my89

my89

I was wondering if it would be possible to identify this yacht via your website. I Emailed Russell Potts and he suggested sending details and a couple of photographs so here they are:

The yacht was constructed by my grandfather for my father in the late twenties / earlier thirties. The yacht was sailed extensively on Broomfield Lake before the war when my father was in his teens. It was passed on to me in the 1980s and I restored it around ten years ago for my son. Some years later in 2006 we took it back to Broomfield Lake for its first, and to date only, post-restoration sail.

I would be interested to know the name of the design (I presume it was not an own design) and any other details. It is built, on what I think is called, the "Bread & Butter" principle. I would be particularly interested in details of how it should be rigged as I expect it currently isn't 100% correct!

The yacht is approximately 36" long with a mast height of 48" and I now know, having visited the VMYG website, that it is equipped with Braine steering gear.

Many thanks for any assistance you can provide

VMYG Comment:

I'm not able to offer much on this one. The use of a full keel and keel mounted rudder is unusual in serious model yacht practice, particularly in the 36 inch Restricted class. The only example I know of is Daniels' Babette, a scan of which is attached. She was offered in this version and with a conventional fin and skeg arrangement. The few examples of Babette that I have seen have all been full keel, probably because this version was offered in the magazine, to get the other you had to send off for and pay for a full size plan.

That said, it's not clear that this boat is to the 36R Rule, which requires the hull to fit into a box 36 x 9 x 12 and to weigh no more than 12 pounds. I think that the depth of this hull may be more than 12 inches. I haven't seen the design anywhere, which suggests that it comes from a magazine that was not a main line model yachting publication, like Boy's Own or Popular Mechanics, both of which carried the occasional yacht project.

So far as I can judge from the photos the sail look about right and the rigging also. Having seen the material on Braine gear on the web site, you will now be equipped to learn how to use that subtle but infuriating bit of kit. The learning curve is surprisingly long and lots of practice is needed. On the other hand, like riding a bike, once you know how, you won't forget.