Jan 2014 - Streaker Class Association

Streaker
Class
Owners
Association
January 2014
A thrice-yearly newsletter circulated to all members of the Streaker Class Owners Association
Secretary’s Scribbles
As is customary I shall begin by being most
apologetic! My good intentions for producing a
Streaker newsletter at regular intervals have not met
with success. The last one was back in the spring,
just after the Dinghy Show, and since then there’s
been nothing. However this has definitely not been
because there was little to report. Quite the contrary,
in fact. On several occasions during the last few
months I told people that a newsletter was imminent
because there were important things to report and
celebrate but each time I held back because some
issues weren’t quite resolved and I felt I should wait a
while.
Oh no . . . I’ve just had to change the date on this
newsletter yet again!
Veronica Falat
Chairman’s Jottings
This has been an eventful year for my first as Chair;
we ran the e-ballot to allow the short stern for
wooden boats; Dave Butler completed his new frp
Streaker deck layout fitted out by Pinnell and Bax
which Tom Gillard sailed to become National
Champion. At the AGM the class agreed a number of
changes which are discussed elsewhere. We have
more measurers and open meeting turnouts were
generally higher with more clubs sailing Streakers.
Measurers
We ran a day’s training session at Rotherham Sailing
Club for new Measurers. Alan Gillard trained five of
us how to measure a Streaker; we measured two
wooden boats, a refurbished one, and a new Butler
composite. Andy Kissick had brought his refurbished
boat to be measured and ended up becoming a
measurer. We now have measurers in Lancashire
and Worcester as well as South and West Yorkshire
Newsletter of the Streaker Class Owners Association. Views expressed are not necessarily those of the Association or the SCOA
Committee.
Streaker Newsletter
and North Lincolnshire. Alan Simmons is the sole
measurer in the South, so are there any of you who
could learn from Alan and provide more measurers in
the South? Please get in touch with Alan or the
Committee. A list of measurers appears elsewhere in
the Newsletter.
Sailing
2013 was good year for Streaker sailing with Tom
Gillard winning Nationals at Northampton and Dan
Phillips winning the Inlands at Bassenthwaite. The
season started with snow and ice forcing the
abandonment of Tamworth’s open. The Sail Register
Northern Paddle still had 16 meetings with some new
ones. Streakers are spreading in the North West with
growth at Scammonden (M62 Huddersfield) and Elton
(Bury) who hosted the Northern Champs, won by
Alan Gillard, and Burwain, a new Streaker club at
Colne (Lancashire). Ian Jones finally qualified and
won the Northern Paddle.
In the South Ian Bradley won the Southern
Championships at Alton Water and the Pinnell & Bax
Southern Paddle series. Salcombe in Devon now have
some Streakers.
Hopefully we will soon have enough clubs for a North
West Paddle circuit and some Southern regions.
January 2014
will be able to start setting up earlier on Friday
afternoon; I hope to meet many of you there.
Merchandise
Besides winning them at open meetings, you can buy
a range of Streaker logo-ed products, these include
Falker Burgees, pale blue Polo Shirts and now
Baseball caps. There is now also a wide range
available from Wave Clothing.
Streaker Masts
After breaking my mast this year, I realised how
expensive our Super Spar masts have become,
especially compared to other classes such as Solos.
We have started a review of mast sections available.
Traditionally the Streaker has had a one-design mast
which was extended to the Seldon when availability
became a problem. Should we permit different
sections as the Solos do? We are interested in your
ideas.
This year the Nationals are at Carsington which is
centrally located in the Peak District for sailors to
travel from both North and South. Unfortunately this
year it will clash with Filey Regatta. We have a full
list of open meetings, but still need to find a weekend
meeting – instead of an Inlands, should we have a
Sea based event. What do you think?
Our next event this year is the Dinghy Show, we
are always looking for volunteers to help on the
stand. We have a new stand location so hopefully we
Peter Cogill
Membership matters
Pete Tyerman explains the latest ideas about the SCOA membership database
In the next few weeks we are proposing to move the
membership database to an online system. This will
enable the members to keep their own details up to
date and contact other members directly.
You will be able to restrict which of your contact
details are available to other members. We hope this
system will allow the committee to improve the
support we can give to members.
Initially we will be able to accept bank transfers for
member renewal and are considering the option of
using PayPal to renew. The system will allow more
direct contact with members and online voting on
class issues.
If you have any concerns about how we will use your
data please contact me Pete Tyerman.
When we go live you will get an email asking you to
update your details with instructions on how to do
this.
There are a few members who do not have a
registered email address. If you could let me have an
email address, that would be useful. However we will
still offer a paper-based system to those who do not
wish to use online services.
Pete Tyerman
Page 2
Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
2013 – A year of Rule changes!
2013 was a pretty big year for rule changes! Do you recall the postal/email ballot we had back in the spring?
That was because we had already agreed that FRP/GRP boats could have a shorter stern deck and so have a
longer cockpit. By the end of 2012 such boats were already in existence. The ballot was to offer the same deck
layout to wooden and composite Streakers. The result was in favour and so our class rules and measurement
forms had to be updated to allow for this option.
At the Streaker class AGM in June there were several more proposals for rule changes which were passed and
they can now be found in our latest version of the class rules and measurement forms. They are now on the
Streaker website www.streaker-class.org.uk .
Wooden boats:
Cockpit floor – this shall be stiffened with the floor battens as already specified in the rules or with a
second layer of ply (min. thickness 4mm) glued to the floor. A couple of builders were allowed
dispensation earlier in the year to try this out and it is now officially offered as an option not only for
builders of new wooden boats but also to owners of older boats that need renovation. (By the way, If
you do remove the floor battens and cover the cockpit floor with plywood, you will need to get your
boat checked and reweighed by a class measurer as per our class rule 1.07b.)
