The Model Yacht: Volume 22, Number 2 – Summer 2021 (Early Venues)

The Model Yacht Early Venues Journal of the U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Group Journal of the Volume US Vintage Model Yacht 21, Number ThreeGroup Volume 22, Number Two Summer 2021 The Model Yacht Spring 2021 US VMYG Leadership President: John Y. Stoudt, jstoudt309@gmail.com……………………………………………………………..(610) 316-8695 President Emeritus: John Snow, jsnowj@comcast.net…………………………………………………………(978) 594-8521 Treasurer: Tom Alessi, usvmygt@gmail.com……………………………………………………………………(610) 566-9504 Art Director: Bruce Richter, richterbruce@gmail.com………………………………………………………..(917) 575-2221 Journal Editor: Jeff Beck, beck.jeff@gmail.com………………………………………………………………..(240) 252-0236 Editorial Staff: John Henderson, jgnhenderson@atlanticbb.net…………………………………………….(443) 282-0277 Ken Young, youngrun@sbcglobal.net…………………………………………………………(630) 957-7490 Webmaster: Jim Flach, Jim.flach@gmail.com…………………………………………………………………….(610)299-8138 Membership: Tom Alessi, usvmygt@gmail.com………………………………………………………………..(610) 566-9504 Regatta Coordinator: Nick Mortgu, mortgu@comcast.net……………………………………………………(609) 820-0509 Awards Coordinator: Rob Dutton, edwin653@aol.com.mortgu@comcast.net……………………….(703) 608-8812 Resources Coordinator: John Y. Stoudt, jstoudt309@gmail.com………………………………………….(610) 316-8695 Plans Coordinator: Ivor Walton, modelyachtplans@comcast.net Historian: Earl Boebert, boebert@swap.com……………………………………………………………………..(505) 823-1046 Boat Yard Coordinator: Jim Linville, linvillejim@gmail.com………………………………………………(781) 534-0203 Construction Advice: John Henderson, jgnhenderson@atlanticbb.net…………………………………..(443) 282-0277 Social Media: Steve LaBrenz, srlabrenz@hotmail.com……………………………………………………….(484) 947-1327 Class Coordinators Free Sailed: John Fisher, jfisher577@gmail.com……………………………………………………………….(719) 651-0762 Intl A Boat: Mike Denest, mjd12k@yahoo.com…………………………………………………………………(610) 316-3570 Schooner: Tom Alessi, usvmygt@gmail.com…………………………………………………………………….(610) 566-9504 Skipjack: John Henderson, jgnhenderson@atlanticbb.net……………………………………………………(443) 282-0277 Unrestricted: John Henderson, jgnhenderson@atlanticbb.net………………………………………………(443) 282-0277 Vintage 36: Alan Suydam, alansuydam@comcast.net…………………………………………………………(301) 653-4899 Vintage Marblehead: Bruce Richter, richterbruce@gmail.com…………………………………………….(917) 575-2221 Vintage Power: Peter Kelley,pdkelley@sympatico.ca…………………………………………………………(905) 301-9977 Regional Coordinators Canada: Peter Kelley, pdkelley@sympatico.ca…………………………………………………………………..(905) 301-9977 European Continent: Russ Trapani, teamlebanner@gmail.com……………………………………………(501)-789-3927 Mid Atlantic: Scott Todd, dscotttodd63@gmail.com…………………………………………………………..(410) 310-2453 North Central: Ken Young, youngrun@sbcglobal.net………………………………………………………….(630) 957-7490 North East: Cliff Martin, c_martin5@comcast.net………………………………………………………………(508) 533-5971 North West:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….Currently Open South Central:…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Currently Open South East: Phil Ehlinger, philair41@gmail.com……………………………………………………………….(386) 383-8415 South West: Ernie Mortensen, usvmygsw@gmail.com……………………………………………………….(858) 525-5217 United Kingdom: Graham Reeves, graham@reevesmail.co.uk…………………………………………+44 151 936 1140 i Summer 2021 The Model Yacht The Layline By John Stoudt The Model Yacht is published three times per year by the US Vintage Model Yacht Group. Copyright 1989 to 2021 by the US VMYG. 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: John Stoudt 309 Sundance Drive Chester Springs, PA 19425 On the Cover: Model Yacht Club Pool and Building, Irvington, NJ. Membership Renewals: The annual membership fee will be due and should be renewed with the publication of the first journal of the calendar year. Please reference “Membership” on page 38 for dues amounts. Please use the form that accompanies this issue of The Model Yacht to complete your membership renewal. Definition: A layline is a straight line (or bearing) extending from the next mark to indicate the course a boat should be able to sail on the one tack in order to pass to the windward side of the mark. (vsk.wikia.com/wiki/Layline) This issue of the Journal features early venues and clubs. Other than the wellknown, long established clubs such as Central Park Model Yacht Club, Marblehead Model Yacht Club, and San Francisco Model Yacht Club, little information is known about other clubs throughout the country regardless of the year they were formed or how long they have been in existence. A New (old) Model Yacht Club We have discovered a club that was formed in 1883 and resides on Naushon Island (Elizabeth Islands) off the coast of Woods Hole, MA. This club has been in continuous existence from the time it was formed and has been extensively a family club. The members have built their own boats through the years, have a small museum, and continue the tradition to this day. They have been insular and shy and never affiliated with any other organization. But what a wonderful story and fun times they have building their model yachts and sailing them. Please see the article in this issue written by David Gregg, the current commodore of the Bennet Yacht Club. So, is the Bennet Yacht Club the earliest continuous model yacht club in America? Guidelines for Authors Are you thinking of writing an article for The Model Yacht? We can help! Our staff will assist you in developing an article for publication in the Journal. The editorial staff has also prepared photo guidelines and a style guide which can assist you in taking those photos and using writing conventions. These can be found at: https://usvmyg.org/the-model-yacht/ If you have ideas regarding an article or need support in preparing one please feel free to contact anyone on our editorial staff. A special thanks to Jeff Beck and Bruce Richter for putting this material together to assist our authors. 1 Summer 2021 The Model Yacht Inside The Leadership Team…….…i Membership Our membership report, prepared by Tom Alessi, can be found on page 3. If you have been tracking our membership over time you will recognize that increasing it has been a challenge. Various things have been tried but to no avail. We just hang around 225 members. Any and all suggestions will be explored for possible ways to grow our roles. The Layline…………………1 Website Expansion Barnacle..………………….31 Membership Highlights….…4 A Tribute to Alan Suydam….5 Washington Model Yacht Club, Washington, DC …..…8 Pond Sailing in Seattle…….12 Rod Carr has sent us information about Seattle area model yachting, the clubs, and Ted Houk, a very famous model yachtsman. If anyone has information about other early clubs, venues, and skippers please forward the information to us. We are using this information to expand our website to include information about early clubs, venues, and skippers; manufactured boats; and vintage power boats. The Model Yachting Center Boat Registration Form……37 TMYC has been a concept a few of us have been discussing for some time. Certain ideas have formed better than others. This proposal involves developing a location that would have a museum, archival space, educational facilities, a large regatta facility (lake), and a restoration shop. A brochure is included as a supplement to this issue for your review. We will discuss the concept during “By the Water” at the National Regatta in detail, look at options, costs, funding possibilities, and the actual reality of pulling something like this together and maintaining it over time. Comments, ideas, and the pros and cons will be solicited from the audience to determine whether this is a worthwhile venture or a “dead in the water” idea. We encourage your input with honest comments, thoughts, and ideas. Membership Form..……….38 A special thanks to Irwin Schuster of Florida (a retired advertising executive) for doing the illustrations and preparing this brochure. Robert Bennet Forbes and the Founding of the Bennet Model Yacht Club…………19 By Their Marks Ye Shall Know Them……………….23 Svea Project Follow-Up…..30 Svea Ballast Issues……..…32 Gadgets and Gizmos: How to Acquire a Model Sailboat Waterline…………35 Resources…………….