The Model Yacht: Volume 18, Number 2 – Winter 2016-2017

LINCOLN MEMORIAL POOL, WASHINGTON, DC NEWSLETTER OF THE U.S. VINTAGE MODEL YACHT GROUP VOLUME EIGHTEEN, NUMBER TWO Winter 2016-2017 Page 1 NEWSLETTER OF THE U.S. VINTAGE MODEL YACHT GROUP VOLUME EIGHTEEN, NUMBER TWO Winter 2016-2017 Editor’s Welcome In this issue we present two articles on restoration, or perhaps we should say revitalization, of older boats: Carita, whose first stages of restoration by Tom Schreiber was described in an earlier issue, and Tritonia, brought back to life and sailed by John Stoudt. While we generally advise against restoring older boats as it affects their value, in both these cases the boats were in pretty sad shape and so nothing of significant value was lost. The alternative to restoring an old boat in your possession is to construct a duplicate using new materials and modern adhesives. To do this you need plans, and we present a technique for taking the lines off a boat that neither requires special equipment or touching the surface of the boat. We hope this method will lead to not only the documentation but the replication of many of the old boats we know are owned by our members. Earl Boebert Ebbs and Flows The President’s Message Vintage Membership Our US VMYG membership is $30 for three issues of The Model Yacht newsletter over fifteen-month period. It is $35 for members outside the US. Our Lifetime membership is no longer available with existing members having option to continue Lifetime status or provide annual donation. Through our newsletter, members gain access to technical design, building and historical articles related to our models and the sport. Also, periodic notifications and reports on our VMYG-sponsored events. These encompass six design model groups defined elsewhere in this issue along with coordinators contact information. To subscribe to or renew your membership, send $30 or $35 check (payable to US VMYG) to: John Snow, c/o US VMYG, 8 Summit Avenue, Salem, MA 01970. For more information, you can call John at 978-594-8521 at home or 781-576-9831 via cell, or visit the US VMYG Web Site: www.usvmyg.org Page 2 “Weigh Ahead” Members Survey Results have been processed from survey forms for our US VMYG “Lay Line” now called the “Weigh Ahead” strategy. This supports our phased implementation plan, with promised updates for the VM, V36, and Traditional Water Craft (Schooners, Skipjacks and Unrestricted model groups) now available on the US VMYG Web Site: http://pages.swcp.com/usvmyg/index. html We feel the following initial priorities remain on track: • Newsletter emailing vs. snail mailing is evolving into viable process for newsletter delivery by late 2017 or early 2018. (Volume #?) Note: Subsequent issues will continue to address status of implementation progress for our Weigh Ahead approach. • $7 registration fee per boat has been invoked when model group coordinators issue member’s request for initial sail number. Fee also applies for additional boat requests by same member and for different sail number. Please use the boat registration form and mail it to the class coordinator until our web-based registration is available. • Member Jim Flach is working closely with Earl Boebert to derive the most effective approach to upgrade the US VMYG website. Jim will then collaborate with John Stoudt to develop integrated master database of all vintage models under US VMYG by owner and type of design category: Vintage A Boat, V36/600, VM50/800, Schooner, Skipjack, and Unrestricted Class. Our final database version will include inputs from our vintage design group coordinators as to data verification and products needed by users to promote these design categories. • Executive outreach on the Weigh Ahead strategy identified Ernie Mortensen as our new West Coast Representative. Ernie’s insights will be part of our future newsletters as well as those from each design group coordinator as they get “feet wet” during 2017 season. US VMYG is looking for interested individuals to serve in the same capacity in other regions of the country. We are also looking for someone to coordinate a vane steering (free-sail) class. • US VMYG checking account upgrade is anticipated by late 2017. This is in prep for a 2018 PayPal option of electronic payments, to include membership, registration fees for models, regatta entry fees, newsletter CDs, and model design plans. • Rules for the Schooners and Skipjacks models have now been completed and are posted on US VMYG website. The Unrestricted Class Rules will be available shortly. This set of rules is intended to include all those boats that do not fit into any of the other available rules. WoodenBoat School Class Build Your Own Plank-Constructed Pond Yacht: A Vintage Marblehead Class Pond Yacht designed for radio control. Taught by our Thom McLaughlin; offered for September 10-16. For more information go to: http://bit.ly/2kr1giF 2017 VM Invitational Regatta on Conservatory Waters Central Park MYC will host this VM models