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MARCH 1959 FREE! : Full-size Drawing for RACING HYDROPLANE Model. Model Ships – Cars – Yachts – Radio Control Author C. S. Gould Sho ws what can be done to restore an old yacht to the active list, and conclu des by wondering Just how many simila r hulls are gathering dust uncared for and forgotten, Readers may have oth er interesting experiences with refits like this and Model Maker invites the m to tell their Stories. – I ee, ee ~~ WEW LIFE FOR AN OLD 10 Wwe I was offered an old hull by an ex-naval friend I acce pted with alacrity . I was warned that it was dilapidated, and on collection realised that this was no understate- ment—the model was in very poor indeed although the hull appe ared sound. construction was unusual in that shape only The five 3/16in. mahogany plan ks had been used on each side, screwed to internal timbers with 00 screws. The friend ment ioned that it was his first encounter with a table of offsets, there being no Model Maker Plan s Service in those days! . Although not an experien ced yachtsman, I had seen and admired man y fine modern boats, and I decided to modernis e this one, which in any event deck up. would require rebuilding from the Enquiries indicated that it was built to the old champion 10-ra ter Daniels des X.P.D.N.C., which in its original employed a long bowsprit and enormous main om. New deck beams were fitte d, plus a new deck, and due to the proje cted change of sailplan, rule-of-thumb calc ulations that the mast should be move d back 4 in. (on trials this was found to be 4 in. too far). An alloy tube mast was installed with the usual wooden topmast, and new booms and fittings, —— Having seen the amount of water shipped through the hatch by som e models, I seated mine On valve rubber as in the sketch, retaining the hatch by a strong rubb er band which com- Presses the valve tubing One or two of my own maroon gunwales, and white Trials waterline; the original was intended for 36 in. She is only used for pleasure Sailin g, but has quite a pleasing performance. Due to lack of waters near home (Gillingha m, Kent) she is Sailed at various places and has puzzled quite a few people, many of whom are convinced she is a 6M. AS a passing thought, I wonder how many other good old hulls are lying about waiting for a new lease of life? PART SECTION OF HATCH ARRANGEMEN T on each gunwale for the main boom—this to DECK ‘ keep the deck as clear as possi ble. RUBBER BAND TO KEEL 140 deck. W.L., but correspondence since with — the designer reveals that she was best on 384 in. CYCLE VALVE RUBBER mercial vane gear was insta lled. a in nylon by (after much cajo ling!) the wife, but a professionally-made top suit in terylene has since been obtained. Bein g rather light (20 Ib.) she carries only 981 sqin. on a 41 in. ideas were incorporated as, for example, dis- pensing with a main horse and fitting a bowsie provides were first undertaken with a second suit made etc., made with the help of the M.M. Rigging and Fittings plan. and virtually watertight seal. Finish is powder blue with black waterline, MODEL Readers Write… The elegant little plastic wallet containing chrome vanadium double-ended B.A. A modelling are always read, for I consider that to call oneself a model maker one should take a passing interest in al] types. You should be congratulated for producing a very excellent magazine on so wide a subject. The pros and cons of plastic models are interesting. My point of view is this, plastics allow one to build excellen t models of one’s favourite car, boat or aeroplane in a much shorter time, thereby allowin g more time to concentrate on one Particular model. I am collecting my favourite vintage and veteran cars, and how nice it is having them in model form rather than in pictures . J. A. Briaes. St. Albans. YACHT FIN DESIGN Dear Sir, I would refer to Mr. R. H. Morrell’s article in the February issue re Model Yacht Design. I am sure many model yachtsm en like myself found Mr. Morrell’s summary and analysis (for that is what it was) very interesting. He is not the only one to have sought in vain for the commen ts of the *‘Designers’’? on_ this particular aspect of yacht design. One is led to wonder whether they have a theory that can be expound ed or whether they cautiously experim ent and observe and hope, and are naturall y reluctant to admit this as their method. There is one aspect Mr. Morrell over- looked or was unaware of on which I am prepared to as he was). steering has expound (kite flying perhaps It is the influence that vane had on fin and skeg design. One must realise that the vane steering gear was virtually unused in this country till after the last war and was adopted very reluctantly, until its capabilities “stood out a mile’, This change required, in fin and skeg design, a change from lateral planes of fin and skeg designed to stabilise a very powerful rudder operating force, to one in which the rudder Operating force was very weak, but capable of considerable accuracy in positioning, it being dependent on wind direction instead of wind force. This change is only of the order of 10 years of age, a very short period in the evolution of design and its documentation. The writer became very conscious of these factors when watching Triplane win the 10-Rater National in 1950. This design, of course, took things too far and made (1) lack of lateral resistance, and (2) too much forward resistan ce due to the relatively bulbous nature of the bottom of the fin. The new fin was designed with all these thoughts and observations in mind. It may approach the extreme for smallness but it is certainly effective. I would strongly controlled superhets on the market, but these POOL PERMUTATION Dear Sir, I would like to suggest the followi ng method for arranging an