……36 2 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 2021 Nationals As you may already know, the 2021 Vintage National Regatta is scheduled for October 6–10, 2021 at Tel Hai Camp and Retreat Center, 1101 Beaver Dam Road, Honey Brook, PA 19344. For information and the Notice of Race go to: US VMYG National Championship regatta The electronic registration form can be found at: https:// form.jotform.com/210166173044951/ “By the Water” On Friday October 8, 2021 there will be a symposium in conjunction with the national regatta, “By the Water”. This will give all of us an opportunity to learn more about vintage model yachting with the following list of presentations and a special parade of boats. 9:00 am – Making a Scaled (Down or Up) Model that Sails Well John Henderson (Chestertown, MD) 10:00 am – Making a Mold of and Casting a Lead Ballast Scott Todd (Woolford, MD) 11:00 am – Milestones in Model Yachting Cliff Martin (Medway, MA) Noon – Lunch and Parade of Boats – an opportunity to get all of our wonderful vintage model yachts on the water at the same time 2:30 pm – The Model Yachting Center – A Discussion John Stoudt (Chester Springs, PA) 3:30 pm – Early Catamaran Models TJ Perrotti (Newport, RI) And the parade of boats will be a milestone event with many vintage boats of all kinds on the water over an extended lunch. If you are joining us for this bring along that special vintage model yacht. We will be taking video and still photographs. There are individuals who are not vintage sailors but who may be interested in coming to “By the Water”. So share this with your friends. The link to register is found at: https:// form.jotform.com/ 210335676812051/ Please note, as a registered skipper in the regatta your fee covers the “By the Water”activities. 2019 Marblehead Skippers and Boats. Photo by Judy Bonanno 3 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Membership Highlights Membership by Category: Current membership status. As of May 12, 2021, our group had a total of 234 members. Membership categories break down to approximately 61% regular membership, 34% life membership and 5% complimentary memberships. Complimentary memberships go to museum staff and boat school directors in electronic form upon request. Membership Journal Preference: The majority of US VMYG members continue to prefer the email format of the journal. We are pleased to report that the quality and content of the US VMYG Journal continues to be very popular with our members. Membership by Geographic Location Australia = 2 United Kingdom = 5 Canada = 3 South West = 24 North West = 17 South Central = 4 North Central = 29 South East = 29 Mid Atlantic = 40 North East = 81 No Address Provided = 1 NOTE: Do not miss out on the next issue of The Model Yacht and other member benefits. There are individuals who have not renewed. Please do so at you earliest convenience. Thank you! 4 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 A Tribute to Alan Suydam Article by TMY editorial Staff Photos by Butch Garren Alan grew up on the north shore of Long Island, NY. As a teenager, he was given an old Comet class sailboat to restore and sail. His experience with that wooden boat formed a life-long love for sailing and woodworking. While in high school, his interests in sailing and boat building took a prophetic turn in the local public library when he came upon a book on model yachting published in 1938 entitled, Yachting with Models by John Black. With the help of his father, Alan scaled up the lines from that book and built his first sailing model—a 50-in Marblehead design named Cheerio. Alan Suydam was an engineer for the Ford Motor Company for 30 years, and in 1999 he reacquainted himself with model yachting. While in Detroit he was a member of the Detroit Model Yacht Club where he served as commodore and hosted national regattas. During his time there he was active in the Detroit School model boat building program that takes place in the public junior and senior high schools. Students in these schools built 24-, 30-, and 36-in model yachts during the school year and sailed them in a regatta in the spring on the boat basin on Belle Isle. Alan coordinated this regatta activity for a number of years. Alan taught, periodically, at the WoodenBoat School in Brooklin, ME since 2002. Alan and Nan Suydam with AMYA award. He has shared his love of sailing and building of beautiful yachts with many lucky enough to take one of his classes, which have included: • • • • • 5 Build Your Own 36-in Radio-Controlled Pond Yacht Elements of Sailing Pond Yachts Sail Making for Pond Yachts Build Your Own Skipjack Sailing Model Build Your Own Model Sailing Yacht The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Alan teaching the V36 class at WoodenBoat School. “What you hear in my class is a lot of tap, tap, tap, tap,” Suydam says with a laugh. Alan gets so much pleasure sharing his love of model yachts with others, which is very much in evidence to anyone who has had the pleasure of being in one of his classes. Alan sailing with his club in Solomons. He was one of the seven founding members of the US VMYG in 1994. He has served in various capacities in that organization. Currently he is the Vintage 36 class coordinator, which he has done for 16 years. Alan now lives in Solomons, MD, and is a member of the Solomons Island Model Boat Club. He served as commodore for 7 years and has served as fleet coordinator for a number of the fleets that are sailed by that club. He is also heavily involved at the Calvert Marine Museum teaching youngsters to sail model yachts, restoring boats and building boats of various sizes and purposes. 6 Alan is a national champion in numerous classes of model yachts both in vintage and AMYA classes, including the Vintage Marblehead (8 national championships), Vintage 36 (5 national championships), Schooner (7 national championships), and Skipjack (3 national championships). He has also won a national championship in the US One Meter Class in 2001. The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Schooner Brilliant built by Alan. Photo by Judy Bonanno He loves building and sailing model yachts and is a particular fan of classic schooners. Alan has built over 25 R/C model sailboats including V36s, VMs, schooners, EC12s, RG 65s, and a US One Meter to name a few. His schooner models include the famous Brilliant, the Nina (a Starling Burgess design staysail schooner), Gloucesterman (a Fenwick Williams design), and a Sharpie fishing schooner. Alan belongs to the American Model Yachting Association, the US Vintage Model Yacht Group, The Great Schooner Model Society, and Solomons Island Model Boat Club in Southern Maryland. He also belonged to the Detroit Model Yacht Club when he lived outside of Detroit. Alan has spent thousands of hours guiding people in building and sailing model boats. He does this without fanfare and requires no recognition. He does this for the love of the sport and love of his fellow man. Alan epitomizes the ultimate model yachtsman. If you have been lucky enough to know Alan Suydam you have been lucky enough to learn about and get involved with model yachts. He has shared this passion with hundreds of people from youngsters to older individuals. With Alan’s continued association with the model yachting world, the sport will continue to grow and we all shall reap the benefits of his efforts. 7 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 WASHINGTON MODEL YACHT CLUB, WASHINGTON, DC Article by Peter Kelley The Washington Model Yacht Club (WMYC) sailed in Washington, DC from 1922 into the 1950s. While they had several accomplished sailors such as A. W. Greeley, their real claim to fame was their sailing venues. In the early years they sailed in the Tidal Basin in front of the Jefferson Memorial and then in the reflecting pool of the Lincoln Memorial. For many years they shared these venues with the Baltimore Model Yacht Club. Peter has an unusual story to tell. It is a story about how he acquired a number of model yachts that came out of the Washington Model Yacht Club, went through northern Vermont, and finally ended up in his hands. Peter lives in Canada and is an extensive collector of vintage sail and power model yachts. This is what caught his attention. Auction Notice: “Unusual Offering! We will be selling 10 vintage model pond yachts from the Washington DC Model Yacht Club. One of its officers removed these 10 working boats when the club closed in 1959 or 60. They have been stored in a barn in Vermont since that time. They all have rigging and sails which need to be fitted to each boat. There is also a collection of model boat literature from the early to mid 20th century.