event on Saturday, April 22, from 10 am to 1 pm. Contact Vice Commodore Bruce Richter at richterbruce@gmail.com or 917-575-2221 (cell) by April 7 if you plan to attend. Page 3 Carita An Unexpected find (Part Three) 2017 Traditional Watercraft National Regatta We are fortunate to now have The Marbleheaders of Springlake Club again host our traditional watercraft regatta at Springlake, NJ. Weekend date is June 17 18. Skipjacks will sail Saturday; Schooners and Unrestricted boats on Sunday. Unrestricted boats are defined as early designs not fitting into our other groups. Daily racing will be set-up to allow travel time each day for each set of skippers. Harry Mote from host club will be the RD. His contact information is hjmote@verizon.net or 609-660-0100. 2017 US VMYG VM / V36 National Regatta We also very fortunate to have identified another New England sailing site for our annual VM and V36 regatta. It will be hosted by the new Nashua MYC, Nashua, NH. Rick Gates is the club lead at rgates1@comcast.net Regatta will be on expanded weekend of July 14-16. NOR/ Entry packet is expected to be available late March. It will be posted on the US VMYG Website and Nashua MYC Web Site that is still evolving. In interim, interested skippers should contact John Snow as RD at jsnowj@comcast.net or 978-594-8521. Eight Bells Al Hubbard 1934-2016 It is with deep sadness and regret that I must record the passing of Al Hubbard, master craftsman and one of the stars of our “Building Planked Models” video. Besides his woodworking skills Al was a master machinist who constructed many marine and railway steam engines. Our condolences go out to his wife, children, and all his many friends in our hobby. Earl Boebert Much time has passed since Cartia has been on the workbench. The summer sailing season came, and has now passed, so several projects started are being continued. More research has been done and lessons learned with many more to go. It’s necessary at this point to divulge that I am no longer pursuing a restoration, as I understand the term. For me, that means returning the boat back to as close to what it was when it was first fabricated, using the same materials. I want to get the boat to a condition which will allow me to sail her to further my understanding of sail trim, so some compromises had to be settled on. I have settled on using the term refurbished to describe the work performed. All work has continued respecting what she was created to be, only making prudent changes which did not detract from that end, but make her, in my mind, useable. The deck rails were returned to their original locations, using the same holes in the deck. The hole walls had been first coated with thin super glue, applied using the eye end of a sewing needle to get complete coverage, which sealed and bound all the wood fibers. This was followed by allowing the holes to fill, as they may, with the marine varnish when it was applied to the hull and deck. Re-drilling was required to open them up to accept the original brass tacks which had held the rails to the deck. A snug fit was accomplished. A new cover had to be fabricated at the bow, where the bowsprit passes through the rails. Previously, something resembling a kitchen cabinet door bracket had been installed. I used mahogany veneer layered, as one would make plywood, to get the shape as close as possible, as quickly as possible, and to be as strong as possible. I felt this area would be stressed by the forestay pulling up on the forward end of the bowsprit. The forward horse Page 4 was re-installed, a new aft horse was fabricated, using copper coated welding rod and placed in, what are believed to be, the original holes in the deck. The original brass bowsprit chock was re-installed. Now to the rigging. Each of the five structural pieces were stripped of all wires and eyes and carefully looked over for cracks, or other damage not previously noticed. Issues found were: the mast had an area carved into it above the spreader on the port side; the gooseneck would need some work; the gaff boom fork was broken with only a small piece of the fork remaining, the jib boom had been broken at some point and a repair had been attempted which left the boom curled to port. Nothing major, all could be remedied. Now time for a decision…re-use or make new? After some days of going back and forth, the decision was made to repair and re-use the original. The process for each in turn followed: light sand (220 grit to remove what time had deposited and rough up the surfaces), apply two coats of thin super glue (to stabilize and bind the wood fibers as deeply as possible (do this in a well ventilated area)), perform any needed repairs, three coats of marine varnish. The carved out area in the mast had a pine filler piece made and epoxied in place. A new mahogany gaff fork was fabricated and attached and the jib boom was re-broken at the repair and set straight. The break had happened along a swirl in the wood grain, no doubt a defect from