The Model Yacht: Volume 15, Number 1 – Summer 2011

LINCOLN MEMORIAL POOL, WASHINGTON, DC NEWSLETTER OF THE U.S. VINTAGE MODEL YACHT GROUP VOLUME FIFTEEN, NUMBER ONE Summer 2011 Page 1 NEWSLETTER OF THE U.S. VINTAGE MODEL YACHT GROUP VOLUME FIFTEEN, NUMBER ONE Summer 2011 Editor’s Welcome This is our fifteenth anniversary edition, and I thought it would be nice to mark the event by updating an reprinting the most significant article from our collection. There were many to choose from, but I finally settled on the article on Franklyn Bassford’s boats from the 1890s. This article was significant in that it documented material about boats of that era that had not seen the light of day for over a hundred years. Since its publication in 2000 we have learned more, and gotten better at reproducing old drawings. Both these advances show in the updated version. I had previously offered to make PDF versions of the newsletter available in lieu of printed ones, for those who preferred it. It appears that we are a stubbornly vintage bunch, because only a handful of members showed interest. So paper it is, for the foreseeable future. I’m looking forward to the next fifteen years, and I hope you are as well. Earl Boebert Ebbs and Flows The President’s Message Vintage Membership First, I expect to be fully-recovered from multiple surgeries over the past three months by late August to resume my R/ C sailing and other duties. US VMYG annual membership is $25 for three issues of our newsletter The Model Yacht. It is $30 for members outside the US. VMYG lifetime membership is $125. Members also have access to technical assistance and vintage model plans, plus reports on and notifications of VMYG-sponsored events. To subscribe to or renew your newsletter and services membership, send $25 or $30 check (payable to US VMYG) or cash to: John Snow, c/o US VMYG, 78 East Orchard Street, Marblehead, MA 01945. For more information, call John @ 781-631-4203 or visit the US VMYG Web Site: www.usvmyg.org 2011 VMYG National Regatta 17th annual “Vintage Model Yachting Days” National Regatta for US VMYG VM, V36 and Traditional Sailing Craft / Scale models will be at Spring Lake, NJ Page 2 on September 22-25. The Marbleheaders of Spring Lake MYC is the host. Contact Harry Mote at 609-660-0100 and hjmote@verizon.net for details. In March 2011, the club website will have the regatta NOR and entry information at: bit.ly/pq6fwQ 2011 International “Challenge Cup” Regatta VMYG is helping coordinate this biennial international free-sail (vane) match racing event on US East Coast for the first time. It involves free-sail (vane) skipper teams from UK and US pitted against each other over two successive weekends at historic model yacht locations. It will be held at original free-sailing venues at the Conservatory Lake, Central Park, NYC and Redd’s Pond, Marblehead, MA on weekends of September 30-October 2 and October 7-9 respectively. We anticipate eight skippers on each team. Also planned are visits to Mystic Seaport Museum in CT, and Herreshoff Marine Museum / America’s Cup Hall of Fame and International Yacht Restoration School in RI between weekends. The overall event contact is John Snow at 781-631-4203 and jsnowj@comcast.net John Tucker of the CPMYC is coordinating Cup activities at Central Park. He can be reached at 212-874-0656 in NYC. Check the VMYG website for emerging details. Remaining 2011 VMYG Activities August 21-27 & August 28-September 3: WoodenBoat School R/C model yacht building and sailing courses (2) at Brooklin, ME under Alan Suydam. September 22-25 weekend: VMYG “Vintage Model Yachting Days” National Regatta hosted by The Marbleheaders of Spring Lake MYC at Spring Lake, NJ; R/ C VM, V36 and Traditional Sailing Craft / Scale models racing and exhibits. Early October: UK-US International Challenge Cup Regatta using UK 36R Class vane models at historic East Coast model free-sail venues over two weekends; September 30 October 2 at Central Park, NYC; October 7-9 at Redd’s Pond, Marblehead. October 15&16: Bill Bithell Cup VM Invitational Regatta (10/15) and the Marblehead MYC Chowder Race (10/16 open regatta including VMs) at Redd’s Pond, Marblehead. VMYG Resource Material Visit the US VMYG website at www.usvmyg and then click on “USVMYG Store” to order the following resource material: Yankee III book authored by VMYG Historian Earl Boebert on CD or downloadable. CD is $15.00 postpaid in US; $20.00 in the rest of world. $10.00 if you download your own. Book summarizes history of the America’s Cup 1930s era J Class and provides detailed modern building techniques through an available molded hull to craft of an R/C V36 model from the 1930 Yankee J Boat design. Yankee III is considered an entry-level model based on the original 1935 Yankee Jr. model plans of John Black. Building Planked Models DVD plus book with selected articles from the VMYG The Model Yacht newsletter. Package is $25.00 postpaid in US; $35.00 in rest of world. It is a “how to” vintage model building book by Charles Farley describing plankon-frame methods used for 1940s model yacht racing class designs using modernday adhesives. The Model Yacht newsletter back issues in PDF format on DVD as complete set only of over 40 issues (since 1996), each having 20 or more pages of technical and historical information. The DVD is $40.00 postpaid in the US; $50.00 in the rest of the world. Page 3 John Snow `A Fife-ish Youpi French Cutter for breakfast, fish for lunch, a Clipper for tea, plus schooners and a stunning racer !’ “I drank Summer like a sweet wine” (wrote Louis Aragon) and a great many in New Zealand experienced an absolutely glorious one of sunny days under the clearest of blue skies, with long evenings, periods of wonderful sailing and family gatherings at which a fair quantity of fine wines of the world, I daresay went `down the hatch !’ Now it the turn of those of you in the Northern hemisphere to enjoy your Summer months. Get out the little yachts, get down to the lakes or ponds and really have a ripper of a windle before the fun season pales into insignificance. Dominique Tourte and a Youpi change rate at the time. It is worthy of another look by way of a second photograph. I’d like to start this column with a lovely photograph of a 92cm one-design gaffrigged Cutter made in France and marketed as Youpi. (Brilliantly photographed ! by the builder Dominique Tourte, it is a vintage 12m, that is very Fife-ish in its stately grandeur and graceful on the water beyond belief. This is a really stunning model sailboat. Phillip, a friend of mine the Czech Republic has bought one of the kits, the hull in fiberglass but Dominique also supplies complete boats to order, those in the region of 700 Euros plus shipping. A hull alone costs 100 Euros which I believe is about US$ 136.00 depending on the ex- Page 4 Youpis under sail. Still with France (it must be that French wine !) and a pretty little French fishing boat, the Cap Sizun. This one was bought as a kit in England by Bob Walters and started by him prior to his illness. Taken over by Ron Rule of our Auckland Ancient Mariners, he made a really nice job The Cap’n Bobo, built from a Cap Sizun kit. of finishing it and naming it Cap’n Bobo Thermopylae; nothing more need be said. Page 5 in honour of our late sailing friend. A mouth watering, lust-inducing (remember, `thou shalt not lust over another man’s boat !’) squarerigged tea clipper Thermopylae made by and the property of Englishman David Edwards of Dorset, England. Built pine-planking on plywood frames to 1.48 scale and 4’ 5” in length, the lovely photograph is by Peter Taylor, both gents sailing members of the Setley RC Model Boat Club where a humble writer once badly sailed in a regatta! (Ahem !) Visit the great club website at www.srcmbc.org.uk The schooner Single Malt (top) photographed in Queensland, Australia by my friend Rick Mayes is just one of some twenty boats built and sailed by the late Roy `Wally’ Thomson also of Queensland. It is now owned by Steve Johnston. Meanwhile in Maroochydore, Mayes has had a hull of the Maltese Falcon (center) made in fiberglass from an original he made– a beautiful looking hull, I think many may agree. A beautiful mover and a great looker, the RC model made by Murray White of the extreme thirty feet at the waterline, forty feet long Sunbeam, (bottom) the original built in New Zealand by Logan Brothers in the very early 1900’s for a Mr A.J Pittar of Sydney Australia. Murray’s model is one of the really delightful boats often seen on the lake at Onepoto when the Ancient Mariners are sailing there. (Murray does not care all can drool all they want at his Sunbeam …so long as they don’t dribble over it !) Mark Steele Page 6 Skiff sailing in New York Harbor, ca. 1900. This would not be much different from the sort of sailing Bassford engaged in. The Model Sailing Yachts of Franklyn Bassford, Revised and Updated The racing classes were based on LWL measurement only, with a handicapping system to compensate for differences in sail area. Franklyn Bassford Organized model yachting began, as best we can tell, in the New York area in 1872. It grew rapidly in popularity and by the 1890’s there were three clubs, an interclub union to determine championships, and spirited competition. The boats of the period were, of course, free-sailing, and were raced on open water: the lake at Prospect Park in Brooklyn, the Hudson River, and Long Island Sound. The manner of racing was distinctively American: races were held on triangular courses of as much as a mile. Skippers followed their boats in one-man skiffs and trimmed or altered course as necessary. Despite the fleet racing appearance, each boat was actually being timed, with an adjustment made for its sail area and 10 seconds deducted for each time its skipper was