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AUGUST 1968 TWO SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE U.S.A. & CANADA SIXTY CENTS fee HOBBY MAGAZINE INSIDE RADIO CONTROL HANDBOOK BOATS DEL Ni A NTRY was rather disappointing for the hard-working ER organisers of the 1968 Model Maker Trophy, run by the Victoria-West of Scotland Club at Victoria Park, Glasgow, on June 22/23. A number of enquiries from English yachtsmen failed to produce an entrant; on Friday the list stood at 22 boats, but when racing commenced on Saturday morning only 14 boats had arrived. In view of the weather conditions, this was possibly as well, since to sail a complete round with more than Victoria Park, Glasgow, June 22/23 perhaps 16 boats would have meant a late finish on Sunday. MODEL MAKER TROPHY At Victoria Park, Glasgow on Sat/Sun., 22nd/23rd June 1968 Pos. Pts. Reg. No. Yacht Skipper Club Design 1 2 3 4 5 6 de. 8 30 26 26 KS580 10 11 20 14 KS164_ 10 KS187 9 12 13 14 46 40 36 34 32 24 14 10 KS2 K72 Yochabel Glenrose T. Todd J. Mathieson G. Gentles B. Cowan G. McDonald D. Greer R. Pollock T. Moore Miniature Y.C. Vic. West of Scotland Vic. West of Scotland Vic. West of Scotland Vic. West of Scotland Vic. West of Scotland Queens Park Miniature Y.C. Blue Lady Elaine M. McKean _ T. Buchanan Elder Park Paisley Annie T. McLean Tango KSI10 May KS1284 Heidi KS166 Hi-Fi KS189 Valkyrie Dragoon Lady Jane Quest Minstrel A. Petrie T. Scott W. McLean Pahie Foxtrot O.D. Foxtrot Hammer O.D. Witchcraft Elusive Elder Park Saida Queens Park Elder Park OD. Pahie Hustler Pahie Elder Park Kingfin 328 AUGUST Oppostie, top, competitors waiting for a wind on Sunday. Backs to camera are O.O.D. Joe Perkins and skippers of the twin g.f. Foxtrots, Brian Cowan and Jamie Mathieson. Moving right, young Billy McKean, winner Terry Todd, veteran Tom Cattell (with cap), Tommy Buchanan, and, kneeling, Tommy McLean. On seat is B.B.C. T.V. cameraman; a useful plug for model yachting was screened the following evening. To right, Yochabel leads Dragoon despite having passed through her shadow. Numbers on squares of terylene help scorer and umpires and, incidentally, photographers! Bottom, Saturday conditions with very light airs; note new clubhouse in distance— Clyde Tunnel approach works caused demolition of old one, but this one is shared with hire boats. Last, Duggie Greer turning Valkyrie, no doubt anxious to maintain his obvious useful lead. A light and variable easterly wind and a bright though overcast sky attended the start. The lake in Victoria Park is irregular in shape, with a ‘handle’ which looks just under half the width of the main area. In the normal prevailing wind the yachts can use the full length of this extension, but with winds from the east it has been found better to use only the main water. Even on this slightly shorter course, only six heats were managed in nearly six hours sailing, despite smart turn-rounds at each end. On average, the wind was giving a reach, so that scoring was two each way. Leading boat at the end of the day was May, sailed by Gordon Gentles. On Sunday morning the wind was nil and starting was delayed until 12.30, when a little wind was blowing from everywhere. By | p.m., however, the wind began to pipe up and settled in the south-west. One or two of the high- rigged boats changed down to working suits and spinnakers were carried on most. It was enjoyable sailing, and the remaining heats for a complete card were run off comfortably by 4 p.m., including a refreshment break. Glasgow area has been having a couple of years of Adams-influenced boats; five were entered in this race and three of the top four places fell to them. Yochabel was originally built by Adams and was a bright-varnished boat whose planks were so thin that an electric light bulb could be seen through them. Her present owner is in the middle of a refit and has got as far as Graphspeeding the hull, though the deck is not yet refinished. Tango and Heidi are glass-fibre Foxtrots, slightly modified by drawing out a little more. In contrast to the winner, May