Vintage 36 Class Rules

Revision Date: December 2022
Revising Editors: Jeffrey Beck, Rob Dutton, John Henderson, Colin Parker, John Stoudt, and Alan Suydam

These revised Class Rules of 2022 shall govern Vintage 36 class (36/600) from date of publication until revised by consensus or recommendation by the class owners. In general, the Vintage 36 rules are intended to mirror those of the Vintage Marblehead class, with changes to reflect the smaller size of the Vintage 36.

It is reasonable to expect that the class rules may evolve with time to improve clarity, correct unforeseen problems, or embrace advancing R/C technology. It is the intent of the class that any potential changes not disqualify existing boats.

For racing purposes, Vintage 36 fleets may be separated into “Traditional” and “High Flyer” divisions. The separation is based on design characteristics. In general:

Early vintage design types (”Traditional”) are identified by practices such as skeg- or keel-mounted rudders and relatively shallow draft; this is typical of design practices in the period roughly from 1930 to 1945.

Later vintage designs (“High Flyer”) may have spade or balanced rudders (i.e., rudders not attached to a skeg or keel) and somewhat deeper draft; this is typical of design practices roughly from 1945 to 1970.

Note that the determining factor is the design type, not the actual date of the design. This is meant to encourage new designs that fall within the spirit of Vintage 36 design types and also to encourage reproductions of earlier designs.

All Vintage 36 model yachts participating in racing competition sponsored by US VMYG must comply with these class-rating rules. It is the responsibility of each skipper to prepare his boat in accordance with the Rules and Specifications referenced or included in this document. The intent of the US VMYG is to encourage participation and to simplify any certification or measurement processes as much as is consistent with fair racing.

For the purposes of these Class Rules, the following Definitions apply:

  1. Keel:  A fixed appendage along the centerline of the boat’s underbody.  Its requirements and constraints are specified in the “Hull” and “Prohibited” sections of the Class Rules.
  2. Centerboard:  An appendage to the boat’s underbody that can be extended below the surface of the water that is neither a “keel” nor a “rudder/skeg” as those terms are defined herein.  In common usage, a “centerboard” is an unweighted or lightly weighted movable underwater appendage.
  3. Rudder:  An underwater appendage used for steering.  Its requirements and constraints are specified in the Rules.
  4. Skeg: A fixed appendage to which a rudder may be attached.  Its required attributes are described in the “Hull” section of the Rules.
  5. Bilge-boards:  Also known as bilge keels.  Underwater appendages, usually found in pairs, that are attached to or protrude from slots in the hull in the region of the turn of the bilge.
  6. Leeboards:  Similar to bilgeboards, except that they typically attach to the topsides and extend down into the water immediately adjacent to the boat.

The detailed specifications that Vintage 36 models must follow are given below.

Traditional Vintage 36 (period roughly from 1930 to 1945)

A Traditional Vintage 36 model is a sloop-rigged monohull sailing yacht with an overall length of 36 in, plus or minus one quarter of an inch. Total sail area shall not exceed 600 in2.

Prohibited:

  • Sliding or adjustable keels
  • Centerboards
  • Leeboards
  • Bilge-boards
  • Bowsprits
  • Transom-mounted rudders or rudders that extend aft of the transom
  • Outriggers, pontoons, or twin hulls
  • Movable or shifting ballasts
  • Prognathous keels (no portion of the leading edge of the keel appendage, including the lead, may project forward of any portion of the leading edge above)
  • Metal fin keels (metal reinforcements inside wood keels are allowed)
  • Materials with density greater than lead
  • Carbon fiber or Kevlar in the hull, rudder, rig, or keel
  • Fabric or film decks
  • Mylar or other plastic-like materials in sails
  • Swing rigs