whenever the piece was fashioned. The area around the repair was filled with sanding dust mixed with epoxy. The mast and jib boom repairs are obvious, but, for me, they fit an old used boat. The brass on the main boom at the gooseneck was polished and the gooseneck hinge cleaned and lubricated. The nut was replaced with new brass, and a new bushing had to be fabricated to go in the new brass eye, which would go in the mast. The rigging small brass eye threads had deteriorated over time, so re-use was not possible. Replacements could not be found, anywhere. They are really small. What to do, what to do? The bowsprit guys were next. The chain already attached to the boat I felt was a bit “heavy” for the scale of the boat. I liked the style so I searched for a smaller version but came up empty. What to do, what to do? Those who do this kind of work can really relate! To replace the small brass eyes, I made new ones by twisting stainless steel safety wire. The wire was looped around a 1/16 drill bit pinched in my workbench vise, and twisted. The drill bit shaped the eye and the twisted wire will act as the securing post when glued in the hole and provide an irregular surface for the glue to bite. The wire diameter used was 0.032 so after twisting, the stem diameter is a snug fit to a 1/16 diameter hole. Cleaning the wire posts with acetone and using super glue to secure will produce a bond strong enough to support the weight of the boat, plus. (12 lbs). The eyes will never see loads great enough to distort, handling damage aside. Time will tell the rest of the story. To stabilize the bowsprit, new spreaders were made from brass tubing and fastened. I used the twisted safety wire concept, making the “posts” 7 inches long. These are attached to the hull after being fed through the spreader guide, which leaves the eye on the forward side to which the original guy chain is attached. Some way of tightening the lines needed to be devised. I settled on using 2-56 stainless steel bolts, threaded into brass tubing. They sound heavy but only weigh 3 grams each when finished. They were so effective I made and installed a total of 7 of these. Next were bowies. I didn’t want to use the modern plastic ones, so made some from a beef Page 5 stewing bone. They ended up scattered throughout the rigging as needed. The sails, oh the sails. I labored many days over what to use for material. After a couple of trips to the fabric store, and hours of research/search on the internet, I ended up using full size boat spinnaker ripstop nylon. I feel this is the biggest departure from the original of the whole project. The old tattered sails were laid out on paper and paper sails were fitted before the cloth was cut. Out came the sewing machine and after figuring out how to thread it, the hems were in and hanging the sails commenced. The main sail was first, due to just being easier to do. Then working out the standing and running rigging details. She is now finished. boats awaiting their turn on the workbench. Spring will arrive soon enough and with it a chance to get Carita’s bottom wet with a breeze in her sail. Regardless of how well she sails, she has made it back to the element for which she was created. The project was enjoyable and I would do it again. I gained again an appreciation for the things bygone craftsman did with, what today are considered, primitive tools and materials. I now have something others may also find interesting and also gain an appreciation for. If you get the chance to do something of this nature, take it, learn from it, in the end you will be a richer person for it. At this juncture in time, sailing is not possible due to the state of the water (solid). So Carita will be again be set aside while my attention goes to other Page 6 Tom Schreiber Tritonia A 1934 Marblehead Tritonia is a one-of-a-kind Marblehead pond yacht. This boat is said to have been built in 1934 and sailed on Redd’s Pond, Marblehead, MA, through the 1960’s. At that time, she belonged to Eddie Benjamin who was given the boat by a club member. Eddie worked at the boat yard on the edge of Redd’s Pond and owned the boat through the 50’s and 60’s. The boat was rigged for vane sailing at that time. John Snow, Jim Dolan and others remember sailing against this boat. She disappeared sometime in the late 60’s and was discovered in Maine on a shelf in a boat yard by the late Les “Bud” Connor. He recognized the boat and acquired it, returning her to Marblehead. The author purchased Tritonia from Worth Marine in 2000 and restored her, rigging her for RC sailing. The boat came with Bill Bithell sails (fine Egyptian cotton) which were recently retired and replaced with a suit made by Alan Suydam. Her hull is vertical bread and butter construction and she was rigged with original AJ Fisher and some custom fittings. The boat restoration was possible because of the knowledge and skills learned at WoodenBoat School in the classes taught by Alan Suydam and Thom McLaughlin. Tritonia is very fast and