- Description of contents
January 1981 55p (U.S.A. & Canada $2.50) [»3>> MODEL MAGAZINE SEAFORTH CLANSNMAN Diving emerged are certificates to record the essential primary measurements and calculations in a clear and logical manner, to which is added a certification that the boat has been thoroughly checked and complies in all requirements with ERE is now official confirmation that the French proposal for a 1 sq.m. sail area catamaran class is, at least for the present, a non- starter. The proposal was made too late for official discussion at the |.M.Y.R.U. General Meeting in ‘ July, but it did bring up in informal talks the whole question of recognition of new classes. Guidelines for international adoption of a new class have now been put forward: interest in a new class should be demonstrated bythe fact that a total of at least 100 registered boats should be sailing in four countries. Basically this means that a class has to have a strong following in (probably) its country or origin and sufficient yachts to the class in three other countries to stand a chance of official adoption. This is not unreasonable — after all, we can all dream up ideas, but unless they can be proved sufficiently popular, the |.M.Y.R.U. could finish up with 50 approved classes, most of which would be dead weight. That it can be done is evidenced by the Mickey Finn design, which could already easily meet the criteria although the actual kits have only been onsale for about four months. The phenomenal mushrooming of this one-design shows that if a yacht fills a need it doesn’t have to take three or four years for it to catch on; an interesting aspect is the number of kits beginning to flow to Europe and North America. In the case of the Mickey Finn, a Class Association has been formed which will deal with race programmes etc., including National Championships and, no doubt, eventually International Championships. The control of the rules governing the yacht is dependent on a large majority vote, i.e. the designers and manufacturer have effectively gone into partnership with the members of the association and neither side can alter the specification of the design without the consent of the other. This should guarantee stability and prevent the introduction of alterations which might put earlier registered boats at a disadvantage or involve their owners in time or expense for modifications. There is no reason why other associations should not be formed to promote a particular new one-design, restricted or development class without necessarily requiring national or international official adoption, at least until the strength of the class has reached the required criteria. The difficulty with official adoption is that, really, the control of the rules should pass to the adopting body which, as things stand in the |.M.Y.R.U., means that any alteration to the rules would have to be proposed by a national authority of an affiliated country and would be voted on by all member countries. On the other hand, too many independent associations could prove awkward in the use of waters and experienced officials at present available virtually belong exclusively to official clubs. On the full-size yachting world, there are such vast numbers of sailors and, particularly where the sea is used, so much suitable water available that numbers of independent class associations are not a major problem; in model yachting, with fewer participants and a restricted number of suitable waters, a proliferation of independent classes could seriously undermine the official bodies. We are a long way from this sort of situation, but it does no harm to think out implications. The criteria of adoption of a new class by the M.Y.A., incidentally, is 50 boats in four clubs; once this target has been reached, and thus proved that there is a good degree of interest, a proposal to the A.G.M. by an affiliated club should sail through. Nice to “hear that the A.M.Y.A. (the newer American association) has adopted the M rules 46 the rule. Any country which wishes to use a com- plex certificate for domestic purposes is of course at liberty to do so, but |.M.Y.R.U. certificates will Association News used by |.M.Y.R.U. members, rather than the rules they were using, based on an earlier version, or modifications to those earlier rules which would have produced considerable differences between their boats and those of the rest of the world. They have also adopted ad- ditional sailing rules from those used by the |.M.Y.R.U., thus bringing themselves into line with most other countries. The adoption by Naviga a couple of years ago of the same rules means that common rules are now in operation virtually world-wide, which must be for the good of the sport generally. As it happens, the Mrules are under revision by the I.M.Y.R.U. Rating Rules Committee, with a view to rearranging them in a logical order following the various minor amendments made to them over the years, as well as clarifying them where queries have arisen. It started life as a simple restricted class (i.e. one laying down absolutes rather than formulae with variable factors) but as developments in materials and concepts have come along, it has been necessary to tack additional restrictions on; it may be that several of these addenda