How are the entries progressing?
I will not be able to make it across to Southwold because of a business trip to the US (wherever that is), so last place is up for grabs!
Is Mistralette a runner? Has the spellig of Miastlealletter settled down yet?
andrew
I’m curious… Is the Mistralette based on Bob Dewow’s US One Meter design?
I’m drawing up a shortened and widend version of the Mistral myself, and I’m almost ready to start cutting out shadows. Does anybody have any experience with scaling down existing plans. Does it work? Is it a waste of time?
Jim Linville
Jim,
I’m sure that Firstfooty will give you the details, but yes, I think that this is where she came from.
The planked deck (I could not make out if it is the 4-plank pattern or the 5-plank pattern) may have come from a J-class yacht from the 1920s.
Observation suggests thet she does everything well, and is beautifully balanced on upwind legs.
andrew
I seem to have a computer full of gremlins at the moment, if you haven’t recived a reply to an e mail, it has not got through.
Southwold Footy Regatta
This is the first Footy meeting in the East of England and will run over Saturday and Sunday, 26-27 April 2008
The pond is just outside the town with little to obstruct the wind. It is square with 50m sides and good all round access.
For more details, please contact me- Ian Dunmore
01394 386 587
As Southwold is home to one of the oldest freesailing regattas around, it would be good to see some of the many Choppas, Splinters and other freesailing Footys that are out there
For non sailors Southwold is a great example of the traditional English sea side town and is one of the countries top tourist spots.
Despite being a small town, it is set up for holiday makers with plenty of B/Bs, cafes and pubs (being home to Adnams brewery), there is the beach and the famous beach huts, harbour and boat trips, plenty of walks and bird watching (Minsmere is just down the coast), lighthouse tours, museums, craft shops, galleries, the whole works.
For maps, the closest post code is the pier: Southwold, Suffolk IP18 6BN
Jim,
I own up to being the originator of Mistralette. Your right, I scaled it from Bob Debow’s US1M Mistral :- 3.3 on length and 1.6 on width and depth to give me about 500 grams displacement based on the IOM displacement of 8.8 lbs. I’ve not been able to establish a true Mistral displacement but since have reason to believe it could be closer to 6.5lbs. However, it doesn’t look too bad on the water.
Despite Angus’ Elastic Ruler theory this simple scale seems to work quite well. At Colwyn bay last month it went really well into and across the wind, but was a real handful downwind - I think I held off changing down for too long.
The attached photos give you some idea of the finished article.
Cheers,
firstfooty
Andrew,
An omission from the previous message - but I’m afraid Mistralette won’t be making it to Southwold - just that bit too far. But the mention of Adnams did make me think :rolleyes:
Her next competitive outings will be Burton at the end of the month and Bourneville on May 10th.
At least I can admit to knowing what you are about with 4/5 plank deck pattern. I think its a 5 plank - but only 'cause I copied it from a modelling book somewhere. It may have been Milton Roth’s Ship Modelling from Stem to Stern. Don’t forget its only marked on with 3.5 mm spaced black biro, nothing too complicated.
Cheers,
firstfooty
So the treenails aren’t real?
AndrewH,
I assume you are referring to the hull planking rather than the deck. The deck has no representation of fixings at all.
The hull has what I suppose you could call Virtual Nails. I built the hull in 1/16inch by 5 mm Balsa strips by gluing and pinning the deck line planks to the Bow and Stern formers but just pinning the planks to the remaining formers. All subsequent planks were similarly fixed but also glued to each other - but not to the formers. I lined the intermediate formers with cellotape to prevent inadvertant gluing. When the glue had hardened I removed all the pins and then jiggled the formers out.
When I subsequently sanded and varnished the balsa the pin holes took on a slightly darker hue to the planking leaving the effect of treenails. I could say it was intentional - but I’d be lying.
Your comments about Mistralette’s performance at Colwyn Bay were slightly economical with the truth 
You forgot to mention that, quite often, what I might have gained upwind you clawed back on the downwind leg. I suspect if you hadn’t been obliged to leave before all the races had been run the overall result could have been different.
Cheers,
firstfooty
First Footy
GOOD GRIEF! My downwind legs involved the blade bow of Razor deeeeep in the water, no real rudder control and numerous tacks, gybes, wearing of ship , and other uncommanded evolutions. My feeling was that many other people were under more control.
I judged the balance of Mistalette by analysis of your discussion, which was free and wide ranging (upwind) and a little sproradic and monosylllabic on other points of sailing:D
I was able to retrieve the camera and take left-handed snaps only on the upwind legs!
Setting out on Sunday for Houston and Pittsburg so will probably miss Burton this month. Is it safe to drink the water over there?
andrew
First Footy
WOW! What a beautiful Mistral! You should send these photos to Bob Debow. He’d love your adaption. Anyway, is there some way I can send you my drawings for a critique? I have not been able to figure out where the “Files” section of this forum is (or IF it is). I don’t think my concept is ready for general distribution distribution, so I don’t want to post it on the Yahoo Forum. Please reply to me directly at <jimisu/A/comcast.net
Andrewh,
If their normal fare is Double Diamond or ice cold lager, then I recommend sticking to the water ;):zbeer:
Pete Hubbard won’t be there this month either, so we’ll be a pretty small fleet.
Cheers,
firstfooty
When you get the chance I would love to hear how the day went Ian. I’m sure I am not alone in enjoying race reports from afar.
Graham
So, what happened? we all want to know the result.
Russell
Ian - set the thing up and I posted it for him. I e-mailed him and he has sadly said that he had no one turn up on the day 
What a shame.
Rgds
AndyT
What a pathetic response from UK Footydom. You should be ashamed.
Russell
The Burton club runs a regular Footy meeting on the last Saturday in each month http://www.burtonmodelboatclub.org.uk/Events_Calendar.htm
The maximum attendance to date has been 5, and 3 of those were from the Burton club itself - so I suppose we’ve not done too bad. But it does seem a shame when someone goes to the effort of setting the markers, operating the start sequence and keeping records.
In my defence, Southwold is some 190 miles and about 3 & 3/4 hrs away. Here’s hoping the will be a few more at Bourneville on May 10th http://www.bournville-mypb-club.org.uk/page34.html
My personal limit is around a 2 hour drive which puts me in touch with Cirencester, Milton Keynes, Aylesbury, Bourneville, Colwyn Bay and Liverpool.
Cheers,
firstfooty
No excuse I know but at 267 mi – about 5 hours each way for me according to Google, it was way too far to consider - but I tell Ian I would not be going.
AndyT
What can we say except Thanks, Ian and colleagues for organising the event, and sorry that no-one got there.
I love that part of the world, (so long as I have access to my phrasebook) and would have been there had I not been returning from the US and fighting flu.
In other circumstances we could perhaps have sorted some pooled transport, Gary and I muster 14 seats, and could have cut the journey distance for some of the fraternity at least. (I have not ckecked this with Gary, but am aware that he often ferries hundreds) Would this be of any interest?
Andrew
not ashamed, but regretful