accelerates rapidly in light to moderate winds. She won her class at WoodenBoat School in 2009 and 2011 and placed third in her class at the Bithell Cup on Redd’s pond in October 2011. In 2013 she placed second in the USVMYG National Championship Regatta. In October 2013, she won the Bithell Cup Regatta on Redd’s pond in Marblehead. Tritonia got her name as a result of comments made at Redd’s pond the day she was purchased. “That boat is a real slug in the water”. The men at the pond were referring to the boat purchased by the guy from the Philadelphia area, the Tritonia, showing a clean pair of heels. Photo by Jane Peterson. Page 7 author. Tritonia is the name of a type of sea slug. The boat is an excellent light to moderate air boat and fun to sail. She does not do too badly in high winds either. With all due respect to the gentlemen of Marblehead, their memories and comments were much different during the 2013 Bithell Cup. They now remember “Eddie Benjamin’s boat to be fast back then”. Biff Martin leaned in during a fast downwind leg and said “Eddie Benjamin would be proud”. Condition Tritonia was in very rough shape when acquired. The author had no idea what would be involved to get the boat ready to sail. Here is a list of the observed conditions: The deck was too small. It was .1875 smaller in length and width. The rig was of recent construction, in usable condition, and fitted with Bill Bithell sails made of fine Egyptian cotton. The turnbuckles, gooseneck, jib fitting, and Jenny stay (upper spreader) were AJ Fisher fittings. All other fittings were custom made of .0469 sheet brass. The vane steering gear was missing except for a brass post on a square brass base. A few loose fitting deck beams were found when the deck was removed. These beams had no curvature. The inside of the hull had two coats of paint, cream over a green. The rudder was sheet steel covering something that gave it some weight, perhaps wood. The rudder tube was loose in the hull. The ballast bolts were rusted fast. The rudder shoe was made out of sheet steel and was in poor condition. The ballast bolts were cast into the lead ballast. The ballast was loose but in good condition. Clean Up The boat needed a lot of clean up before the reconstruction could begin. The process was as follows: Tritonia at rest. Photo by Nicholas Genovese There was a “wooden keystone” that aligned the ballast on the keel. There was a brass handle attached under the ballast bolts. The five coats of paint were peeling and chipping on the hull: copper, blue, green, cream and one coat of anti-fouling paint. Detailed sketches were made and dimensions taken so the original locations could be taken into consideration as the boat was reassembled and rigged. The hatch was a poor fit and a recent addition. The fittings were removed from the deck and the hull. The deck, which was coated with cream colored paint, was removed from the Page 8 Page 9 hull. This involved the removal of over 40 brass wood screws. Many were stripped in their holes. completed, sailed well. The performance did not seem to be hindered by a fixed-footed mainsail. Finish remover was used to clean three coats of paint from the deck. Hole-patterns on the deck were studied to determine what the original rig may have looked like. There were so many holes it was impossible to make any logical deduction about the arrangement of the original deck fittings. The ballast bolts and nuts had to have many applications of rust inhibitor applied before the nuts would release and the ballast could be removed from the hull. The inside of the hull was cleaned using finish remover, cabinet scrapers, and a rotary sanding pad on a Dremel tool. The inside of the hull was covered with drill marks made by a drill that might have been a modified Forstner bit. This was used to maintain the hull thickness during the construction process. These “marks” were about 1.25 inches in diameter. The tip and cutting edge of this bit had been modified so it did not cut too deeply into the hull. The hull thickness was very uniform at slightly less than .25 inch. The hull had been constructed using vertical bread and butter. Three quarter inch pine was used throughout. The top inside edge of the hull had an irregular lip around its entirety. The rudder tube entry point and the area where it was attached were oversized and going to need extensive work. The sails, as mentioned, had been made by Bill Bithell prior to his death. It is said that Greg Worth had multiple sets of Marblehead sails made by Bill in his later years. The sails are single panel sails. The foot of the mainsail was attached its entire length with a jack line. The shape of these sails was exceptional and the boat, once Reconstruction of the Hull Many things needed to be done to the hull to prepare it for use as an RC sail boat. The exterior of the hull was sanded lightly. Some filler was used in the process of fairing the hull, and the ballast was re-adhered to the fin keel with thickened West System