The rules now allow for holes in the keelson (central spine) in the cockpit. This will enable water to
drain from one side of the cockpit to the other.
Lightening holes are now allowed in the bulkheads within side tanks.
Stiffeners are now allowed inside the stern tank to stiffen the bottom of the boat aft of the cockpit.
Rudders:
The rudder blade can be up to 100mm longer than before. Also, regardless of the length of the blade,
the shape of the bottom 100mm is optional.
The rudder blade can now be made of alloy as well as the other materials already allowed in the rules.
Sail insignia:
The sail insignia (the blue stripe) must be attached to both sides of the sail. This applies to new sails.
The insignia will now be slightly higher up the sail than before, allowing more room for the starboard
sail numbers to fit between the middle batten and the insignia. This should make life easier for
measurers and sailmakers.
The Rules that changed in 2013:
2.12
Double skin instead of floor battens in wooden boats
2.15
Optional bulkhead No. 5A (integral part of shorter aft tank) for wooden boats
2.16
Lightening holes allowed in bulkhead within side tanks of wooden boats
2.17
Stiffening of floor panels in aft tank of wooden boats
2.18
Apertures in keelson of wooden boats
3.06
Shorter aft tank allowed for GRP/FRP and composite boats
5.14
Buoyancy tank No. 4 (allowing for optional bulkhead 5Ain wood and composite boats)
5.19
Relationship of original bulkhead No. 5 to the short aft deck option for wood and composite
boats.
7.01 and Diagram 2 changes to rudder blade
13.06 Position of insignia and insignia required on both sides of sail
Page 3
Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
Technical issues for 2014? Oh yes - centre mainsheets revisited!
You might have thought the Technical Committee
would be allowed a breather after all their
deliberations this year but of course there are more
issues to be examined and discussed. One which will
need a lot of thought is the idea that Streakers be
allowed to have centre mainsheet systems involving
the use of a track and traveller. At the AGM there
were doubts expressed about the practicalities of this
and some people thought it might lead to a
performance advantage. Therefore the proposal was
withdrawn but the Technical Committee was given
the job of evaluating the idea.
Lots of Streakers now have centre mainsheets and
some people like to use the aft system for some
conditions and the centre system for others.
However, at present our rules are strict in saying that
the centre system can only have strops, not tracks
and travellers. Paul Whyld, who brought up the
subject at the AGM, argues that adopting a track and
traveller system could make the Streaker more
appealing to people thinking of joining us from
classes like the Solo.
A centre mainsheet system as allowed by the
current class rules. Do you think a track and
traveller would be a good idea?
Or would the problems outweigh the merits?
The main questions seem to be:
Could tracks be fitted to all boats, not just
new ones?
How could tracks be fitted without putting
undue strain on thwarts or side-tank walls?
How long would a track need to be?
Is there a possible speed advantage in using
a track and traveller compared not just to
using the present centre system but also to
the aft system which is still the most popular
system within the class as a whole?
Do we want the added expense of tracks and
travellers?
Would a track look ok on a Streaker?
Is this what we really want?
Is this the way forward for the Streaker?
The Technical Committee has agreed that some experimentation with tracks and travellers can be
undertaken in 2014. Gil Cumming is having a new wooden Streaker built by Butler Boats and has
been given dispensation to have a track fitted. However, it’s just as important to see if tracks can be
fitted to existing boats and so Dave Butler will fit one to his own FRP boat and Paul Whyld will do the
same to his Rooster.
All three of them will report back to the class and we will have a chance to see their boats in action
with Paul and Gil doing some of the Southern Paddle events and Dave doing the Northern ones.
In the meantime if you have any concerns or points you would like to make to the Technical
Committee about this or any other issue, please get in contact with the Class Secretary by email at
[email protected] or phone 01502 573570.
Page 4
Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
Who did what
in 2013?
Northern Paddle Series
Southern Paddle Series
A really great series in 2013!
Still got a way to go to match the Northern
series but a lot of fun all the same!
22 boats qualified by sailing 15 races in the series.
The average turnout was 17 with a massive entry
of 31 at Ripon.
7 qualifiers with the required 9 race results.
Best turnout was 12 at Emberton Park.
The top five were:
1st Ian Jones (Dovestone SC)
2nd Alan Gillard (Sheffield Viking SC)
3rd Ian Lees (Scammonden SC)
th
4 Ben Ratcliffe (Scammonden SC)
5th Nick Lovell (Ouse Amateur SC)
The top five were:
1st Ian Bradley (Ouse Amateur SC)
2nd Veronica Falat (Waveney & OBYC)
3rd Mark Langston (Beccles Amateur SC)
4th Alan Simmons (Lancing SC)
th
5 Alan Gillard (Sheffield Vikings)
The series was sponsored by Sail Register and the
winner of the draw for a sail was Ian Whitfield.
The series was sponsored by Pinnell & Bax
Sails and Alan Simmons won the sail.
National Championships at Northampton SC
47 boats and excellent racing!
1st Tom Gillard 1851 (Northampton SC)
2nd Steve Cockerill 1849
3rd Ian Jones 1826 (Dovestones SC)
4th Ian Fryett 1803 (Llandegfedd SC)
5th Tom Lonsdale 1832 (Northampton SC)
Tom Gillard receives the
Championship trophy
1st under 20 yrs – Robin Jones
1st over 45 yrs – Steve Cockerill
1st over 55 yrs – Howard Frear
1st over 65 yrs – Alan Bennett
1st over 75 yrs – Alan Simmons
1st lady – Veronica Falat
st
1 in Silver Fleet – Mark Langston
1st boat over 15 yrs old – Matt Whitfield
Top Club Team – Northampton SC
Best presented boat – 1836 Lisa Moore
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Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
Inland Championships at Bassenthwaite
23 entries but a bit windy for some!