obliged to touch his boat. Lewis Franklyn Bassford (1856-1897) was the son of a composer, who had written an opera called The Phantom Ship, based on the story of The Flying Dutchman. When he was three months old, his parents set sail for France, where his father was to enroll in the Paris Conservetoire. They were lost at sea, and he was raised in New Jersey by his maternal grandparents. He became an expert on yachting and a marine artist; one of his works is the basis of a famous Currier and Ives print. He wrote four articles for Outing magazine, which appeared in February and March 1895 and March and April 1896, describing a first and second design which I will call the 1894 and the 1895 boats. These articles give us a remarkably detailed view into at least one designer and builder’s practices of the day. As we will see, the model yachting done by Bassford Page 7 Two Bassford paintings: “Mayflower Saluted by the Fleet,” top, and “The Schooner Coronet,” bottom. The Mayflower painting became a Currier and Ives print; the Coronet depicted in the lower picture still exists and is now being restored at the International Yacht Restoration School in Newport, RI Page 8 was in support of his full-scale yacht designing, and so it is not clear how widely spread some of his ideas were. Sadly, his yacht making venture failed, and he committed suicide in 1897. totype will yield misleading results. This is why, in the 32nd America’s Cup, any model larger than one-third size was counted as part of a team’s quota of fullsize boats. Bassford’s notion of deriving significant conclusions about full-size boats from small size sailing replicas has been discredited over the years. The reason is the so-called “scale effect” which says that a half size model will have one-fourth the sail area but only one-eighth the amount of ballast. The smaller you make the model the worse this disparity becomes. Current thought is that any model smaller than one-third the size of the pro- Even though Bassford’s ideas no longer have currency, they are worth study as an example of the thinking of model yachtsmen of his era. 1890‘s Design Principles The objectives were summed up best by Bassford himself in the opening paragraphs of his first article, aptly titled “Miniature Yacht Modeling. Its Practical and Scientific Service:” The yacht Katrina, used by Bassford as an example of the value of model yachts in the analysis of full-size boats, an assertion disproved by later experience. Page 9 Model yacht sailing, of the scientific and practical sort, must not be confounded with the pastime of sailing shop-made toys, the diversion and delight of many youths with an inborn and inherent passion for the sea. Nor must it be confounded with the methods of those who themselves build models, sometimes monstrosities, for the mere amusement of winning races in model yacht club regattas, regardless of whether or no their craft could be reproduced in any other proportions. The model yacht building and sailing of which I desire to treat is of great practical and economical value, for by it some of the most abstruse and puzzling questions of “form,” in its ability to ride over and cut through a seaway, to get to windward, and other like points, can be more decisively demonstrated than by actual vessels. Strange as this may seem at first blush, a moment’s consideration will show its reasonableness, for the miniature model when sailing is sailing entirely on her form; the simplicity of her equipment and entire absence of the individual element necessitate this result. If she fails in any particular it is the failure of her design; if she succeeds the success is attributable to her design alone; whereas in the actual boat the man at the wheel is able to counteract faults and tendencies to deviate from the true course and to hide many defects. If the model shows creditably it is on its own merits, whereas in the larger vessels it may be, and often is, the captain and the crew to a great extent to whom the credit belongs. Owing to the capacity of many yacht captains, good results are often obtained from poor boats, and “the navigator’s skill must increase with the size of the ship; “but in the model, aside from the initial trimming of the sails before the start, the boat herself must do the rest, and it is about certain that the worst one will get worsted. Both these results have been too often noted to require further argument. An actual yacht may not be properly masted, the center of effort of her sails may be very far from her center of lateral resistance, and the profile form of her keel may be more of a hindrance than a help; yet, with an extraordinarily competent captain, she may still very often win, which a model yacht so defective never could. When, then, the mode} does win, a form which is worthy of imitation has been found and at a very slight expense. The crucial test of the value of