Hull

  1. Wooden hulls may be built using plank on frame or horizontal and vertical lifts. It is permissible to cover a wood hull and deck with a light layer of fiberglass cloth to prevent leakage. Balsa wood is not permitted in the hull fairbody (i.e., the “canoe-body”).  Balsa may be used as a filler material in the core of a rudder or keel, but balsa cannot be considered the primary strength in these appendages.
  2. Fiberglass hulls laid up in a mold are permitted, but weight must be comparable to that of a wooden hull constructed to the same design plan.
  3. Modern adhesives are allowed to produce a stronger hull that is impervious to leaks.
  4. Hull shape and configuration: there are no restrictions on load waterline, beam, freeboard, or tumblehome.
  5. Draft, measured from the waterline to the bottom of the keel or keel bulb, shall not exceed 11 in on a model yacht fully rigged and ready to sail.
  6. Total ballast must be fixed and shall not be changed during a race or series of races.
  7. Bow bumpers are mandatory and are limited to one-half inch overhang. Bumpers shall not be included in the overall measurement.
  8. Rudders shall be keel- or skeg-mounted in keeping with the design characteristics of the period. It is permitted to enlarge the area of the rudder from its original size to achieve acceptable steering with radio control. The area of a skeg must be at least 50% of the area of the rudder; for this calculation, “rudder” is the portion of the rudder/skeg combination that articulates and does not include the area of the fixed skeg. Balanced or spade rudders are not allowed. Changing rudders during a race or series of races, except in bona fide cases of damage, is prohibited. There can be no more than one rudder.
  9. The minimum keel fin chord length is 4 in. No more than one keel fin is permitted.  The keel must be attached to the hull underbody on the centerplane.  Neither the keel nor any part of it shall be movable (e.g., keel “trim tabs” are not permitted).  Rudders may be attached to the trailing edge of the keel, in which case they are the single permitted rudder.

Rig

  1. Bermuda, Marconi, Jib-headed mainsail, Gaff, Gunter, Wishbone, etc. may be used.
  2. Alternate rigs are allowed, provided the total sail area does not exceed 600 in2. Any such alternate rigs must have examples in design practices of the period.
  3. The height of the jib stay above the deck shall not exceed 80% of the height of the head of the mainsail above the deck.
  4. Masts and spars shall be constructed of the materials of the period, primarily wood. Round aluminum tubing is permitted. “Round aluminum tubing” means: 1) a constant round cross section over the full length of the mast; 2) the tubing must not be slotted; 3) no external structure that creates a slotted sail track may be affixed to the mast.  The diameter of the round aluminum tubing shall be ≥0.75 in. Note that traditional jacklines and lashings or loops of line may be used to hold and support the sail.
  5. The height of the mast above the deck shall not exceed 65 in. The greatest diameter of round wooden mast and spars is limited to three quarters of an inch. If spars are airfoil-shaped or rectangularly shaped or otherwise not round, then the maximum permitted cross-sectional dimension of a spar is 3/4 in.
  6. Sail area measurement procedures shall be the same as the Vintage Marblehead class and cannot exceed 600 in2 in total area.
  7. Sails shall be made of either single panel or multi-panel sail cloth.
  8. The body of each sail shall be made of woven cloth, such as cotton, cotton/synthetic blend, Dacron®, or nylon. No material other than woven sail cloth reinforcing is allowed for tablings or corner reinforcements in the head, tack, or clew of any sail.
  9. The roach of the jib shall not exceed 1 in; the roach of the main shall not exceed 1 ½ in. The roach curve shall be a continuous curve with the maximum roach measurement near the center of the length of the leech. Rounded foot of loose-footed sails shall not exceed 1 in.
  10. Mainsail battens shall not exceed four in number and 4 inches in length and shall divide the mainsail leech into approximately equal parts. Headsail battens shall not exceed three in number and three inches in length, and shall divide the headsail leech into approximately equal parts.
  11. Headsticks or headboards shall not exceed 3/4 in across the top of the headsails and mainsails.

Radio Control

Only the rudder, headsail and mainsail may be adjusted by radio control.

[Download the Class Insignia PDF for full-size patterns of the class insignia.]

Class Symbol and Sail Number

All Vintage 36 Model Yachts shall be officially registered with the V36 Class Coordinator to obtain an official sail number. Sail numbers shall be preferably black, 3 in tall, 0.5 in thick, and they shall be affixed to both sides of the mainsail between the first and second battens on a line perpendicular to the leech. The V36 class symbol shall be 1 3/4 in by 1 3/4 in and include a “V” positioned above and slightly between the “36″ as shown. Ariel Bold text.

Scoring

Low point scoring shall be used.
The race committee of an event will determine compliance with the rules.

High Flyer Vintage 36 (period roughly from 1945 to 1970)

A High Flyer Vintage 36 model is a sloop-rigged monohull sailing yacht with an overall length of 36 in, plus or minus one quarter of an inch. Total sail area shall not exceed 600 in2.

The rules for the High Flyer division are the same as those for the Traditional division except for the following:

  • Rudders may be of the spade or balanced type; that is, independently suspended and not attached to the keel or a skeg. Vintage 36 models of any design of the Traditional period that use a spade rudder shall be classified with the High Flyer division.
  • Draft of a High Flyer model yacht fully rigged and ready to sail shall not exceed 14 in. There is no minimum keel fin chord length required, but fin profiles should conform to the practices of the era, e.g. “seal flipper” or tapered.