“ The Model Yacht cover from 2013: sailing on the Lincoln Memorial Pool, Washington, DC. Peter’s Story The lady I bought the boats from told me that her husband was in the concrete/foundation business. Just after the end of WWII he poured a foundation for the club’s new clubhouse. In 1950 or 1951, because he had never received payment for the concrete work, he went to court and got an order to seize all of the assets of the club. The auction notice and photos are from Nathanre.com – Auctions and Real Estate, Burlington, VT. 8 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 The result is what I purchased in October 2016. The seller was a marvelous woman. She had turned 100 two weeks before I met her. She was staying in her country place in Vermont where her husband had taken the boats and all the other items. Shortly after they were seized, on the advice of a lawyer, they were spirited away to Vermont. These “assets” were stored in the attic where they remained forgotten for 65 years. During the process of getting the Vermont property ready to sell, the boats were “rediscovered”. The real estate agent handling the property sale was asked to find a buyer. In order to get a fair price, the collection was photographed and listed on the Invaluable Auction site … as one lot. This most certainly curtailed bidder interest. A friend from Montreal was traveling in the area, heard about the boats, and called to let me know. I contacted the real estate agent who encouraged me to come see them and to meet the seller, who was most concerned that the boats be purchased and kept intact as a group. I got there the day before the auction was to close and was told that nobody else had come to see them. As soon as I saw the material, I knew I had to add this collection to my own. Vane gears, sails, set up tools. sails, everything—is “as sailed”, with no damage whatsoever from vermin, handling, transport, water, or anything. The condition is perhaps the most amazing part of the collection, aside from the fact that it is all still together. The seller’s two sons (both in their 60s) were onsite helping mom clean out the house and had found the stand stored with the boats. But because they could not figure out what it was, they did not bother to list it with the sale. The happiest surprise came when I was invited in to have a coffee with the seller. She asked where I was going to take the stuff if I bought it. I told her that I had a summer place two hours north of Toronto and a permanent residence nearby. When she asked where exactly it was, I told her “Muskoka”, which almost no one outside of Canada has heard of. When she replied “that’s one of my favorite places on earth” I assumed she was teasing. When she explained that she was born in Toronto and had spent her childhood summers at Cleveland’s House Resort—which still stands literally two miles from our summer cottage, I was astounded. It turns out that she had been working in the British consulate in Toronto during the late 1930s, and when the war broke out, she was sent, along with several other Part of the collection. After the listing had gone live, the family found several spars, MYRAA-stamped official class “measuring tools”, several extra vanes, and a duffle bag full of sails. While there I noticed (on a burn pile in the shed) a two-boat stand designed to display two “A” class boats, pinstriped and lettered with both the WMYC and MYRAA burgees. Everything—the hulls, the paper, the 9 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 consulate staffers, to Washington DC as part of some sort of joint allied defense agency. While there, she met her late husband, a defense contractor during the war. She never returned to Canada. They lived in Annapolis, MD, and had the country place in Vermont. I ended up winning the auction, got the boats and all of the related stuff, and the rest is history. Unfortunately, the seller passed away about a year after I bought the boats from her. This collection that was purchased in its entirety at auction included the following items: • 10 vintage International A and Marblehead class boats • Numerous issues of Model Yachting – Sail and Power magazine (circa 1950s) Rigs stacked along the wall. • Rigs for all of the boats with spars and sets of sails • Carrying boxes • Other bits and pieces related to this wonderful group of boats 1930s Model Yachting Magazine. • Numerous issues of Model Yacht Racing magazine (circa mid-1930s). • Hand painted burgee of the Washington Model Yacht Club. • Many steering mechanisms – vane, quadrant, and Braine. • Many boat stands, pinstriped and handlettered with the club burgee. Many of the hulls are marked with the burgee of the Washington Model Yacht Club. All but one are “as sailed” from 70 (or so) years ago. The other appears to have been repainted at some point thereafter. 10 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 WMYC Burgee painted on a hatch cover Comments by Earl Boebert During the existence of the Model Yacht Racing Association of America, boats carried a club identifier rather than, or with, the class designator. In 1939 (the peak of MYRAA) WA was Warinanco (Elizabeth, NJ), L was Lynn, MA, and W was Washington, DC. The U348 sails were on an A class boat that would have been contending to represent the US in the Yachting Monthly Cup in the UK. The Bithell marking is significant because Bill Bithell was one of the leading sail makers of his time. That is all the good news I have; the bad news is that most of the records on individual boats during the MYRAA era have been lost. 11 Summer 2021 The Model Yacht Pond Sailing in Seattle Pond Sailing in Seattle Lines and Construction Details of the Forty-Inch Model Yacht Adopted for Interclub Racing While the story of pond sailing in Seattle is not well known, it goes back almost 90 years and includes a variety of racing venues and designs to challenge the world’s best. Article by J. Scott Rohrer The plans were published in the March 1922 issue of Pacific Motor Boat magazine and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer along with instructions for the amateur builder. Intended primarily for the younger boat builder, several were built in Seattle high schools right away. Conversations between Tacoma model yachtsmen and a committee at the Seattle Yacht Club led to the concept of a class of little racers for Seattle schoolboys to build as “manual training” projects. L. E. “Ted” Geary designed a 40-in sloop to establish a basis for a fleet of “forty-inchers”. 12 The Model Yacht These craft made up the first fleet of pond racers here, and by spring they were racing at Madison Park and on Lake Union. Two clubs, the Seattle Model Yacht Club and the Queen City Model Yacht Club, were established Summer 2021 —both promoted through the “adult” clubs. These little scows got a lot of kids interested in boating with an easy-to-build boat capable of good performance. Plans for Ted Geary’s 40-in sloop, designed to establish the basis for a fleet of “forty-inchers”. 