the model in solving these problems was made in the fall of 1889 by A. Cary Smith, the well-known yacht designer. He had built the seventy-foot sloop Katrina, and she carried a lee helm, which, it was thought, might be remedied by moving the mast aft, the step of which, however, was so close to the centerboard trunk that the latter would also have to be moved, and the experiment promised to be very costly, with no certainty of entire success. At Mr. Smith’s suggestion an absolute facsimile of the large boat was built on a scale of an inch to the foot, and it also carried a lee helm: “the baby had the tricks of its mother,” as was well said at the time. The fault was first inexpensively corrected in the miniature, and the same alterations then applied to the large vessel on precisely the same relative proportions, showing again the same results, the Katrina winning the New York Yacht Club’s regattas of 1890-’91 over the Shamrock (which had defeated her in ‘89) While this test is absolutely final and conclusive, it only bears out results which are obtained and noted every day in the handling and performances of all really good miniatures. Hull Bassford then continues to argue that a model should have the proportions of a “proper” full sized yacht, that is, one that is esthetically pleasing and most importantly, one that could have been built. This philosophy parallels that of “freelance” models in model railroading, which are replicas of nonexistent, but perfectly plausible, prototypes. Bassford chose an LWL of 35”, the smallest allowed by the rules of the time and one which conveniently scales to the full Page 10 The 1894 boat, top and left, and the 1895 boat, bottom and right. Note how Bassford changed the design to make the boat stiffer in the water: more draft, more beam, and harder bilges. sized “70 footer” class at a half inch to the foot. This yields a boat a little over 50” LOA, which has proven to be a very convenient size. He then gives the following proportions: LOA = 1.5 LWL. Maximum draft = 6 to 8”, with the point of maximum draft a little ahead of the sternpost, yielding a rounded keel which Page 11 sheds weeds, is easier to unstick if aground, and provides a “reverse truss” for strength. scuppers with 1 1/2” between each, starting at the attachment point of the aft shroud. Maximum beam at 60% LWL, which yields the “raking midsection” type of hull. Stability Freeboard of 1/10 the LOA at maximum point, down to 1/20 at the rudder post, rising again to avoid the appearance of a droop. Bulwarks and rail: 5/8” at point of maximum freeboard, tapering to 3/8 at the point of least and then down to nothing at the taffrail, to facilitate draining of the deck. On his second hull he added 2” Bassford argues strongly for removable external ballast in order to carry a sail plan that was close to that of a full-size seventy-foot boat. This indicates that he was aware of how his models were influenced by scale effect but did not explicitly recognize the cause. He gives three designs for external ballast: “lead centerboards,” in which the external keel simulates the shape (in profile at least) of a centerboard, and two kinds of fin keel. The shape and method Page 12 of attachment of each is shown in his sketches. His preference was for the full fin keel, which slips into a slot in the deadwood and is held on the aft end by a tab, possibly riding on a transverse screw, and the fore end by the threaded sleeve shown. The other form of fin keel is attached by “turn buttons,” which go in the slots shown and then are rotated 90 degrees to lock the fin in place. Bassford gives the displacement of the 1895 boat as 14.9 lbs and claims that 10 lbs. of lead can be carried; I calculate the displacement at closer to 16 lbs, and based on plank on frame M boat experience the hull should carry 11 to 11 1/2 lbs of lead easily. Construction Three methods are described: bread and butter using solid lifts, bread and butter using lifts with the centers cut out, as we know today, and plank on steamed frame. Interestingly, Bassford spends considerable time extolling the advantages of cutting the centers out of lifts; checking other publications of the era shows that this was, indeed, an innovation at that time. Rig Bassford’s rig is closer to full-size practice than was common amongst the designs of those who engage in the “mere amusement of winning races in model yacht club regattas.” He duplicates in essential detail the “triple headed” cutter rig of the day, with its three foresails (jib, staysail, and jib topsail or flying jib), the gaff-rigged main, and club top-sail. Most of his contemporaries, who were less concerned with relating to full-size boats, were running simplified gaff rigs with no topsail and one or two foresails. The artist in him comes out when he discusses sail proportions: If a model yachtsman has the real interests of his craft at heart he