To make a short story long.
1.) I ordered a set of plans from taubmansonline & loyalhana dockyard, for the Ranger “J Class”. The 1936 AC yacht. (Not the new super “J”.)
2.) I digitized the plans and put them into my trusty AutoCAD.
3.) I got it about have modeled up in ACAD, planning to re-scale it to conform to one meter class spec’s. When I learned about the Yankee III. I have ordered the book, and I plan to study it.
In the process I stumbled onto the Obeah Boat Works web-site.
I guess that I would like some input as to whether or not the OBW Yankee III hull is worth it. The Yankee III is only 36 inches long, and I really wanted a one meter, but I can live with it at the 36 inches if it is worth it.
In the end all I really want is a “J” that I can fit in my mini-van, and is sturdy enough to handle the occasional high winds.
I have owned a CR914 & a Seawind, and quite frankly I have found that the blade’n’bulb boats are little more then expensive weed rakes. I still like my Fairwind, but the rudder is starting to collect too many weeds now.
I do like to sail in a clean pond, but I would rather that someone else should clean out the weeds.
Hi there. A 36in or 1metre J boat built to true scale will be very tender and you’ll need to think about amending the lines below the waterline or adding a fin extension to make it workable.
I have info on all of the J boats and will try yo look up Yankee 3 a bit later.
You might find Claudio’s Endeavour thread of interest
The link that you provided is very interesting, and informative.
The Yankee III is a RC boat adapted by Earl Boebert, built on the 1935 Yankee. I found Mr. Boebert’s book (on CD, in PDF format) on the usvmyg web-site. I went ahead and ordered it.
My original plan was to get my hands on a set of plans for either the Rainbow, or the Ranger and put them into ACAD. Model up the plans, scale down to fit the one-meter class spec’s, and make necessary adjustments for ballast, sail plan, etc.
Then build sheet on frame, w/fiber-glass overcoat. Since this technique is what I am most familiar with.
I obtained plans for both the Rainbow, & Ranger. I started with the Rainbow, and had it half modeled up when I learned about the Yankee III book.
Originally I wanted a boat to conform with one-meter class. The Yankee III is only 36 inches long. I assume over all length. Making in something closer to 28 - 30 inches LWL. Then I learned about the Obeah Boat Works Yankee III GRP molded hull. The price for the hull is very reasonable, but the shipping costs are out of this world.
I guess that I have two questions.
1.) For the size, does the Yankee III sail well? The pictures look nice, but is it worth altering my original plans.
2.) Will ordering Nigel’s hull really save me all that much work? I have ordered Mr. Boebert’s book, but as yet I have not received it. From what little I have learned about it, Mr. Boebert describes a building technique that I am not familiar with. Is Mr. Boebert’s building technique that difficult that I would be better off to buy a pre-built hull? Or would I be better served to just adopt the plans in the book to suit my preferred building technique?
I am not afraid of work, nor do I have any aversion to learning something new. Time and money are things that I do not have a lot of, so doing everything is really not an option for me, right now!
I was looking for input from anyone who has actually built this boat.
Try using the Private Message or email link to Earl. If you can’t find it - take a look in the RG-65 forum threads, as he is also very active in the RG-65 Class Owners Association here in the U.S.
I am sure he will be more than willing to answer your questions. Good luck
Hi. Sorry to take so long responding, I’ve been busy getting ready for the USVMYG National Regatta next weekend.
As designed, Yankee III is a light to medium air boat. If you build it according to the instructions, you can remove the jib and sail her on staysail plus main when the wind pipes up. Like all Universal Rule boats, she’s designed to heel quickly to rail down and stay there. This is unsettling to skippers used to the stiffness of fin and bulb boats. You can improve the heavy air performance somewhat by ballasting her down below the design LWL by 1/4" or so.
Nigel’s hulls are excellent, and will save you much time if you’re not used to planking or carving a full-keel hull.
An Appendix in the book describes a combined plank and carved hull from fiberglass covered balsa which is the way most people are building them now. The book shows how to do a Whirlwind that way, as well as giving a procedure for modifying a scale J hull to sail at 36" LOA. I’ve designed a Ranger from the Stephens book that way which Steve Kling has built. He has also used the procedure to do a Tore Holm boat (he begin with a Whirlwind from the book). He reports that all three sail well.
Nothing to be sorry for. You are busy, and I am a pest.