13 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Line drawings for Ted Geary’s Sir Tom International C Class sloop. boats grew popular, and several 1/12 scale R-boat designs were racing. With publicity provided by the Hearst Newspapers, Geary adapted the design of his R-boat champ Pirate to a 40-in bread-andbutter hull, rigged very similar to the big boat. In Seattle, these boats raced at Green Lake on a trans-lake course with Geary and crewman Swift Baker presiding over the competition won by a Pirate model built by “H. Carlson”. The same year, Geary adapted the design of the 40-ft R-boat Sir Tom to fit the International C Class rules. At over 70 in long and weighing a little over 32 lb, a few of these were undertaken at Broadway High School in 1926. Dr. Walter Many of New York built one of these, christened Arborita, and she won the 1922 National C Class Championship. By 1927, the classes based on the Universal rule 14 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 The pond at Golden Gardens Park. This design caught the attention of Dr. Ted Houk when he revived the Seattle Model Yacht Club in 1935. Houk also revived schoolboy modelmaking and, in 1941, oversaw construction of the fabulous 200- by 800ft pond at Golden Gardens Park. Sadly the racing fleet at Golden Gardens was lost all at once in a tragic fire, and fears of Polio germs in standing water led to the filling of the pond in the 1950s. Ted Houk’s Dosewallups. Dr. Houk’s light, long waterline, plank-on-frame hulls proved fast, and he evolved the type over several designs until his Doseywallups won a National Championship for him at Belle Isle Park, Detroit: another of the grand venues of the sport. 15 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 The new pond in Seattle’s “Park at South Lake Union”. The club was revived a few times as interest came and went. Today they race Victoria class boats in several places but still frequently return to Green Lake for regattas. boat activity. The new 100-ft diameter pond in the Park at South Lake Union will host regular events of those groups and allow all visitors to try a turn at some very basic but satisfying recreation. The revival of the Pirate pond boat program by the Center for Wooden Boats, lively fleet racing at the Seattle MYC, and the stunning array of scaleddown motor craft by members of the Northwest R/C Ship Modelers all make Seattle a center for model The pond was conceived by volunteers at the Center for Wooden Boats and the Johnson Partnership. The finished product is the result of close cooperation between the Center and the Seattle Parks Foundation. 16 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Robert Bennett Forbes and the Founding of the Bennet Yacht Club We have discovered a club that was formed in 1883 and resides on Naushon Island (Elizabeth Islands) off the coast of Woods Hole, MA. This club has been in continuous existence from the time it was formed and has been extensively a family club. The members have built their own boats through the years, have a small museum, and continue the tradition to this day. They have been insular and shy and never affiliated with any other organization. But what a wonderful story and fun times they have building their model yachts and sailing them. So, is the Bennet Yacht Club the earliest model yacht club in America? Article by David W. Gregg, Commodore, Bennet Model Yacht In the winter of 1882–83, W. Cameron Forbes, age 12, corresponded with his great-uncle, the seafarer and China trader Robert Bennet Forbes (RBF; 1804–1889), asking for help organizing a yacht club for model sailboats that he and his siblings—the grandchildren of RBF’s brother, John Murray Forbes (1813-1898)—had been racing at their summer home on Naushon Island, MA. After a back and forth, it was settled: the club would be named the Bennet Yacht Club, honoring Robert Bennet Forbes, and racing would be between sailing models with hulls “one cubit and a half” in length (a bit under 30 in) over a course approximately 100 yards perpendicular to the wind. There were other rules about how to schedule a race, how to measure boats, and what would constitute interference. The following summer, 1883, at least one “regatta” was held as described by John’s granddaughter Edith, age 15, writing home to her mother: “Edward [the 10-year-old brother of her and Cam] is much aggrieved that the account of his yachts is so bad in Ralph’s account of the Regatta which he has made for Uncle Bennet … his yachts tacked, and turned round so that it was not a fair race for them.” 17 Alex Forbes on Naushon Island holding his RBF-built catboat about 1892. Photo courtesy Forbes Family The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Cam carried forward the role of commodore and organized races most years until 1892, the year he graduated from Harvard and began a period of active traveling. A report of one such regatta was even published in the October 1885 issue of Outing, a Boston outdoor sports magazine. In a section reserved for correspondents from local sporting clubs to report their activities, Cam’s brother John Murray Forbes, “Don,” age 14, gave a detailed and stirring account of a Bennet Yacht Club regatta that had taken place the month before. “Just after the start, my boat Sagamore shot right up behind the Foxie, which was steadily plowing for the finish, and took her “Genesta like,” in the mainsail, twisting both around and heading them for the start, and spoiling their chances for the race.” (Genesta was the British challenger for the America’s Cup that had, the very same month as the BYC regatta, collided with the American defender Puritan during prestart maneuvering.) perhaps reference the burgee of the Eastern Yacht Club, a contemporary “real” yacht club in which the family was involved. Cam received a tiny, beautifully sewn silk burgee in 1885 from his great aunt, RBF’s daughter, Edith, who was much pleased at hearing of the club. RBF had been interested in yachting since at least 1835, when he was part of a “yacht club” consisting of a group of young Boston financiers who shared ownership of a small schooner named Dream that they seem to have used mostly for parties. In the early 1870s, John Murray Forbes was commodore of the Eastern Yacht Club, with his 70-ft centerboard schooner, Azalea, designed by RBF himself. Cam’s father, William, sailed his 54-ft A. Cary Smith-designed cutter Hesper frequently and raced her occasionally, and Cam’s uncle J. Malcolm Forbes was a leader of the syndicate that launched the America’s Cup defenders Puritan, in 1885, and Volunteer, in 1887. It seems natural that the children of the Forbes family made something of their model yacht club in the 1880s with the adults racing sailboats frequently and their Uncle Bennet egging them on. The spirit of the Bennet Yacht Club is clearly RBF’s. Robert Bennet Forbes first went to sea at age 13, sailing to Canton, China, aboard a ship owned by a maternal uncle. He was made a captain in 1825, at age 20. RBF did not have the success in business that his younger brother John did after his own trip to Canton, but he loved the parts of business involving the ships themselves and sailing, and he had adventures all around the world. Perhaps his best remembered voyage was when he captained the USS Jamestown on a voyage from Boston to Cork, Ireland in 1847 with a cargo of donated food to relieve the potato famine. RBF’s daughter, Edith Forbes (Perkins), was particularly taken by the yacht club honoring her father and sent this burgee, hand sewn to RBF’s design. She also donated at least one silver cup to the club. Photo D. Gregg For the new club, RBF designed a burgee: a medium blue swallowtail pennant with a deep red central triangle and a single gold star. Its features 18 RBF was also an inveterate tinkerer. On one voyage, he trolled for bonito with a lure he concocted to imitate a flying fish. In 1844, he developed the split topsail, which became standard The Model Yacht Summer 2021 RBF began giving model sailboats to children in his brother John’s family in 1867. That RBF should be a boat modeler is not surprising; it was probably related to his interest in boat designs, which he had pursued for decades, but information about his model building before that year remains undiscovered. RBF summered frequently with John Murray Forbes’s family on Naushon Island, a short mile off the village of Woods Hole, MA. on larger ships, and in 1853, he promulgated an arrangement of mounting upper masts abaft the lower masts instead of forward of them, which caught on briefly. He took an active part in the design of ships he helped finance. He experimented with construction of iron-hulled vessels several times in the 1840s and 1850s, with catamarans, and with a system of pumps for shifting water around in tanks to ballast and trim a