Epoxy (WSE) and faired into the hull. A two inch wide strip of 1 ounce fiberglass cloth was applied to the entire centerline on the outside of the hull, for strength at that seam, and faired into the hull. Both the inside and outside of the hull were then coated with WSE. A uniform rabbet was routed along the inside edge of the top of the hull to provide a place for the deck beams to rest. Deck beams were then cut, notched, sealed, and epoxied in location using thickened WSE. Using a long board* the top edge of the deck beams were shaped (faired) into a uniform curved surface. The rudder tube was remade out of .25 ID brass tubing, epoxied and faired into the hull. The area on the inside of the hull was rebuilt using thickened WSE and a rudder thwart added. A new rudder shoe was made using .0625 sheet brass. A long board is a .125 x 3 x 15 inch piece of aviation plywood with adhesive backed 120 grit sand paper attached. Handles can be added to make holding the long board easier. This will flex to the shape being sanded and allow you to sand down the high points as the area faired into a smooth curve. * Page 10 Page 11 Reconstruction of the Deck A new deck had to be built using 1/8 inch aviation plywood. Today a special wooden deck might be constructed using a planking technique with fiberglass reinforcing on the bottom of the deck. A .125 aviation grade plywood deck was cut slightly oversize. Small hatch openings were made for final fitting at a later time. The deck dimensions were checked often to ensure a good fit. The deck was dry-fitted using tape, weights, elastic bands, and clamps to ensure a tight fit between the hull, deck beams, and the deck. Everything was then removed. Thickened WSE was applied to the top of all of the hull edges, deck beams, and hatch opening frames. The tape, weights, elastic bands, and clamps were reapplied to match the dry fit described above. The seam between the hull and deck, and deck and hatch frames were checked to ensure that there was “ooze” all along the joints, and after the epoxy had set the ‘clamping’ arrangement was removed. Page 12 The deck edge was then planed and sanded flush with the hull. The hatch openings in the deck were filed and sanded until flush with the hatch frames. joining it to the deck with thickened WSE. It was made to fit tightly over the hatch opening frame. The rear hatch cover was made to fit into the rear hatch opening. The rear hatch cover could be cut out of the deck with a sharp knife so the grain matches. This would give a grain match appearance on the deck. The fit will need to be worked slightly to account for the multiple coats of finish that will be applied to the deck opening area and the hatch cover. The rear hatch cover was attached with four 3/8 # 1 flat head brass wood screws. After the finish was applied and rubbed out, a very thin piece of adhesive backed foam insulation was adhered to the bottom edge of the hatch cover to ensure a waterproof fit. The fittings were re-installed on the deck at the original locations. The main hatch frame was built out of ‘L’ shaped wood and fitted to the deck, Improving Tritonia Throughout the process conversations were had with various people regarding ways to complete the boat and to make Tritonia competitive. When the author went to WoodenBoat School in 2007 to take Alan Suydam’s class to build a Vintage 36, Alan and the author had conversations about the hull construction, the size and shape of the rudder, the rig and the use of cotton sails. Thom McLaughlin, Pete and Jane Peterson, Andy Abrahamson, and others were also consulted. Page 13 The rudder needed to be replaced, because it was dented, heavy, and overall in very poor condition. The decision focused on what size and shape a replacement rudder should take. I sketched and built least four rudders until the current shape was finalized. The curvature of the deck – The original deck had little crown. The owner followed the design of the old deck. In retrospect the deck should have a more pronounced crown of .375 inch. Through sailing Tritonia in numerous events and having discussions more recently with Ivor Walton and others I’ve made additional improvements. The height of the rig seemed a low, especially for light air. I increased the height of the rig three inches.This improved the performance markedly. She catches air more easily, accelerates quickly, and sails fast in light to moderate air. The main sail hit the lower shroud when running with the wind. I moved the shroud racks forward one screw hole position. The open hole was filled with a brass wood screw the same size as those used to secure the shroud rack to the deck. The jib boom attachment point was .4” back from the front of the jib boom because the original AJ Fisher fitting was reused. Of course this was a vane steered boat and the downwind jib movement was controlled by a traveler, no longer in use. Without the traveler the dynamics of the jib sail are totally different using the original fitting at the forward