The Model Yacht: Volume 5, Number 2 – Fall 2001

LINCOLN MEMORIAL POOL, WASHINGTON, D.C. NEWSLETTER OF THE U.S. VINTAGE MODEL YACHT GROUP VOLUME FIVE, NUMBER TWO FALL 2001 NEWSLETTER OF THE U.S. VINTAGE MODEL YACHT GROUP VOLUME FIVE, NUMBER TWO FALL 2001 Editor’s Welcome When Thom McLaughlin helped organize the exhibit of vintage model yachting currently at the Plant Museum in Tampa, he named it “Simple Pleasures.” We could all use simple pleasures in these difficult times, something quiet, contemplative, and gentle. If you have a boat, sail it; get out and away from the television and remind yourself that the wind still blows and the sun still shines. If you don’t have a boat, consider building one. To this end we have printed in this issue plans and instructions for a little vest pocket cruiser, just a foot on the waterline, that can be carved from a single block of wood and free sailed in the smallest of ponds. And if circumstances keep you from building, then you can plan your next boat, carve a half or full hull in a smaller scale to plot a planking strategy, lay out the rig. This is not frivolity; it is a necessary part of healing and strengthening. Above all, keep well. Earl Boebert Ebbs and Flows The President’s Message Vintage Membership Annual membership $20 fee is for three issues of VMYG newsletter “The Model Yacht”. VMYG lifetime membership is $100. Members also gain access to technical assistance and vintage model plans. Our “how to” book and video package on plank-on-frame construction is available separately. To subscribe to our newsletter/services or to renew, please send check (payable to US VMYG) or $20 (or $100) cash to: John Snow, c/o US VMYG, 78 East Orchard Street, Marblehead, MA 01945. For inquiries about our activities, either call me @781-631-4203 or visit the VMYG Web Page at www.swcp.com/usvmyg 2001 VM Regatta Golden Triangle MYC is hosting seventh national Vintage Model Yachting Days Regatta November 2-4 at Tampa, FL. It will feature R/C VM model racing and display competitions. Attendees can also view a superb vintage pond yacht exhibit at Henry B. Plant Museum in Tampa, which Thom McLaughlin helped develop. Check elsewhere for more regatta details and entry form. Vintage Etcetera 3rd Woods Hole Model Boat Show Note of appre- ciation to VMYG members providing models, presentations and AMYA/VMYG exhibit booth manning at April 2001 Woods Hole Show: Fred & Sue Abbe, Earl & Judy Boebert, Page 1 Jim Dolan, Jack Gregory, Art Hart, Al Hubbard, Charlie & Dot Roden and Dale Wenninger. 2001 WoodenBoat Show For another job well done, VMYG extends thanks to Alan & Nan Suydam for organizing VMYG exhibit booth and sailing demos at WB Show at South Haven, MI. Check elsewhere for Alan’s report on this Show. 2001 Free Sail Challenge Races The San Francisco Model Yacht Club had a highly successful trip to UK for free sail vintage and traditional M races with British skippers. SFMYC group had nine VM models and 20 people, including Judy and Earl Boebert, for races at Round Pound, London and Fleetwood Pond in Blackpool/Fleetwood. Round Pond dates to 1730 and has the oldest UK club: the Model Yacht Sailing Association, founded in 1876. Fleetwood MYC has hosted more international regattas than any MYC. These clubs and Bournville MYC hosted SFMYC contingent in very proper British fashion – banquets, gifts and vintage displays. Russell Potts and Graham Reeves of British VMYG organized the racing, which marked the largest UK gathering of free sail VM’s in 40 years. Even though final scoring favored the UK skippers, camaraderie between model yachtsmen sharing a common bond was a long-term benefit from this undertaking. British boats are now expected at Spreckles Lake, San Francisco for free sail M races in 2003. Special thanks to Jeff Stobbe for developing this event with his UK counterparts and for his logistical efforts in making it happen. 2001 Mystic Model Yacht Regatta Check else- where for report on VMYG Traditional Sailing Craft/Scale national event at 2001 Mystic model regatta. VMYG would like to thank the many VMYG members who supported this regatta at Mystic; in particular, Andrew Charters, Jim Dolan, Art Hart, AJ Hocking, Jackie Lakeman, Richard Lamfuss, Bill McBeth, Gary & Yvonne Michaud, Harry & Alice Mote, Charlie & Dot Roden, Alan & Nan Suydam and Dale Wenninger. 2001 WoodenBoat School Course Third annual model yacht building course at WoodenBoat School, Brooklin, ME taught by Thom McLaughlin was again successful. Students produced 11 plank-on-frame vintage M Class hulls, with half of these expected to be turned into completed VM models. Check elsewhere for article on this activity. School now plans two courses in 2002: Thom’s on planking and one by Alan Suydam on lift method of model yacht construction. These are result of Thom’s excellent courses and rapport developed with WoodenBoat School staff. 2002 A Class Regatta VMYG plans A Class national regatta (August 3) at 2002 Mystic Model Regatta for Vintage and R/C (RA) models. We would like to attract a mix of vintage and modern A models to boost visibility of these designs and expand racing activities. Event may eventually be linked to international A Class regatta in Australia in 2003. Details will be available via our A coordinator Rod Carr and our Web page. Rod asks A owners to contact him to update A Class database for this event. He also reports new RA design with modern shape (58 inches and 31 pounds) from Australian designer Adrian Brewer. It is intended to have good light to medium air capabilities for American skippers. Full-size plans can be purchased from Rod. 2002 VM and Traditional Watercraft Regattas. The 2002 Regattas are scheduled for the weekends of 21-22 and 28-29 September respectively. The VM Regatta will be held at Spring Lake, NJ and the Traditional Regatta at Solomon Islands, MD. This will permit skippers to attend both Regattas on a single vacation to the East Coast. Watch the USVMYG Web site for more details. VMYG is American Model Yachting Archive pleased to announce establishment of archive for model yachting located at Mystic Seaport Museum Library. It will consist of documents, books, periodicals, photos, film, video/audio tapes, artifacts, etc. and will be available to all model yachtsmen in future. This is a collaborative effort with AMYA, with VMYG as facilitator working with Mystic Seaport and donors. Anyone with items to donate should contact VMYG Archivist Jim Dolan at 781-631-2111 or myself. Material to start this archive was graciously donated by Bob Irwin, owner of A.J. Fisher Company, which VMYG thanks. We also thank Alan Suydam for originating this initial donation and bringing it to Seaport at 2001 Mystic regatta. Page 2 John Snow The Third Annual San Francisco Model Yacht Club Marblehead Invitational The third annual San Francisco Model Yacht Club Marblehead Invitational was held this year with thirteen skippers participating. The usual wide variety of San Francisco Yachts from new to old raced. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were spent tuning and practicing with stronger winds than the usual lethargic zephyrs of Spreckles Lake. Earl Boebert from New Mexico observed a particularly petulant yacht leave the lake on its own volition. Unfortunately, it turned out to be his and a cracked plank resulted. Modern chemistry (5 minute epoxy) and a severe reprimand to the yacht put him back in the regatta. We held our boat beauty contest Saturday morning. Each skipper was given a secret ballot to determine the best of the yachts. A Vintage Group best craftsmanship trophy including a coveted Stanley plane was at stake. A very innovative yacht by Ed Schoenstein won. Full of optimism and equipped with a beautiful yacht every skipper then went to the lake and found a strong breeze at the leeward end of the lake and gusty variable winds at the windward end. The boards commenced and extremely tight racing ensued with the windy conditions slightly favoring the vane boats. Mike Kelley was the leader of close pack of seven yachts only separated by four points after a hard day of racing. A strong gust dismasted “no reef“ Harvey’s yacht. As a first attempt at reefing, he may have over done it. The rescue dingy was called for. After a full day of racing we gratefully repaired to the comfort of a banquet arranged by George Ferrari at the Gold Mirror restaurant. I presented the craftsmanship trophy to Ed, praises were given and received, drinks drunk and a contest to name the most horses of the most obscure Hollywood cowboys ensued. Horses! After Champion, Bullet and Silver were given their due we adjourned to race Sunday. Sunday arrived with diminished and variable winds, especially at the windward end of the lake. The Braine yachts came into their own and a clear leader emerged from the group of seven. George Ferrari with “Little Joe” posted a perfect score for the remainder of the boards and became a repeat winner of the Invitational. Earl’s yacht remained willfully independent when the vane revolted against all administrations of logic, forcing a DNF. His spirits rose when we retired to the clubhouse for the traditional champaign, potato chips and the presentation of awards. The joy and tears were as follows: 1. George Ferrari 2. Tony Marshall 3. Jim Forbes 4. Gary Caballero 5. Jason Spiller 6. Paul Stieger 7. Jeff Stobbe 8. Mike Kelly 9. Jim Harvey 10. Ed Schoenstien 11.Robert Carver 12. Mel Harvey 13. Earl Boebert 43 points. 34 31 29 28 28 28 21 14 13 11 DNF DNF Tech Tips From the Regatta The use of kite material for spinnakers. Using a 6 oz.syringe with a plastic hose on it as a bailer. Putting a second centering elastic on the vane from the vane arm pin to the rudder post. This only activates when the vane is hard over. Jeff Stobbe 2001 Mystic Seaport Model Yacht Regatta Second annual model yacht regatta at Mystic Seaport Museum, CT was held August 2-5, 2001. Its focus was the 150th anniversary of the first America’s Cup race in England in 1851. The event was again co-sponsored by the AMYA and US VMYG, with regattas for AMYA US 1M Class national and J Class regional championships, and the US VMYG Traditional Sailing Craft/Scale national race. Also featured were match races for large R/C schooners (six feet and over) and daily, hands-on sailing demonstrations for Seaport visitors with RC Lasers. Formal presentations on our sport and an 8-hour model yacht building workshop were conducted as well. All these activities were back-dropped by a Page 3 four-day exhibit having an eclectic mix of 75 sailing models. One “show-stopper” was a 12-foot R/C sailing model of the famous 1930s US ocean-racing yacht “Ticonderoga,” which was air-shipped from Australia for this event and a crossing of Long Island Sound. This 250 pound model required six adults to carry it with its 100 pound cradle for sailing demos. Note that Mystic Seaport is a very unique venue for model yachting activities, given its many attractions on our maritime heritage and its staff’s enthusiasm for our sport. The Seaport has older model yachts in its collection, with one displayed with examples of R/ C US 1M and schooner models at the visitor’s main entrance during the regatta. The Museum Store had RC Laser model kits and AMYA magazines available as well. As one can surmise from the activities above, an integral part of the success of the 2000 and 2001 Mystic model regattas was the sheer number (30) and dedication of the AMYA and VMYG volunteers. These individuals performed such key tasks as manning the AMYA/VMYG information, members of race committees and mentoring visitors during RC Laser sailing demos. Thus, the AMYA and US VMYG thanked them for their efforts with appreciation awards during the regatta cookout and dinner events. John Snow U K Report The San Francisco Model Yacht Club arrived in London with nine boats and twenty people. Gary and Rosemary Caballero and Rolfe Faste couldn’t make the entire trip so didn’t bring boats; but, offered needed logistic help and took many photographs of our early exploits. The other members arriving were Jason Spiller, Ed and Pat Schoenstein, Jim and Claire Harvey, Jeff and Colleen Stobbe, Mel and Florence Harvey, Mike and Judy Stobbe, Earl and Judy Boebert, Bill and Minnet Stobbe and Andy and Nelson May. All were helped by David Keay who graciously transported our boats from the airport to the Model Yacht Sailing Association clubhouse at Round Pond in London. Round Pond was completed in 1730 as part of the palace gardens for Queen Caroline, wife of King George the 2nd. Round Pond is 232 yards by 181 yards, making it a bit larger than Spreckles Lake. Set on a grassy knoll, it enjoys steady breezes. MYSA is the oldest club in the British Isles having been founded in 1876. We had several days before the racing to enjoy London and we all hit the highlights from the top of St. Paul’s Cathedral to the new hot spot, the Tate Modern at Millbank. We took in a London play called “Noises Off”, visited