interes ting club event—an inter-team match of three teams each consisting of four boats. The event would occupy about the same time as an ordinary ten-boat event. Three captains, A, B and C, each choose their teams. A has Ist, 6th, 9th and 10th choice, B has 2nd, 5th, 8th and 11th choice, C has 3rd, 4th, 7th and 12th choice. Numbering the three teams as 1, 2, 3, 4; recommend Mr. Morrell and other prospec- time to do what the writer did—redesign the fin. This is one of the advanta ges of the detachable fin construction. A. WILCOCK. Sidcup. Dear Sir, Plea from ‘down under’’ certain ly has a point. It would appear that manufac turers are only just waking up to the fact that model boating is moving up fast in populari ty and a simple conversion of air-cooled engines, just won’t do. Basically, the major points are these: Exhaust outlets (if any) are badly designed, inasmuch as there is insufficient “‘meat’’ to make a good joint for exhausti ng. The casting is invariably alloy and is unsolderable to the layman and the fitting of gaskets to commercial possible. exhaust stubs, Virtually im- If manufacturers could design a flange face on the exhaust outlet, the problem of exhausting would be very simple. My cleanest small power unit was a 3-46 Hunter, having soldered stubs to the steel cylinder. The Manxman, fitted with Mersey Marine water jacket and exhaust, was also very clean. My latest boat, completed and tested before the ice stopped operatons, has proved the cleanest yet, being absolutely spotless after running. This can only be credited to the clear thinking of the makers, together with their practical experience. The engine happens to be a Taplin Twin. Ivor H. MorGan. Whitstable. Dear Sir, I have been building model boats for about three years now and I fully endorse Mr. Charlesworth’s grouse regarding the amount of goo distributed all over the boat. When will the makers of engines realise that the revs in a boat are nowhere near the aero version? If you fit—and I mean FIT—exhaust stacks the goo comes up the outside of the head and if this is sealed it then comes out of the ballrace. Then, owing to the low revs and type of throttle unit, the fuel is sprayed all over the nearest bulkhead; this is nearly as bad as the goo. Now a moan about radio, 148 ; and W, X, Y, Z. The eight heats could be arrange d satisfactorily thus:— Heat No. 1 1/A B/3 NO MORE “DIRTY DIESELS” W. HELLEWELL, Bradford. tive builders to stick to the design. If they are not satisfied with the results, then is the our are for boats of over 36 inches using 90 volts H.T. which is heavy on both pocket and boat, the crystals costing more than you can build a set for. 2 B/l 2/D a + /. 5 WC D/l1/W D/3 3/C A/2 W/2 3/W Y/2 4/X Y/4 4/Z oO FROM Dear Sir, I have been a reader of the MopEz MAKER for over five years, and have found every issue interesting, although my main interest is in boats, articles on other forms of were to All that there seems to be is again converted aero versions that are within the pocket of the man in the street. There are I know one or two crystal- x PRACTICAL POINTERS KEEN SUPPORTER presented 2/K X/3 W/4 4/B D/Z X/C B/X B/Z 6 xX/2 Z/1 3/A C/4 /B bo was sailed for a season like this. The per- formance was hopeless. The two factors judged to make the performance hopeless be x there first. This has led to experim entation by the writer, and Mr. Morrell and other readers can be assured that in spite of the small fin of Maree III the boat has good windward qualities, I believe obtained by the fin cross-section. It is interest ing to note that the original design had a flipper fin like a Flying Fifteen (and Triplane) and will O made but the speed obtained by the reduction of the other factors enabled this boat to get which N trimming a nightmare to even a skilful skipper, but nevertheless to observe the ability of the vane gear to hold or drive the boat to windward with a negligib le lateral plane to the fin was an eye-ope ner. It must be agreed that more leeway than usual was sizes € model ee hard-to-get Med the N in > spanners “Readers Write” corresponden ts, 8 LIYSIZ C/2 Z/3 4/D IA 2/B 3/Y A/4 X/A C/W Y/D W/D W/B D/X G. BLoce. London, N.W.3. N. LONDON CARS ACTIVE Dear Sir, As section leader of the model car section of the North London Society of Model Engineers, I feel somewhat guilty at Mr. Orman’s comments regarding the lack of Model Car news in your Paper. You published, of course, an interesting article on our Open Meeting in last April, which was illustrated by some good photographs, Since then this section has been holding running meetings on the first Saturday of every month at the premises of the Barnet Water Company in Lytton Road, Barnet, and also we hold discussion meetings on the first Tuesday of every month. I do feel, however, that while we have enjoyed these meetings and while they have given rise to considerable activity, your readers generally would hardly be interested in reports of these meetings, which would, in fact, merely amount to a rather dull list of names. I can assure Mr. Orman, however, that diesel rail cars are going strong, at least in this area. At the same time I do feel with Mr. Lamb that the speed is tending to spoil this sport as a spectacle—a car that for any reason gets left behind has very little chance to catch up and two cars running neck and neck always put on a good show whether their speed is 15 miles an hour or 40 miles an hour. Quite frankly the section is considering what can be done to encourage the smaller engine cars rather than the big 1-5 c.c. jobs. In conclusion may I assure readers that they will be welcome to see our cars running at any meetings if they will get in touch with me, and to express our best wishes to all interested in rail racing of all sorts for the New Year. Whetstone, N.20. T. W. PINNocK.
