On the 10th of September 1934, the Boston Traveler printed this picture (Fig. 1) under the headline “Radio Controlled Boat Operated by Pressing Button in Box Ashore” The story began:
It was no less than sheer wizardry.
This reprints a series of articles on the design, construction, and sailing of model square-rigged ships. The articles appeared in the British journal The Model Yachtsman and Marine Model magazine from November 1932 to April 1933.
Years ago when there were no rating rules or restrictions, and handicaps were unknown, yacht racing resolved itself mainly into a matter of size, and the largest yachts generally won.
This article was originally published in Country Life Illustrated on December 9, 1899 giving a great description of model yachting at that time.
This essay appeared on p 214 of the March 10, 1894 issue of Forest and Stream magazine and is such an excellent source of information on early model yachting in the United States that we are reproducing it in its entirety.