ship. Robert Bennet Forbes in his workshop at his home in Milton, MA., about 1885. None of the boats in this picture are known ever to have been in the BYC fleet. Photographer unknown; courtesy Peabody Essex Museum, neg. 31526 19 The Model Yacht On the island, there was riding and picnicking, fishing and swimming, and many activities involving boats. Judging from his correspondence at the time, RBF was enchanted by the children around him, and he built boats for them to play with in the harbor. The creation of the Bennet Yacht Club was a formalization of children’s activities that we know had already been going on for some time. So, how much earlier than the 1883 “charter” had there been model yacht racing at Naushon? Handwritten notes survive from an unfinished history of the BYC written by its second commodore, Cam’s younger brother, Waldo, in 1910. “The Bennet Yacht Club was formed under the name of the Naushon Yacht Club probably in 1880. R.E.F. [Cam’s older brother Ralph] was commodore and E.F.W [Edith] fleet captain.” Cam was referred to as the Secretary. We also know that model yacht racing was already taking place by the summer of 1880, as evidenced by a letter Cam wrote home to his grandparents (Cam had just turned 10 and I have corrected some spelling to ease reading): Cam Forbes’s (age 10) letter to his grandparents included an account of the first documented ‘regatta’ and recognizable drawings of the participating model yachts. Photo D. Gregg; courtesy Forbes Family 20 Summer 2021 I am having a nice time here. The other day we went to race our boats in the Nor’west Gutter. First Ralph and I sailed our boats (which were the Seagull and Falcon I used to name Venus but she’s Falcon now). Seagull beat but they both did mighty well although Falcon is the largest Seagull has more sail here is the picture. Next race Mayflower and Seagull didn’t behave the three sloops came together in a bunch. Eagle got out and got halfway across the Gutter when Falcon got out and caught up with Eagle and came in ahead. In July 1880 RBF addressed the children—and himself—by playful yacht club officer titles in letters he wrote asking if they had received a new model he sent: My dear Vice or vicious Commodore or Edith Forbes, Fast or fleet captain, . . . the yachting season is fast waning and I have received no reply to my [previous] communication + I can only account for the silence of the Fleet Captain by supposing that he is hurt at my calling him vicecommodore or something other than Fast Captain. I wonder if when you made me an honorary member of your club you intended it in the sense of ‘a recompense for services,’ or as ‘possessing a title without performing service or receiving any reward.’ Now, I cannot consent to act on account of services rendered, or in the other case without performing any services, but I want to be an active participant in all your doings provided always that you keep within the law. Your affectionate Honorary Commodore, [Bennet] The Model Yacht Summer 2021 had cockpits, houses and hatches, anchors, davits, and even signal cannons. Masts were one piece without top masts and included working halyards and sheets, brass hardware, shrouds with deadeyes, flags, and even simulated seams on the sails. His trademark was a brass star tacked onto each side of the bow. In a 1924 typescript history of the Bennet Yacht Club, Malcolm “Mac” Forbes, the third commodore, said, “The fifteen or twenty boats that he [RBF] made and gave away were distributed among young friends and relatives who had become eligible by being tall enough to reach a certain mark [on his workshop door] (usually reached at the age of ten or twelve).” Only eight boats’ names are recorded; only four or five still exist in any form, and one is still sailing. Despite saying the season was fast waning, RBF’s letter was sent just a week into the family’s twomonth stay at Naushon, so he must have been carrying on with play begun previously: RBF added two new schooners to the children’s fleet in 1879, and adults’ letters home that year mention the children sailing models, although no racing is mentioned. There is no direct evidence for model yachting in the Forbes family earlier than 1879. So, the present Bennet Yacht Club was begun in 1883, having been preceded since 1879 by the less formal Naushon Yacht Club, which had officers, at least one race, and, apparently, a very distinguished honorary commodore. By looking at pictures and surviving examples, we can say Robert Bennet Forbes’s models were well proportioned and often laboriously executed copies of fullsized vessels. He favored catboats or workboat-style sloops and pilot schooners distinguished by elegant sheer, shallow, fulllength keels, plumb stems, and round sterns. Hulls were carved from a single piece of wood with deadwood and lead ballast keel being added. Decks were carved from a single board and nailed across the top of the hull and bulwarks or rails tacked on top of that. Decks After retiring from the foreign service, Cam Forbes (here in 1945) participated actively in club activities and built boats for his great nephews and nieces as his great uncle RBF had … once they grew tall enough to reach a mark on the side of a door in his house. Photo courtesy Forbes Family 21 Cam Forbes had a career in business, and he served as governorgeneral of the Philippines and ambassador to Japan. He was succeeded by Waldo, who served from 1893 to 1910. From 1911 to 1923, Commodore Mac Forbes put forward many innovative ideas to build the family’s interest in the club including a new class for “home-made” boats built by the children themselves, and prizes The Model Yacht for consistent seamanship across several years. Bennet Yacht Club regattas are family affairs that have continued more or less unchanged since 1883. The modern regatta includes a “midget” class, which corresponds to Mac’s home-made class and a “championship” class, which corresponds to RBF’s cubit-and-a-half class. In 1960, catamarans had to be segregated into a new “developmental” class because they were too fast. Just two commodores served between 1924 and 2014, and your author became commodore in 2015. Summer 2021 Around 1900 a number of very large models were built by the professional captains of the Forbes yachts. Too fast for the main classes, a Giant class (over 31 in) was created to accommodate them. Most are no longer serviceable. Photo courtesy Forbes Family A BYC race in about 1914. Races were and still are held in the outer portion of Naushon Island’s Hadley Harbor, which opens onto Woods Hole passage, traversed by commercial and pleasure craft of all descriptions. Photo courtesy Forbes Family Starting a Championship class (24- to 31-in) heat, 1965. Photo courtesy Tom Gregg The start of a Midget class (under 24 in) heat, 1977. Photo Anne Wyman; courtesy Andrea Schoenfeld 22 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 By Their Marks Ye Shall Know Them Article by Mike Denest Since little information and few records of early model yacht clubs exist, John Black’s Yachting With Models, Don Kihlstrom’s Sunday Sailors, Model Racing Yachts by Priest and Lewis, photos from the Central Park MYC’s website and other sources were used to prepare this article. In the heyday of model yachting as today, boats sailing in competition require a class mark and registration number in order to identify them on the pond. Freesailing competitions attracted large numbers of skippers from different clubs organized under the Model Yacht Racing Association of America (MYRAA). Skippers competed against each other, and clubs competed against other clubs. Through this method, a national class champion could be determined. International A Class U522 at speed. Photo US VMYG. 23 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 A system created by MYRAA helped to identify the boat class and club by marking one to three letters on the mainsail which identified the club the boat was associated with (Table 1). Typically, a twoletter identifier was used such as CP (Central Park) or MH (Marblehead). Here are some examples: A U25 M 30 CP 47 MH 15 Ok, you are wondering what the letter “U” is doing under the A class mark. We will get into that later. Mainsail of IRV37 Marblehead registered with Irvington MYC. Photo by John Stoudt Marblehead CP30 on Central Park Conservatory Water. Restored International A Class boat with Clove Lake (CL) marking. Photo by author. MYRAA formulated a chart defining the size of the class and other identifying marks and where they are placed on the mainsail with the class mark, club letters, and the yacht registration number. For the Marblehead, it was optional to carry the club letters rather than the class mark (see examples above).According to MYRAA’s general pond sailing rules (January 1, 1939), “A model yacht shall be registered from only one club at a time”.So, a boat registered with Irvington could not be registered with Central Park. Launching Marblehead CP4. 