pubs, rode the Underground (mind the gap), enjoyed the fish and chips, Indian curry, and English beer. Our race was set for Sunday, July 22nd at 10am and flags were set out for the start-finish lines and the MYSA club flag was our gathering point. A great number of Vintage A vane from Graham Reeves’ collection. This is a modified version of the vane sold for years by the A.J. Fisher Co. As a general rule, the British treated vanes as precision instruments rather than ordinary fittings. Page 4 The lake at Fleetwood. Its size can be guaged by the figures to the left. yachts were set out on the grass in addition to the participating yachts. Combined with the many people visiting the park, it was very festive. Russell Potts who was instrumental in organizing the UK boats said he hadn’t seen such a large gathering of freesailers in 40 years. We raced as teams, S.F. and U.K., so we added up our scores to determine the outcome. Racing for the UK was Tom Haines, Richard Redhead, David Keay, Russell Potts, Dave Nichson, Len Thompson, Peter Drewitt, Graham Reeves, Mike Bandy and Glen Clarke. Sailing in review we called it. Very frustrating. But we rallied as we gained experience with the conditions and improved with every board sailed. Our supporters applauded our increasing wins and Rolfe took a hundred photos so our morale kept improving. The sloping bank claimed a few victims. At the leeward end we were discussing strategy for the next beat when Ed said he thought he smelled fish. Nelson had fallen in and acquired a rather putrid air about him. But Martin, a UK sailor, took honors. He fell in twice, front and back. The wind was moderate to light, not unlike Spreckles Lake, but steady in direction. A paved walkway surrounds the pond; but, the sides of the pond slope and our boats would ground out before being bankside. We could just manage to turn the boats with our poles before grounding out, but many keel scrapes resulted. Two obstacles were apparent on the pond –large Coots nests, very apparent, and not so apparent was an underwater pipe at the leeward end which ensnared a few boats, mine included, and also some large Swans which were inclined to occasionally nibble on the vane feathers. We were very well matched with the UK boats and after seven boards, we managed to pull off a victory 157 to 127. The top scorer was Dave Nichson for the UK with 30 and Mike Stobbe for SF with 28. The racing was informal with no protests, but very keen. Many UK boats had not been raced in many years, the free sailing enthusiasm having moved on to very high tech carbon fiber boats. After a full days racing, the MYSA hosted a great BBQ for us and presented Mike and Dave with Certificates for high scores, the final scores being carried on to the next races at Bournville and Fleetwood. The racing commenced with our leeward runs and things looked very grim, as we didn’t post a single win. Due to the wind angle an occasional finishing boat would sail parallel to the finish line without crossing it. Monday we all went to Greenwich and the National Maritime Museum. Russell Potts was our guide and, after five hours, we just barely scratched the surface of this vast collection. We then headed over to Russell’s Page 5 joined the others at Warwick Castle. The rest had spent a wonderful day at Stratford on Avon before going to the castle. In the evening the Bournville Club hosted a sumptuous buffet for us at the Kings Court Pub and had several top notch boats on display as conversation starters. They also gave each of us a book of model yacht designs by Lewis. The next day we were off to Blackpool/Fleetwood. The historic Fleetwood Model Yacht Club has been the host of more international regattas than any other club. The A class is their specialty and most of the championships have been held here Your editor’s boat ghosting along under spinnaker with the famous Fleetwood with the strong steady bridge in the background This was truly the thrill of a lifetime. winds off the Irish Sea powering the regattas. home for a delightful buffet that included We unpacked the boats and tuned up on Frihomemade breads and ice creams that Ghilday while the women all went off to the lake lian and Russell prepared for us. Russell’s country to explore Beatrix Potter’s Garden home is filled with Vintage yachts and he and other villages. The Fleetwood clubhouse presented us with 140 pounds to help with is a large low rambling building complete traveling expenses. He also had many of his with lounge, dining area, kitchen, boat storpublications for sale on model yachting of age, workshop and testing tank, all overlookwhich we bought several on the history of ing the pond through large glass windows. model yachting. Sharing the facilities are swans who believe they own the grassy area next to the club. I Tuesday we rented a 14 passenger van and did not question their assumed sovereignty. cargo van and set out for Bournville and race two. Driving in London on the other side, A superb turnout of UK sailors brought, Ruswell it was nerve racking. I managed to hit sell Potts, Brian King, Lisa Mckercher, Grathe rental company’s gate! But Mike took off ham Reeves, Peter Stollery, Robbie McIntosh, a Porsche Boxer’s mirror. Two hours later, I Danny Neale, Peter Hopkins, Derek Priestley, had a flat tire –did I mention the weather Mike Harris, Graham Wyeth, Bill Green, was wonderful as we changed the tire. Roger Stollery, John Brooks, Mark Dicks, Hughie Shields, Peter Whiteside and Brian Well, we made it, but only to have Graham King to the pond. A few UK sailors were Reeves inform us the race had to be cancelled assigned to our team to even things out. Saildue to weeds in the pond. So, we were back ing Fleetwood involves having a mate on the into tourist mode. Some of us went over to far bank to turn the boats out, so a few sailors see the Bournville Club and pond. This is a were stationed far side to do just that. The great place, very reminiscent of our lake and pond is a huge rectangle about as long as club. I look forward to returning some day Spreckles, but wider than our leeward end and racing there. The club was full of boats and narrower than our windward end. Saturwhich we enjoyed examining. We also visited day saw us reporting to light winds, bright the national Motoring Museum and then Page 6 sun and an overflowing pond. This meant a bit of splashing about when running after boats. Sailors could be spotted afterward by the salt lines on their shoes. Mel was spotted