File - Southend Model Boat Club

WAVEGUIDE
The Newsletter of the Southend Model Power Boat Club
Summer 2013
Bow Wave:
Living in England we do tend to get rather preoccupied with the weather, but I think
with some justification. We had not just the coldest March since 1962 and the coldest
Easter on record, but March was actually colder than the preceding winter months.
When I produced the ‘spring’ Waveguide, issued at the end of March, we were fully
expecting it to be ‘spring’; in reality we had to wait several more weeks until the end
of April before any new foliage really started to appear. Looking back to last year it’s
also worth noting that March 2012 was the third warmest on record with record
breaking maximum temperatures. As I put the finishing touches to this edition of
Waveguide in late June, we’re still waiting for the summer to arrive! Just goes to
show, it’s a complete waste of time trying to plan anything that’s weather dependant,
like model boating events, but we can but try!
Nevertheless, undaunted by the weather we’ve had a very good start to the season with
plenty of activity at the lake every weekend. We’ve got a very full edition for you this
time around, certainly no problem in filling the pages with offerings from several
members.
Our cover picture this time shows a nice little ‘trio’ of Robbe ‘Antje’ fishing boats.◙
News in Brief:
Club Meetings: Our May meeting at the RNA was again well supported with thirtytwo members and a couple of guests present. Our Chairman Andy opened the meeting
by welcoming everyone and followed with a brief tribute to our late Chairman Terry
Moffat. We then held a one minute silence in memory of Terry. It was agreed that the
proceeds from the evening raffle would be donated to the British Heart Foundation in
Terry’s name and we have subsequently we sent off a donation of £77.
Disabled Access: We were pleased to welcome Councillor Alex Kaye to the meeting;
Alex is the Councillor for Thorpe Ward, which includes Southchurch Park, and has
been showing an interest in our Club since making an initial contact last year. Of
particular interest to Alex is the subject of disabled access and she has been pursuing a
proposal for the installation of an access ramp to the pond-side. Alex has been
promoting this project on behalf of the club with the council since it was first
mentioned early last year and details of the plan were first made available to us in
April this year. We were however quite concerned to find that as proposed it was
planned to install the ramp, with its observation platform along the grassed section of
the bank extending over most of the area that we currently use in our regular boating
activities, which would severely restrict the space available to us. We have
consequently had meetings with Alex and the Parks Technical officers on site to
discuss what options are available and we have made several suggestions for
alternative sites. There are however a number of constraints as to where the ramp can
be sited due to the presence of trees and other features that cannot be compromised.
Page 2
Nevertheless, we have explained just how much it would impact on our present
activities if the installation were to be carried out as originally planned. At the time of
writing we are awaiting alternative proposals from the Council. Associated with the
project it is hoped that the present concrete apron around the pond-side will be
resurfaced with a non-slip coating and a protective rubbing strake will be added to the
edge. We have also discussed the need for disabled parking facilities, which is
currently being considered. We will keep you informed of developments.
Vehicle Access: On a closely related subject, those of you who have visited the lake
in recent months will be aware that one side of the park gate that we normally use as
access is now kept locked. Apparently the parks department were requested to take
this action by the local police to limit certain illegal activities that had been observed
in the hours of darkness. This action obviously prevented us from driving into the
park, a privilege we have enjoyed for a long time. Fortunately we have been able to
negotiate with the Parks Department and have been given a key to the gate so that we
can open the gate for access at the start and end of the day. There is however an
additional benefit in that the same key fits the removable bollard adjacent to the public
shelter that has restricted our ability to turn cars around and we have been given
permission to remove the bollard for this purpose. We will endeavour to ensure a key
holder is available to open the gate and remove the bollard for all our scheduled
events, but please be aware that you will not generally be able to drive in through the
gate on an ad-hoc basis if you visit the lake on your own mid-week.
Our congratulations go to Peter Moffat and Rachel on the birth of their baby son
Alfie on 17th April. Baby Alfie weighed in at a healthy Gross Tonnage of 8lbs 7oz; no
LoA supplied; I’m sure he will follow in the family tradition and we hope to see him
with Mum, Dad and his big sister at the lakeside soon.
New Members; we would like to take the opportunity to welcome an unprecedented
twelve new members to the club over the past few months. Now top of our
alphabetical membership list is Simon Agland and his partner Melanie from Shoebury.
Simon’s been seen around the lakeside quite a bit over the past few months with his
rescue dog ‘Bear’. Like many of us Simon dabbled a little in boats some years ago, he
later met Glenn Meekcoms who introduced him to RC mini stock car racing and has
now drifted back to boats, and purchased a boat
from Andy. Again close to the top of the list is
Peter Berry and partner Una from Thorpe Bay who
have been visitors at the lake for quite a while and
have now joined us, they are experienced dinghy
sailors and are now ‘scaling down’ their boating a
little. Next down the list are Yvonne and Martin
Folks from Benfleet who are friends of Mick
Goodsman. Recently Martin has purchased a new 8
metre yacht, but may be better know for sailing his
Robbe Antje. (see picture).The one in the middle is
Page 3
Martin’s, the one on the left is Brian Foskett’s and the brown one was my own bargain
from the bring and buy sale at Alfold last year. But the three of them together do make
quite a pretty picture. Sorry about the diversion; back to our new members and
continuing down the membership list we also welcome Peter Franklin from Shoebury,
Peter is also an experienced cruiser sailor, having extensively sailed the East Coast
Rivers and is currently scratch building a scale yacht based on a design similar to a J
class. We then have Neil Markey from Shoeburyness, Neil is new to model boating
and has recently acquired a ready to run yacht; he is however an experienced dinghy
sailor so he will be able to translate that experience to model sailing, once he gets used
to the idea that he’s not actually in the boat! Another, not exactly a new face, John
Thompson (Andy Thompson’s son) has joined us. John’s been visiting the lake
regularly with Andy for some while and has now become a member, he’s just built a
new Club 500 and he has a modelling background in railways, so I’m sure he will be
joining us at the ‘Garons’ show in November. Another newcomer is Michael Martin
from Great Wakering. Our penultimate new member is Gerry Walters from Westcliff,
who’s currently working on a large scale model of the ‘Bismark’, a project he’s had
on the go for a while, but it’s now just about operational. Last, but by no means least
James (Jim) Willetts from Westcliff who is new to model boats and has recently
purchased yet another new 8 meter yacht from Robin Edgar, helping to grow our now
substantial fleet of this very useful and popular design, that I personally believe is
ideal for our lake.