24 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 relationship with parent organizations, due to financial limitations or rules disagreements, and their national affiliations may not have been continuous from the 1920s through the 1950s”. Regarding unaffiliated clubs, no documentation exists to indicate any club marking; however, it is safe to assume that the required class marks, club marks, and registration numbers still applied. All boats were required to be registered and have a measurement certificate. A dated registration card was completed by the class registrar with the boat’s registration number, owner’s name, yacht name, and club affiliation, which is still standard for AMYA-registered boats today. In Sunday Sailors, Don Kihlstrom wrote that, “Many model yachting clubs had an on again-off again 25 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 X Class boats with class mark, registration number and SF (San Francisco) club mark. Photo SFMYC. was created. Marking standards required for internationally registered boats were created specifically by the appropriate international class rules. In most cases, national marking requirements were consistent with the international rule. Here are some examples: Prior to 1935, the “American Model Rule” Class A, B, C, and D, which was a measurement rating not based on waterline length, was sailed along with the Marblehead. After 1935, MYRAA recognized the International A Class and M or Marblehead as official classes and dropped the Class A, B, C, and D ratings. In 1940, the 6 Meter, X, Open, 36 and S (Sharpie) classes were added. Ok, let us talk about that “U”. International classes recognized at the time were the International A class created in 1922 and the Marblehead, which was accepted by the International Model Yacht Racing Union (IMYRU) in 1937. Similarly, a simple method to identify yachts by nationality 26 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 At some point in time, IMYRU (now IRSA), in conjunction with full size sailing, changed the single letter identifier to a three letter identifier, such as USA, GBR (Great Britain), CAN (Canada), GER (Germany), FRA (France), CRO (Croatia) and so on, along with the other required sail markings. For international regattas, the class mark, registration number and country identification are required. Well, now you know how sail markings came about. Certainly, without it, determining who crossed the line a bow length ahead would still be a matter for the protest committee. This article represents the author’s conclusions based on published works and photographs. CP Central Park. Marbleheads in Kerbs Boathouse Central Park. 27 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Tech Topics: The Effects of Being Overweight (your boat, that is) Article by John Henderson This is the first of what may become a regular column devoted to topics of a somewhat more technical nature than most of our articles. For this installment, and likely also for many future topics, I am relying on the work and writings of Lester Gilbert, whose large and splendid opus can be found at Lester Gilbert’s Radio Sailing (www.onemetre.net). Is one of these boats overweight? Boat weight is a frequent discussion topic among modelers, and it can be a source of lament, excuses, and bragging rights depending on your racing success that day. More usefully, it should be part of the planning process during design and building. In my club, the Model Sailing Club of the Chesapeake Photo by Jim Flach Bay Maritime Museum, several of us have devoted a fair number of emails to the topic during this winter building season. With guidance from Lester Gilbert’s writing, particularly what is found at www.onemetre.net/Build/Accel/Accel2.htm, I will try to quantify the effects of excess weight. 28 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Let us be clear: We are not talking about a boat that is grossly overweight. We are considering weight differences of a few percentage points, say 5% — which means about 12–13 oz in a ~16-lb Vintage Marblehead. We can make a couple of observations, some of which are quite surprising: The largest difference occurs when reaching in light air, but even in this case the heavier boat only loses about 2 in when accelerating from a standing start. In a race, we are mostly concerned with distance lost after a tack, which presumably we are exiting at a speed greater than zero, so the loss after a tack is even less than shown in Lester’s plot. Even after multiple tacks up a windward leg, the distance lost by the heavier boat from the act of tacking is likely much less than the distance lost to other factors (bad start, missed wind shift, non-optimum sailing angle or trim, etc.). I encourage those interested to read Lester’s complete article at the website on the previous page. For this short essay, I will cut to the chase. Lester’s spreadsheets estimate drive forces and acceleration. He computes time and distance to reach maximum boat speed as a function of wind speed. His final plot, which I have reproduced below, shows the distance lost by a boat that is a few percentage points heavier from a standing start until the time maximum speed is reached. Note that the units are normalized and intended to reference metric units, but I think we can draw fair conclusions if we think of the vertical axis in terms of meters and the horizontal axis in terms of meters/second. A True Wind Speed of 1 meter/second is about 2 mph. A Lost Distance of 0.045 meters is about 2 in. The distance lost on a run is quite small and it is independent of wind speed. These results run counter to our generally accepted wisdom regarding the performance penalties of overweight boats. So, what is going on? Note first that the results are stated in terms of distance, not time. A heavier boat indeed takes longer to accelerate, but its top speed will not be much different from the lighter boat. Thus, the lighter boat, even though it reaches its maximum sooner, is not going much faster while the heavier boat is accelerating to its maximum. Furthermore, a large part of the total acceleration time is spent raising the speed from near maximum to actual maximum (i.e., speed changes more quickly at the lower end of the acceleration curve), so the advantage to the lighter boat is small. 