on the bank bailing out his shoes as he sat in the sun waiting for the windward boats to finish before commencing the downwind leg. Roger Stollery, a noted model yacht designer, gave me some tips on setting spinnakers as we waited. As for the racing we were axed, “Bloodaxed” to be exact. The “Bloodaxe” is a popular Stollery design that was just unbeatable. They flew a cloud of polyethylene downwind and were stiff and true upwind. It was tough sailing. I sustained a sports injury on Saturday, a sunburn. Sunday was a complete reversal in the wind, with a strong steady wind of the Irish sea. This is what we came for! Unfortunately, it was not a reversal of our fortunes, most of the UK boats reefed down to second suit (only Earl had that ability in our group). Our spinnakers drove our boats underwater. “Tin Pot”, Mark Dicks UK boat, was driven under not to come up. Mike Stobbe drove under until mast lay on the water, then slowly came up and screamed on again. My boat drove under to the hatch and only the small waves at the leeward end breaking the waters grip allowed it to come up and race on. We tied huge knots in our spinnakers to reduce their size and secured the halyard down low to produce more lift. This helped some. Occasionally, a full sprint was necessary to keep up with the boats. Other highlights included Mike falling in; the Scottish Navy sailed by Hughie Shields–I never did understand what he was saying; Jim’s Braine boat (the only one) attempting to take a rest on the grass while going downwind; Nelson’s grin after winning a beat and homemade sandwiches and pies for lunch. After a sunny, windy, exhilarating day of sailing, (Spreckles Lake never sees this kind of wind) we hosed the saltwater off our boats and packed them up. It was party time at the Fleetwood Yacht Club (full size not model). They had a great BBQ for us and awards. We took a beating the final tallies showed UK 521 SF 196. A Vintage cup was given to the UK and will be raced for again on Spreckles Lake in 2003. Bill Stobbe and Nelson May were given certificates as the high scorers for SF and we all received gifts packs and pictures from the Fleetwood Club. We bid farewell to a wonderful week of sailing and friendship and headed for London. We managed to squeeze in just a little more sightseeing on the way back, a few hours in Oxford’s colleges and bookstores. I have to especially thank Russell Potts and Graham Reeves for the many hours they put into organizing the regattas for us. A “Bloodaxe” running under spinnaker at Fleetwood Page 7 Jeff Stobbe Andrew Charters’ “Bluenose.” An article on how he rigs overlapping jibs is in this issue. Traditional Sailing Craft Scale Models Regatta at Mystic Seaport its owner, Arthur Hocking, and friends in kayaks. The US Vintage Model Yacht Group 2001 Traditional Sailing Craft Scale Models Regatta was part of the second annual AMYAUSVMYG event at the Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic Conn., which included two other model yachting championships, as well as a display of approximately 70 radio controlled, free sail and static display models (see other regatta and USVMYG reports). The Seaport is an appropriate venue for Traditional Scale Sail. And the Mystic event was a virtual race week, August 1-5. It is becoming an annual visitor attraction for the Museum and it provides a large and diverse spectator audience of potential model yachting enthusiasts. Credit for the origination, organization and hands-on management of this event goes primarily to USVMYG president John Snow. The six-foot schooners are approximately 72 in. on deck and essentially scale models of original vessels. Traditional sailing craft scale models on display and on the water included several 50-in. schooners, 72-in. schooners, a very impressive 12-ft. RC scale model of L.F. Herreshoff’s “Ticonderoga” and a Brixham trawler, which was free-sailed one morning and chased by Six-Foot Schooners Tom Pratt brought his outstanding plank on frame static model of “Bluenose” to Mystic from Cincinnati. Tom started out to build an RC sailing vessel but says he got carried away with the details and decided to finish the boat as a static display model. The details and finish are superb. Along with Ticonderoga, Tom’s “Bluenose” was one of the show stoppers. To satisfy the desire to sail these big schooners, Tom and his brother Dick have built a mold and have produced fiberglass hulls of “Bluenose,” which they will finish for RC sailing. Andrew Charters, came up from South Carolina, near Charleston, with his six foot schooner models of “Bluenose,” “Puritan” and the Starling Burgess-designed “Elizabeth Silsbee.” In addition, he brought his recently completed six-foot model of the N.G. Herreshoff cutter “Gloriana.” Andrew and his boats were a significant presence on the Page 8 water all week, recruiting other skippers to sail his boats with him to put on a show for spectators. During the first few days of the Mystic event, the wind had been strong and it maintained a good chop on the river. By Friday, when the large schooner races were to take place, wind, waves and salt water had already taken a significant toll on the US One Meter fleet, which had been sailing its national championship on Thursday and Friday. Those that survived to sail the last several races, were drained or bailed at the end of each race. It was virtually impossible to keep water out of any model that sailed in these exciting and challenging conditions. Andrew’s schooners were no exception. Andrew had been sailing “Bluenose” and had recruited Bill McBeth to sail the “Silsbee” and Harry Mote to sail “Puritan” in the demonstration sailing. This would be the lineup in the racing on Friday afternoon as well. By Friday, however, with the active participation all week of Andrew’s boats, salt water finally took its toll on the “Silsbee’s” electronics and put the boat and Bill McBeth out of commission. This left the “Bluenose” and the “Puritan” to match race. To better deal with the wind and sea, Andrew reefed both boats by removing topsails, jibs and single-reefing the foresail and mainsail. Andrew easily won the match races that we were able to sail and was awarded the prize for the six-foot schooner event. Worthy of note is Andrew’s method of rigging sail trim, described later in this issue. 