Top five:
1st Dan Phillips 1809 (Ripon SC),
2nd Tom Lonsdale 1851 (Northampton SC)
3rd Matt Whitfield 1448 (Tamworth SC)
4th Barney Proud 1750 (South Windermere SC)
5th Dave Metcalfe 1638 (Morecambe & Heysham SC)
1st in Silver Fleet – Chris Wright 1754 (Ripon SC)
Dan Phillips
2013 Inland and
Scottish National Champion
Scottish Nationals at
East Lothian YC
Real sea sailing and Dan Phillips shows he’s not just an
Inland sailor!
Top five:
1st Dan Phillips 1809 (Ripon SC)
2nd John Hookway 1775 (East Lothian YC)
3rd Dave Butler 1818 (Welton SC)
4th Hugh Marston 1824 (East Lothian YC)
5th Paul Noble 1716 (Clyde Cruising Club)
Northern Area
Championships
Southern Area
Championships
Sailed at Elton S.C. on July 13th
in light wind conditions.
Sailed at Alton Water S.C. on Oct 12th
in more light wind conditions!
Top five:
1st Alan Gillard 1832 (Sheffield Viking SC)
2nd Dan Phillips 1809 (Ripon SC)
3rd Dave Moore 1849 (Elton SC)
4th Chris Wright 1754 (Ripon SC)
5th Wendy Jones 1759 (Dovestone SC)
Top five:
1st Ian Bradley 1817 (Ouse Amateur SC)
2nd Alex Reindorp 1819 (Chipstead SC)
3rd Veronica Falat 1654 (Waveney OBYC)
4th Mark Langston 1789 (Beccles ASC)
5th Ian Mansfield 1723 (Alton Water SC)
Big congratulations also to Tom Gillard on retaining his
Fireball World Championship title in 2013
and to Ian Jones on becoming Laser Radial Masters World Champion.
Page 6
Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
Provisional Fixtures 2014
The list below gives dates for events that are known now at the start of January. There may be more to add in
later but I’m guessing you’re all keen to get dates into your diaries so here is a start.
Also, because we don’t know the final number of open meetings in each paddle series, we don’t know how
many race results you’ll need to qualify for each series; the idea is that the number of races is the same as the
number of events in the series. So for example, at present, with 13 opens in the Southern Paddle, you would
need 13 races to count and so would therefore need to go to at least 5 of the opens (there are usually 3 races
at each open).
This will all be confirmed on the class website in due course.
Please note there’s a new addition to the Southern Paddle series this year – Burghfield (near Reading) in May.
And Deben is back!
Date
Venue
Event
Sat 22 March
Tamworth SC
SP and NP open
Sat 29 March
Bough Beech
SP open
Sat 12 April
Emberton Park SC
SP open
epsc.org.uk
Sun 13 April
Scammonden SC
NP open
scammondensailing.com
Sat 26 April
Hornsea SC
NP open
hornseasailingclub.org.uk
Sat 3 May
West Lancashire YC
12 hour singlehanded race
Sun 4 May
Chipstead SC
SP open
chipsteadsc.org.uk
Sat 10 May
Rotherham SC
NP open
rotherhamsailingclub.org.uk
Sat 17 May
Burwain SC
NP open
burwain.co.uk
Sat 24 May
Burghfield SC
SP open
burghfieldsailing.org
Sat 31 May
Hykeham SC
NP open
hykehamsailing.co.uk
Sat 7 June
Sat 7 June
Sun 8 June
Sun 15 June
Welton SC
NP open
SCOTTISH
CHAMPIONSHIPS
SP open
East Lothian YC
Beccles Amateur SC
website
tamworthsc.co.uk
boughbeechsc.org.uk
wlyc.org.uk
weltonsc.org
elyc.org.uk
becclesasc.co.uk
Sat 21 June
Sun 22 June
Carsington SC
NATIONAL
CHAMPIONSHIPS
Sat 28 June
Elton SC
NP open
eltonsailingclub.co.uk
Sun 29 June
West Lancs. SC
NP open
wlyc.org.uk/
Sat 5 July
Stewartby Water SC
SP open
swsc.org.uk
Sat 12 July
Pennine SC
NP open
pennine-sc.co.uk
Sat 19 July
Newhaven & Seaford
SP open
nssc.org.uk
Sun 31 Aug
Deben YC
SP open
debenyachtclub.co.uk
Sun 7 Sept
Broxbourne SC
SP open
broxbournesailingclub.co.uk
Ripon SC
NP open
ripon-sc.org.uk
Mengeham Rythe SC
SP open
mengeham.org.uk
Sat 20 Sept
Girton SC
NP open
girtonsc.com
Sun 28 Sept
Ouse Amateur SC
SP and NP open
Sat 4 Oct
Alton Water SC
SP open
altonwater.co.uk
Sat 11 Oct
Yeadon SC
NP open
yeadonsailingclub.co.uk
Sat 18 Oct
West Riding SC
NP open
wrsc.org.uk
Sat 13 Sept
carsingtonsailingclub.co.uk
oasc.co.uk
Page 7
Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
2014 Noble Marine Streaker National Championships
Carsington S.C. June 21st-22nd
There will be much more to report about this in the
coming weeks but please get the date in your
diaries now.