has ? in. thick ribbon planking; she remains bone dry inside and is a credit to her builder, Mr. Tom Cattell, who at 83 (yes, 83!) must be Britain’s oldest active yachtsman. He says that this form of planking, using 2 in. square timber, is the easiest he’s ever tried. Highest placing M.M. design was Hi-Fi, which would also have been in the running for an award for the most elegant model present. One double-chine boat, Quest, was sailing, but gs does better in a blow and never really showed her est. The Editor thoroughly enjoyed his visit, which was marred only by the cancellation of all London trains on the Sunday night; with a firm appointment on Monday and lack of certainty of air transport, a fifteen-hour coach journey was the only alternative! Our thanks go to John Cunningham, on whose shoulders fell most of the preparatory work and who kept things moving as Starter, to Joe Perkins, the 0.0.D., Findlay Drynan, scorer, behind-scene man Maxwell MacKenzie, and to all the other hard-worked officials, not forgetting the ladies for their inner-man ministrations. Top, Joe Perkins takes a leaf from horse-racing and inspects the course; reason was a suspected obstruction which turned out to be a clump of dense weed. Annie sails near, and there’s obviously a re-sail due in the background. Next, Gordon Gentles poises to turn May which has worked to windward rather more than Quest. Lower centre, Hi-Fi and Tango were among those who used spinnakers, despite the number of boats broaching as the wind swung. Bottom, young Billy, a very keen yachtsman, and Brian Cowan with a close turn on their hands, with Annie sailing past. 329 1968 BALSA BLOCK igi ah ; , NOSE PIECE – oad ia ! LWL. =& eu “| | ys” MAHOGANY. ; Sen 42 re, Ye” MAHOGANY BALSA + eo igh ig SIDE ELEVN & OF CENTRAL FLOAT — BLOCK a POLE VIEW xX (INSIDE OF FLOAT) ROUND OFF ¢ ; “LOR: SCREW esEYES : A Sot SCREW EYES 7 (9 \MIne Y agai Pa 2M” WOBECHE = Laue = bi baat FLOATS VIEW ‘X tee 16 %4″— SCREW EYE FOR FORE STAY – 3\ FOR TWIN ary STAYS a — Ms ASYMMETRICAL bye ALUMINIUM OR BRASS PLATE %” HOLES & %*CRS Ye” PEG ON BOTTOM OF —- 3″ – 3%” JUST CLEARS WATER (ADD BALLAST AS REQD! : Io” |. |RUDDER TUBE Beppe retina a OBECHE \ ns ’ WHEN ASSEMBLED 34″ x 4″ SPRUCE ee FEOAT FROM Va” vs” HARD BALSA . . BOTTOM OF FLOAT MUST BE HANDED MAST STEP \ |” N.B. BEFORE COV WITH TISSUE | | MAST TO SUIT Pe ——__—_— 36°: LOA SS << = i: 12" SECTION A-A LWL. LARGE WASHES & NUT / COUNTER WCIGHT~ VANE ARM (FRICTION FIT wolhe ae > 8AM gS __— eee wos 284A & CEMENT: ABOVE CISC) A 36 in. simple trimaran designed and built (unofficially!) | by Model Yachting ‘Association Secretary GEORGE CLARK 330 ams VANE PINTLE + 38″ + 30 LACE TO MAST UTERYLENE SAILS SPINNAKER POLYTHENE -—~ VANE cap 2″ x 2: 2″ WNIAKER MAIN SHEET | | ADJUSTED BY CIRCULAR | 3ye DIA. , \BOWSIE ORNERS ’ S4os= ‘foot_| 13″ FOOT ‘KICKING STRAP FORE SHEET 1‘ ADJUSTED BY oye / VANE. GEAR LIGHT WEIGH: STOLLERY “OR CIRCULAR BOWSIE : j “WILCOCK “MOVING CARRIAGE (BOTH ; FLAT ‘MM’ PLANS) fF BOWSIE TO ADJUST TENSION OF JACK LINE as ‘ j CIRCULAR Try One is a fitting stablemate for Tabitha Cat (April 1968 M.B.). They are owned by members of the same model yacht club and both were built to test reaction of the M.Y.A. to the proposition that a 36 in. multi-hull class be adapted. The Metropolitan and Southern District of the M.Y.A. now recognise a 36 in. multi-hull class which replaces the poorly supported 36 in. Restricted class, and the trophy has been reallocated. So far multi-hulls have raced at Hove on three occasions and interest is growing rapidly. Both cats and tris are easy to build, spectacular to sail, and arouse great enthusiasm among those that see them perform. The two events staged by the Hove and Brighton M.Y.C. in 1967 were both won by Ray Blick’s trimaran. The model illustrated is a beginner’s effort and would need larger sails to prove competitive in light winds. It has never capsized but will easily fly a float, it holds course well, and is responsive to vane steering. Vane steering to be effective must be of the moving carriage type if the model