50-in. Schooners More than eight 50-in. schooners participated in display and racing activities. These included Ned Lakeman’s new herring smack Saga and his Pleione, a NY 50 with L.F. Herreshoff schooner rig; Alan Suydam’s Brilliant, which was on display at the Museum’s information center, and his Fenwick Williamsdesigned Gloucesterman; Charlie Roden’s newly completed Alden Grenadier; Vince DeRocher’s cargo schooner; Richard Lamsfuss’s new Gertrude L. Thebaud with fin and bulb, Loretta and David Westphal’s two fin and bulb schooners and Jim Armstrong’s fin and bulb Emma C. Berry. The Westphals’s two schooners, incidentally, were of tradi- tional hull form but of their own design. They had previously skiff sailed these boats at Cape Porpoise, Maine and recently converted them to RC. Because of the variety of entries and the preferences of the skippers, static judging was not part of the 50-in. schooner competition this year. By Saturday the weather had moderated to provide moderate wind and a relatively calm river. After 11 races, scores in the 50-in. plank on frame (sub-category A) schooners were: Place 1st 2nd 3rd Skipper Schooner Points Ned Lakeman Pleione 16 Alan Suydam Gloucesterman 20 Charlie Roden Grenadier 32 Although four fin and bulb keel schooners participated in the exhibit only two sailed in competition in an open class that included David Westphal’s and Jim Armstrong’s fin and bulb schooners and Richard Lamsfuss’s Robbe wishbone kit schooner. David Westphal was the winner of this competition. The Mystic Seaport Museum/AMYA/ USVMYG event promises to grow and to become and major annual model yachting event. VMYG Schooner Business Four of the schooners with a maximum of 50 in. on deck that participated in the Scale Sail event had fin and bulb keels under their traditional full-keel schooner hulls. Two of these schooners were of the owner/builder’s design. Current rules, in sub-category B, call for a plank on frame scale model of a real schooner designed or built before 1940, fins and bulbs permitted. Should this part of the rule be amended to allow owner/builder original designs, as long and they are traditional schooner fullkeel in hull form? (This obviously excludes Laser-type hulls with fin and bulb and schooner rig.) Other comments? Interested parties please send comments to Harry Mote: telephone (609) 660-0100, email stryker@cybercomm.net Page 9 Harry Mote 2001 Vintage Marblehead National Regatta were approximately six feet on deck and all were rigged in the same way to tack overlapping jibs. The 2001 Vintage Marblehead National Regatta will be held in Tampa, Fl on Nov. 2-4. That’s at the end of hurricane season and the temperatures will be on the decline, so a perfect time for a visit to Tampa to race or watch the sailing of vintage boats. Florida actually has a niche in the history of vintage pond yachts with includes the national president of the governing body living in Winter Park in 1937. To enhance that awareness I have curated an exhibition of pond yachts at the Plant Museum. Amongst the boats in the exhibition is a Cheerio that was sailed by the group active in Tampa in 1937. The exhibition also includes literature and postcards of pond yachts from the vintage period. The system consists of a continuous loop on deck to which sheet lines are attached at appropriate places (see diagram). The loop goes below deck well aft on both vessels at the centerline to a drum winch. On the schooners, sheet lines from the overlapping jib, the staysail and the foresail are attached to the above deck continuous loop (the mainsail has its own drum winch and continuous loop below deck). As the loop rotates, to go from one close-hauled tack to the other, all three sails are eased on one side and then retrimmed on the other side. For off the wind sailing, the loop is rotated or eased, thus easing the sails the desired amount for reach or run. The Plant Museum is located in what was a 400 room Victorian Hotel built in 1891 and sits on a river with the city across from it. Information about the museum is at Two obvious advantages of Andrew’s system are that all of the sails on a schooner or cutter can be trimmed with two drum winches and the centerline through-deck entry of the ondeck closed loop helps minimize water entry below deck. The latter is an advantage in heavy weather, when water is often on deck along the rail, where sheet lines would normally go through the deck. Although it is conceivable that all of the sails, including the main, could be ganged onto a single closed loop and winch, most winches would probably not handle the load. Because of its large sail area, the main usually requires it own winch. http://www.plantmuseum.com/index.shtml and current plans are to hold the regatta on the river below the museum. An entry form and event schedule can be found at the event section on the VMYG web site. Please note that the entry form asks that all VM’s racing will be required to be registered with the class secretary and carry sail numbers. This is partially to help the race director (me) keep accurate scoring, but more importantly to assist us in becoming an AMYA class. Charlie Roden would appreciate your taking care of registration before you arrive. I hope to see lots of you at the event! Thom McLaughlin Andrew Charters’ Method of Tacking Overlapping Jibs At the recent AMYA/USVMYG multi-regatta model yachting event at Mystic Seaport Museum, Mystic, Conn., Andrew Charters displayed and sailed models of three schooners and N.G. Herreshoff’s Gloriana. All Andrew’s drawings are excellent. There is a lot of detail there. But given a little time and study, thinking your way through the system as you go, all becomes clear. To attach sheet lines to the loop Andrew uses three segment fishing line swivels to accommodate any twisting of the lines as tension is increased and released. Dotted lines show attachment of flying or jib topsails when used. On the schooners, Andrew uses automotive electric window motors equipped with concave drums, or cat heads, as winches (note drawing). To avoid over-trimming on either tack, Andrew uses stop lines to prevent the loop from rotating beyond a certain point. As the stop line on one tack is loaded, the other side of the loop is unloaded, allowing the loop line to slip on the cat head. Page 10 Al Suydam mans the booth at the WoodenBoat Show; Dick Carter’s “Bluenose” in the background. On the cutter, Andrew used converted servos equipped with potentiometers as winches, which control the number of revolutions, in conjunction with a digital proportional radio system, and thus the amount of sail trim. RC sail winches would work in the same