Sixty-Fifth Anniversary Festival of Model Boating: As you will have seen from the
programme our ‘Annual Festival of Model Boating’ is on Sunday 11th August and, as
usual, this is an ‘open event’, where we expect a number of visitors from other clubs.
Traditionally this has always been predominantly a free sailing ‘scale’ event, with a
few rounds of fast electric thrown in for good measure and a bit of fun. Your
Committee are very conscious of potential ‘compatibility’ issues between ‘scale’
model boats and some classes of sailing craft. Consequently, we have agreed that only
traditional ‘scale type’ sailing craft, such as Barges, Pond Yachts and ‘small’ racing
yachts, such as ‘Footie’s’ will be sailed on this day. However, we are adding an
additional event on the preceding day (Saturday the 10th) as a ‘Fun Sailing Day’ for
all classes of sailing craft. This day will be fully supported by the Club as a part of the
Festival weekend, but has not been advertised as an ‘open’ event to other clubs,
although I am aware of a couple of regular visitors from the Shepton Mallet club who
will be joining us for the day.
Insurance: The club’s ‘public liability’ insurance has been renewed on exactly the
same terms as I described in the last Waveguide. As I mentioned then, should you
need your own personal copy of the insurance certificate please let me know, as I have
a quantity of certificates that just need your name added, and we are authorised to
validate the certificate for you. As with any insurance the period covered is one year,
so if you happen to have an old certificate it’s no longer valid.
Page 4
Club Dinghy: You will remember
that we’ve been planning to obtain a
more manageable dinghy for use at
the lake and over the past few months
your committee (mostly Colin Sharp)
have been scouring ebay and other
on-line sites for something suitable.
The criteria it had to meet were: (a)
can be lifted by one person, (b) will
stand on its end in the shed, (c)
available locally and affordable.
Eventually Colin found exactly what
we were looking for a 6ft 6in pram
dinghy for sale locally and only £125.
Colin and Andy went over to
Hullbridge and collected it one evening and as you can see couldn’t resist trying it out
in the failing light when they got back to the lake. As any of us who have used such
dinghies will tell you, they are inherently ‘tender’, that is they need very careful
handling in the water. If you are the least bit unsure of yourself and still need to use
the dinghy please ensure you wear a buoyancy aid (there are a couple in the shed) and
never take it onto the lake without another club member being present. We are
keeping the big blue dinghy, specifically for use at Barleylands, and Chris Oram has
kindly offered to transport and store it for us.
Club Annual Lunch: Several members suggested that we resurrect the ‘Club Annual
Lunch’ and consequently we have booked the function room at the ‘Halfway House
Country Carvery’ on the Eastern Esplanade. We have booked for a Sunday Lunch at
13:00 on 12th January next. As the name suggests, the venue is essentially a ‘Carvery’
however, we have negotiated a fixed price deal of £15 each for a two course meal with
coffee and there will be a minimum of two alternate main courses available, details of
which will be available nearer the time. The room can comfortably seat up to fifty
people so hopefully we should be able cope with all who would like to come. We
don’t need any names or payments at this stage, but please make a note of the date.
The Essex Country Show (Barleylands), if you’ve requested passes to attend this
event in September you will have found them enclosed with this Waveguide. As most
of you will know this is the premier model boating event in Essex and is hosted by our
own Club as part of the show. This year we have eight other clubs and organisations
joining us, including the ‘A Team Boatyard’ who will be exhibiting their 17 foot long
model of a ‘Type 45 Naval Frigate’ and the Association of Model Barge Owners, who
are bringing a fleet of seven Thames Sailing Barges. As usual we would appreciate
some assistance on the Friday afternoon to set-up, and on Sunday evening to clear up
at the end of the show.
Page 5
For our Spring ‘Venetian Night’ on the 6th April
we were still in the grip of freezing temperatures
and a biting cold wind, however, a few hardy
souls turned up to sail their boats in the ‘twilight
zone’ and show off their craft’s lighting. Our
Club Chairman Andy was sailing one of his
dad’s boats. It was built by Derek, about twenty
years ago, from the Mountfleet kit of the
Admiralty Coaster C642. Andy had added a
simple strip of white LED’s to the mast for the
occasion which looked very effective. Some of you may know that the Mountfleet
sadly suffered an extensive fire but they are now back in business albeit at the moment
are unable to offer their full range of models.
The ‘Shakedown day’ was our first attempt at
running both a scale event and fast electric
concurrently, and it all went very well. Our FE
Rep Doug Cracknell set out a ‘Speed Triangle’
for anyone to have a go with whatever class of
boat they had. There were several new Club 500
boats in evidence; some not quite completed, but
out for their first trials, This ‘pristine’ boat has
clearly not yet competed in what can often be
the ‘rough-and-tumble’ of Club 500 racing. I
think some members were paying the price for not stripping out the prop-shaft from
their boats when they were last run in the rather corrosive water of Southchurch Park
Lake, and I did hear that there were some not too healthy sounds emanating from one
particular Ten Shock. This is absolutely essential, especially with FE boats, it’s also
essential to flush the cooling system on water cooled motors with fresh water to
prevent corrosion.
Here’s your clue?
So guess who this nice little lad is?
(But this one will never float!) Congratulations Ray on passing the big 40!
Page 6
When we were putting our regatta
programme together earlier in the year
we cast around for suggestions for names
for each of the events, one suggestion
from Angela was for a ‘Cygnets
Regatta’; and here’s the reason: This is
the latest brood from the Southchurch
Park swans. (Picture from Angela)
On the subject of Swans; while several of
us were watching the ‘drama’ of the
Portsmouth Display Team at Alfold; a little ‘drama’ was unfolding at our own lake. It
would appear that a member of the public was sailing a small ready-to-run sail boat
and sailed rather too close to the cygnets; consequently the Cob Swan became very
agitated and attacked the boat, more-or-less sinking it. Andy Robinson decided to
rescue the model and rowed across the lake in our dinghy. The swan then decided he
didn’t much like Andy’s ‘intervention’ and proceeded to attack him! In an effort to
escape the very real risk of serious bodily injury Andy ‘bailed-out’ of the other side of
the dinghy head first into the lake. Surprisingly the dinghy didn’t actually capsize.
