I’ve just been reading over the rules of the RG65 class… It occurs to me that this is the old MM Class reborn… MM stood for “Mini-Marblehead”… They were basically half-size M’s… Vane boats that were 25" long with 200 sq.in. sail area… developed in the 1970s… They were underpowered, and the yachts that developed from them ended up with deeper keels and more sail area… The orginal class never caught on, although there were many plans available in England for a short time… I produced a boat based on the MM that was basically a scaled down version of my Nerka 36/600… It was called the “Vacation One-Design”… Again, it never caught on, although I sold a couple of dozen… The last one built had a 12" deep fin and quite a large rig and was remarkably fast… Of course today, it would be way too big and heavy… hmmmmmmmmm… maybe a scaled down Venom 36/600?.. let’s see… 5" beam (12.7 cm)… displacement of 1.8 lbs (830 g)… How does that sound?.. :devil3:
Interesting how some ideas are ahead of their time… Good on you guys !!!
Hi Bob:
A great pleasure to "talk"with you.
You are right!!!
The first RG65 was made in 1950,(really G65) but in 1970, somebody import from Europe the “SHORTBOAT” plans. 1/2M.
It was 62.5 cm LOA.
Making some modifications , LOA 65 cm, keel: 20cm. was an G65. (Braine wind rudder)
Its weight was 2.00 kg. (today a nice weight is 1.1 kg or less)
The G65 became RG65 when a radio control was install. (1978)
Here you can read the first rules of the class (they are in spanish) http://www.rg65.org/reglamento-de-claseclass-rules/
Naw… I’m having too much fun with airguns to ever go back to yachts… and where I live there are NO materials available within 2 hours driving time (for the low tech stuff)… I just enjoy reading about a sport that I devoted over half my life to… and throwing in my 2 cents worth when I have something to offer…
I’m happy to listen to your 2 cents anytime, Bob…good to have you here. I’d welcome your comments on any of my designs that you see around here…I get tired of having to listen to Niel all the time
The MM class was developed by Vic Smeed and announced to the world in an article on an MM boat called “Water Baby” in late 1954. The name stood for both “Half M” and “Model Maker” magazine. The rules were 25 in. LOA (63.5 cm) and 219 sq. inches of sail (1412.9 sq. cm). As with the M class, a garboard radius was required, measured by a British halfpenny coin [!]. “Water Baby” had a beam of 5 1/4 inches (13.34 cm), a draft of 5 3/4 inches (14.61 cm) and a displacement of 55 oz (1559.22 g) of which 35 oz (992.23 g) was ballast. The USVMYG reprinted the plans in 2003. Several were built, and they all sail well.
You are very welcome to ignore my posts, they are not aimed at you but at new builders in order boost them along the learning curve and hopefully more satisfying results the first time out.
After all, you do need all the commentary here to fill in the blanks of your simple hull lines plans. It doesn’t take much to design a hull with a computer program, a few hours on a tutorial and you can create hull shapes like popping popcorn. Its the rest of the boat that makes the difference between a winner and a dud, especially in the smaller classes like this one and the Footy. Its appendage placement and foil section, sails and rigging, r/c layout and correct gear choices that the rest of us discuss on this forum that make your lines complete.
So Bill, keep pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, pop, popping those hull lines out and the rest of us will figure out how to make them into boats.
The British halfpenny was 1" diameter, so its not as strange as it seems. Vic Smeed died recently and it was a great loss to modelling. I can’t think of anyone with such aprolific list of designs of power and sailing boats as well as aeroplanes to his name. http://modelenginenews.org/people/smeed.html
Hi Bob - and thanks for the reminder. I used to do that a lot, and went into rehab for the problem several years ago. Seems it is “creeping back”. Do I owe anything for the “therapy reminder/session” - or are you moonlighting?
I can tell by some of your posts, you are enjoying yourself as a “Hospitality Owner” - good for you, and please do keep posting here - nothing like experience as a teacher.
I am currently clearing through some of my long-forgotten belongings which had been stored underneath my parents’ house for years.
Among my finds - an original set of plans for Vic Smeed’s Water Baby, which I vaguely remember buying as a schoolboy. I never built this design, but I can see it would sail quite well.
Earl is quite correct - the design was first published in the December 1954 issue of Model Maker.
Things took a long time to make it all the way from Blighty to the little model shop in the colonial outpost of my youth. So it wasn’t a new plan when I bought it.
I shall pop it away safely and may get to it in a few years.