way. Harry Mote USVMYG at the WoodenBoat Show This year the WoodenBoat Show ventured out of their East coast environment for the first time since the show began. The Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven, Michigan was chosen for the site. This site was much smaller than previous events at Mystic Seaport and St. Michaels. However, the show managed to attract a decent crowd from the Midwest. The USVMYG booth was skillfully chosen by John Snow to be at the end of one of the main tents and we were able to gain more floor space by folding back the end curtain of the tent. This gave us both ventilation and great crowd exposure. The weather on Thursday before the show was rainy and we were worried that it would be a wash-out. Friday dawned bright and clear and the sun was out for three days of great weather. There was a steady stream of visitors to our booth on all three days. My wife Nan organized the tables with materials for sale and had hangers for our brightly colored shirts and hats on display. She also brought some sparkly roping which we hung around the booth for more eye appeal. The highlight of our booth was, of course, the models on display. I brought my Cheerio and the WoodenBoat school 36″ model and Doug McMain from Toronto also brought his Cheerio, but the centerpiece was Dick Carter’s “Bluenose” 7 foot schooner. Everyone walking by remarked on how impressive it was and many just had to examine it up close and personal. Dick did a fabulous job on the detail. Another highlight of each WoodenBoat show has been the model sailing around the docks where the full-size boats were on display. This year, several members of the Western Michigan Model Yacht Club graciously volunteered their time and boats to entertain the Page 12 crowd. They shared transmitters with people interested in trying model yacht sailing. In the end, we had a successful show and I want to recognize Pete Dix, Sandy Littlejohn, and Steve Ibershoff from the Western Michigan MYC for helping with the sailing demos, and special thanks to Dick Carter, also from WMMYC for helping to organize the event and manning the booth with us. Another thank you to Doug McMain who traveled all the way from Toronto, Canada to help with the show. Doug also helped in the booth and and sailing demos. But my most sincere thanks to my wife Nan who not only organized the booth, but spent the whole weekend supporting our hobby. Al Suydam foremast, are often blanketed buy the taller main, dead down wind. As an accomplished sailor, Hoyt knew this and it was his “positive conviction that it never paid to put “Nina” dead before the wind and that it was far better to tack her on broad reaches than to run.” This strategy complicated navigation, but it keep “Nina” from loosing more ground than she would have on this and other down wind legs of the race. At the end of the first leg, “Nina” rounded the buoys at the eastern end of the Isle of Wight and started to windward in a “nice breeze” for the long beat to westward down the channel. “At once I discovered that ‘Nina’ to windward was a love, a treat to sail, and by sundown we had a comfortable lead over all competitors,” says Hoyt. By the end of the race, “Nina” and her skipper and crew had performed so well that not only was “Nina” first on corrected time by a wide margin, based on her handicap, more significantly, she was first to finish in competition that included larger and generally faster boats. “Nina” and Her “Radical Rig” “Nina” is one of several yachts that, because of their performance, became household names in ocean racing history between the two world wars. These names included “Dorade” (see last issue of The Model Yacht), “Landfall,” “Stormy Weather,” “Highland Light” and many others. “Nina”, as did the others, won many races to establish her reputation. One of “Nina”’s most notable wins was the Fastnet of 1928, when she was under the command of Sherman Hoyt. Her owner at the time, Paul Hammond, who after winning the Transatlantic race to Spain in “Nina” that year, had to return to the United States and asked Hoyt to sail her in the up-coming Fastnet. Hoyt described this race in his book Sherman Hoyt’s Memoirs (Van Nostrand, 1950). Hoyt was an accomplished yachtsman of his time and also a competent yacht designer. The race started downwind. Hoyt says that “Nina”, “never at her best on a dead run, dropped back into the ruck.” A disadvantage of schooners, with the lower of the two masts forward, is that they cannot set headsails as large as can sloops and yawls. In addition, the headsails, set on the shorter Radical Rig “Nina”’s windward performance was primarily attributable to her “revolutionary” or “radical” rig, as it was termed at the time. The rig gave her the windward performance comparable to a single-masted vessel with a multi-headsail rig; yet it allowed her to have the favorable rating of a schooner. The crews of some of her competitors, described “Nina” as a “rule cheater” and “an undesirable if legal type of racing machine.” Keep in mind that ocean racing in those days was done in what were supposed to be cruising boats. “Nina” was otherwise a traditional looking and conventionally rigged two-masted schooner, with jib, staysail, foresail and marconi main. But under the right conditions, she carried a genoa, in place of jib and staysail, that went from the tip of the bowsprit to the head of the foremast and significantly overlapped the foremast. And in place of her furled foresail she carried a large sail that filled virtually the entire space between the fore and main masts — the top of the sail going from the about the foresail throat position to the main masthead and significantly overlapping the main. Page 13 Page 14 NIna’s scantlings and accomodations One of the reasons that yachting history is so fascinating is the racing rules that were tried, their evolution and experimentation by designers. All of this, of course, started before the turn of the 20th century and continues to this day. In this light, Sherman Hoyt’s discussion of “Nina”’s racing classification is interesting and worth quoting in its entirety: “Under the Universal Rule a schooner’s mainmast shall not be stepped farther forward than 55% of her waterline length from the forward end of the waterline. “Nina”’s mainmast is a very few inches forward of that point. Hence, while technically not a schooner, neither was she a sloop with less that 62% of sail area aft of the mainmast; nor a yawl nor a ketch with her