could be covered by one reworded clause, possibly even helping to return the class to something of the simplicity envisaged when it was first officially adopted 48 years ago. One suggestion — and this is pure hypothesis, note! — is that a top suit of sails should be measured and that no alternative suit should have a dimension exceeding the corresponding dimension of the top suit. This would do away with all the measuring of different rigs, since the top suit dimensions would be marked by bands on the mast and booms and no sail could extend past those marks. The main casualty would be the fullarea high aspect ratio rig, used usually in light weather, but this could lead to improvements in light-air sails generally. In effect, this would be somewhat akin to the sail restrictions in the A class, and these certainly haven’t inhibited development. In the early ‘60s, it became a practice to turn up with up to nine different masts, each rigged with a different suit of sails; rule changes limited this extravagance, and the above suggestion might be thought a logical progression, heading towards the basic simplicity envisaged for the class on its inception. Few will envy Chris Dicks, who as Rating Rules Officer chairs the Standing Committee. Chris has already had a foretaste in soliciting views on standard |.M.Y.R.U. rating certificates; the idea is that the Union makes available master copies of A, 10r and M certificates which member coun- tries can buy for a nominal sum and which can be photocopied (or copied in quantity by litho if preferred) for the use of members. Ideally, if each club has a master copy it is a simple matter to photocopy certificates as required, thus saving the costs of having large stocks printed and the growing postal expenses involved in club secretaries having to send for stocks from time to time. Opinions on an ideal rating certificate vary from eight-page documents recording every detail (the sight of which would bring about mass resignations of club measurers) toa simple card saying “This boat rates. Signed. ..”’ What has eventually be asked for at international events. It seems probable that most countries will use the new certificates for all purposes; the Executive Board, who average between 30 and 40 years’ experience as competitors and officials, are satisfied that they cover all essential points. An interesting point emerges as a result of the G.M. at Ottawa. The E.B., to resolve one of the most frequently queried points in the M rules, had proposed an additional rule, 13c — “Whether or not a headboard is fitted, the head of the sail should be taken as the point at which the sail width measured at right-angles to the luff is %,in.”’ This went to national authorities for voting, and the M.Y.A. turned it down. In Ottawa every other country voted in favour, so it is now part of the M rules. This means that England must accept it, or they will be sailing boats which might not fit the international rule. Admittedly in this instance the point is a comparatively trivial one, but the impli- cations are obvious. Having spent many years in persuading the world to accept common rules, the M.Y.A. must incorporate into its rules any future international changes and not unilaterally introduce modifications, as has sometimes hap- pened in the past. One major and possibly contentious change is being sought by the Board — the right to use their judgement in the matter of national authorities. In a number of countries model yachting has been under the wing of a central modelling authority which has been recognised as the national authority by the I.M.Y.R.U. However, with the growth of model yachting, the yachtsmen in several countries have wished to set up their own national organisation to be recognised as the national authority, but if the central body is not prepared to relinquish recognition, there is no way in which a change can be made under the present terms of the Constitution. However good a case can be made for the new yachtsmen-only group, and whatever numbers are involved, the Board’s hands are tied by the rigidity of the rules. The complications arising from this are unbelievable. The Board is therefore seeking a constitutional amendment permitting them to recognise (subject to ratification) as a national authority the body which in their judgement best caters for the interests of model yachtsmen. This would go some way towards the solution of a couple of existing European problems and others which may well arise in the future; it is a potent weapon to put in the hands of the E.B., but it would be used with the utmost discretion and as a last resort. As things stand, when this sort of situation arises the E.B. is powerless to take any constructive steps. Peter Dehon+ We regret to report the death of Roger Dehon, a long-standing member and officer of Poole M.Y.C. who was one of the pioneers of both glass-fibre yacht construction and radio-controlled sailing. New European Club A new yacht club has been formed in Austria and we understand that they hope to organise an international RM and RIOR regatta in 1981. They would also like to hear of any larger open RC regattas during 1981 onthe Continent. The address is Mini Yacht Club Wien, Gymnasiumstrasse 22/3, 1180 Vienna, Austria. Model Boats
