Hello, my first post. I volunteered to run this race and this is in the way of a pre announcement.
We are having a low key race for wooden Footy’s at the WoodenBoat show in Mystic Connecticut. Tentatively on June 27th at 1300 hrs.
I had a long chat with Bill Hagerup before your nationals. I have run plenty of dinghy races before but this will be my first R/C race. So some hand holding is welcome.
We will obviously follow your rules, with (if it’s O.K. with you) leniency on the registration requirement, that goes for the sail # too.
The official announcement will be out soon, I just wanted to run it by this assemblage first.
Rigs can be of anything. The hulls have to be essentially wood. I have to set some kind of standard, and it’s really not too difficult to build a hull just for this event.
My standard is roughly (and I can can be arbitrary over this) “Would the hull’s integrity be seriously compromised if all materials other than wood, or plywood were removed?”.
Along with the NOR, some guidelines as to what kind of boats you’re looking for. Does it have to be cpurely wooden or just a wooden-structure? Can it have a fiberglass/carbon/plastic covering, deck or rig parts? Many Footies have a wooden or balsa hull with a FG covering or plastic deck, and CF rig parts.
Those things aren’t covered in the Footy-class rules, which basically cover size and r/c equipment, and should be addressed to be relavent to your purposes.
Would the hull’s integrity be seriously compromised if all materials other than wood, or plywood were removed?".
and I think that’s a fair guideline.
So glass covered plywood boats would be O.K. as would balsa boats if the balsa were in sheet or block form, but “balsa core” (as in those little blocks of balsa) would violate the rules.
I looked at the Kittiwake link and at first glance, it seems to depend upon the foam for it’s flotation and therefore would violate the spirit.
I hope this can be a fun race and it ought to be a great showcase for Footys. I’m looking for your help here.
How would you guys interpret the parameters.
In my conversation with Bill, he suggested that some of you would be prepared to build a compliant hull for this race.
It’s certainly your contest and your rules, but your criteria taken at face value would likely disqualify ANY boat, since epoxy (or most other adhesive) is not wood, and if it were to be removed the structural integrity of any boat would be seriously compromised! However, in the case of the Kittiwake, the foam is used as a form for the wooden skin during the building process, and after the boat is built, could be gouged out (carefully) without destroying the hull, thereby meeting your criteria (if epoxy is allowed to remain :)). However, since Footys have been known to take on water and sink, leaving the foam in place makes much better sense. Since the Kittiwake is one of the only wood-based kits on the Footy market, and is also one of the best dollar values in that market, I personally think it would be a great shame to exclude it from your eligibility list, but it’s your call.
Good luck with your event, and please keep us up to date on the outcome (pictures & videos are welcome).
Regards,
Bill Nielsen
Oakland Park (Ft. Lauderdale), FL USA
AMYA #0835
Footy #835
Seriously? I don’t think that epoxy would be a consideration as probably all wooden boats use it or some other structural glue to hold it together. Nobody’s using wooden pegs any more.
However, in the case of the Kittiwake,after the boat is built, (the foam) could be gouged out (carefully) without destroying the hull
Gouged? some strong solvent could asily get the foam out too.I don’t think you could get it all out by digging it out; you’d leave that last little bit that’s glued to the plywood skin, which would be very unsightly.
As for the “blsa block” thing, I don’t think many people are doing that now; it’s the exception instead of the norm. Most of the designs use balsa planks or sheets, glued with epoxy, polyurethane, or CA. with an FG covering for water-tightness. Many ‘wooden boats’ do that too, so there ought to be no problem there. And since you only “see” the wood stuff on a Kittiwake, I don’t see any problem with that. You could just paint the foam with a brown stain- like wood!
I think Gareth has the last say in this manner, as it is he who invited the Footies to his event. I think it is also logical that people wonder what kind of footies would fit his request, as most are not made of the “usual” building techniques that the WoodenBoat publication has. This free document might help people to learn about the things they support. Maybe Gareth could be persuaded into uploading it to this website, which requires membership for downloads.
IIRC, WoodenBoat has requested r/c sailboats (not Footies) before.
Let us ask Gareth to define his request a little better? Otherwise, discussion should take place off-line (via PM or email.)
I think it’s a two we street, we’re purloining your class. There was an attempt to use Footies last year, but it proved too difficult for the WoodenBoat staff given their other duties. I’m not associated with WoodenBoat, but answered the request for volunteers on their forum.
Frankly, I’m hoping you can come up with some workable rules, to ensure the boats can be considered “Wood”.
I have a busy day tomorrow and my check ins will be limited.
Conducting the regatta should be pretty easy, as most experienced Footy sailors will know the ropes. Basically all you need is a few marks in the water, a timer/scorekeeper, maybe a referee and the sailors will know the rest.
Again, our idea, and the one supported by WoodenBoats will most likely vary a LOT. as you’ve already seen. I have a carbon hull Footy, balsa sheet Footy, two plywood Footies (one is a Kittiwake, with the foam ‘frame’) and one that is fiberglass-over-pink-foam.
Tomo, does it realy matter? If you went there determined to win by any legalistic rick, I suspect that you would not be terribly welcome even if your boat was made entirely out of the wood of the bong tree and sewn together with coconut fibres.
If you go determined to have fun, I am quite sure that they will give you a cup of tea and a cream bun and attempt to conmvince you of the merits of dead vegetable as a boat building material even if what you turn up with is the most plastic of all fantastics.
THE NAME OF THE GAME IS FUN (or have I missed the point?). Have a sense of proportion!
Gareth. You will remember that by the (admittedly rather one-sided) treaty of Rhuddlan in 1286, Wales ceased to exist. Since then it has been an administrative division of England, rather like Dewsbury or Milton Keynes. :devil3::devil3:
However, in the case of the Kittiwake, the foam is used as a form for the wooden skin during the building process, and after the boat is built, could be gouged out (carefully) without destroying the hull, thereby meeting your criteria (if epoxy is allowed to remain :)). However, since Footys have been known to take on water and sink, leaving the foam in place makes much better sense. Since the Kittiwake is one of the only wood-based kits on the Footy market, and is also one of the best dollar values in that market, I personally think it would be a great shame to exclude it from your eligibility list, but it’s your call.