Fortunately neither Andy, nor the swan, was injured, but it was a frightening
experience and one we should learn from. The same cob had only a few days earlier
pretty much wrecked John Thompson’s new Club 500.
Unfortunately the photographic evidence of Andy Robinson’s ‘encounter’ with the
swan is not up to publication standards, so you will have to rely on the eye witness
accounts. On the lighter side; the incident did however lead to a flurry of little
rhyming ditties from Andy Seymour’s good lady Tracy, a small selection of which is
reproduced below:
I glow in the dark,
There was a great white, Ho hum,
Who gave Andy a fright, Southchurch park is
And sent him all off green,
kilter,
Ho hum,
The peck was a belter,
I have a bit of a sheen,
The swell was hell,
Like bad butter I mean,
But the keening was,
All green, and covered in
Man in the water!
sheen,
All cause Tom the swan
is mean.
◙
Page 7
There was a big white
swan,
Who was being really
vain
And thought Andy was a
pain,
He got the boat in a spin
And made a huge din,
And left Andy wet up to
his chin.
Scale
Our first ‘Scale’ event of the
season was our ‘Shakedown Day’
on 7th April, despite the continuing
cold weather, thankfully the sun
came out for a while to reward the
many members who turned-up for
the event. It was a very relaxed day
and our new ‘Scale Rep’ Frank
Lunn laid out a not too demanding
course for anyone to just ‘have-ago’ with no pressure to compete
and no points to be scored, or lost;
all of which seemed to please a
number of members, who might otherwise have not tried a steering course.
Ray Malone was trying out his latest creation, his diminutive tug ‘Iron Horse’, the size
of which gives no clue to its performance. This shot shows what happens when Ray
gives a touch astern, then full ahead; it almost leaps out of the water!
In contrast to Ray’s new model, Roy
Williams was sailing his tug ‘Flying
Duck’ that I don’t know too much
about, but I know Roy built this one
some years ago, and knowing him as
we do I have no doubt that it was
completely scratch built at minimum
cost, utilising parts and materials he just
happened to have around him.
Page 8
Our Mayday Regatta was at last blessed with some very welcome spring sun shine,
albeit rather short lived, but we did have a really good turn-out. Following the success
of the ‘fun steering event’ the previous month, Frank again laid out an easy going
‘non-competitive’ course which was well utilised by members on a simple ‘have-a-go’
basis.
It was good to see some ‘live steam’
models on the water. Paul Darch is
seen here adjusting the steam plant he
installed in the hull of a boat that he
picked up second hand from a boot
sale, while fellow steam enthusiast
Eddy Cornwell looks on with his
beautiful Steam Yacht ‘Seabird’ in
the background.
Meanwhile, Jerry Towner,
dressed in the very latest
fashionable Pondside Wear
(reserved exclusively for
steam
enthusiasts)
was
setting up the oscillating V
twin steam plant powering
his river launch ‘Ernie’.
Based on a GRP hull
originally intended for a
Victorian style launch ‘River
Queen’.
Unfortunately our third scheduled scale event on the 9th of June had to be abandoned
due to the ongoing problem of the rather aggressive cob swan defending the cygnets
and it was agreed by all present that it was not safe to enter the water in waders, or to
attempt to use the dinghy. More recently the situation appears to have settled down
and we appear to currently have a fragile truce with the swans. However, please take
care not to provoke the swans in any way and be aware of the potential danger,
particularly if you need to use the dinghy, or enter the water in waders. ◙
Page 9
Fast Electric Racing: Report from Doug Cracknell
The start of the season commenced with the ‘Speed Triangle’ event held on 7 th April
2013 with 5 members turning up to try out their Mini Eco boats. The results of the
morning’s racing were as follows: Tony Riebold (1st), Gary Gibson (2nd), Doug
Cracknell (3rd), Steve Bone (4th) and Andy Seymour (5th).
Competition Round 1 (5th May 2013): A sunny Sunday morning greeted members,
with attendance good and enthusiasm for the start of the racing season high. A number
of members were racing newly constructed Club 500’s and were eager to try out their
racing skills with their latest models. As ever, hopes were high and success was
varied, but enthusiasm fails to be diminished. With some sadness the GT400s made
their final race appearance during the morning. Due to ongoing issues with obtaining
replacement parts for these boats, the decision has reluctantly been taken not to feature
them in the fast electric competition going forward; however they will no doubt be
spotted on the lake from time to time. The successful organisation of the morning’s
racing was in no small part due to the participation of Sam Cracknell and the support
and guidance of Les Mathews – many thanks to both.
Competition Round 2 (9th June): We were greeted with somewhat overcast and windy
conditions; however an enthusiastic band of fast electric racers was to be found
pondside. Unfortunately they were greeted by an equally enthusiastic family of swans,
with their young, who were adamant no racing was going to take part that morning!
For the safety of all it was agreed that the sensible option was to abandon racing for
the day as setting up the race course was not a viable option. Hopefully we will be
able to add an additional race at a later date in the calendar, when the swans are
showing less of an interest in our racing and return to the far end of the pond to feed in
the traditional way! Nevertheless, members who turned up with their Club 500s were
able to participate in some practice runs around an improvised triangular course,
which gave them the valuable opportunity to test new boats. Everyone who was able
to take part agreed that they had enjoyed that opportunity. In recognition of the fact
that many members had turned up ready and eager to participate in a morning’s
racing, and were foiled by circumstances beyond their control, a unilateral decision
was taken by the Fast Electric Representative to award everyone who turned up ready
to race a boat on the morning with 10 points. Of course if the swans become a regular
feature in our racing plans, we may have to rethink this decision.
The current results are as follows:
st
1
2nd
3rd
4th
GT400
Gary Gibson
Doug Cracknell
50
40
Club 500
Andy Seymour
Doug Cracknell
Tony Riebold
60
50
40
Mini Eco
Tony Riebold
Carl Thursby
Sam Cracknell
95
85
75
Sam Cracknell
30
Doug Cracknell
65
◙
Page 10
Building and running Club 500’s - by Glenn Meekcoms
Further to my talk on the ‘Club 500’ at the RNA meeting, a few members have asked
me if I would put some of my thoughts on gaining the best performance from these
boats in writing. I should stress these are just my thoughts on the subject and are in no
way meant to be definitive, more a guide to what we should be considering when
building and setting up the boat.