tallest mast the aftermast. Perhaps Alfred Loomis’s designation of her as ‘a two-masted cutter’ described her rig correctly. Under the New Cruising Club Rule she is considered a schooner. At any rate the slight misplacement of her mainmast, and consequent difficulty to classify her, is a technicality. She has made an enviable record in many years of racing and is considered a schooner by courtesy or because of the lack of any provision in the rules cover her peculiar status.” Measurement Rules Measurement rules are usually designed with specific goals and they are based on an understanding of the elements of a boat’s design that are primarily responsible for speed. Clinton Crane, in his Clinton Crane’s Yachting Memories (Van Nostrand, 1952), says that a measurement rule is a “speed resistance formula.” Some rules are intended as development rules, such as AMYA’s Marblehead and US One Meter class rules, where limits are placed on two or three key measurements to let optimum designs evolve within those limits. Some others, such as the Universal Rule (e.g., J, Q and R classes) and the International Rule (the Meter classes) were complicated formulae designed to produce boats of a certain size and type. The Cruising Club Rule, which was the rule under which “Nina” raced, was also a complicated formula measurement rule. But its goal was to allow a great variety of existing cruising boats and rigs to race equitably. And its measurement formulae were designed to encourage seaworthiness, traditional and easily handled rigs that were conducive to safety and good cruising qualities. Based on the specific measurements of the Page 15 of his few criticisms of “Nina”, Sherman Hoyt says that “Personally, I admired the novel sail plan; but I had to admit that the frequent necessary shifts in the many sized staysails to best meet existing conditions, and her multiplicity of back stays and runners, did require a larger crew than would be needed on a cutter, or a more conventionally rigged schooner.” This kind of rig complexity, anathema to the safety and short-handed requirements of cruising, was exactly what the Cruising Club Rule was trying to discourage. But it won races. In any case, Clinton Crane says that “The Lippincott Rule, generally called the Cruising Club Rule, takes account of length, draft, beam, freeboard, displacement, sail area and other factors, each in turn governed by complicated formulae, This picture shows the staysail rig well. boat required by the formulae, the boat was given a rating for a time allowance per mile of the course to be sailed. Type of rig was a factor: two-masted boats got better ratings than single-masted boats; hence the yawl, with almost the efficiency of a sloop and with only the drag of a very small mizzen; of the two-masted boats, the ketch had a better rating than the yawl and so on. Over the years, designers, urged on by their clients, found ways to exploit failings of these rules to produce faster boats for their ratings. In the early days, simple rules — for waterline length only, sail area only and others -quickly proved unworkable. The waterline rule, for example, in which waterline was measured with the boat at rest, produced what some called “freaks.” And the formula rules were amended and made more complicated in attempts to prevent designers from creating “rule beaters.” Starling Burgess, an aeronautical engineer by training and one of our most successful yacht designers, gave “Nina” her controversial schooner rig when he designed her. In one This model shows the complexity of the rig. Page 16 but it does more successfully measure the speed of numberless different forms of hull and rig than any rule heretofore devised.” “Nina” as a Model “Nina” would make a very able 50-in. radio controlled schooner model. Her 59 ft. of original length would scale down well. Her overlapping genoa and overlapping foresail could be easily tacked (see Andrew Charter’s RC rig drawing in this issue). And her rigging could be simplified, by eliminating most of the runners and back stays that Sherman Hoyt complained about, except, perhaps, a running backstay to the main masthead to keep the headstay tight. The model would most likely have the comparative windward performance of the original, perhaps better than that of a conventional staysail schooner. Staysail schooners, another legitimate classification of “Nina”, have done very well in the 50-in. plank on frame schooner fleet. Ned Lakeman’s “Pleione” is just one example -notwithstanding the fact that a significant part of her performance is Ned’s sailing ability. Harry Mote Pond Yacht Building at the WoodenBoat School school resides. The boat finds its sources in Ted Houk’s 1949 “RipTide” and Ains Ballantyne’s 1947 “Arrow III.” Naskeag has the fine entry and slightly hollow bow of “RipTide” and the flatter aft sections of “Arrow III.” It displaces 2.5 pounds less than these two boats though, and given the time restrictions of the class a strip planking method of building has been evolved for this hull. Due to the enthusiasm of the students, by the end of the week there were eleven hulls almost ready to come off the building boards. We also got in three evenings of sailing pond yachts on the waterfront by WoodenBoat’s rustic stone boathouse. The class will be offered again next year and the course catalogue will be available sometime in December. Information can be found at http://www.woodenboat.com/ wbschool.htm and registration will not occur until just after New Year 2002. The class in the past has filled up immediately and gathered a long waiting list, so act quickly when the new class enrollment begins. The coming year should bring an added offering of a new class on building a lift method Detroit School pond boat and taught by Al Suydam. Excellent summer opportunities! Thom McLaughlin The Model Yacht is published three times a year by the U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Group. Copyright 1998,1999, 2000, 2001, U.S.V.M.Y.G. Reproduction for noncommercial purposes permitted; all other rights reserved. During August I taught a week long pond yacht building class at WoodenBoat Magazine’s school in Brooklin, Maine that focused on building a hull for a vintage Marblehead. The course is intended to provide students with experience and information in building plank-on-frame pond boats. The atmosphere at WoodenBoat is certainly amazing, be it the energy of the students, the dedicated support of the staff and administration, or