most point of the jib boom. I corrected this by moving the jib attachment point back 20% of the length of the foot of the jib sail or 2.4”. Building Tritonia II speed. Some of these changes are the result of attending the Elements of Boat Design class at WoodenBoat School taught by John Brooks. In the class we discussed how low this boat sits in the water. The leeward side of the deck is awash when she is close hauled. Theoretically this increases the waterline when heeled over. This may also slow the boat. In the new version I would increase the height deck .25 inches above the waterline the entire length of the boat. Studying photographs of Tritonia under sail shows when she has reached maximum hull speed she squats in the stern and starts to climb her bow wave. Her rounded stern contributes to this squatting in the stern. The cure would be to straighten the lines of the hull at the stern on the sides to give the boat more flotation in the stern, as shown on the revised plan. As one studies other boats built in the 30’s one will find the keel and skeg on Tritonia to be unusual. The keel is rather long and the skeg is pronounced and extends forward to the keel. The keel begins to form just before the deep keel and continues aft to and includes the skeg. I would correct this by shortening the keel length to begin just before the deep keel and eliminating the full keel shape from the deep keel to the skeg, as shown on the revised plan. I would also reshape the skeg as shown. The original hull is bread and butter construction on vertical lifts. For the new boat I would use plank on frame construction. Finally, I would make no changes to the rig, but I would cut the deck beams to increase the crown on the deck to 3/8”. I’ve thought about making a Tritonia II, with design changes to improve her boat Page 14 John Stoudt Scat II A Previously Unknown Design by John Black The process generally begins by taking off the sections, and then developing the other curves by a process called lofting, which is described on our web site at http://bit.ly/2k43xjT Part II: Taking Lines In our previous issue we told the story of Scat II, built by the father of Dave Crawford when he was a student of John Black’s in Watertown, Mass. in 1930. Measuring the sections of an existing by the traditional method is a tedious process that require specialized equipment. Basically, at each section interval, one must obtain a series of When Dave brought the existence of this boat to my attention in a series of emails I knew that she was so important that her lines had to be in the historical record. Traditional Methods A hull is traditionally depicted by three drawings: a profile, a plan view, and a body plan. Each of these shows interior planes: the profile shows the buttocks, the plan view shows the waterlines and the body plan shows the sections. These are depicted in the illustrations that follow, which are from Thomas Moore’s Build a Winning Model Yacht. Page 15 measurements called offsets, as shown in the diagram below: the horizontal bare vertically and provides a readout of the dimension H in our diagram. The lower knob moves the bar back and forth and provides a readout of the dimension D. Besides requiring special equipment, the traditional method involves touching the hull being measured at multiple points, which may not be desirable for an old and important hull. A Modern Method This method also requires some measuring apparatus that touches the hull at each point of measurement. The most famous of such devices was used by Nathanael Herreshoff, who designed in three dimensions by carving half-hulls and then took offsets which were then scaled up to produce the full size boat. The operation of the device is shown in the photo below. The upper knob moves I had been experimenting with the application of modern digital technology to this problem for some time, and the opportunity posed by Dave Crawford’s boat got me going again. After some further trials I put together a set of instructions that Dave followed with great success. The required equipment is a digital camera, a laser level, and a vector graphics computer program. The process requires blocking up the boat so the waterline is level, setting the laser level to throw a vertical line on the hull, and then photographing the line. A focus block is placed just behind the laser line to “fool” the autofocus of the camera into focusing at the proper point: Halsey Herreshoff demonstrates the device for measuring sections of a half hull that his grandfather Nathanael had specially made by Brown & Sharpe. Pat Butterworth photo. Page 16 The resulting photograph will look like this: The next task is to convert the projected laser line to something that can be used for in a drawing. To do this we need a vector drawing program. I use EazyDraw for the Mac; there are several similar programs for Windows. The program should be able to handle “layers” and be able to smooth polylines into Bezier curves. The first step in conversion