The club 500 rules state that you have to build the kit as supplied by the manufacturer,
with only a few minor modifications allowed to improve reliability, thus keeping the
class very fair. However, whilst constructing the boat, there are ways in which it is
possible to reduce the overall performance of the boat. Hopefully these hints and tips
will help avoid some of these pitfalls and more importantly, get you thinking about
ways in which to extract the best from your boat, whilst staying within the rules.
There are three main areas that affect the boats performance:
1) Overall weight.
2) Resistance (both mechanical and electrical)
3) Interface between the boat and the transmitter.
Overall weight: This is the easiest to deal with, the lighter the boat, the faster it goes.
However, club 500's do have a hard life racing and there will be crashes, so a
compromise needs to be reached between lightness and strength. Reinforcing is
advisable around the joint between the deck and hull, especially at the bow and also
around the rudder shaft. Everyone will have their own ideas about how to achieve this;
personally I used extra strips of plastic stuck on with solvent glue. A micro servo,
speed controller and receiver were employed in my own boat to keep the weight
down, since I had to purchase radio equipment for this boat and the micro parts are so
cheap now, it seemed silly not to use them.
Resistance (mechanical): Shaft to motor alignment is the main area where we can go
wrong here and is best avoided by using a solid coupling between shaft and motor
whilst building the boat. The manufacturers make a solid brass coupling and a few
club members have made their own device (including a superb design by Andy
Thompson) which allows everything to be lined up before gluing and holds it in place
whilst setting. These devices are then removed and the supplied coupling fitted for
running. The supplied coupling should have the plastic sleeves glued or pinned to the
brass inserts to help prevent the motor moving forward when the inevitable shunt
happens.
A tiny amount of light oil, 3 in 1 is fine but you can go for the super slick (and
expensive) Teflon oils if you want, should be applied to the two motor bushes and the
motor should be run for a while before installing. Do not be tempted to over oil the
bushes as any amount of oil getting onto the commutator or brushes will ruin the
motor. How fast and how long to run in the motor? Well it’s possible to write a book
Page 11
on this question, there probably isn't a definitive answer. Personally I held mine in a
vice (lightly gripped) and ran my three sets of cells through it, this killed two birds
with one stone, it ran the motor in and helped me cycle the cells.
Check the coupling; make sure the brass inserts that connect to the motor and the shaft
run true. These couplings are mass produced and it’s not uncommon for them to be
drilled off centre, causing poor alignment when fitted. Sometimes loosening them and
turning them 1/4 of a turn can help true them up; it is worth persevering as a
replacement may also suffer from the same problem.
The shaft should also be checked by rolling on a flat surface to see if it is straight and
that the threads are cut straight. Make sure there are no burrs where the threads end as
this can damage the shaft bushes. Ensure the bushes are in good condition and not too
tight or loose fit on the shaft.
Add an oiling tube to the shaft, the manufacturer make one as an extra or you can
solder a piece of brass or copper tube to the propeller tube. If you solder the oil tube in
place, remover the top shaft bearing first to avoid melting it when soldering.
Greasing the propeller tube is an area where a lot of power can be lost. The grease
lubricates the bearings and also prevents water entering the hull. Packing the shaft
completely full of grease will cause huge amounts of drag on the shaft and
dramatically reduce the RPM. Use light grease or a mixture of grease and oil and
apply as little as possible to prevent water ingress to the hull. As the shaft spins it will
inevitably throw the grease from the shaft and stick it to the inside of the tube,
necessitating a top up after a couple of runs, hence the need for an oil tube.
Check the propeller for nicks out of the blades, and also make sure the threaded insert
is fitted centrally, my first propeller’s insert was not centred and caused severe
vibration when spinning.
Greasing the rudder shaft will help prevent water travelling up it, but will not stop it
completely. A small piece of silicone tube slipped over the top of the rudder tube will
give a good seal between the rudder stock and rudder tube. Do not allow too much of
the silicon tube to touch the rudder stock or the extra friction will put unnecessary
strain on the rudder servo, possibly causing it to burn out (as happened to me in the
second race of the year).
However careful we are, it is inevitable that some water will enter the hull. I always
put my receiver and speed controller inside balloons to keep them dry. I also open my
servos and fill them with petroleum jelly to try to repel as much water as possible.
Another good tip is to screw up some kitchen roll and wedge it into each rear corner of
the hull; this will absorb any water and prevent it from slopping around inside the hull
whilst racing.
Page 12
Resistance (electrical): The battery pack only contains a certain amount of energy.
We have already tried our best at reducing the mechanical resistance in our drive train,
allowing as much of this energy as possible to be transferred to the propeller, but is
there anything that can be done to reduce the electrical resistance?
Coming from the battery pack, the first thing we find is the connector, usually a
Tamiya type. I have to admit to hating these things; they are fine on low current
applications but struggle even with moderate currents. In the past I have had two fires
due to them overheating and have seen several more caused by them. The actual
contact area inside the plugs is very small and the metal very thin, this will, at best,
restrict the current flow from the battery and at worst get over heated and potentially
catch fire. Even if it does not cause a fire, some of the energy is wasted in heating the
plug. My solution was to fit 4 mm gold bullet connectors, although Deans type plugs
and other types are also suitable. Remember a stalled 550 motor can draw around 85
amps!
Next consideration is the wires themselves. When using an electronic speed control
there is little that can be done to change these, most decent makes of speed controller
are supplied with suitable size wires already fitted, but they will need extending to
reach the motor. Make sure you use a similar sized, quality wire designed for the job
(not something you nicked from the bedside table lamp) to allow a path of least
resistance to the motor.
Fit suppressors to the motor. These only cost a few pence from Maplin Electronics and
serve two functions. Firstly, they reduce sparking at the commutator (once again
saving a little of that precious battery power) and secondly they reduce radio
interference, not only to your own receiver, but also of other people’s.
The interface between the boat and the transmitter: Without a doubt this is the
single most important piece of the whole set up and probably the hardest thing to tune.
A small improvement here will reap far greater gains in overall performance than all
the above put together. For anyone who has not got it yet, I am referring to the driver!
In four minutes a club 500 will only travel a certain distance, the shorter you steer a
course around the buoys, the more laps the boat will complete in that time. I know this
is really obvious, but it is the key to maximizing your boat’s potential.