will devote all his energies to producing a light and shapely vessel, and cutting her spars and sails of stylish and effective shapes as well as proportions. For instance, nothing can so materially add to appearances, at any visible distance, as a cleanly cut club-topsail, with extremely short leach set over a gaff, peaked as high as possible to preserve the necessary area in the mainsail, or a jib with a high clew and a staysail carried well up the masthead to close the otherwise awkward-looking gap between the forestay and the jib-leach. The proportions he gives are as follows: Mast at 1/3 LWL. Height of mainmast = LWL. Mainboom 1.25 LWL. 70% of mainboom to jib tack. 60% of mainboom for gaff. Hoist of mainsail equal to or slightly less than length of gaff. Topmast = gaff plus 2-4” for setting club topsail. 55% of the fore space devoted to the jib boom, 45% to the staysail boom. Jib topsail 50% of the stay carrying it. Spars thickest in center and tapering to both ends, except for the mainmast, which is parallel to the point of attachment of the shrouds, then tapered above that. As the sail plan shows, the result is indeed a pleasing rig. With all sails set, she carries an impressive 1830 square inches of sailcloth. This full rig would only be used in light air. When it starts to blow, sail is shortened by removing the club topsail, the top mast and its side and fore stays, the spreader, and the jib topsail. This not only reduces the sail area to a more reasonable 1400 square inches, but it also drops the center of effort seven inches (the CE moves about an inch aft in the process). To give a comparison with contemporary designs, an EC 12 has similar draft, about Page 13 Page 14 it after the side stays are removed, and Bassford emphasizes the importance of reducing windage by removing the topmast as well as the topsail clubs. The running rigging reflects the special requirements of skiff sailing. Adjustments, including from beat to reach to run, must be made with one hand (the other is holding the oars) on a model that is floating just a little below eye level. In contrast to pond sailing, where the boat is adjusted before it is launched, the time spent adjusting a skiff sailed boat carries a double penalty: time not spent moving along the course, plus the penalty assessed for touching your boat. Adjustments must therefore be both rapid and positive. 2/3 the sail area, and carries almost twice as much lead. Hence the need for external ballast. The standing and running rigging is shown on the diagrams; the rigging of the halliards is shown in the drawings of the fittings. As mentioned before, the standing rigging is variable depending on the sail set. The permanent rigging consists of the three side stays on either side which run to the base of the spreader, and the two fore stays that support the jib and the staysail. The other two side stays, and the topmost fore stay, are removed when sail is shortened. I have concluded that the removable spreader is also taken down with the topmast, as there is no purpose for Page 15 The basic mechanism for adjusting the sheets is the pin rack, or “cribbage board.” Seeing one of these on an old boat is a sure sign she was built to be sailed from a skiff. Not only is moving a pin from one hole to another quicker and easier than one-handed adjustment of a bowsie, the adjustment stays put even in the face of strong winds. There are two pin racks; one on the spreader and one on the deck just after the mast. The deck rack is twelve inches long by 3/4” wide and is placed about six inches aft of the mast. Two or three lines of holes, spaced 1/2” are drilled in the Page 16 board. Screw eyes with their threads cut off are used for the pins. The sheets for the foresails run as shown in the diagram. One end is made fast to an eye on the port side of the boat. The sheet is then reeved through a hook attached to loop on the boom, through an eye on the starboard side, and then back to a pin on the rack. The sheet for the jib topsail is made fast to a pin arm of the spreader/pin rack, reeved through a attached to loop or grommet in the clew of the sail, and then made fast to a pin on the other arm. Based on the sketches, I’ve concluded that the spreader exceeds the beam by about an inch on each side, which would make it 12” long. The mainsheet is more complex. The diagram shows the sheet in its close-hauled, or beating position. It is hooked to an eye in the stern, then reeved through an open eye on the boom, down to the tiller, back to another open eye, along the boom to a closed eye, and then to the deck and forward to the pin rack. When running or on a reach, the line is cast off from the stern eye and the two open eyes on the boom, and hooked to the tiller. Thus the “Z” reeving of the line when close hauled takes up the considerable difference in sheet length between close hauled and boom outboard with such a