Friday 20 February – SAIL TRIMMING: your rig is your engine and you need to have it developing maximum power, so that not only does your boat handle well and ‘feel’ good, but also sails fast. Sail trimming and techniques for achieving this by both improving standing rigging and running lines will be demonstrated on boats that we hope you will bring for a critique by Hugh and Roger.
We look forward to seeing you!
This was another successful workshop with 20 attendees from 6 clubs in the M&S District. We were pleased to welcome two lady members. Although Hugh was unable to bring along his beautifully restored 1930s 6 m, there was plenty of detail in re-rigging older boats that were brought to demonstrate improvements that can be made in adjusting ‘rigging’, from a simple method of making an adjustable Dyneema mast ring to close the gap between mast and sail, to basic adjustments of mast shape to enhance downwind performance.
Always the formal talk by Roger Stollery generates questions and after the coffee break he explained the reasons why in strong winds, rigs often perform better when moved further aft or with the mast in the same place, but with smaller jibs. As well as the rigging adjustments for going downwind, the alternative suggested for the conventionally Marblehead was to change the geometry to a swing rig, against which this boat usually competes. As there is already a swing rig mast position to change would not be difficult.
Another question about where the mast should be placed on an 8 metre that that has 3 different mast positions was answered by imagining the mast right at the bow or right at the stern and the effect that this has on the balance of the boat with the downforce the sail either immersing the bow and making the boat luff or the reverse. In the end it comes down to doing trials with the mast in the the existing forward and aft positions and testing which makes the boat go better.
What is good about these workshops is not necessarily the formal talk but the informal exchange of ideas and questions that has the meeting buzzing. Indeed sometimes Roger felt embarrassed to restart the talk when there was already lively debate in the Victoria Hall.
The next workshop is on Friday 20th of February
Sunday 8th February 2014
Guildford Model Yacht Club extends a very warm welcome to you for the first 2015 Footy open event.
Come and enjoy racing your Footy at Abbey Meads Lake, Chertsey and help us to create some fun in a friendly, but competitive atmosphere.
We are able set North/South courses from the West bank. Recently we have been having difficulty with vehicles on the muddy track to the control area. If this Western control area is to be used then parking is restricted to the tarmac close to the entrance gates. Probably rubber boots will be essential for walking along the track to the control area. We apologise that there are no toilet facilities, but there are lots of bushes! If the weather is wet, there will be shelter etc in our gazebo. On on the South bank from where we control the racing for East/West courses parking directly off the road is available close to the Control Area; however here to the ground may be muddy.
Hugh McAdoo will be the PRO and racing will be conducted using the RRS 2013-2016 modified by the MYA Standard Sailing Instructions. The current 2009 Footy Class Rules will apply. We would ask you to limit the size of your biggest rigs to comply with the ‘Experimental Footy rig Template‘. The relevant notices are as follows:
REGISTRATION and measurement check 08.40 to 09.30 hours.
BRIEFING – this will start at approximately 09.40 hours.
RACING TIMES – the first race will start soon after the briefing at approximately 10.00 hours – no race will start after 15.00 hours and any race in progress at 15.30 hours will be abandoned.
Please make sure that your correct sail numbers are clearly displayed on your mainsails: just the last two digits of your boat’s registration number. When you bring your boat for registration, please make sure that it will fit in the ‘Footy measurement box’, as required by class rules.
As well as Fred’ Big Toephy and prizes for the winners and junior winners, there will be the first of the ‘novICE’ trophies for novice competitors that have not finished in the top 3 in the Footy open events in the last 2 years. The 2014 Traveller’s Trophy will also be presented.
The entry fee will be £3.00, to be paid on the day. Entries and any queries should go to Roger Stollery and may be either phoned through on 01483 421 801 or e-mailed to stollery17@sky.com before midnight on Thursday 29th January 2015 The information required is your name, MYA number ,club, sail number, radio frequencies if not 2.4ghz. Please pass this notice onto those you know who might like to participate. If they have no Footy, we have some that may be borrowed; please ring Roger ASAP to avoid disappointment.
ABBEY MEADS LAKE is easy to find, so long as you follow these instructions and not any others. Follow the local brown signs to THORPE PARK and go to the roundabout at their entrance. From here travel south on the A320 towards Chertsey and Abbey Meads Lake is behind the hedge on your left. After a few hundred yards turn left off the road when you see a sign, RADIO SAILING, together with signs to the 3 Valleys Water’s Chertsey Treatment Works. If the gate is locked, unlock the brass number padlock marked GMYC with 1617 or ring the mobile number on the ‘GMYC welcome notice’ on the gate. Please replace the padlock as you found it. We look forward to seeing you
We extend a very warm welcome to you and your members to come and have some competitive fun at our Christmas Open meeting for Marbleheads and BOTTLE boats.