Club 500’s are not the greatest of boats to handle, if you find it ‘twitchy’ on the turns,
slow down a little. Travel in as straight a line as possible between the buoys, if this
proves difficult, think why it is happening? Have I got too much throw on the rudder?
Can I use exponential throw on my rudder channel to help? If I exit the corners slower
and align the boat to the next buoy before accelerating, would this give me an overall
faster lap time? Everyone will find their own answers to these problems, but above all
practice whenever possible.
Page 13
At the first race meeting this year I saw many people trying their boats around the
lake, but, despite it being laid out over an hour before the first race, I was only aware
of one boat practicing the actual course.
Right at the start, I said these were just my thoughts on the subject and hope no one
feels I am preaching, after all, for all my words of so called wisdom, my boat broke
down four laps into the second race and couldn’t be fixed for the rest of the day.
Whilst the club 500 racing is primarily about having fun, I am sure everybody would
wish their own boat to perform as well as possible; there is nothing more
disheartening than having one problem after another at the lakeside. The more
reliable, competitive boats we get on the water the closer the racing and that’s where
the fun is. I do hope some of this is useful to beginners and maybe makes a few of the
more experienced racers think through their own boat preparation a little more. I really
welcome some feedback on these thoughts, especially if anyone feels I have missed
out important issues, or disagrees with some (or all) of them.
New boats seem to be arriving at the lake each week and it looks as if this year’s Club
500 racing is going to be a great success. It is really nice to see members diversifying
into the fast electrics and it’s nice to see the more experienced members helping out
with their builds.
After all that’s what the hobby is about, sharing ideas and encouraging each other.
Have fun with the 500’s and remember practice makes perfect!
Editors note:
I’m not
sure
whose boat this is,
but as you can see
it’s riding very
nicely. Something
I know Glenn has
spoken about, but
didn’t mention in
his write-up, is
getting the foreand-aft trim right.
This is achieved
by moving the
battery tray back
and forth on the ‘Velcro’ mountings. You may need to tweak this a little depending on
the prevailing conditions on the lake. ◙
Page 14
Sailing Scene – Report by Angela Mears
Our club’s sailing season began this year with the ‘Equinox Regatta’ held on the 17th
March and possibly due to the continuing wintry conditions, we had only five entrants.
However an encouraging number of members came along to watch and support the
event; including myself who volunteered to be the race officer for the day.
This meet had seen the launch of Julie and Andy Robinsons’ newly scratch built RM
class yachts; Cumulus. A ‘Bantock’ design estimated to date from the early nineties,
proven to be a competitive yacht, especially with a relatively shorter keel than newer
RM designs, which is ideally suited to our lake conditions.
We also saw our Sailing Secretary’s secret weapon ‘Slick’ take to the water with some
serious competition in mind, along with Glenn Meekcoms’ ‘Magic’ RM both being
Chris Dicks designs. And, finally, father and son team Andy and John Thompson were
sharing the helm of their Marblehead of an unknown pedigree.
Even though only five yachts raced, there was plenty of serious competitiveness seen
on the water with skippers keen to get their scorecards off to a good start for the year
with some low opening points.
All in all as far as the weather permitted, there were six races held.
The weather conditions for the Spring Regatta on 21st April were still not the least bit
‘spring-like’, however, with an impressive thirteen members participating, the spring
sailing regatta had the recipe for an enjoyable day by the lake. Wind speeds left a little
to be desired but most skippers made it across the finishing line without retiring
through one complication or another!
The event saw many spectators including members of the public and keen
photographers taking the opportunity to snap some shots of the yachts on the lake as
usual.
For our Maypole Regatta 19th May we at last enjoyed a little well deserved sun. As
with recent regattas, this event proved to be popular amongst sail enthusiasts with over
a dozen entrants and it was good to see Cath Banham and Bob Yates for the first time
this year skippering their beautifully built 8 metre ‘scale’ yachts. After a lengthy
absence from the pond-side activates, it was great to have them join us again.
Although warm and sunny, again the wind speed factor failed to meet our
expectations. However, ten races were managed and there was much rivalries and
ambitious fun had by all. We also saw another new 8 metre yacht join the group by
way of new skipper Martin Folks. Believing this to be his first yacht and even though
new to the sport, he’s undoubtedly proving he’s got the potential to create some waves
amongst the other skippers!
Page 15
There being no planned Sailing regatta in June, because of other events on the
calendar, a late addition was made to the regatta programme and an extra event was
squeezed in on the ‘Bank Holiday’ weekend, 26th May. Hence this was probably the
reason for a lower number of participants than previous. Once again, the wind was
forecast to be averaging 10mph but with the obstructions around our lake, felt as
though there was significantly less. This didn’t dampen the sailing spirit though, and
determination to complete a single lap of the course whilst more often than not yachts
were ‘sitting ducks’ on the lake gave the skippers another challenge!
We are now half way through the club’s events calendar, there’s no clear winner to
take the trophy at the end of the year. With each Regatta that’s held, positions keep
shifting on the overall leader board.
Each regatta will involve a minimum of four races with each skipper’s best four points
taken and accumulated to give a total score for that regatta with the worst scores for
each entrant disregarded. These will be kept on record until the last Sailing regatta is
completed in October.
Then at the end of the season, each skipper’s lowest scores from their best four
regattas will combined to give their best overall final score which will determine the
SMPBC Sailing Regatta Champion Skipper of 2013!
The results from each Regatta so far are as follows:
Brian Foskett
Mick Goodsman
Andy and John Thompson
Julie Robinson
Andy Robinson
Glenn Meekcoms
Andy Seymour
John Wren
Bill Croucher
Angela Mears
Liam O’Herlihy
Peter Bone
Tony Riebold
Roy Fountain
Equinox
17/03/13
24
24
19
12
7
5
24
10
24
24
24
24
24
24
Spring
21/04/13
6
46
22
11
5
2
30
15
49
0
8
38
5
56
Page 16
Maypole
19/05/13
52
52
18
10
2
4
52
9
47
0
11
52
26
52
Bank Holiday
26/05/13
8
36
16
6
3
4
36
6
36
0
11
34
36
36
The Overall Leader-board
Positions at this time are as
follows:
Editor’s note:
Position
1ST
2ND
3RD
4TH
5TH
6TH
7TH
8TH
9TH
10TH
11TH
12TH
13TH
14TH
15TH
We do seem to be seeing a
bit of ‘experimentation’ in
yacht classes at the lake these
days. Andy Robinson is seen
here with his brand new,
entirely ‘scratch built’ RG65
class yacht. The craft is
650mm long, the hull being
built totally from balsa. Andy
scaled down the plan from
his ‘Cumulus’ Marblehead to
exactly 50% to fit the class
rules. He made the sails from ‘Mylar’
film and the spars from carbon fibre
fishing rods sections. The outside of
the hull is finished with epoxy coating
and the fin is sheathed with material
from ‘tights’. Andy says he built the
yacht mostly from materials he had
around him at a total cost of around
£5 (excluding radio gear).