long mainboom. The advantage of this scheme is that it eliminates the need for separate beating and running sheets and one can go from sheeting full in to sheeted full out (and vice versa) very rapidly. The self-steering mechanism is the sheetto-tiller rig that was standard at the time. The center of effort of the mainsail is a good eighteen inches or so aft of the mast; when swung out for a run, this exerts a powerful asymmetric force, tending to turn the boat in the direction away from the boom. To compensate, an aftfacing tiller is rigged with a tensioning elastic on the forward end. The mainsheet is hooked to the tiller. As the boom swings further outward (indicating greater wind force), the sheet pulls on the tiller against the resistance of the elastic and applies compensating rudder. The range of rudder angle is controlled by a traveller with two threaded buttons; this is placed at right angles to the rudder and the buttons A single “jumper stay” is rigged on the port side. This runs from the end of the gaff, through a loop on a short line, and then down to the mast partner described below. This line is used to pull down the end of the gaff and hold the club topsail taut while running. It is loosened for runs and reaches. The halliards are shown in the fittings diagram, although in some cases you have to look a little carefully to see them. Bassford, interestingly, recommends the “jam bowline” knot even though flat toggles or bowsers were well known at the time. There are two halliards for the mainsail. The “peak halliard” is reeved through the three rings on the upper mainmast in the zigzag fashion shown. At the apex of each “V” is a ring that attaches the halliard to a fixed line, or “pennant” on the gaff. This arrangement sits on the port side of the club topsail, when it is set, and raises the aft end of the gaff. The peak halliard is tensioned on itself by a loop and jam bowline on the top ring. The “throat halliard” is a short line that runs from the bottom of the three rings to jaw of the gaff and is looped and tensioned on itself; it is used to raise the jaw end of the gaff. A single halliard runs from the bottom corner of the club topsail, down the mainmast, and is made fast to a mast partner. The jib and staysail halliards are attached to the top corners of the sails, and run through the bent wire bridles then down to the mast partners. Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Fittings and Construction The details of the fittings are shown in the previous two pages. All fittings made from sheet are 1/64” brass. The spreader is made of hickory or equivalent hard wood, riveted to the brass half-collar. The mainmast is 5/8” diameter, tapered as described before. The topmast is 3/8” diameter, straight to the band holding the stays and then tapered and with a finial as shown in the drawing. All other spars and booms are 3/8” in the center and taper to 1/4” at each end. The clubs for the topsail are a constant 1/4”. The hoist of the mainsail is attached to the mainmast with brass hoops spaced at 1 1/2” intervals. The gaff is equipped with a “bridge.” This is a 1/8” square piece of “cigar box wood” (so-called “Spanish Cedar”) which runs the length of the gaff on its lower side. Holes are drilled laterally through it every 1/2” or so and the mainsail is laced through these. The main, jib, and staysail booms are equipped with wire staples every 1/2” to hold a jackline to which the sail is laced. The ends of the sails are sewn to the eyes on the brass bands at the end of the spars. The club topsail is laced to two clubs with a running lock-stitch, which leaves each turn circular rather than a spiral. The clubs attach to the gaff and topmast with two double-loop bands each. The inside band is fixed to the topmast and gaff, respectively, and the outside band is fixed to the club. Each club is cut with a shoulder so it can slip into the bands only to the proper length. When the topsail halliard is made fast the tension on the sail holds the clubs in place. Likewise, the topmast slips into a lower band which is fixed to the mainmast, and holds an upper band which slips over the top of the mainmast in the position shown. It is also shouldered for proper fixing. Since the topmast is removed whenever the club topsail is, it would be reasonable to fix vertical club permanently to the topmast. The bowsprit is shouldered, and slips through a gammon strap on the bow and into an inboard strap attached to the deck. Both straps are rolled from sheet brass. The inboard strap is cut with a tab that is rolled back and soldered to form the point of attachment of the staysail stay. An inboard bobstay plate is fixed to the bow with the loop at the waterline. The bobstay runs from it, through a turnbuckle, and to the bowsprit strap as shown. Bassford recommends 1/16” brass rod for the bobstay. The sketch, but not the plans, shows two side