29 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Svea Project Follow-up Article by TMY Editorial Staff This came about because of a question asked by John Henderson regarding the ballast issue that Gene was having with Svea. The messages have been edited for length. Hi Gene, One of our editorial readers, John Henderson, asked the following: I have a general question about the Svea article. There is discussion about having to move the ballast. The previous article claimed that they had floated the boat, accounted for rig weight, etc., and got everything in proper trim. So what went wrong? I think it would be interesting and educational for readers to learn this lesson. Cheers, JYS Hi John, Regarding the ballast change. We floated the hull and installed the weights, and all was well as it floated on the scribed waterline. Reality hit when hull #2 was completed and sailed in Lake Havasu City, AZ by Bob Eger and John Hanks. They sent me video of the boat sailing stern down and bow up. That was obviously a problem as the lines were developed for water flow parallel to the waterline. Since it was an obvious problem, less time was spent on the cause and more time on a solution. We ended up removing weight from the back piece of lead and adding it over the front piece of lead. To maximize waterline for the class, 5 lb was removed from the back piece and 10 lb added above the front piece, which allowed the boat to float properly on her lines. What went wrong? A novice boat builder (me) making a miscalculation on the initial lead location. My attempt to get the lead as low in the keel as possible caused me to put too much lead in the rear position of the keel. A look at the lead ballast in any of the keel drawings of any J boat shows most of the lead on the forward edge of the keel, obviously for proper balance. This does not scale down to 1/16 and with the large sail area we are carrying, the attempt was made to put weight as far down as possible, resulting in a rear heavy balance. The correction has worked and the boat sails very well. As noted in the article, the mast was moved to the rear position to correct for lee helm (as was a problem in the full size boat) and the boats are much better balanced under all weather conditions. We recently took three Sveas and one Endeavor to San Diego for a road trip and everyone had a great time, except for the Endeavor sailor who was always 4th. Gene 30 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Thanks, Gene, for the explanation. I’m sure that you are neither the first nor the last to make this discovery. Hull shapes like the J-boats all have this problem. They have a profile that is almost triangular, and the deepest part is well aft of the center of buoyancy. For stability, it is tempting to put ballast back there, but you can’t, as you discovered. Most plans show a center of buoyancy on the drawings. If the boat is to float on its lines, the fore-and-aft center of gravity must line up with the center of buoyancy. I usually set up the ballast arrangement by balancing the boat “in the air” before floating. […] Add, move, or delete ballast at locations that preserve this balance point. It will then float level. The only additional “wrinkle” to the above procedure comes if you deepened the keel or enlarged the rudder beyond the original drawings. Helm balance is a whole ‘nother problem, and I think lee helm is exacerbated by enlarging the rudder (and by deepening the keel if most of the added depth is toward the aft end). I find that I generally have to move the mast aft of its location in the full size boat. But even real designers of real boats get the helm balance screwed up surprisingly often. — John Henderson Thanks John, The plans used were from Perrotti Performance Designs as drawn for Elizabeth Myer who was going to build the boat full size. I extended the keel 2 in as allowed in the class rules and enlarged the rudder for better control so those two changes had an effect on the center of balance as well as buoyancy. I followed the plans closely when adding the 2-in keel extension as input from interested parties wanting me to keep the fair lines of the design rather than add a 2-in bulbous addition. The end result looks much better than some designs I have seen and better meets the intent of the class rules. It is still a great design that has proven to be fast. SEVEN boats have been created to date and six of those skippers were previous J Class owners who have discarded their other boats in favor of the Svea design. It was a very satisfying project. Gene Novak Barnacle Video Series—The Central Park Model Yacht Club (CPMYC) at a recent club meeting (via Zoom) held a question and answer session with Brad Gibson (United Kingdom). It was a wonderful and informative conversation with Brad who is an international champion IOM sailor, builder, and designer of the BritPOP. CPMYC has edited this interview into a 14-topic mini-series. Watch them all on YouTube and on their site: http://www.cpmyc.org/bg-videos.html. 31 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Svea Ballasting Issues Article and Photos by Gene Novak There has been some interest in how problems related to ballast placement arose and were solved on the Svea Project. Let me start by saying I am a novice R/C hobbyist who decided to build my own J Class boat. That is not an excuse, just an explanation. My first project was initiated by Bob Eger who wanted me to get involved in the J Class. At the time Bob was sailing a Shamrock that he had detailed so completely that it has appeared on the cover of the AMYA Quarterly Model Yachting and other publications. Being a competitive individual, I did not want to take all the time to build a J boat unless it was the fastest, so it was an easy decision to go with the winning full-size design, Ranger. I obtained the plans from John Hanks, the J Class Secretary, and proceeded to build the plug and mold, and to date I have produced 6 Ranger hulls. Part of my enjoyment of this hobby is in doing the research on the designs, and Ranger was pretty easy, especially when I obtained a copy of On the Wind’s Highway by Harold Vanderbilt, published in 1939 that described the entire Ranger project and performance. My project came together very well, and I was able to win the J Class nationals with my Ranger in 2017. When I learned that Svea was doing well in the full-size J Class, it appeared to be an opportunity to gain a speed advantage with a unique boat. Thanks to the assistance from John Lammerts van Bueren, T. J. Perrotti, and Elizabeth Myers, I was able to obtain digital files for the full-size Svea that I reduced to 1/16th scale for use in the AMYA Class. Without the generosity of those fine individuals, the Svea Project would not have happened. Having the digital plans made it easy to loft a hull and produce the plug. The most difficult part was adding the 2-in extension to the keel and rudder in a way that did not detract from the beautiful design of the hull. Modifications to Svea’s Keel. This is where things went a little sideways for me because when you add 2 in to the bottom of the keel, you change buoyancy, lateral resistance, etc. My attempt to draw the keel profile in keeping with the original lines moved the deepest parts of the keel rearward. Add to that my greed in trying to get the ballast as low as possible to take advantage of Svea’s keel, which is 1 in wider than Ranger’s keel, and I created my own ballasting problem. Again, I am not a naval architect, just a hobbyist, so I anticipated that adjustments were probably going to be needed. 32 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 The plans were perfect, for a full-size boat without any changes. Because I changed the plan, I was now working from the seat of my pants. Guided by the plans from T. J. Perrotti, I worked up the plan to maximize and properly place the ballast for the boat. On the Ranger project I had produced a hull and used lead to balance the boat on its lines in my hot tub. We got rid of the hot tub, so now I had to build a float tank to properly ballast Svea. Before I could build the float tank, word got out that I was making Svea hulls, and the orders started coming in. Plus we had a plan to debut the hulls at Mystic for the J Class Nationals in 2019. So here I am, a hobbyist trying to produce six new hulls, decks, ballast, rigs, etc. and there is only so much time in a day, but a self-imposed deadline had already been set. My hull was bare, so it was mandatory to complete the float tank and place the ballast in the boat to see that she floated properly on her lines, and that is when I found the error. I have been told that there is a calculation that could be made to get everything situated just right, but I’m a hobbyist so trial and error were the operations of the day. Making sure I had compensated for rig weight, taped on a deck, hung the rudder, fitted a battery and radio gear, I discovered that 7 ½ lb had to be cut off the rear ballast piece and added to the front ballast piece. To get Svea sitting properly on her lines, another 5 lb had to be added to the front ballast piece. The first hull out of the mold was reserved for me, and the second hull was committed to Bob Eger who was going to complete his boat with John