is to be used competitively, as this is the only way to ensure that the boat will change tack; there is but little angle of heel to operate other forms of vane gear when the model is turned with a pole when racing. If the BOWSIE BOOM_NTS. 4 HULL & FLOATS TISSUE COVERED, & FINISH COLOURED TO CHOICE. FITTINGS 42! DOPED SIMILAR DETAILS TO ‘STARLET’ ! > %4 BLOCK es model is built for pleasure only a simple vane gear need be TERSINK used, on the lines of the sketch. The model is easily built, using mainly 4 in. balsa sheet with obeche inserts to take fittings. The hull of the original was covered with tissue doped on and then finished with red floats and white hull, polyurethane enamel being used. Mast may be either 3 in. O.D. light gauge aluminium tube or wood, booms should be wood, sails of lightweight dinghy Terylene, 2-3 oz. being adequate. For ease in transportation the original was easily split into its component parts, brass bolts and nuts being used to fix floats and hulls to cross beams, as detail sketch. It is essential that the hulls are parallel, and it is probable that performance would be improved if cranked beams were used as also sketched. If the packing piece is removed and bent beams used, the floats should be still set just to clear the water with the model at rest, but when heeled the version with bent beams presents a more favourable, i.e. nearer vertical, surface to the water to cut down leeway. The original model was built with a removable centre plate on the main hull only, so that various sizes could be tried; that drawn is adequate. The original also carried 64 oz. ballast to bring it to its correct (Continued on page 343) SCREW Y POSITION AS WS EXISTS PACKER (MPROVEO VERSION 331 AUGUST Readers Write… A neat little wallet of double-ended chrome vanadium spanners in 0-8 B.A. sizes is awarded to the writer of each letter with an interesting viewpoint to express, a point to be made, or a helpful experience to describe, etc.; the Editor is not necessarily in agreement with opinions given. LIGHTHOUSES rudder tubes and shaft are made in a similar Dear Sir, | should like to comment on two points in the June issue of Mode/ Boats. manner. One concerns A. O. Pollard’s drawing of the Eddystone Light. He shows the base of the old light too close to the present light. They are, actually, something like 200 ft. apart, and | believe that at all states o, the tide there is clear water between them. | have made only a 2 B.A. size, and | have been running a 2 B.A. shaft transmitting the power from a Gannet 15 cc. petrol engine. The shaft and bushes in particular show no signs of wear, and as | operate in tained in ‘For those in Peril’ — Lifesaving then and now’ from the National Maritime Museum. It shows it nearly completed in 1882, together with Smeaton’s old tower of 1756-59 in the background. The base of salt water, the problem of corrosion of the shafts and tubes just does not occur. Lubrication is not necessary, but an occasional drop of oil to act as a water seal is advisable. In my experience, | have found that the alignment of the engine and tube is not so critical as with the usual brass and steel type of tube and shaft. To anyone who is contemplating offshore racing or who is forced to operate on salt this tower is now all that is left since Smeaton’s tower was taken down and reassembled on Plymouth Hoe. Also contained in that publication is a print of Winstanley’s Light of 1699, to- tial, and to this end | am hoping to go into limited production of these tubes in the near future. Roc hester, Kent. D. J. Turner Readers may like to know that an excellent photograph of the present light is con- gether with this quote of 1704 from Daniel Defoe’s description of the great storm. ‘The loss of the light-house, called the Eddystone at Plymouth, is another ar.icle of which we never heard particulars, other than this: that at night it was standing, and in the morning all the upper part from the Gallery was blown down, and all the people in it perished, and by a particular misfortune, Mr. Winstanley, the contriver of it, a person whose loss is very much regretted by such as knew him as a very useful man to his country. The loss of that Light-house is also a considerable damage, as ‘tis very doubtful whether it will be ever attempted again, and as it was a great security to sailors, many a good ship having been lost there in former times.’ Well, attempt it they did, and Sir James Douglass’s tower of 1882 now stands guard of this dangerous reef, lying as it does just to the north of the Northern English Channel shipping lanes, and a certain trap for Devon and Cornish bound boats. This present tower was electrified in 1959-60. My second point concerns the article by M. J. Dibble, in which he suggests that nylon bushes in shaft tubes would wear less than brass bushes. This is, indeed, a correct impression. A certain firm in Plymouth extrude graphite rods for aero engines among other things. The dies and moulds used to be of metal, and ten sets of replacements a year were necessary. The firm changed to nylon moulds and now find that only two replacements a year are necessary, surely adequate evidence of the wear resistance of nylon. Plymouth, Devon. B. Whitehall BUSHED Dear Sir, | agree with the remarks made by Mr. Dible in his article ‘Offshore Racing’ in the June issue of Mode/ Boats. For the past season and a half | have been using a prop shaft and tube, and rudder shaft and tube made from stainless steel tube fitted with Delrin bushes (these are better than straight nylon due to their low water absorption), and a stainless steel shaft. The water, this type of shaft and tube is essen- MARBLEHEAD RULES Dear Sir, | feel it necessary to comment on the way a fuss has developed on the height of the M class jib hoists, and the hasty way the M.Y.A. have pushed through an ‘amendment’ limiting all jib hoists on this class to the 80 per cent ruling. | always imagined that the object of the M class was experiment, but it seems that because one designer had a good idea that nobody had thought of before, a big outcry has gone out against him. | admit that a 100 per cent jib hoist would give an advantage to weather, but things would be different on the run. In limit top suit weather, on all existing boats, no advantage would be gained by using a full jib and large spinnaker because all that would happen would be that the boats would nose dive or drive under, meaning almost certain defeat. Therefore, all the de- signers would have to come up with some good ideas to prevent this. Later on, there may be some advantage in the 100 per cent jib hoist, but not now with the problems of driving under on the run. A parallel may be seen here with the introduction of bulb keels. All the normal keel Marbleheads are hopelessly outclassed in the hot competition racing encountered nowadays by the bulb keelers, but what would have happened if the M.Y.A. had decided to ban themlike the prognathous keels (which nowadays would gain much better dynamic balance than the normal bulbs ?). Why did the M.Y.A. push through this so called amendment so that it would come into effect immediately, without having the opinions of the clubs which are members? It is a complete contradiction of the second part of that rule, and if an M was sailed abroad with a sail plan under question here it would not be penalised! Is the M.Y.A. trying to stem development in this class ? London, N.W.6. C. Robertson 10-RATER RULES Dear Sir, As | was part of the committee which studied the problem of the 10 rater rules, | should like to reply to some of the points 341 1968 raised by Mr. Gill and Mr. Holson in their letters in June Mode/ Boats. The committee did consider just restricting the roach, but we rejected this because this system of measurement still allows a great variation in the area of the sail plan. The difference in area between a low rig and a tall rig can be equivalent to several inches in waterline length. Can one really accept a system that requires the waterline length to be measured to the second place of decimals of an inch and yet allows the sail area to vary by 50 to 100 square inches ? Consider this example: John Lewis drew two sail plans for the High Tension design published about 5 years ago. Both the tall plan and the low plan would conform to the 3 in. roach restriction. If one uses a standard round mast on each of these rigs, the difference in area is almost 70 square inches, and under the present rule this area is equivalent to about 4 inches in waterline length! This difference was obtained between sail plans with 77 inch and 63 inch mainsail luff heights. What would happen if a development in tall rigs led to a difference between 100 inch and 63 inch mainsail luff heights ? How would one control such a development? The most sensible answer is to do exactly what the rater rules originally set out to do, and that is to measure the true area of the sail plan. Naturally, this will mean changes now, but this will be beneficial to fair competition, not only now butin the future. It should also be pointed out that the majority of boats, and particularly the 55 inch boats, will still be in rating under the proposed rules and will not be obliged to alter their sails. Is this a major upheaval ? The Marblehead rule has allowed a una rig since its inception, but there hasn’t been a total development towards that type of rig. Why should allowing it in the 10 rater class have the reverse effect? If it is found that this type of rig or wing mast is difficult to handle, then they certainly won’t be used in preference to a conventional rig that can win points more consistently. Mr. Gill imagined that a 60 inch waterline boat would emerge. If he had been writing 10 years ago this would have been a very accurate forecast, but the fact is that the 60 in. waterline boat has already emerged, not this year or last, but several years ago. | am surprised that both Mr. Holson and Mr. Gill thought that the 55 inch boat would be worse off under the proposed rules than at present. From the factual evidence available, it is hard to draw this conclusion. A typical 55 inch I.w.|. boat, a Red Herring, for example, should carry an actual area of 1335 square inches under the present rule A typical 60 inch I.w.I|. boat, a High Tension for example, should carry 1304 square inches true area, if built as drawn with a tall rig. Under the proposed rule the Red Herring would be allowed 1363 square inches and the High Tension 1250 square inches. Does this give the 55 inch I.w.l. boat a disadvantage? These examples are taken from plans with a 3 in. roach. Many 10 raters sail with roaches far in excess of this. Is the 60 inch I.w.l. boat Mr. Holson writes about really exploiting the loop holes in the present rules? Mr. Holson states that its present sail area is 1125 square inches. Even the 5-year-old High Tension design shows 1304 inches, and despite a low rig my own 10 rater Mr. Rusty sails with 1408 square inches of sail. Gateshead, Co. Durham. R. Stollery AUGUST HE Empress of France started life as the Alsatian of the Allan Line. This fine ship, which carried over 1968 HISTORIC LINERS No. 55 1,800 passengers, set new standards of accommodation on the run between the U.K. and Canada, and ran steadily until 1914. On the outbreak of hostilities, the Alsatian was fitted out as an armed merchant cruiser and was sent to work on the Northern Patrol. This particular activity, the purpose of which was to seal the Denmark Straits, was fatal to many fine liners and a similar experiment in 1939 had very much the same results. However, the Alsatian survived and re-entered the Canadian service, but with the new name of Empress of France and under the ownership of the Canadian Pacific. She remained on this route, with a few spells elsewhere on cruises, until 1932, when, like many other ships, she was laid up. The Empress of France went to the breaker’s yardin 1934 after a relatively short existence of about 20 years. S.S. Empress of France BY R. CARPENTER ROUND THE REGATTAS National 10 Rater Championships the one occasion on which Kayak looked as though he might be beaten. However, thanks to some good fortune (and suchis necessary to win any championship) the