stays attached to the bowsprit strap. These would run back to hooks at deck level, two or three inches aft of the bow. The standard practice of the period was run the mast down to a seat in the keel. Bassford rightly criticizes such an arrangement as being prone to leaks. Instead, he runs an interior brace up to the deck at the mast position, and places this mast step above it. It is made from 5/8” I.D. brass tubing, cut and bent as shown. The four ears at the base are riveted and soldered to an octagonal brass plate. The tabs are bent down to form the four partners, to which are attached the halliards for the club topsail, jib, and staysail and the jumper stay. Note the slot for the gooseneck. The “inverted L” gooseneck fitting is fixed to the mast, with an eye on the mainboom. The mast fitting slides into that slot on the mast step, locking the mast properly in place. Sails Sails were made from a cotton textile called “Lonsdale Cambric,” now extinct. This is a very tightly woven (150 or more threads to the inch) cloth made from long staple (Egyptian or Sea Island) cotton. No truly satisfactory replacement has been found, although the “down cambric” Page 20 used in down pillows and comforters is close; it is tightly woven to prevent the ends of the feathers from poking through. The use of modern, synthetic sail material carries both advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, the newer material is resistant to rot and lighter than cotton, which reduces the weight aloft. On the other hand, it is much less porous, meaning it will produce more thrust and more heeling force on a boat that is already on the edge of being overcanvassed. The jib and staysail and are sewn to their respective stays as shown in the bowsprit sketch, with widely spaced loops on the luff (forward edge) and spiral sewing around the jackline on the boom. We can safely surmise the jib topsail was sewn to its stay in a similar way, although of course it does not have a boom. Bassford specifically states that there is no halliard for the jib topsail. An R/C replica, built by Hugh Allston from the 2000 article. A Mystery Boat The photograph of the mystery boat was acquired on eBay some years ago. The seller had no knowledge of where or when it was taken. Close examination shows that the hull is identical to, or heavily influenced by, the Bassford articles. The absence of a pin rail on the deck is evidence that this was a pond sailed boat rather than one sailed from a skiff. The boat is resting on a stand that clearly goes up into the hull, most likely into the slot for the fin keel Bassford describes. The rig differs from that given in the articles in that a larger percentage of the sail area is in the topsail and the jib topsail. This means that shortening sail would produce a greater reduction in area than that envisioned by Bassford. Earl Boebert (2000 and 2011) The Mystery Boat Page 21 The Compelling Nature of Experienced Marbleheads. Marblehead Class many times was far ahead of their full size counterparts. Competitive Sailing: With the beginning of the Vintage Marblehead racing season in New England this year, discussion arose concerning sailing of “newer” Marblehead designs at Vintage Marblehead events. In an email I apparently said something of pertinence, as I was asked to contribute the email to this publication. I intended the email to suggest a name for a new class of Vintage Marbleheads, but it was also an opportunity to speak about why I think Marblehead Class boats are so compelling. Below you will find the core of the material from the email, and perhaps it might parallel other individual’s sentiments. Design, Designations, Classification, and Naming It might be worth looking at full size classic boat sailing as an example of precedence, in particular the Eggemoggin Reach Regatta and its feeder races on the coast of Maine. The class divisions there parallel similar things that go on in international classic sailboat racing. A link to the regatta, feeder races, and in particular class divisions, is at http://www.erregatta.com/schedule.ht ml I am not suggesting that a clone of such be created, just that other people have faced a similar question of how to keep classic boats alive, encourage their restoration, and also provide impetus for new building along with new designing of a classic look. Particularly interesting is the classification “Spirit of Tradition” which encourages new building and often producing a classic form above the water, yet go fast exotic below I think the Marblehead Class has strong overlaps with the history of designs and interest in these full size boats. But the Obviously my sailing results show that I am not all that interested in end of the regatta points standing. VM racing does emphasize finish results, but not to the extent other small sailboat classes do. It is always a pleasure to sail with others sailing older