We hope that you will come and enjoy racing in a relaxed mode at Abbey Meads lake, Chertsey to get you into the party mood. Festive dress for self/boat is anticipated! As usual, we will be stopping for lunch when mince pies and mulled wine will be served. We do hope that you will come and join the party.
Following GMYC tradition there will be no normal financial entry fee. Instead, please bring a wrapped present containing something that you might like to win!
We will be racing mostly Marbleheads, but with BOTTLE boats starting together. The latter will have a course handicap, as we normally do very successfully in our club events to even up the performance difference.
For those of you who have not been before, you will find ABBEY MEADS lake easily. From whatever direction you are travelling, follow the signs to THORPE PARK and go to the roundabout at their entrance. Then travel south on the A320 towards Chertsey and you will see the lake on your left. After a few hundred yards turn left off the road after you see a sign, RADIO SAILING. If you arrive late and the inner gate is locked, put 1617 into the brass GMYC number padlock to open and just slide the horizontal bar back to open and replace after entry.
The racing will be conducted using the RRS 2013-2016 modified by the MYA SSIs. The relevant notices are as follows:
BRIEFING – this will start at approximately 09.40 hours. RACING TIMES – the first race will start soon after the briefing at approximately 10.00 hours – no race will start after 15.00 hours and any race in progress at 15.20 hours will be abandoned.
The closing date for entries for that event is midnight on Thursday 11th December 2014. Please ring Roger with your entry on 01483 421 801 or e-mail him on stollery17@sky.com . If there is more than one boat entered with the same number, we will inform you prior to the event as to the prefix or the modification of your number. If you don’t have a Marblehead or BOTTLE boat, but would like to come for a bit of fun, please ask to borrow a boat.
We look forward to seeing you!
Click HERE to download the latest GAMES results
Dear members at last nights AGM the 2015 subs were confirmed as follows:
£38 for adults
£24 if affiliated to another club
£7 for Juniors
Please send Payments to the Treasurer Martin Crysell by the 23rd December, this will enable Martin to process all the club memberships within the MYA deadline.
Don’t forget it’s the GMYC AGM this Friday 14th November at Victoria Hall Ash, see calendar for details and map.
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The next Work party at Abbey Meads lake is scheduled for Friday 14th March at 09:30.
Due to weed at Poole GAMES 1 will now be held at Guildford
There was another very good turnout of 21 enthusiasts from 5 clubs and the feedback afterwards was that it was a really excellent and informative evening workshop.
CONSTRUCTION was the subject and Roger Stollery followed on from the previous DESIGN workshop, demonstrating how the shape of designs is created with an understanding of how they are to be made. There were examples of frameless hull shapes, made merely by joining specifically shaped panels together, like the SUPABUG design Footy. From that starting point of the most basic box section hulls there were curved shapes requiring more extensive shaping using temporary frames on which to construct the outer skin, or being sculpted out of solid wood or a series of ‘bread-and-butter’ planks of wood.
The examples on show were carved plugs for the CRAZY TUBE, BOTTLE boat, YOT BOOT and ICE Footy. There were questions about how you get both halves to look the same when you are carving the wood to create shape which is ‘inside those bread-and-butter buttock lines’. This is done with ‘inside’ shaped patterns which are tested against your carved shape until it fits perfectly.
These patterns are the reverse of the section shapes that you need when you are planking a hull shape OVER those frames. There was a good example of the sections permanently in place in Charles Smith’s balsa planked barge hull. He explained the difficulty of planking the barge shape which is a simple box section in the centre transforming into beautifully curved ends. There was also a balsa planked IOM hull plug where the shape is created outside those frame sections.
After the introduction Roger moulded a Footy keel and rudder in just over half an hour to show how easy it was in that once you had a mould. It did not require very much skill to produce a beautiful shiny product. That session was over in just over half an hour which included explaining the process and answering questions as the parts were being moulded. During the moulding session the meeting was buzzing with discussions about the planked boats as well as the moulding.
In ‘Blue Peter’ style, there was a keel, rudder and ICE hull, which had been made before the meeting in moulds ready to be cracked open and 3 people had the pleasure of doing this and some of these bar on the attached picture page of the evening. Many of Roger’s moulds may be borrowed.
The meeting continued after the coffee break with continuous talking and there was a lot of learning from each other as everyone had a skill to offer.
The next Friday Evening Workshop is on Friday 26 January and will be on REPAIRS, with this including not just the mending of hulls or keels, but the finer details of keeping your rigs in tiptop condition ‘in the workshop’ to give the maximum amount of driving force.
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Report by Roger Stoller