is to draw a polyline in a layer above that of the photo: Then the curve is smoothed: It can then be copied and pasted into the working drawing. Since we are working with a fair hull containing smooth transition from section we do not have to take a photograph at each desired section point. Rather, we can capture just three master sections: the midships master section, which defines the basic hull shape, the forebody master section, which defines the transition from the bow to midships, and the afterbody master section, which defines the transition from midships to the stem. The sections in between then can be interpolated by the lofting process. The midships master section is usually at the point of maximum beam. The other two sections take a bit of judgement to find, but they will be roughly halfway between midships and the end of the boat. The resulting full drawing for Scat II is shown on the next page. I hope this technique will be used by others to document boats in their possession and permit the building of replicas. Earl Boebert Page 17 Page 18 2016 USVMYG National Regatta Spring Lake, NJ September 23 – 25 We were fortunate to have a good rain a week before the regatta, which restored lake water level to about normal after a long drought. But we still took the precaution of marking a drainpipe hazard and shallow areas along the south shore. Yet two local sailors, Domenick Bonanno and Harry Mote, went aground on the north shore after warning the rest of the fleet at the skippers’ meeting where not to sail. Wind was light to moderate throughout the weekend. Unfortunately, it ranged from NE to ENE – not our usual summer southeasterly, pumping right down the lake from the ocean. This seasonal change makes it difficult to set a good weather leg. But except for some light rain on Friday morning, the weather turned into beautiful, dry, crystal clear September weather. Unfortunately, two regular participants in this annual regatta, Thom McLaughlin and Bruce Richter, had to cancel. But our thoughts were with them. The Traditional 36/600 class kicked off the regatta at about noon on Friday, September 23, sailing until about 4:00 PM and continuing Saturday morning until just before noon. RD Skip Hall managed to crank 22 races out of us during that morning and afternoon, with a throw-out every eight races. Skip, assisted by finish recorder Andrew Herschman, presented awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. Traditional 36/600 Results Number Name ! ! Points 25! Harry Mote! ! 20 50! Herb Dreher! ! 44 79! Domenick Bonanno!62 00! Nick Mortgu! ! 80 53! Rob Dutton*! ! 102 133! Bill Sysyn*! 107 ! *Rob Dutton did not sail the last seven races and Bill Sysyn did not sail Friday. Vintage Marbleheads The Marblehead competition began after lunch on Saturday. As in past regattas, we started the High Flyer VMs a minute or so before the Traditional VMs and scored them separately. Since the VMs sailed a longer course than the V36/600s and included the start of two classes, the VMs sailed only 16 races with two throw-outs. In some races, a few of the Traditional VMs were sailing up through the High Flyers. High Flyer VMs Number Name!! ! Points 96! Herb Dreyer! ! 14 1! Earl Boebert! ! 33 120! Rob Dutton! ! 35 Traditional VMs Number Name!! ! Points 25! Harry Mote ! ! 14 240! Ivor Walton! ! 29 97! John Stoudt! ! 46 00 ! Nick Mortgu! ! 50 IV! Domenick Bonnano!76 24! Noel Cram! 1133! Bill Sysyn! ! 89 ! 97 165! Mike Campbell! 106 66 ! Dave Crump! ! 108! 124! Ray Plepys! 144 Page 19 ! Craftsmanship Award Just prior to the VM race awards, Earl Boebert, USVMYG Historian and editor of The Model Yacht, explained and presented his annual Craftsmanship Award to Ivor Walton for his beautiful build of a Madcap. Ivor is a good sailor, in addition to being a good builder, and won the Traditonal VM championship the three previous years. conversation was an opportunity for some of us to get to know Jacob better. He shared photos and comments about some of his models. John Stoudt began an interview for a possible article in his Model Yachting Collectors column. Last but not least, Judy Bonanno and Jim Flach documented all of this with their outstanding photography, Jim driving in from Pottstown, Pa. each day. Earl’s annual Craftsmanship Award is a Stanley #101 plane that he carefully restores and mounts on a magnetic base so that it can be used as well as displayed. Harry Mote Saturday night’s dinner and general good time took place at a local restaurant. Thanks Regatta Crew Many thanks to Marbleheaders of Spring Lake MYC volunteers who made this regatta happen and to make it possible for me to sail. These included RD Skip Hall, finish recorder and scorer Andrew Herschman, Alice Mote, Deb Herschman, Judy and Domenick Bonanno, Bill and Eileen Ewing, Bill Sysyn, Jim Flach and others. A special thanks to new Marbleheaders friend Dr. Jacob Deegan (MD, PhD), a resident of Huston, Texas, for his long distance travel and great job as mark judge. He was in charge of that