on the One Metre owned by the National Champion. Note for each of the three rigs, fixing points and associated sheeting positions are provided or marked on theforward track. 62 becoming as popular as the Marblehead for top level competition. The rule itself is a little long winded but basically restricts the rigs in number and design, whilst leaving the hull shape open to development within length, Still the corner stone of competitive sailing, the Marblehead is 50in long with a maximum sail area of 800 sq. ins. This leaves enormous scope for development of both hulls and rigs which is exciting for the ardent racers, but can prove expensive if the newcomer wants to compete. However, there are manufacturers that produce very competitively priced kits that will give immense pleasure to the club sailor, so don’t discount this class on the basis of price alone. One point, Swing-Rigs are the norm for the two larger rigs in this class and should be considered seriously if buying new. 10 Rater (R10R) A great boat where the rule defines the maximum sail area as a function of water line length. Generally bigger and somewhat faster than the RM, current designs are very yacht like in appearance and in most cases, utilise what is referred to as conventional rigs (not swing). These boats are well suited to the bigger and more exposed lakes but are not as well supported as the RM & 1M. There is an element of the high tech in the more competitive boats, but the number of sails used seems to be less than the RM, helping keep the cost down. 6 Metre (R6M) As J understand it the rule for this National class is a scaled down version of the full-size and a little too complicated to summarise here. These boats can be an aesthetic joy as it is possible, with careful building, to construct a competitive boat in timber. Typically 60” long with a draft of about Yin, they displace around 26 |b. with sail area calculated as a function of the rule. Enjoying a new lease of life, the day to day affairs of the class are run by an Owners Association. These boats look and sail like small yachts and should appeal to the modeller who would like a boat to display as well as sail. A Class This class is literally the heavyweight of the MYA classes being considerably larger and heavier than a Six, but otherwise similar in a lot of respects. I am assured that transportation isn’t difficult and they are restricted to one mast which helps with cost. This class is not numerically strong, but again does enjoy the benefits of a class association plus racing at International level. If a Club in your area sails them, then go and have a look because even if you decide they are not the class for you, they are a deeply impressive sight. So that’s about it for starting out. I trust that this will have given you enough information to consider rc-yachting as a new venture or an extension to your existing hobby. If you have any specific points that you would like Yacht Lines to address in the future, or just want to pass on that building hint that will help win the Nationals, then please write to Yacht Lines, 59 Esher Road, Hersham, Surrey KT12 4LW. For those representing manufacturers, or making anything that might be of interest to the model yacht skipper, either write to the address above or to the Editor, John Cundell at Argus. In my next article, I want to take a look at the developing classes of boats and yacht kits currently available. MODEL BOATS JUNE 1994