Carsington isn’t a venue that we’ve been to before
but it comes well recommended. It’s at Ashbourne,
NW of Derby and just to the SE of the Peak District
National Park. The surrounding countryside is
lovely and the club overlooks the sailing area so
friends and relatives will also have a very pleasant
time watching the action, especially as the club
galley provides very good cake, I hear!
far it sounds like they’re a very friendly bunch who
like the same sort of sailing as we do.
The only downside is that camping isn’t available
at the club but there are campsites in the area plus
B&Bs etc.
The racing programme will be as we’ve had in
recent years with 3 races on the Saturday and 2
plus the prizegiving on the Sunday. It will be
possible to turn up on the Friday and get your boat
rigged, and we’ll have our AGM at the club on the
Friday evening. We hope to organise a big meal for
everyone on the Saturday evening like last year.
It will be a joint event with the K1 class. I know
that joint events can be a bit problematic at times
especially if we’re on the same race course but I
am very confident we’ll get on well with the K1s. If
you don’t know the class, it’s a singlehanded
dinghy with a keel – so a keelboat really but it sails
like a dinghy. See the pic below which shows a K1
at Carsington. From what I’ve learnt of the class so
RYA Suzuki Dinghy Show 2014
Alexandra Palace, London March 1st-2nd
The Streaker class will be well represented at the
annual Dinghy Show again this year. Our stand will
be B8 in the Great Hall. Do come along and meet
us. Two boats will be on display.
Perhaps you would like to be helper?
We rely totally on volunteers! Please let Veronica
Falat ([email protected]) know if you would like
to be part of the team. We set the stand up on
Friday afternoon/evening and then man the stand
through Saturday and Sunday. And we always need
a bit of help packing everything away at the end of
the show. Let us know when you might be
available. A morning or an afternoon would be
great.
Page 8
Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
Building a Streaker from the CAD plans
Experiences of an amateur boat builder
Part 2: Completing the Job
In Part 1 of this article in the previous newsletter, Chris Smith explained how to get started – printing the
plans, acquiring the materials and tools, marking out the ply and building the keel. Now the story continues . .
Boat Options
Before proceeding further I had to make some
decisions on some of the options for the boat:
1. Centre main or not – centre main for me –
affects reinforcement of tanks before decking
2. Open forward cockpit – need to change the
bulkhead slots to accommodate -see below.
3. False floor or not – false floor is the norm –
need to decide how far back along the centreboard
case to bring it – see below.
4. Curved or straight thwart – curved allows
you hike further forward comfortably.
5. Aft tank drain tubes – see below
There is now a sixth option which wasn’t available
to me, which is the long or short aft tank. I’m
sure all new boats from now on will go for the
short tank.
Centre main
As previously noted, pure centre main was a no
brainer for me and I haven’t regretted it. It should
be said though that with this option it’s not so easy
to achieve optimum upwind boat speed. With pure
centre main you have to control the leach tension
with the Kicker and correct leach tension is pretty
critical. You also have to be careful not to over
sheet the boat upwind. In the aft/centre main
variant the leach tension and sheeting angle are
correct pretty much automatically. For me though
not having to worry about lassoing the transom in
a gybe is such a major plus that the fine tuning of
the kicker on the beat is a small price to pay.
In terms of the build for pure centre main you
need to add a reinforcement pad in the side tanks
behind where the thwart is attached to increase
the strength of this structure. A U bolt is then
bolted through the pad. This is where the
mainsheet bridle attaches. The bridle feeds
through apertures cut in either side of the thwart. I
positioned my U bolt further forward because I
hadn’t thought about going through the thwart. It
still works but I could have reduced the
reinforcement I used.
Open forward cockpit
This is one of the innovations to the wooden boats
that Dave Butler developed. In the original plans
the aperture into the forward part of the cockpit is
restricted. In Dave’s version the aperture goes
right back to the side tanks. This looks much better
and there is no disadvantage as far as I can see. In
order to do it this way you have to change the slot
and tab arrangement of the bulkhead and the tank
sides. In this version there are no slots in the
Bulkhead and a slot top and bottom on the tank
sides. The bulkhead is cut out with an aperture
that forms the support for the false floor at the
bottom and has the side tanks against the side and
the deck beam at the top. The first task in
assembling the boat is to feed the two side tank
panels though this bulkhead and push them back
against the sides so that the slots engage. You
have to think about it and measure it out carefully
as the plans do not cover this option. Once the side
panels are slotted into place the rest of the
bulkheads and the spine can be slotted together
per the standard build method.
False floor
If you sail only on inland water it’s debateable
whether you need a false floor or not. It makes the
boat harder to build down to weight and the main
benefit of preventing nose diving in waves after a
capsize won’t be of any benefit to you. Building the
false floor also takes a surprising amount of time.
On the other hand virtually all modern Streakers
have the false floor and any boat without it would
have a restricted market as a second hand craft.
Also the false floor framing really stiffens up the
front of the hull and the centreboard case.
I therefore decided to install the false floor but the
next question was how far along the centre board
casing to take it. I decide to install the false floor
full length along the centre board case. In
retrospect the best decision would have been to
only take the false floor about half way along the
centre board casing. This gives virtually all the
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Streaker Newsletter
advantages of stiffness and allows the self bailers
to be positioned further forward away from the
helmsman’s feet and also at a better draining point
in the hull shape. Its also probably less weight
although with longer floor battens needed there is
not much in it.
The plans say you can make the false floor from
3mm ply. This is fine, although I wouldn’t
recommend standing on it if you do! There are
definitely times when you want to stand in this
area so I went for 4mm ply and had to put up with
the extra weight again.