the beautiful setting of the school. It is the perfect arena for learning by doing. The boat that the class worked on is a vintage 50/800 of my design named “Naskeag.” The name is derived from a fine point of land that projects into Eggemoggin Reach where the Editorial Address: 9219 Flushing Meadows NE Albuquerque NM 87111 Email: boebert@swcp.com Phone: 505 823 1046 Officers of the U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Group: President: John Snow Eastern Vice-President: Ben Martin Midwest Vice-President: Al Suydam Western Vice-President: Dominic Meo, III Southeastern Vice-President: Thom Mclaughlin Traditional/Scale Coordinator: Harry Mote Vintage M Class Coordinator: Charles Roden Classic “50” Coordinator: Dennis Lindsey Historian: Earl Boebert Archivist: Jim Dolan Page 17 Technical Supplement To Make: Turnbuckles and Bottle Screws Cut length of channel for body and set aside. As you may have gathered from John Snow’s article, the A.J. Fisher Co. is no longer in business. This deprives us of our only source of vintage fittings. Many fittings, such as Braine quadrants and goosenecks, can be made with greater or lesser effort. Turnbuckles and bottle screws1, which are used to tension shrouds, are another matter. We have two items to help until we are able to develop another source of supply. One is a an article by Jack McKie that tells how to make a simple bottle screw from K&S and Special Shapes material sold at most hobby shops and MicroMark. The other is a self-explanatory set of drawings by Vic Smeed on simple tensioning fittings. Cut a short length of 1/8” square stock say 1″ for ends. Smooth off end of square stock. mark center of square stock. Center punch location of hole fit in drill press vice Drill.070 hole about 5/16”+ deep. Cut 2 1/8” pieces with hole in center Use fine file to clean up burrs Solder 1/8” pcs in ends of channel mind the hole orientation and use minimal solder Use 2-56 tap to put threads in one end Cut length of.081 rod clean up the end and cut 256 threads Using a hammer and blunt punch smash one end of the threaded rod and drill hole for stay Jack’s simple turnbuckle A Simple Turnbuckle Jack says: “Not a beautiful fitting but cheap and relatively easy to make and I think very functional. This might help some folks get boats in the water until we have a new source of Fisher type turnbuckles.” Materials: Cut length of tube about 1/16” long Solder piece of tube to 1/16” rod end Cut 1/16” rod with tube so that it is just short enough to fit between ends and insert through unthreaded end Form eye in 1/16” rod to suit K&S 5/32” Brass Channel K&S 1/16” Brass Rod K&S 1/16” Internal Diameter Brass Tube Special Shapes 1/8” Square Brass Stock Solder Tools Drill press or very good hand/eye coordination and Dremel tool w/chuck. Solder, Flux, and Torch .070 Drill. 2-56 tap and wrench 2-56 die and die stock Exacto saw 1. A turnbuckle, strictly speaking, has two threads, one right-hand and one left-hand. A bottle screw has one. Most people use the term “turnbuckle” for both. — Ed. A simple turnbuckle, made from sheet stock and fasteners. Page 18 The above sounds harder than it really is. It takes me about an hour to make four. What 1 would really like to see is real looking turnbuckles with lost wax cast bodies at a reasonable price. The only tough part is finding left handed taps and dies. Jack Mc Kie Afterword Small Parts sells telescoping hexag- onal brass tubing, which means that you could use a brass 2-56 nut and save the tapping step. Likewise, they sell 2-56 threaded stainless rod; this would require heating to red hot to form the flat on the end, but would save the trouble of threading. Small Parts is also a source of high quality taps and dies, both right and left handed. If you come up with a design of your own for a home-made turnbuckle, let us know and we’ll run it in an upcoming issue. A Miniature Model Yacht Here’s a little boat that can be made on a kitchen table or portable drawing board, and sailed on the smallest of ponds or pools when not being displayed on a mantle or a bookcase. The design is English, from 1902, and many have been built successfully since then. The station plan is full size and the hull plan is half size. Hull The hull must be very light, and is best carved. It can be carved from a single block, or built up “bread and butter” style on either the waterlines or the buttocks. It’s small enough to use fairly exotic woods, such as alternating layers of light and dark hardwood. The hull should be hollowed out to as thin a wall as possible, no more than 3/32” on the sides tapering out to 1/4” or so at the floors. The Exacto gouges that fit the large handle are good for this. The keel, which simply bolts to the bottom of the fin, can be cast from lead in a simple wood mold, cut from lead flashing available from roofing suppliers, or made from a thick piece of bronze or brass. If the latter, make the keel about one and a half times the depth shown on the chart. A polished brass or bronze keel will look very nice on her. The keel should be attached with a pair of bolts running to nuts inside the hull and well sealed with epoxy. The exact shape of the keel is set by trial and error. After giving the hull enough of an exterior and interior coat to seal the wood against water, float the boat with the trial keel on her and observe the trim. File away at the keel to correct the trim and then fasten permanently. Like the hull, the deck is small enough to enable you to get fancy with the exotic stripwoods the scale builders use. A single deck beam under the mast will suffice. Spars, Rig, and Sails Mast and spars can be made from hobby shop spruce stock. The gooseneck can be a couple of interlocked screw eyes, and the gaff made from wood or just be a simple wire loop. The sails should be cotton, or she’ll be over canvassed; a fine handkerchief stock (called “lawn”) will serve nicely. There should be two transverse horses, on for the jib and one for the main. The steering gear can be as shown to the left, or just a toothed “clicker” to hold the tiller in a fixed position. And that’s about it. Just a simple pleasure, something to occupy the mind and hands. If you build one, send us some pictures for future issues. Earl Boebert A simple sheet to tiller gear. There are two sheets, one for the beat and one for the run. When the beating sheet is set, the running sheet is slack. A tensioning rubber runs from the tiller to an adjusting cleat. Page 19 Page 20 Page 21