Skipper
Glenn Meekcoms
Andy Robinson
Angela Mears
Julie Robinson
John Wren
Liam O’Herlihy
Andy and John Thompson
Brian Foskett
Tony Riebold
Martin Folks
Andy Seymour
Peter Bone
Bill Croucher
Mick Goodsman
Roy Fountain
There is an RG 65UK Class
Association and their website can be
found at: www.rg65.org.uk. The class
rules appear to be quite relaxed and
among the benefits claimed for the
class are: it’s light weight at around
1kg; compact enough to fit in a small
car fully rigged, no need for special
heavy duty sail servos, hulls built in
balsa wood are little heavier than
expensive carbon fibre mouldings.
It sounds like it’s got a lot going for
it, especially in the relatively tight confines of our lake. ◙
Page 17
Total Points
15
17
24
39
40
54
75
90
91
139
142
148
156
158
168
Buoys and Boats
Lou Monk launched his
latest creation back in early
April; this is something of a
departure for Lou, who
usually ‘scratch builds’ his
models using ‘plank-onframe; 'Luela' is a Victorian
Pond yacht built on a GRP
Hull supplied by Dave
Alderton. The design is based
on an original 1930's wooden
Pond
Yacht
that
was
apparently discovered during
a house clearance and
purchased for £10 by Dave
who used the original hull as
a plug to produce the mould.
Dave also provided a basic
plan for the rig but very little
detail, together with the sails and a few fittings. The deck is planked using wood from
venetian blinds with black paper in between each piece to simulate the caulking. The
spars came from some nice well seasoned straight grain pine that I remember ripping
down from some rough planks into square section for Lou sometime last year. The
model is fitted with a sail winch and performs very well on the water. David Alderton
can be contacted on: 01643709971 or email: [email protected]
I’ve always admired the ingenuity of Roy
Williams and his ability to utilise ‘free’
materials in his model building. Roy’s latest
project seen here in a part built state, is a
TID tug built almost entirely from what he
calls ‘fruit wood’. In reality it’s the wood
from boxes used to transport fruit. This is
similar in thickness to coffee stirrers, it’s
quite close grained and about 2mm thick,
Roy simply cuts it into strips with a Stanley
knife. As you can see he’s got the hull built,
which is resin coated inside and out, most of the superstructure’s built, the rudder is
installed but the running gear is yet to go in. Roy’s following a plan supplied by MMI,
which looks as though it’s done a World tour, with markings on it from as far away as
Australia. The model is featured on the front cover of February 2012 MMI. We look
forward to seeing the completed model on the water sometime in the not too distant
future.
Page 18
Colin Sharp’s latest creation is a
diminutive fourteen inch long tug that
he refers to as his ‘cut-n-shut’ job! In
reality it started out life as one of
George Turner’s 14 inch long vac
formed hulls for the range of little
fishing boats and tugs that George
once produced. However, instead of
simply joining the two halves of the
hull together (clam shell style) as
George intended, Colin widened the
hull by a couple of inches and has
squeezed in two Graupner geared
motors, each with its own speed controller
such that he can drive it ‘tank style’ giving it
remarkable manoeuvrability.
By way of a ‘contrast’ you might like to
compare my own personal, rather more
‘conservative’ version of what George
originally intended and built from exactly the
same hull mouldings. Colin does have a
wonderful imagination!
Dennis Bailey recently emailed me
pictures of a couple of his boats including
his Brixham Trawler and this surface
running submarine. For the benefit of some newer members who may not know
Dennis, he is a long standing member of the club and a very adept model builder with
a wide range of interests and skills. Possibly his most ‘unusual’ model building
projects include his ‘Bone Boats’ one of which was featured in the May 2010
Waveguide; these are similar to those made by the Napoleonic prisoners of war,
originals of which now change hands for very large sums of money.
Page 19
Chris Hinson made the trip over from South Woodford with his sons Ben and Sam to
join us for our May-Day Regatta, in addition to their two model ‘RIBS’, Chris brought
along his latest and very unusual 1/10th scale 1950’s Russian ‘Aero-sled’ mail delivery
support vessel. About which he has kindly provided us with the ‘back-story’:
A few words about my boat, err, aero-sled, umm, airboat or, whatever?
I was researching airboats on an
American website (r/c airboat
world) and came across a link to
(darkroastedblend.com)
silly
name but some interesting things,
with a feature about unique
soviet snowmobiles.
It looks like they have been
building them for quite a few
years to perform all sorts of
functions, mainly military during
WW2, and copied by the Nazi’s, so they could fight in Siberia during winter, but
afterwards they were used for mail delivery in Siberia, which is what I based my
model on. They were also used as personal transport vehicles, ambulances, and Arctic
support vehicles. They usually have skis, but some had tracks and there was a design
that could adapt to using floats. I thought this type was interesting as it could cross
snow and transfer to melted ice and open water when needed.
As an experienced modeller I tend to build everything from scratch and as a fulltime
furniture designer, I work with many different materials so I don’t mind a challenge. I
designed the overall concept, having some experience from two previous small airboat
builds. I started with a rigid aluminium chassis by bolting 12x12mm right angle
sections together, to attached the floats and body/cockpit.
The floats are solid Balsa with a layer of polyester resin for sealing, I did have some
difficulty calculating the amount of buoyancy needed, and ended up with floats that
are too small for a decent speed on water. The body is plasticard and the bow section
is part of a photocopy drum in aluminium, with a balsa roof. I knew that I needed to
keep weight to a minimum, which is difficult if you want enough scale detailing.