most distant yellow buoy – the weather mark most of the weekend. He held forth with binoculars in hand to keep everybody honest. Jacob had been touring parts of the eastern U.S. in his RV and was nice enough to spend the weekend with us and to help make the regatta a success. Jacob has sailed and has been interested in model yachts since a youngster and now has a collection of over 50 of them. He recently acquired a Traditional VM, built for him by Bill Sysyn. And he added a Peterson 36/600 to his collection on Sunday at this regatta. Dinner The second place Rip Tide, VM #1, built by your editor in 2000 and rebuilt by Jim Linville. This hull has sailed in Spring Lake NJ, Zia Pueblo NM, San Francisco CA, Marblehead MA,Chester Springs PA, and Fleetwood and Round Pond in England under both radio and vane control. Photo by Judy Bonnano. Page 20 Skylark Editor’s Note We first reproduced this article in 2003. It describes a classic of the 36 inch Restricted class, which is free sailed in the US/UK Challenge Cup series. F. C. Tansley was the Chairman of the U.K. Model Yachting Association and the Commodore of the Hove and Brighton Model Yacht Club. The design is typical of U.K. practice of the 40’s and 50’s in that it is an exercise in packing the maximum amount of sail on a 36” LOA boat which has an effective draft limitation of 8 to 9 inches. With the sail area reduced to 600 sq in and the bowsprit removed she would make a fine V36 model for heavy air. Earl Boebert Skylark Skylark, 36 in. (restricted) class. M.Y.A. Registered. No. 435, May, 1939. In her first year she was first in three inter-club races at Hove versus Guildford, Littlehampton, and Blackheath, thrice first in local club fixtures; and Hove Club champion in 1939. Since the war she has been twice winner, in 1948 and in 1949, of the Premier Cinque Port Cup at Hastings, and is again club champion at Hove after a series of races in 1949. Skylark was designed for racing, and has proved very speedy especially on the reach and running when she has an easy habit of planing. Her stopwatch times for the 695 ft. Iength of the Hove Lagoon have averaged 2 min. 33 sec. on the run and broad reach. The boat was cut out in bread-and-butter fashion, and the entire construction with sailmaking took 300 hours. The main portion of the hull downward from the water line was a 2 in. piece of red cedar, above this were two 1 in. planks of white * pine. The lead, brass shoe, and fastenings, weigh 6 lb. 12 oz. Total weight is now 11 lb. 14 oz. including a specially large fair weather suit of 1,000 sq. in. Stout construction and spars were considered necessary to meet hard usage at Hove Lagoon. Hull The boat should be carefully brought to the “Box” limitations of the rule—viz.: 36 in. Iength overall; beam 9 in.; depth 1 l in. A covering board or rail not to exceed1/8 in. above the highest point of the deck line is allowed* . On the present boat there is no rail and the sheer is quite straight. The transom is 1 in. above water, and 7/10 in. under water—it should on no account be further immersed. Allow a safe margin on the “Box” limits, say 1/10 in.—remembering that models, like sportsmen, grow a little larger and weightier with age. Finish to design by applying cardboard shapes or moulds every 4 in. as shown: do not cut the sections exactly one by one in succession but rather work two or three moulds in unison gradually. At the last stages take long sweeps with a small plane set very fine, and follow with sandpaper (which I hold down with the pliable peak of an old cap or felt sole). Finally, when the moulds fit well, say “blow” to the designer, and trust to your eye and commonsense to make all curves and the finish sweet and comely— especially in the garboards and along the fin. Keel and Fin Use an ample quantity of lead, not less than 8 lb. for this boat. When shaping the streamlines of the fin and lead do so by working horizontally, and also downwards from the garboards so that the slight bulb of lead remains as low as possible at the midship line. Do not hurry adjustments or painting of lead until after This clause is no longer in the rule. —Ed. Page 21 56 in. boom 25 in. The after leeches of No. 1 and the larger suit are rounded, all other sails are cut with straight edges to save the nuisance of battens. The spars are solid; the lower mast has an aluminium 1/2 in. tube at height of No. 1 jib hoist, and the light topmasts are left laced to the mainsails in readiness. Skylark likes being driven hard, and can take large spinnakers without running under; she is docile under all conditions. Her lines are of the olden type—like those of the schooner America, the Polperro flyer, and many such with flat floors and long straight run. She has been a favourite with me for years and I hope will prove the same to others. F. C. Tansley (1950) sailing and weighing trials, as racing 36’s need careful tests for final trim. Sails Working suits Nos. 1, 2, and 3 are shown. An extra zephyr suit can be used— luff Page 22 Page 23