Old boats from our youth

[JefO]

Hi Guys,

I am new here, so please excuse me if this is not in the right part of the forum.

My Dad and I were founder members of the Basildon & District Model Yacht Club, in the early 70s. 

Dad went on to become a successful Marblehead skipper, and I believe he became National Champion at least once.

I thought I had already posted here a year or more ago, when I found an old yacht in my parents loft, which I had built (with a lot of help from my Dad) as a young teenager (52 years ago), but as  I can find no mention of my (imagined?) post here, that was possibly another forum.

The 36R model is from a Vic Smeed design called the Gosling. It was of very light construction, and when it was complete, the structure was so airtight, the deck could be seen bulging if the boat was left in sun. I decided that was probably not good for its longevity and elected to drill a 1/16" diameter breather hole through the deck a few inches aft of the mast.

After a few sessions sailing it, I decided girls were quite good fun, and it stayed in the loft until I had to deal with my parents estate. Despite the huge swings in humidity and temperature in the roof space of their semi-detached chalet, the model survived its time in storage totally unscathed. I like to think that was helped by giving it a vent.

Anyhow, when we get time, my wife (whom I discovered a couple of years after building the Gosling) and I go to Maldon boating lake and sail the model. It fits in the car fully rigged. 

Please feel free to add your photos and stories below (or tell me where to repost this).

[Tony Merritt]

Very nice Jef.

Here's a yacht my dad made, probably in the early 60's. I can remember us taking it down to the yacht pond at Dovercourt in the mid to late 60's. The reason I think it was built in the early 60's is that it's named after me, my pet name was 'Jim' - no one calls me Jim any more. A girl friend did a double take when my mother called me Jim and I responded. Sunny Jim was my baby name, I had a sunny disposition then, the Force breakfast cereal character was Sunny Jim, I can remember that being a breakfast favourite at times.

Dimensions are: 36" LOA (ex. bow sprit), 7" beam, 8" deck to bottom of keel.
Looking a bit sorry for itself, hasn't sailed since late 60's or early 70's.

[JefO]

Lovely curves Jim - sorry, Tony!

You always have had a sunny disposition.

Maybe I should take a trip to 'your' lake Tony. Is there a wind direction that it doesn't work well in, for freesailing?

 

[Tony Merritt]

It does have nice lines Jef.

I suppose the best wind for the Dovercourt pond is somewhere between south and south west (our prevailing wind direction ) for end to end sailing. The top pond of these is the yachting pond, the other has pedalos on it these days, used to be rowing boats. Parking can be right beside the pond - if there's space. Public loos a short walk up Lower Marine Parade, cafes up there too. Take walking boots or something - there's a lot of swan poop around the pond.

Edited April 20 by Tony Merritt

[tiggy_cat]

Most of Vic Smeed's yacht design sail very well. I started with my Dad back in about 1973, sailing a Starlet fitted with a Macgregor single channel set up.  I still have it , along with one of Vic's Panache yachts and two Harem hulls undergoing a bit of TLC .  Stored away in the garage is a set of fibre glass mouldings for a Star C, the boat he designed as the basis of a new sailing class. Remember, when he proposed it there was very little around except the huge A boats and the radios we have today were still a dream away. He designed it on behalf of Model Boats mag who commissioned 50 sets of mouldings from a company to get the class started and the fittings doyens of the day, Roberts and Jones  both had fitting sets available. I had one back in the 70's and it sailed beautifully on an early Horizon 2 channel propo unit. Sadly, the class did not take off. The current mouldings pitched up on Ebay a while ago