By the way, although the plans do show
dimensions of a false floor the reality is that you
have to make this fit your boat as built. The only
way to get it to fit is to make a cardboard template
and cut the floor out from that.
Before decking over the false floor you need to
decide if you want reinforcement pads for the toe
straps. In my case the Toe straps screw onto the
back edge of the false floor. If you go for this,
make sure you measure or photograph where
these are before you put the deck on. I forgot the
exact position and missed the pads with my first
attempt. I ended up with some annoying holes
blocked up with filler as a result. It’s possible to
attach the toe straps to the thwart and/or centre
board case if you prefer.
Curved thwart
Another one of Dave Butlers innovations. I went for
a curved thwart and made mine from laminated
January 2014
strips of various woods. It looks very nice but it is
much easier just to cut it out from ply and cap the
edges with some hardwood. You are allowed to cut
lightening holes in it. These make very good grab
handles for pulling yourself back into the boat after
a capsize and are needed to feed the centre main
bridle through (see above).
Aft tank drain tubes
When I built my boat I didn’t realise this option
was allowed in the rules. I would strongly
recommend installing these. Without these the only
way the cockpit drains when the boat is under its
cover is though the self bailers. It’s very difficult for
me to store my boat level and it naturally wants to
be bow up, so the tendency is for water to build up
at the back of the cockpit. Somehow the rain
always gets into the boat. I’m not sure how –
presumably down the mast where the cover
doesn’t fit perfectly. With drain tubes through the
aft tank the boat could be stored bow up and
guaranteed not to fill with water. For a future build
I’m thinking about 2 X 1 inch fibre glass tubes
epoxied into the aft tank. With the short aft tank
this is only about £15 of fibreglass tube. I’m told
Epoxy sticks to standard polypropylene pipe, but
I’m always a bit suspicious of the quality of bond to
these “greasy” plastics. Whatever you use it has to
be strong and seal for good of course. These tubes
would also act as “transom flaps” to some degree.
Some non return flap on the outside of transom
may be needed though so as not to get water back
in when you are fitting the rudder etc.
Short aft tank
For me this is also a no brainer for a future build.
The Streaker is massively over provided with
buoyancy tanks so losing a bit of volume here is no
problem. The longer cockpit allows easier stowage
of the boom when travelling and less deck material
will make it easier to built the boat down to weight.
The modifications to the plans for this option and
the rule changes that allow it have been issued.
The original bulkhead is be retained inside the side
tanks only and there is an additional bulkhead
required which now forms the back of the cockpit.
For stiffness this probably needs to be extended
into the tanks as well. In this option the toe straps
probably will be fixed to the spine directly rather
than on a bracket bolted though the aft bulkhead.
The floor battens obviously need to be extended to
stiffen the extra expanse of floor. With this option
the dilemma of how to fix the rudder fittings to the
transom will be moot. On a standard boat it’s well
nigh impossible to reach the bolts inside the tank
once the deck is on.
Hopefully the class will eventually allow a much
better solution to stiffening the cockpit floor in the
same way as modern wooden Solos are built. i.e
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Streaker Newsletter
with a double thickness floor. This gives a much
more modern looking result (the same as a
composite boat) and is much quicker and easier to
build. (Yes, see page 2 of this newsletter!)
Hull assembly build
I supported the hull assembly on two trestles
positioned under the fore and aft bulkheads of the
cockpit. I cut out matching curved supports from
chipboard which I screwed to the trestles. This
supported the boat nicely throughout the build
whilst the hull is upside down.
One observation on the cutting out of the
bulkheads: Make sure the bottom edge of the
bulkheads where they attach to the hull are dead
flat or very slightly convex. If they are concave
then you will get hollows in the floor panel which
you will need to fill with fairing compound.
Once the side tank panels and the bulkheads were
glued together the spine and centreboard assembly
was laid into the matrix. The back end of the spine
has to line up with the back of the side tank panels
so that the transom fits on all square. If the parts
have been cut out accurately all this slots together
very straightforwardly.
The next stage was to fair the spine and
centreboard case so that the hull panels fit on nice
and flat and meet squarely in the middle along the
spine. I used a surform for this job. Everything I
had read about building the Streaker said that
joining the bottom panel at the bow was going to
be difficult. Obviously the ply is very tortured to be
twisted into the bow shape but by using copper
wire tourniquets it’s very easy to control the shape
how you want it. The holes made for the
tourniquets are just filled up with epoxy micro
balloon filler later. The two edges of the panels are
held together with wire ties per instructions. I left
all the wires in until the complete bow was
finished.
The typical way to hold the panels to the bulkheads
during gluing is to use a staple gun. I actually
found it quite difficult to get the staples into the
middle of these very thin panels. I missed quite a
few times but any damage was covered up with
January 2014
epoxy fillets or paint etc later. The staples are easy
to remove once the glue is set.
It’s worth noting in the picture the use of a piece of
timber pushed through holes in the bulkheads to
hold the parts of the bulkheads for #3 and #4
bulkhead in place while they are being glued. It’s
very hard to clamp them any other way.
In contrast I found the chine panels much harder
to do and I couldn’t get them very level. I had to
fair the finished bow off quite a lot with filler.
Wiring the floor panels to the side bulkhead panels
is a little tricky if you don’t want the wire holes to
show inside the cockpit. The epoxy fillet will cover
them if you make sure they are close to the edge
of the ply.
Topsides build
Once all the hull panels were assembled and the
glue had cured properly I took out all the wires and
filled up all the holes. You will read about heating
the wires with batteries to get them out. I found
they all came out pretty easily by rolling them
around the nose of a pair of pliers.