Marbleheads, because it seems to be the history that holds sway and not Sea Lawyers, and of course, sometimes those court room voices are heard. Notice I did not say model yacht above. I think of the boats we sail, Marblehead Class boats, as small sailboats and not models. And that leads me to why I think encouraging the continuation of Marblehead Class boat sailing as significant, be it Vintage M’s, Traditional M’s, or Contemporary M’s. Marbleheads are of a scale which presents itself well on a pond, in a park, or other urban public places. They are large enough to have presence, something that smaller R/C class boats lack in my mind. And they are not so large that you are taken by size instead of elegance. And at the same time they are relatively easy to transport. The above basically just repeats priorities of the founding class members, but it still rings true, and hopefully perpetuates. Why Marbleheads: I am not a fan of One Design Classes. Having spent a lot of sailing time with EC12’s I found very little room to experiment with boat design due to class restrictions, and thus basically lots of the same appearing boat on the water. Marbleheads become just the opposite experience, being originally a designers Page 22 riod boats on the water I think you would subvert the flaw that arose in Marblehead interest and sailing, and add a regeneration of energy to the class. The Art of this Stuff Mention has been made of my WoodenBoat School course and the current VM the course builds, Rusticator, which is a boat of my design that can be built to sail in either the Traditional or High Flyer divisions. Thom’s Rusticator design. class. Hence a variety of hull forms, rig types, construction approaches, and lots of interesting sights both on and off the water. Being no where as seasoned as the rest of you, and quickly acquiescing to your experienced insights, but it does seem to me that the stumbling block for Marbleheads became too much competitive emphasis and escalating costs. By creating and encouraging a class emphasis based on getting a variety of pe- ing section. Rusticator’s form comes from a number of sources. The flat aft sections are from looking at W.J. Daniels early classic pond boat Prospero. The fin, believe it or not, is from my admiration of Selmar Larson’s Marblehead Broom designs. And thirdly there are references from a full size racing sailboat built just down the road from me at Brooklin Boatyard. That boat is Ginger and it sails in the Spirit of Tradition class mentioned in the open- I think the full size Ginger speaks of the history of the Marblehead Class in the evolution of challenging design yet still classic in form. It would be great to see the Marblehead Class continue to encompass many eras, from its beginning to its present. As an addendum I have included a photo of Rusticator. This year marks the fourteenth year of my teaching the construction of plank built pond boats at Page 23 WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, ME. Rusticator is the third in a series of my VM designs that the course has built, and there is another design in the prototype stage, so stay tuned. My intentions for the course have been to expose to participants the process of building vintage pond boats, and hopefully that would lead to restorations or building of more classic pond boats and their sailing in urban settings. Information about the course can be found under the course listings for the WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, ME that is associated with WoodenBoat magazine or at: http://bit.ly/nshmHM Thom McLaughlin The Model Yacht is published three times a year by the U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Group. Copyright 1998 to 2011 U.S.V.M.Y.G. Reproduction for noncommercial purposes permitted; all other rights reserved. Other copyrights are maintained by the original holders and such material is used here under the fair use provisions of the relevant copyright acts for nonprofit research and educational purposes. Editorial Address: 9219 Flushing Meadows NE Albuquerque NM 87111 Email: boebert@swcp.com Phone: 505 823 1046 Officers of the U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Group: President: John Snow Eastern Vice-President: Ben Martin Western Vice-President: Dominic Meo, III Midwest Vice-President: Tom Pratt Southeastern Vice-President: Thom Mclaughlin Vintage M Class Coordinator: John Henson Vintage 36 Inch Coordinator: Al Suydam A Class Coordinator: Rod Carr U.K. Coordinator: Graham Reeves Canadian Representative: Doug McMain Historian: Earl Boebert Archivist: Jim Dolan VMYG member Bill Huizing has launched his scratch-built 87-inch LOA R/C wooden model of Edward Burgess’ successful 1885 America’s Cup (AC) Defender yacht Puritan at the Mystic Seaport Museum. Bill now plans to participate with this model at the 2011 VMYG National Regatta at Spring Lake, NJ. Page 24