R/C Vintage “M” Class Racing Rules Format for Redd’s Pond

This article was published in The Model Yacht, Vol 1 No 2, Summer 1997

Editor’s Note by Earl Boebert

This article is brought to you to stimulate thought and discussion about the topic of Vintage R/C rules. There’s no denying the advantages of R/C, especially in modern ponds which are surrounded by trees and buildings with the resulting swirling and tricky winds. Free-sailing in such conditions is frustrating to say the least.

The rules below try to combine the skill in trimming which was the essence of free-sailing with R/C’s ability to make the boat go where you want it. Another idea, not mentioned in the trial rules, is limiting control to rudder only, so that the free-sailing skill of “reading” the wind and pond and trimming one’s boat enters into the competition. Another unstated goal is to minimize the possibility of collisions between lovingly restored boats.

The rules are written for Redd’s pond; if you haven’t been there, Duck Rock is at the street end of the pond. The rest of the directions should be self-explanatory. Take a look, try them out, and let John Snow know what you think of them. Note that these are not the rules that will be in effect for the 1997 Vintage Regatta — those races will be run using a standard AMYA-type race course with marker buoys and start/finish lines. A minimum number of racing rules will be used for this event, and will be sent out to entrants separately.

Background

The Marblehead MYC will be using a different format for its 1997 Vintage “M” (VM) Class season series. The club’s approach is intended to maximize skipper participation and promote on-the-water enjoyment and good sportsmanship, while minimizing the use of modern-day, AMYA racing class rules and the attendant discord they can create. In addition, this format is designed to somewhat replicate the original free-sail racing method at Redd’s Pond; namely, sailing fleet style from one end of the pond to the other and back — walkway to walkway. Thus no racing marks will be used and what racing rules that are invoked will be few and simple. The idea is to just relax and have fun!

The overall goal of the clubs R/C VM racing efforts is to attract more skippers eventually into “M”-sized model yachts, through the promotion of a viable, low-cost alternative to the modern, high-tech “M”s — Vintage “M”s. Unlike a high-tech R/C “M” skipper, a prospective VM skipper has the option to either scratch-build an “M” (using wood or fiberglass) or restore (preserve) an older “M” model, 1930s to 1960s designs, for sailing. Also, if interest expands, the R/C Vintage “M” has the potential to be another AMYA national class under the direct sponsorship of AMYA’s Vintage Model Yacht Group (VMYG). Thus the Marblehead MYC’s 1997 VM effort is also designed to support the VMYG long-term goal of establishing a R/C Vintage “M” class.

The following c.ub rules are considered a “draft” set for local racing only. They are not meant to represent any future set of rules to be developed for a national “VM” Class under the VMYG. The club is eliciting comments on these local rules; initially prior to the first VM series race on May 10th and then throughout the club’s VM racing season.

Race Heat/Scoring/Starting

Race Heat

A race heat will consist of:

  1. Manually (hand) starting your model at the street-end walkway.
  2. Turning it around by hand at the cemeteryend walkway.
  3. Subsequently sailing it back across the painted, white finish line by Duck Rock (in front of the Red Barn and Boatyard).

A skipper’s heat will be considered complete when any part of his model crosses the white line. A maximum of ten heats will be sailed for each VM series race. A minimum of 5 total VM heats will have to be completed in order to have the results officially counted for any series race, where weather and/or pond conditions cause the cancellation of the remaining heats. With the majority of the skippers agreeing to do so before the start of a series race, spinnakers may be used when the prevailing wind is favorable. A single heat would then consist of two boards (legs) sailed fleet style, with the upwind (non-spinnaker) and downwind (spinnaker) boards being scored separately.

Scoring standard heat scoring will also replicate that used in the past. 10 points for first, 9 points for second, et.c, through the first 10 places. When there are more than ten boats in a heat, skippers finishing eleventh place or lower will receive zero points. Scoring for board style (spinnaker) racing will be the same, with the exception that each board is scored as a separate race heat. At the end of ten heats (20 boards) using spinnakers, skippers’ point totals will be added and then divided in half to count toward the season series point championship.

Starting

Heat starting positions for skippers at the street-end walkway, from windward to leeward, will be rotated on a continual basis after each heat, e.g., the top windward boat drops down to the bottom leeward position, while other skippers move up one position closer to windward. The skipper appearing first at pondside for a series race will be assigned the top windward position for the first heat. The pond arrival sequence of the other skippers will then determine their respective starting positions for the first heat. The race scorer will call out the start of each heat by simply hailing — “Are you ready — let them go.”

Racing Rules

Rules

Only two basic racing rules will be initially invoked:

  1. Port-starboard right-of-way.
  2. Boat-to-boat contact avoidance.

Protests

Any protest formally acknowledged during a race heat has to be immediately addressed by a 360 degree turn, clear of other boats. No protest committee hearings will be held. Thus, any protest not reconciled on-the-water will cause the loss of two points for all skippers involved in the infraction, whether considered in the right or wrong. Major boat-to- boat contact will be considered an infraction; incidental contact will not be grounds for protest.

General VM Design Parameters

R/C Functions

Only two radio channels will be used: one for steering control (rudder) and one for sheeting control (sails); no other onboard R/C functions are allowed. Any number of onboard manual (hand) adjustments will be allowed. There are no restrictions on the kind of winch and/or servo to be used for sail and rudder control.

VM Design

A VM is an older “M” Class model with a hull 50 inches long, + or – 1/4 inch, and a sail area not exceeding 800 square inches. It is considered a design developed prior to 1970, that originally conformed to the MYRAA “M” rules of that era. Key design rules differentiating older “M”s from modern “M”s include:

A minimum one-inch garboard radius between the hull and deadwood.

Only non-prognathous keel designs. A “non-prognathous” keel is one that has no part of a keel’s lower leading edge projecting beyond any of the upper leading edge.

The only exception is the inclusion of the 1970 MYRAA rule change relating to a maximum sail rig height of 85 inches. Note that owners of older “M”s that no longer meet MYRAA design specifications will be allowed a one year “grace” period to bring their “M”s into conformance with MYRAA rules and any others stated herein. The one year “grace” period starts from the time an “M” owner sails in his first club VM race.

Hull Restrictions

Hulls, rudders, and skegs can only be constructed from wood, fiberglass, or plexiglas — no modern composite materials are allowed.

Sail Rig Height

In accordance with the revised (1970) MYRAA “M” Class rules, the maximum height of the sail rig is 85 inches, as measured from the deck to the bottom of the mainsail’s headboard. The rig headstay attachment point on the mast can only be a maximum of 80 percent of the total distance of the sail rig height from the top of the deck.

Other Sail Rig Restrictions

A maximum of two sail rigs will be allowed. Mast and boom materials will be either wood or aluminum. Spinnakers are allowed, with no sail area limitation. The length of the spinnaker pole cannot exceed 15 inches, as measured from the center of the mast to the outermost end of the pole. No modern composite materials are allowed for sail rigs.

Sails

Only single-paneled sails will be used. A skipper initially having paneled sails will be allowed the use of them just during the one year “grace” period.

Bumpers

Bow bumpers will be mandatory. They will be of a soft material, 1/2 inch in thickness and securely mounted to the bow of a model. No bumper — no sail!

Poles

Five foot long poles will only be used to retrieve a model in case of loss of R/C or to clear boats that have become inadvertently tangled together.