I then turned the hull over. I checked the hull for
twisting and also checked all the beam
measurements to make sure the hull matched the
measurement form. It’s very easy to check the
sheerline beam measurements at this stage
because without the deck on you can see the
sheerline. I found I had to wedge between the
temporary #4 bulkhead and the side bulkhead to
get the beam measurement at this point right.
Otherwise everything seemed to measure OK and
the hull was nice and straight.
The next job was to glue in the triangular piece of
wood at the bow that the bow plate screws into.
This piece of wood has to hold screws really well as
you can’t really bolt on the bow plate, so I think it
worth using something like Sapele even though its
extra weight. After that the inside seams of the hull
panels were taped with fibreglass tape and Epoxy.
I used 50mm tape because I think that’s what was
used in the Streaker kit. I probably overdid the
amount of Epoxy on the tape and could have saved
some weight here.
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Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
I generally ended up making all these
reinforcement pieces tougher, bigger and stronger
than they need to be. On its own each one of these
pieces of wood doesn’t seem like much and when
you think about the load that will be applied, it’s
tempting just to beef it up that bit more. The
trouble is it all adds up....
After that came one of the more daunting jobs
which was to fit the gunwales. I used a single 4m
long piece of Ash which was simply bent glued and
clamped to the top edge of the plywood hull. It’s
actually not necessary to use any screws at all
especially for this first stage of the gunwale when
the deck is off. I did use a couple of screws
temporarily while the glue was drying and then
took them out. The only tricky bit to clamp is at the
bow as the clamps want to slide off the opposite
side of the bow. I just used a temporary screw into
the bow to stop the clamp sliding. Once the
gunwales were on the tops of the ply were
surformed off until I had a level surface to glue the
decks on.
When the decks were cut out they were obviously
larger all round than the actual decks on the boat.
The foredeck was glued on in single piece and then
cut back to the actual deck dimension with a jigsaw
and then with a surform. The same principle was
used for the aft deck.
In case of the short aft deck it might be just
possible to use a single piece of ply. It’s actually
very slightly wider than the standard sheet of ply
so it would have to be cut at a slight angle and
getting the grain straight could be tricky. It
wouldn’t work for stripy sapele for example.
Before fitting the decks it’s important to make sure
any reinforcing blocks that are needed for fittings
are installed. (e.g centre main, toe straps, control
cam cleats, shroud plates etc). I also had to coat
all the inside of the tanks with epoxy where they
weren’t coated already.
Clamping the decks down for gluing wasn’t easy as
the clamps tended to slip off the gunwale. Think
about the profile of the gunwale before you glue it
on with this in mind. The decks also have to be
coated with epoxy on the whole of the inside
before they are glued on. (The outside was
precoated with epoxy before cutting out.)
With the foredeck and aft deck glued on, the ends
of the side decks were gently sanded down until
they just popped into place still exerting a bit of
pressure on the edge of the foredeck and aft tank
deck. This was a long winded process but if you
want a perfect gapless joint there is no other way.
It was at this stage I made my first major mistake.
I didn’t get the bulkhead level where the side decks
met the foredeck. This resulted in the foredeck and
the side decks not being level. The difference was
too much to sand out of the ply without a risk of
going through the veneer. I had to level the 2
panels with a generous coat of epoxy. This shows
as a darker patch on the deck. Not the end of the
world but annoying nevertheless.
The next job was to fit the rubbing strip. This
needs to be done before the angled deck panels
are put on so that you can still clamp to the
framing of the decks. I needed a lot of sash clamps
for this. Fortunately my father in law has
bequeathed a whole lot of them to me. I also had
an extra long modern pistol grip style clamp which
I was able to use clamping into the mast hole in
the deck. I also used the rudder gudgeon with a
screwdriver through it to clamp onto for the aft
end. Clamping the whole 4m length without using
screws takes a bit of ingenuity.
I trimmed the edge of my deck panels with light
hardwood quadrant from the DIY store. This
material used to be Ramin but now they don’t tell
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Streaker Newsletter
you what species it is. You could also use a dark
hardwood as an alternative. The quadrant was
glued into the gap between the ply panels and then
sanded down level. The quadrant on the edge of
the side bulkhead was glued on first before the
angled deck panel. The angle of joints isn’t 90
degrees like the quadrant but I found it didn’t
matter in practice.
The next process of fitting the little angled filler
deck panels was a really tedious job. They have to
be made oversize and gradually sanded down to fit
exactly into the gap. The more patient you are the
better the joints will be – but oh boy it takes ages.
The rest of the build was pretty straightforward.
Making the false floor took a surprisingly long time
though as previously noted. Once the false floor
was in the thwart could be fitted. The boat was
now essentially complete. The long process of
sanding and applying the finishing paint and
varnish coats could commence. I put two coats of
epoxy all over the boat and sanded down with 400
grade wet and dry used wet. It’s critical to get the
boat completely dry before any further varnishing.
There are a couple of patches on my boat on the
false floor where the varnish went a little opaque
due to some moisture. It’s also worth cleaning the
epoxy with acetone of epoxy thinner before
applying varnish as the epoxy has a waxy surface
after it has cured. Virtually all of this is removed by
the wet and dry but it’s worth going over the
surface to make sure none is left. I used an epoxy
paint for the hull so it’s not so much of an issue
here.
Fitting Out
The trickiest job in fitting out is getting the mast
step in the right place. I did it by putting the mast
step in the boat loose and stepping the mast into
it. I got the boat level with a spirit level on the
gunwale and I then adjusted the mast until it was
visually perfectly vertical. There is probably a more
scientific way to do this but I couldn’t think of it. I
then marked the position of the mast step and
screwed it into the boat. The mast step has to be
spot on or the mast will be way off vertical.