I used a 2815 brushless out-runner motor 1100KV with 3S lipo, which has plenty of
power, I have allowed for working rudders on the floats, to aid steering on the water
but have not finished them yet. The 3 blade prop has been fully enclosed for safety
and protection from catching any loose nearby material. The original Russian wartime
Aerosled’s rarely had any kind of prop protection, and must have been very dangerous
for the soldiers working with them.
Page 20
The man in the forward compartment with the machine gun (not shown on the picture)
on my model was partly based on a real war time design. Maybe the mail delivery
chaps might come across some sort of danger in the wilds of Siberia? He is sitting on a
swivelling gun mount, using a digital servo (which tends to vibrate in operation) but
adds visual interest when on the water.
The most challenging part to build on the model was the rear prop cage; I was trying
to create enough stiffness with minimum vibration, but keep weight down and to
scale. It really needed a welded wire frame, something that I chose not to attempt. I
did enjoy the whole building project though and would like to thank Larry Hodgeson
who first inspired me to experiment with air driven models after seeing his great
working hovercrafts.
--------------------------------------Mick Goodsman has kindly provided
us with some information on his
beautiful newly built 1:16th scale
Bristol Channel Pilot Cutter:
I built ‘Mascot’ on a Kingston
Mouldings fibre glass hull and I have
tried to keep as close to the real thing
as possible, but not always easy on a
model (for me anyway). All the
control is below deck with a Hitec
HS-805BB winch handling the main
and topsail, with a Graupner Regatta
eco winch on the foresails and a
Hitec HS645MG high torque servo
for the rudder, I had to use a drum on the servo and rudder shaft due to the angles
involved. I have some pictures of the under deck detail for anybody interested, the
sails I had made by Dave Alderton and an excellent job he made to. Most of the wood
used was ‘recycled’ from an old door frame and the deck planking is 1/16 x 1/4 inch
spruce.
Her Maiden Voyage was Sunday 19th May, the day that shows up any problems, and I
found I had two ‘issues’. Firstly the rudder needs to be a bit larger to steer better at
low speed, second is that she had only internal ballast and any big gust of wind laid
her over too far and so to ‘Plan B’, she will now have an external ballast keel (but I
had to try my preferred plan A) the internal ballast being layers of sheet lead bolted in,
came out OK.
The real life Mascot was built in 1904 at Newport and after a couple of re-builds is
still going strong doing Charter work based in Scotland. ◙
Page 21
Events and Shows:
Alfold Charity Model Boat Show: Arrangements for our first ‘Away Event’ this year
started a few days earlier with Andy Seymour and Les Mathews collecting the
gazebos, club banner and table covers from the shed. They drove down on Friday
morning and met up with Graham Fright, who had driven up from Western-SuperMare for the weekend. Fortunately by the time Rita and myself arrived in the late
afternoon all the grafting had been done, with tables and gazebos all erected ready for
the weekend and the ‘grafters’ were relaxing in the late afternoon sun with a glass of
Graham’s Somerset cider. We then strolled to the local pub for a most enjoyable meal
and a chat. Next morning Frank and Meryl arrived, together with Bill Croucher, Ray
Malone, and Colin and Angela, who had kindly bought Andy’s son Finley down with
them. We were also joined by ex-club member Darren Gennings with his partner and
baby. Darren now lives abroad and works as a Tug Skipper. By the time the show
opened to the public our display was full of well presented boats. Saturday followed
the usual pattern of timed slots on the water for different categories of boats, although
I think much of the time was actually taken up on chatting around the various club’s
stands and catching up with friends we hadn’t seen since last year. In the evening,
having rearranged the furniture in the conservatory of the main building to cater for
our growing party, the barbeque went very well with plenty to eat, plenty to drink and
plenty of friendly banter!
On Sunday morning we were joined by Eddy Cornwell and his son, together with
Chris Hinson and sons Sam and Ben. Personally I was determined to try to do a bit
more boating and rather less chatting, but I’m afraid that didn’t quite work out, but
never mind we can always play boats
on our own lake! In the afternoon the
Portsmouth Model Display Team put
on their very impressive battle
enactment on the lake with loads of
pyrotechnics, loud bangs and plenty of
smoke, all very impressive stuff.
Graham
resurrected
a
lapsed
‘tradition’ and had come equipped
with a portable cooker and a cool box
full of eggs and bacon and plied us all
with tea, coffee and egg and bacon
roles on both days. What a grand
fellow he is!
Dave Brumstead had been busy all day Sunday going around all the club displays
judging the models, a job I certainly do not envy him, so many boats of such high
standard and I lost count of the number of different categories. However, when it
came to the Prize Giving at the end of the show, our own Ray Malone was awarded
first place in the Tug category with his ‘Freewinds’. Well done Ray.
Page 22
There were twenty six clubs present and
a dozen or so traders. This being a
‘charity event’ we raised £60 between
our own members attending to donate to
the Merchant Seamen’s War Memorial
Society and the organisers estimate that
the total raised for the charity over the
weekend would exceed £2000.
A thoroughly enjoyable time was had by
all, with several of us having booked our
accommodation for next year.
Blackwater Country Show: Again
arrangements for this show started
several days before the event, with Andy
and Glenn loading up all the gear needed
for the event. This might appear to be a
lot of work for a one day event, but I
think everyone who’s been to this show
agrees it’s worth the effort. This was
confirmed by the fact that twenty three
members made the trip up to Maldon this
year. We all arrived early to get the
gazebos and tables set up and as you can see from this picture we were ready to
receive the visitors by the time the show opened to the public at 10 o’clock.
Despite the early start everyone soon
settled into what was to be a very
relaxing and sociable day. As you can
see here where Lou and Chris looked as
though they were recreating a scene
from “Last of the Summer Wine”! But
seriously, this is what it’s all about and
it’s why we do what we do.
Meanwhile the younger enthusiastic
members wasted little time in getting
their boats on the water for what
proved to be a really good day’s
boating, with a taste of everything for
the public, with plenty of sailing, fast
electric racing and scale boating. Indeed, by early-afternoon I think there were as
many spectators around the lake watching our boats as there were watching the
activities in the main arena.
Page 23
Our Chairman managed to persuade
the chaps with the canoes to place
some marker buoys in the lake for
us and we were able to make good
use of these for some fun fast
electric racing and for the sailing
craft. Here are five of our members
totally engrossed in a purely ‘noncompetitive’ Club 500 race around
the buoys.