lead established overnight kept him in front. The wind stiffened in the afternoon, and during this session Convexity, Ding HE 1968 National 10-Rater Championship was held at Gautby Road, Birkenhead on the Ist, 2nd and 3rd of June. Twenty-seven entries from 12 different clubs competed, and thanks to some fine weather and forceful organising, the event was completed in an Hao, Zebedee and High Tension began to produce a amicable challenge for the minor placings. The positions at the end atmosphere for both competitors and spectators. The final positions are given below, together with the technical information on the models. of the second day were Kayak (73), Zebedee (65), Convexity (61), High Tension (59). The best performance on this second day was by Bandit who scored 43 points out of a possible 55. Sailing began on the Saturday afternoon in a fair breeze, and seven boards were completed, due to the 0.0.D. (Mr. J. Blundell) ordering sailing to continue into the evening. This may not have been popular with some competitors at the time, but as this factor eventually Monday was another good sailing day, both for competitors and spectators, the event finishing at about four o’clock, allowing ample time for travelling home for the visiting competitors. A special mention should be made of Mr. Rusty’s performance on the Monday. He scored 33 points in eight boards, including 100 per cent in the last five, to move through the field from below halfway overnight to an eventual 7th place. resultedin the event being completedin good time on the Monday after, a general consensus at the close was one of praise for Mr. Blundell’s efforts. At the end of Saturday, Kayak, the eventual winner, had already established a lead (33 pts.) followed by Rowena and Elvira (28), Tangerine (27) and Zebedee (26). Judging by the speech-making, Kayak was a popular winner, and much interest was shownin this novel design yacht. Sunday morning found conditions which were all against good sailing, with practically no wind. This was Yacht Kayak Zebedee Convexity Ding Hao Reg. No. 1726 1736 1718 Design Designer F. R. Shepherd Guildford Zebedee Stollery W.H.Jones W. Perry Club B’ head C.A.E. Dicks Clapham Convexity Perry Dicks High Tension 1714 R. Newport Nt. Liverpool High Tension Lewis Dante Sohrab Mr. Rusty B’ head Bournville Guildford Red Herring Sohram Zebedee % a Stollery Tangerine Firecracker Bandit Boomerang Elvira Rowena Highlight Judda Wardance 1716 G. Reeves 1687 1715 1737 H. Young D. Hardwicke R. P. Stollery B’head Kayak High Tension Rustum 1725 Skipper Bournville 1642 J. H. Radford 1709 1659 G. Young J. Turner Scarborough B’ head High Tension Red Herring 1664 R. Bonthrone Clapham Midnight 1615 1647 1747 K. Roberts F. Hunsperger H. Dovey B’ham B’ head Nt. Liverpool Bournville 1730 1717 J. D. Inman C. Colsell Sheffield Hove & B’ton Defiant 1601 S. Bloomer Bournville Vagabond 1741 Viking Scorchy Streak Rogue Frances Pandora Red Hand Rustum 1668 1727 1742 1653 1641 1735 NIK20 C. Dunkling M.Y.S. Ass. E. Carter F. Barr Forest Gate B’ head D. A. Stagg M.Y.S. Ass. M. Martin H. Atkinson L. Fowler R.Tregenna Red Herring Red Herring Red Herring High Tension er a Lewis 5. a 99 Ss 5 Dicks High Tension Warlord Lewis Stollery ~— _ Red Herring Red Herring High Tension Lewis Lewis Lewis Points Final pee LWL Construction scored position 59.5 19 Diagonal skins89 4 Planked Planked Glass fibre Planked 86 6 Planked 82 7 7 7 10 74 73 ~«#61l 13 34 0 34 — 19 56 60 60 34 56 # Planked — 34 34.8 34 34 34 29 34 28 34 60 55 60 55 55 60 60.6 Planked Glass fibre Glass fibre # Planked Single diag. 95 84 84 84 74 64 624 60 with Isopon cover 60 # Planked 60 Glass fibre 59 Sie 5 5 11 «14 15 16 60 17 18 Glass fibre 34 34 55 60 Glass fibre #Planked 47421 40 22 34 55 Glass fibre 36°24 iol 28 Leeds & Brad. Nottingham Ulster ee — Red Hand Witty 28 = —Tregenna 32.7 60 63 — 58.5 _ Flass fibre Planked — B& B.Y.P. 514 1 55 Stollery 345 91 Dee 75 Planked 35 Warlord Lewis 2 Planked — Hove & B’ton Red Herring 60 Balsa/Glass 1094 fibre sandwich Glass fibre 98 19 504 20 394 23 34. 15 10 25 26 27