Especially with a false floor boat the length of mast
between the deck and the mast step is very short.
The mast has then to be cut to the right length for
your boat. There is a guide to doing this on the
SCOA website.
I bolted in my chain plates, rudder fittings and
centre main U bolts. Long experience tells me to
forget screws for these jobs. Basically I will only
use screws where it’s impossible to get a nut on a
bolt or where it’s a light duty. I installed access
hatches in the right places so I could reach the
nuts. In case of the rudder fittings as noted before
they have to be attached before the aft deck goes
January 2014
on because the tank is too long to reach the nuts
from the access hatch.
Overall the build took me about 3 months. Heaven
knows how many hours I spent on it though. Some
days I would do lots and then nothing much would
get done for a week. Overall I really enjoyed
building the boat and definitely want to build
another one.
Measuring
If you have paid your building fee for the CD plans
then you have also paid your measurement fee.
You can take your pride and joy to your regional
measurer and have it measured. Prepare to spend
the whole day doing it though. It takes a long time
to measure a wooden Streaker and you have to be
there to help the Measurer do the measurements
and turn the boat over etc. I only had one
problem. I had misinterpreted the centreboard
rules and my centreboard was out of class. The
centre part of the board has to be flat. Obvious to
old Streaker hands but actually the rules don’t
explicitly say this. Fortunately 10 minutes with the
belt sander and a fresh coat of epoxy sorted it out!
The Result
I’ve really enjoyed sailing the boat. Despite being
quite a bit over minimum weight I’ve been very
pleased with how competitive it is. On the plus side
the boat is very solid and stiff and everything
works the way it’s supposed to.
Next Time
Inspired by the new short aft tank rule I’m now
starting on my next build. This one is going to be
down to weight. No doubt I’ll make different
mistakes this time......
Since writing this article, Chris has indeed
built another boat. In 2013 he built 1844
which not only has the shorter aft deck but
also was given dispensation to have the
double thickness cockpit floor (instead of
floor battens) which is now allowed for all
wooden boats.
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Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
Sailing in warm sunshine - remember that?
Sometimes it’s nice to be reminded!
Thanks to Karen Langston and Ben Falat for the photos.
Top left – Rowan Curtis at Beccles; Top right – Ian Jones at the Nationals;
Centre – Southern Paddle open at Newhaven & Seaford; Bottom – Elliot Bond at Beccles
Page 14
Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
News from the Builders
ROOSTER SAILING has moved!
Their address is now
News from Butler Boats . . .
Unit F2-F3 Fort Wallington Industrial Estate,
Military Road, Fareham, Hants PO16 8TT.
Tel: 0845 388 0330 or 01243 389997
Website: www.roostersailing.com
News from Butler Boats . . .
We have had an incredibly busy 2013; we have redesigned, constructed and developed our New FRP
Streaker which we feel has really brought the
Streaker up to date and is proving a very strong and
competitive boat.
Progress has also been made with regard to
developing the double floor in the wooden Streaker.
We had the advantage of carrying out a couple of
repairs on some old Streakers and in both boats the
double floor was put in place with excellent results.
We are now looking to provide all wooden Streakers
with the double floor as standard.
The composite Streaker continues its rise in
popularity and we currently have two under
construction at present.
We have seen a significant increase in the amount
of home-build requests and enquiries which has led
to us re-thinking how we need to provide kits, partkits etc. Having taken over production of the
Streaker Kits from the recently retired Mr Beasley,
we need to be able to provide a kit which is
appropriate for the less experienced home builder.
This is why we can now offer a Streaker kit with the
hull partially constructed, bulkheads and side tanks
epoxied in position with the rest of the parts cut out
and ready to fit, this enables us to send out a boat
which measures and is in twist.
Butler Boats are delighted to be able to
offer a superb 20% discount on our wood
and composite Streaker Kits. This offer
applies to orders taken at the RYA Dinghy
Show only. You can find us on Stand C10
or alternatively on B8 the Streaker
Association Stand.
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Streaker Newsletter
Alan Gillard explains . . .
January 2014
Measurers and Measurement
Before a Streaker can be raced, the owner must first
obtain a Class Measurement Certificate. What type of
Streaker you have purchased will determine how
much, if any, of your Streaker requires measuring.
Purchasing new:
FRP Streakers
A new FRP Streaker from Butler Boats or Rooster
Sailing will come pre-measured. The Streaker Class
Owners Association has agreements in place with
both these builders which allow Butler Boats and
Rooster Sailing to supply a ‘COMPLETE’ Streaker
without the boat being measured by a SCOA
Measurer (Builder Self Certification). The agreement
means that both Butler Boats and Rooster Sailing
guarantee their boat will measure. Part of this
agreement is that every 6th boat produced by the
builder will be check measured before customer
collection. Both builders issue to the SCOA a
‘Certificate of Conformity’ in place of the completed
measurement form. The Hon Secretary issues a
Measurement Certificate on receipt of this or a
completed Measurement Form.
Composite Streakers
Professionally built Composite Streakers are currently
only available through Butler Boats. Like the all FRP
version the SCOA has an agreement in place with
Butler Boats allowing for the builder to ‘Self Certify’
this type of Streaker. Again Butler Boats will issue a
‘Certificate of Conformity’ or have the Streaker fully
measured (every 6th one) to the Hon Secretary so a
Measurement Certificate can be issued.
Composite kits supplied by Butler Boats for home
completion by the Owner must in all cases be fully
measured by a SCOA Measurer.