Andy Thompson’s new Club 500
‘Speckled Hen’ is seen here going
well after earlier capsizing and for a while looked as though it was sinking!
As you can see here, Andy’s number
one son Finley spent much of the day
on guard duty paddling around the lake
in a canoe.
The really good thing about this show
is the lake is particularly suitable for
sailing craft with plenty of room and
relatively free from obstructions
around the lake. It was also quite
windy, which made for some
‘interesting’ sailing; Angela managed
to ‘pitch pole’ her yacht on one
occasion and even my thirty year old
‘Trapper’ was going better than I’d seen it go for years.
As this show is in support of the Essex Air Ambulance, we had a whip-round and have
subsequently sent off a donation of £25 to the Blackwater Show organisers towards
their charity fund. ◙
Page 24
An Image from our club Picture Archive (by Dave Wiggins)
Archive Picture – The ‘Marksman’
This is one time club friend,
Bob Godbold’s ‘Marksman’ fast
electric
race
boat.
The
Marksman design was the clubs
first one-design ‘fast’ electric
race hull and was revolutionary
in the all glow, petrol and diesel
powered World of the 1970’s
speed and fast steering scene.
SMPBC were one of the first
southern clubs to introduce
‘fast’ electric boats racing them on the, then new, Naviga steering and speed triangle.
‘New’ designs like the Marksman and Minuteman persuaded NAVIGA and the
MPBA that ‘the times they were a changin’ and electric speed and speed-steering
classes were soon introduced at European Internationals as well as at the more
progressive clubs.
The design was by Mr Philip Connolly who was an electrical engineer and a personal
friend of the late Vic Smeed – himself a model aircraft and boat designer and
magazine editor of considerable standing. The ‘Marksman’ was of Solarfilm covered,
all balsa lightweight construction and I still have pictures of my own example
somewhere or other. Powered by a grossly over run German Marx ‘Decaperm’ or a
Japanese Orbit 805 motor on ten x 1.2Ah SAFT or Ever Ready sub-c / NiCad cells
(i.e. 6V motors run on 12V), they were quite nippy boats that were especially well
suited to the school swimming pool shows the club did in those days. ‘Posher’
examples (and wealthier boaters!), sported the fabulous American Kroker ‘Sea Wasp’
motor to good effect. They were very expensive and with absolutely nothing in
common with a low quality/low cost motor like the Orbit 805. The water cooled ‘Sea
Wasp’ is now all but forgotten.
The two radios pictured are early Japanese 27 Meg’ aircraft sets – a Futaba ‘M’ series
on the left and the first Futaba (‘Digimax’) on the right. Club member Bob Godbold,
was, like the boat’s designer, an electronics engineer. He worked for Marconi at
Baddow and lived in Chelmsford if I remember the clubs 1970’s membership list
correctly. I’ve no idea where he is now.
Picture: club archive; caption and memories: DJW
Thanks Dave; in view of the current renewed interest in Club 500 racing this item is
very ‘topical’. I wonder what the guys 30-40 years ago would make of this now. Ed. ◙
Page 25
Items for Sale:
Japanese Motor Torpedo Boat in running order, no radio gear, batteries or speed
controller, minor damage to rails. Been on lake within the past year and performed
well. £125.00 contact Roy Fountain.
Norman Martinson has a ready-to-run yacht for
sale; it’s ‘Life at the Extreme’ which I believe to
be a Graupner product. The model is fitted with
steering servo and sail control and just needs radio
gear added. Norman is asking £50 for the model.
The following model boats are for sale by a Mr
Ron Large:
 Aquacraft Paradise sailing yacht 600mm x 1.26
high a/m controller, batteries and stand £70 or
o.n.o
 M.R.P 1/22 scale 1 mtr yacht voyager, Futaba 2
channel TX and batteries / charger £85.00 o.n.o
 Motor boat ‘Flying Marlin’ 18 inch long with
charger £25.00 o.n.o
 Kyosho twin storm motor boat with batteries
and charger / controller £75.00 o.n.o
To contact any of the above sellers, please use the ‘Contact Us’ facility, under the
‘About Us’ tab and we will pass on your enquiry: www.smpbc.co.uk/contact-us.html
◙
Page 26
A ‘New (proper) Model Shop’ in town: Well, not
exactly ‘new’, and not exactly ‘in-town’; some of you
will already be aware of ‘Active Scale Models’, either
when they were operating from their original premises,
or perhaps at the Model Railway exhibition (Garon’s) in
November. However they have recently moved to much
larger premises near Hockley Station. The owner Andy
started modelling at the age of seven and has been a keen
modeller ever since so they know what they’re talking
about. Andy and Viv started the business three years ago
purely as an internet business but soon realised that
'personal contact' was important to modellers and they
began supplying callers from their very well stocked
garage adjacent to his house. Their stock now includes,
balsa, hard wood, plywood, brass, aluminium, glues, paints, ‘Billings’ boat fittings,
prop shafts, props, servos, leads, and a range of radio gear. They also stock a number
of boat kits and ready to run boats including a ready to run IOM and the Dragon Force
RG65 ready to run yacht.
See website at: www.activescalemodels.co.uk, they can be found at Unit 22, Foundry
Business Park, Station Approach, Hockley, SS5 4HS (for Sat Nav users: SS5 4BQ)
◙
Page 27
And in the wake (the editors ‘indulgence’)
Unusual ‘Deck Clutter’:
I can usually find some excuse to use one of my favourite pictures captured on recent
travels, this time it’s not around the canals but in Tobermory (home of the children’s
TV program ‘Balamory’) taken in April this year on the Isle of Mull. This cheeky little
otter was systematically ‘cleaning’ these fishing nets of the odd small fish left behind.
It looked as though it was a regular occurrence for a free lunch!
As always I’m indebted to all those who have supplied me with material for this
Waveguide (named or not); I’d like to think that anyone who has not yet had a go at
offering something for publication would be encouraged to have a go. It really doesn’t
need much, usually a picture and a few words is all it needs, I’m happy to do the rest.
The ‘Waveguide’ has been going a good many years in one form or another with
many different editors; I just happen to be the current ‘custodian’ and I’d like to think
that it’s all part of what make our club what it is.
Editor: Peter Bone, Printing: Colin Sharp
Webmaster: Stephen Bone, email: [email protected] Website: www.smpbc.co.uk
Page 28