Hanks in Lake Havasu City, AZ. I am in California producing hulls and melting lead while Bob and John are putting hull #2 together. They detailed the boat with a planked deck and several deck houses, so it looks great. Photos and videos can be seen on the AMYA J Class website for you to fully appreciate their efforts. My hull was going to be the last built, after the completion of the customer projects for Mystic. One day I got an email and video from Bob. They have completed the boat and are sailing it on a local lake near John’s home, and the video clearly shows the bow about 4 in higher than it should be. The boat was obviously dragging down by the stern, and it was time to panic because the ballast molds were complete. There was no way that we could accept the boat sailing on anything but her designed water line, so adjustments were in order. The boat was not going to sail quickly unless it could take advantage of the designed lines, so I had to figure out a solution to the ballast and balance of the model. Original ballast. Modified ballast. Everything is fixed, right? Not so fast. I had one hull and ballast in Chicago and one hull in Arizona that needed modifications, so an instruction sheet and the new ballast pieces had to be constructed and shipped off to the newest Svea skippers. Ranger had gone so smoothly! 33 The Model Yacht So, what went wrong? A novice boatbuilder (me) making a miscalculation on the initial lead location. My attempt to get the lead as low as possible in the keel coupled with the added keel depth moving the draft rearward, caused me to put too much lead in the rear position of the keel. A look at the lead ballast in any of the keel drawings of any J boat shows most of the lead on the forward edge of the keel, obviously for proper balance. This does not scale down to 1/16 for our boats because the heeling force on the sail plan overcomes the scale ballast very quickly, hence the allowable 2-in keel extension. To overcome the healing force, I tried to keep the lead low in the keel, resulting in a rear-heavy balance. The correction has worked out, and the boat sails very well, with hands off steering in most wind. The customers are happy with the finished product, but it took a little adjusting to make the boat right. Summer 2021 Update: As noted in the original article (The Svea Project) the mast was moved to the rear ~1 in to adjust for the leeward helm that showed up in the heavy wind of Mystic Seaport. The full-size boat had a similar problem that was corrected by adjusting ballast and installing an appendage on the full-size boat. Because the full-size boat has a keel-stepped mast, it could not be relocated without a redesign of the interior. We have made the necessary adjustments to balance the handling of the boat because we have a deck-stepped mast, and the local skippers are staying with the Svea design and have sold their Rangers. We recently took three Sveas and one Endeavor to San Diego for a road trip, and everyone had a great couple of sailing days, except for the Endeavor sailor who was always 4th. That being said, we feel the design has its advantages and plan to sail her as often as possible. It turned into a very worthwhile project, and there always seems to be something to correct or redesign. 34 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 How to Acquire a Model Sailboat Waterline Without Falling In the Pond! Article and photos by Martin Blumenthal I recently wanted to find the waterline of a newly acquired model yacht. At my home I have a ¼ acre farm pond with a dock. The thought of putting the boat in the water, leaning over and trying to make some marks on the hull did not seem like a practical idea – I might fall in with the water temperature at 50º F. So I cut out 1- by 3-in strips of file folder and taped them at four locations on the hull starting with the mast center line as a reference point. Proceeding to the water’s edge I inserted the boat into the water for about 15 seconds and pulled it out. The marks were clearly distinguishable. I quickly made pencil lines at these marks on the paper. There is a distinct water line on the paper selected. While thinking about how to get the waterline located on the boat I came up with the idea of taping strips of paper to the hull at several locations. I experimented with several different types of materials and finally settled on strips cut from a green file folder. I determined which material would work best by dipping test samples in a cup of water in my kitchen. Returning to the house I transferred the marks to the hull with light pencil marks. I now had a fairly accurate waterline location as shown in the drawing. I wrote down the dimensions for each strip including the distance from the bow and down from the deck so I could mark the other side of the hull. Illustration by TMY Staff 35 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 Resources Plans: • • • • • • AJ Fisher – http://www.ajfisher.com/ Pinterest – http://www.pinterest.com/pin/506866133039763052/ Solomons Island Model Boat Club – https://sites.google.com/site/simbclub/home Sublime Boatworks – http://www.sublimeboatworks.com The Vintage Model Yacht Group, UK – http://www.vmyg.org.uk US Vintage Model Yacht Group – http://www.usvmyg.org Hulls: • Biff Martin, Marblehead, MA – Biff Martin (978-828-9765) • Blue Crab Model Yacht, Cambridge Maryland – Scott Todd (410-310-2453) • The Vintage Model Yacht Group, UK – http://www.vmyg.org.uk Ballasts • Blue Crab Model Yacht, Cambridge Maryland – Scott Todd (410-310-2453) Parts and Tools: • Carr Sails – http://www.carrsails.com/ • Long Beach RC, Hickory Corners, MI – http://www.longbeachrc.com • Micro Fasteners – https://www.microfasteners.com/ • MidWest Model Yachts, Plainfield, IN – http://www.midwestmodelyachting.com/ • Model Yacht Fittings, The Villages, FL – http://www.modelyachtfittings.com • Pekabe (Worth Marine) – https://www.ebay.com/b/pekabe/bn_7024907023 • SAILSetc (UK) – www.sailsetc2.com • ServoCity – https://www.servocity.com/ • Tower Hobbies – https://www.towerhobbies.com/ 36 The Model Yacht Summer 2021 US Vintage Model Yacht Group Boat Registration Form Name: ____________________________________ AMYA #: (optional) __________________ Address: ______________________________________________________________________ Email Address: _________________________________________________________________ Phone Number (home): ___________________________ (cell) __________________________ I would like to register/obtain a sail number for the following boat/s: Free Sailed Boat – Request sail number ________ or the next available number Boat Design: _______________ Circa: ___________________ John Fisher Email: jfisher577@gmail.com phone: 1-719-651-0762 International A Boat (vintage) – Request sail number ________ or the next available number BoatDesign:_______________ Circa: ___________________ MikeDenest Email: phone: 1-610-316-3570 Schooner – Request a sail number ________ or the next available number Boat Design: _______________ Circa: ___________________ Tom Alessi Email: Skipjack – Request a sail number ________ or the next available number BoatDesign:_______________ Circa: ___________________ John Henderson Email: phone: 1-443-282-0277 Unrestricted Class – Request a sail number ________ or the next available number BoatDesign:_______________ Circa: ___________________ John Henderson Email: phone: 1-443-282-0277 Vintage 36/600 – Request a sail number ________ or the next available number BoatDesign:_______________ Circa: ___________________ Alan Suydam Email: phone: 1-410-394-3150 Vintage Marblehead (50/800) – Request a sail number ________ or the next available number Boat Design: _____________________ Circa: ___________________ Bruce Richter Email: richterbruce@gmail.com phone: 1-917-575-2221 Request your boat number electronically here https://usvmyg.org/registration Please mail this form with a check for ($7.00 x number of boats) to: Tom Alessi, c/o US Vintage Model Yacht Group, P.O. Box 319, Lima, PA 19037-0319 Please make your check payable to the US VMYG. Tom will forward your form to the class coordinator who will process your sail number. 37 Summer 2021 The Model Yacht 38