Please note: A FRP or Composite Streaker supplied
by Butler Boats or Rooster Sailing which is not a
complete Streaker ie; The owner is supplying his own
Mast and Boom for their new boat, cannot be issued
with a ‘Certificate of Conformity’ by the supplying
builder. The builder cannot ‘Self Certify’ the Streaker
in this case; as such the boat will have to be fully
measured by a SCOA Measurer.
All Wood
All
wood
constructed
Streakers,
whether
professionally or amateur built from a kit will need to
be measured by a SCOA Measurer.
In all cases, when a Streaker is presented for
measurement, the Streaker must be complete in all
its parts. The issued sail number must be engraved in
the correct position on the boat.
Weighing Boats
Not all the SCOA Measurers have suitable accurate
scales for the weighing of Streakers when being
measured. Some Measurement Certificates will be
issued which state ‘This Streaker still needs to be
weighed on Association Scales’. Again both Butler
Boats and Rooster Sailing can and do weigh their
boats before customer collection, but the boat still
needs to be confirmed in terms of the hull weight.
Where the builder has weighed a boat and it shows
as being underweight, that builder must fit the
appropriate correction weights. These should be
screwed permanently under the thwart or aft edge of
the board case. Correction weights are endorsed on
the Measurement Certificate along with the actual
Hull weight. The correction weights must not be
removed other than if the hull is presented to a SCOA
measurer and the hull is officially re-weighed.
Remember: if you carry out a major repair,
restoration or modification, e.g. take out the floor
battens from a wooden boat and fit a double
thickness cockpit floor, you need to get the hull remeasured and re-weighed.
Sails
If you buy a sail from an approved sail-maker
(currently Sail Register, P&B, Rooster, North and
Speed) you don’t have to get it measured but you do
if you’ve bought from anyone else.
Clearly we need plenty of measurers located around
the UK if we are going to ensure our measurement
requirements are fully met.
So, who and where are our measurers at the
moment?
SCOA Official Measurers:
Alan Gillard (Yorkshire)
Mike Rimmer (Lincs.)
Alan Simmons (Sussex)
Peter Cogill (Yorkshire)
Ian Whitfield (Staffs.)
Stuart Hoare (Yorkshire)
Peter Glynn (Lancs.)
Andrew Kissick (Lancs.)
Others people who can measure Streakers are RYA
Recognised Measurers, Official Club Measurers and
SCOA Committee Members.
Contact details for Measurers are available from
the class secretary Veronica Falat. Tel. 010502 57350
or email [email protected] .
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Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
Ron Beasley – Streaker Builder
Peter Cogill says ‘Thank You, Ron’
Ron Beasley decided to retire from supplying Streaker
Kits, so in May 2013, I visited Ron at his home in
Walsall, to collect the Streaker Kit patterns.
Ron served his apprenticeship as a carpenter where
he became an accomplished carver.
In the mid ‘50s Ron built his first boat, an Enterprise
designed by Jack Holt in 1956. In 1979 Ron was told
there was a market for a good Cadets and he was
persuaded to build two which were to be sailed by
international visitors to the 1979 Cadet World
Championships at Torquay. One was sailed by Rod
Behrens, an Australian; in the Practice Race Rod
found the boat was very fast upwind, he didn’t finish
to avoid raising his profile; after four races he had
won the Championships.
For the last race, Ron was persuaded to go out on a
visitor boat and found he was cheering for the Aussie.
Parents who Ron didn’t know, from clubs such as
West Kirby, kept coming up to him saying he was
building them a boat. Unbeknown to Ron, the man
who asked for the first boats, had been taking orders.
This was the start of Ron building 100 Cadets.
At the Dinghy Show, Jack Holt asked Ron to build two
or three Streakers for the Jack Holt Kits; Ron wasn’t
keen as he was busy building Cadets. It then
transpired that he was expected to buy the kits – so it
was a non-starter.
Ron has been building Streakers, especially for
members of Greensforge Sailing Club, for years, and
in May had a nearly completed one in his workshop.
When Speed Sails who had taken over from Holts,
supplying GRP Streakers and kits, stopped making
Streakers, Ron collected the patterns before the were
dumped in a skip and has been supplying them ever
since. However with the adoption of the short tank,
Ron doesn’t want to make the required changes, so
has passed the batten.
Clothing and Accessories
now available with
embroidered Streaker logos from
Wave Clothing
www.waveclothing.co.uk
Page 17
Streaker Newsletter
January 2014
STOP PRESS . . . .
Another postal/email ballot of SCOA
members is likely soon. The SCOA
Committee is considering a proposal for a
third license to be granted for the building
of FRP Streakers. Please watch out for
important emails coming your way.
Who’s who in the Streaker World?
SCOA Committee:
Chairman
Secretary
Treasurer
Membership Sec.
Peter Cogill
Veronica Falat
Mike Rimmer
Nick Lovell
Peter Tyerman
John Burgoine
Licensed Builders:
To contact the Committee use the links on the
class website www.streaker-class.org.uk or
contact the Secretary:
Mrs V. Falat, Swans Cottage, Waveney Hill,
Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 3PR
Butler Boats
(FRP, composite, wood and supplier of kits)
Rooster Sailing (FRP)
www.butlerboats.biz
www.roostersailing.com
To purchase a CD of Streaker plans for home building, contact Alan Gillard Tel: 01427 753925
The Streaker Newsletter is published
(approximately!) three times a year, in spring, summer
and autumn. Deadline for the next issue (Spring 2014)
is 10th March.
Please send contributions to:
Veronica Falat, Swans Cottage, Waveney Hill,
Oulton Broad, Lowestoft, Suffolk NR32 3PR
Email: [email protected]
www.streaker-class.org.uk
Page 18