I want to thank you for taking the time to answer this. I know that you are busy, and I did not want to become a pest. I am by nature a curious person, and I tend to drive people crazy with my questions. So I was fishing around for someone else who has built the Yankee III to get their perspective.
I have been to Nigel’s sites and I am very impressed with his work. It is just that I do not have that kind of money right now. I can raise it if I need to.
I have become accustomed to the old sheet on frame building technique. Started in my days of building sailplanes. Anyway building boats out of foam just seems a bit corky to me. Especially making the keel (fin) out of foam, you are building buoyancy below your ballast!
Since you mentioned the Whirlwind . . . With nothing more to go on then the pictures. How does one keep the planking (sheets) in place without attaching them to the frame??? Because it is very clear that there is not any framing in the picture of the finished hull. Did I miss something???
Hi. No foam below the ballast, you dig it all out after putting the heavy layer of fiberglass over the fin portion. Ballast goes all the way to the bottom of the fin.
No frames in the hull, the temporary frames (called “shadows”) are removed after the planks are glued to each other. The hull holds its shape as a result of the plank-to-plank glue seams. Standard hull building technique, probably dates back to the Vikings (except they sewed their hulls together)
Ahhh yes -
and (according to Cliff Claven - the know-it-all, “CHEERS” postman/barfly :scared: ) ---- it is a little known fact those same Vikings invented the Husqvarna sewing machine!
Many thought it was so they could “sew” their boat together, but in reality, it was for sewing together footballs so the Minnesota Vikings football team could save money … in order to pay Brett Favre to play yet another season!
Sorry about that. I have not been ignoring anyone, it is just that my desk top PC does not function very well without electricity, and our service has been some what unreliable this past couple of weeks or so.
Yes . . . I can see that now. I have received my disk, and I have had some time to look it over.
. . . Which is why I was looking for input from anyone who has actually built the boat. (A lot of input that I have been getting has been from people who have not actually built the boat.)
I was afraid that was going to be the answer. If I were to try that, I would most likely end up by glueing myself to the framing.
Butting joints worked well in the good old days, mostly because the people back then used materials thick enough to provided a decent surface area to allow glue to hold the joints together. Given the pension that some have (mainly myself) to under cut, 1/8 thick material does not provide a whole lot of surface area for glue to hold very well.
Then there is the small matter of the glue oozing out as the butt joints are made. Can you recommend a decent release agent, that would prevent epoxy from bonding to the shadow frames.
Again . . . I apologize for the delay in responding.
Well … just means the offensive line needs to step up and keep the holes filled a bit better than last year. We have a few new guys too - so if it isin’t this year, it probably won’t be for many more.
BTW 14all - use wax paper, polyethelyne sheet (drop cloth/vapor barrier) or even plastic bags. Epoxy will generally come right off. Watch out for printing on bags, as it can transfer to your wood which is a bummer to get off. Also plastic packaging tape will allow epoxy release. If you need curved surfacces, you can use PVC pipe as it will also allow epoxy/wood/glass to be removed.
They only need to get to him once. Even if it is only once a game . . . No one is going to eat the fines for a regular season game, but come the post season, and Favre is a dead duck. Even @ $100,000.00 in fines - most teams will be expecting their players to poney up!
I just do not think that Favre is really that dumb. . . . But I have been wrong before!
After having some time to study your book, I have a couple of items that you might wish to add to the third edition (if there is one of course).
The “J” Class boats were designed for one purpose only. To race.
Where most boats were designed to run on their keels, the “J”-Boats where actually designed to run on their rails. Making the rails the actual keels on these boats.
Now the rules for the America’s Cup racing are very specific. All boats wishing to compete must arrive at the event, under their own power, & sailing on their own hull. For the British (and others) being forced to make the Trans-Atlantic trip, or any other trip requiring more then a day to make, the cabin orientation (would it seems to me) be very important to them.
Particularly the ships cook. While the ship is sailing on the port rail, the port wall of the galley becomes the floor, while the starboard wall then becomes the ceiling, making the “floor” & “ceiling” the actual walls. This situation, I am reliably informed, eventually gave rise to the expression: “Climbing the walls!”
I can just imagine the poor cook, if for some reason the ship is compelled to make a course change that might entail it rolling over onto the opposite rail, the cook could find himself on the floor looking up at his stove clamped to the ceiling.
It seems to me that the crossing would be more of a challenge then the actual race. Not to mention the return trip back home after the race was over.
