Chapter XIV: Two-Foot Sailing Yacht

THE model yacht described in this Chapter is the design of Mr. W. J. Daniels, of England, and was described by him in "Junior Mechanics." Mr. Daniels is one of the best known and most successful English designers of model yachts, and the one here described can easily be constructed by the average boy:

In order that the reader may realize the obstacles
to be surmounted in designing a model yacht that
will sail in a straight line to windward,
irrespective of the different pressure that the
wind may expend on the sails, it must be pointed
out that the boat is continuously altering the
shape of the submerged part of her hull:
therefore, unless the hull is so designed that
harmony is retained at every angle to which the
pressure of wind on the sails may heel it, the
model's path through the water will be, more or
less, an arc of a circle. Whether the boat sails
toward the wind, or, in other words, in a curve
the center of the circle of which is on the same
side of the boat as the wind, or in a curve the
center of the circle of which is on the opposite
or leeward side, will depend upon the formation of
the boat.

As these notes are intended to first initiate the
reader into the subject of model yacht building
and construction, the design supplied is one in
which all things, as far as shape is concerned,
have been considered.

It is the endeavor of every designer to produce
the most powerful boat possible for a given
length--that is, one that can hold her sail up in
resistance to the wind-pressure best. Of course,
the reader will easily realize that breadth and
weight of keel will be the main features that will
enable the model to achieve this object; but, as
these two factors are those that tend to make a
design less slender, if pushed to extremes, the
designer has to compromise at a point when the
excess of beam and buoyancy are detrimental to the
speed lines of the hull.

But the question of design pure and simple is a
complex one, and we do not intend to weary the
reader just now with anything of that kind, so we
will now proceed to build the hull. In order that
we may correctly interpret the shape shown in the
design without being expert woodcarvers, we must
use our ingenuity and by mechanical means achieve
our object, at the same time saving ourselves a
large amount of labor, such as we should have to
expend if we made this boat from a solid block of
wood.

Now, as regards understanding the drawings: it is
essential to remember that a line which in one
view is a curve is always a straight line in the
other two views. Those lines which are drawn
parallel to the water-line are known as
water-lines, and it will be seen that the curves
shown on the deck plan represent the actual shapes
of the hull at the corresponding water-lines
above, below, and exactly on the load water-line.
In other words, if after the hull is made it were
sunk down to these various levels, the shapes of
the hole made in the surface of the water would be
as shown in the plan.

Therefore, instead of making our boat from a solid
block of wood, we will make our block up from
several layers, the thickness of each layer being
equal to the space between the water-lines; but
before gluing these layers together we will cut
them out to the exact shape that the boat will be
at their various positions.

It will not be necessary to have a separate piece
of wood for each layer, as some layers below the
actual water-line will be cut from the pieces of
wood that have been cut out from the layers above.

In this case, the boat being 24 inches long, the
top layer will be the same length and breadth as
the boat, and 1 inch in thickness.

Draw down the center of the board a straight
line, and other lines square to it, representing
the position of the cross-sections as shown in the
drawing. You have now to transfer the deck line to
this board, and this is done by marking the
breadth at the various sections and drawing a
curve through the spots, a thin strip of
straight-grained wood being used as a rule, the
latter being held down by such weights as are
available. For the purpose of laying off the
water-lines truly, lines spaced at 1-1/2 inches
are shown; the first, it will be noticed, is half
a section or 3/4 inch from the stem head.

The material required will be a board of pine
about 6 feet long, 8 inches wide, and 1 inch
finished thickness.

Nearly all wood-yards stock first-quality pine,
but it is in planks 3 inches thick. You can no
doubt pick up a short length about 4 feet long.

If so, take it to a sawmill and have two boards
1-1/4 inches thick cut and then machine-planed
down to a dead inch. Perhaps you can purchase a
board that is already cut, and is fully 1 inch
thick, to allow for planing.

Prepare one edge of the board straight with a
plane, seeing that it is square to the surface.

As a planing-machine always leaves a series of
ridges across the board, varying according to the
quality of the machine, it is necessary before
transferring the lines to the wood to just skim
the surface with a nicely sharpened plane, and set
so as to just skim the wood.

The lengths required are: _A_, plank 24 inches
long; _B_, plank 24 inches; _C_, plank 18-1/2
inches.

The _D_ plank will be cut from the center of _B_,
but will have to be shifted two sections forward.

Having transferred the various shapes from the
drawing on to their respective layers, you saw out
each carefully with a bow or a keyhole-saw, care
being taken not to cut inside the lines. It is
better to cut full, and trim down to the lines
with a chisel or plane. A good deal of trouble can
be saved by the expenditure of a few cents for
having them machine-sawed, in which case ask the
sawyer to use his finest-toothed saw.

Having cut out layers _A_, _B_, _C_, and _D_,
fresh lines are marked, as shown by the dotted
lines in the plan. These indicate the shape of the
inside of each layer when the boat is carved out,
and save labor.

These may as well be sawed out now as carved out
later. It will also facilitate gluing up, as it
will allow the superfluous glue to be squeezed
out, and also decrease the breadth of the joint.

In order to get these various layers glued
together dead true to their positions as indicated
in the design, you must choose a section about
amidships, say section 11, and with a square draw
a line from that section, which is, of course,
still showing on the surface of the layer, down
the edge on either side, joining up with a line
across the opposite face. Also vertical lines at
each end of the midships line must be drawn on
the wood, great care being taken to get the
midships line on the under face of the layers dead
opposite each other.

If your outfit contains half a dozen carpenter's
hand screws, these can be used; but if not, it
will be necessary to purchase from a hardware
store eight seven-inch bolts and nuts 3/8 inch in
diameter, with one washer for each, and to make up
four clamps, as shown in Fig. 156.

You will start by gluing layer _C_ to layer _D_,
blocks being placed between the surface of the
layers and the clamps to prevent bruising the
wood. These two are then glued to layer _B_, and
when this is thoroughly set they are glued to the
layer _A_. The best glue to use for this job is
marine glue, which does not dry too quickly, and
so gives plenty of time to see that the layers
have not shifted. In every case one clamp should
be placed at each extreme end of the shorter
layer, so as to insure the ends making contact,
the other two being placed equidistant.

While waiting for the glue to set, you can be
preparing the four layers (shown below _D_) for
the lead keel pattern. The lines must be cut out,
in this case, with a chisel, as it will be noticed
that the lower faces must be left wide enough to
receive the top face of the layer beneath it.

It will be noticed that the under face of each of
these layers extends beyond the top face aft, and
allowance must be made for this. On laying off the
lines on the fin layers, do not join up with a
point each end, but leave about 1/8 inch
thickness, as shown on the drawing.

These layers must be drilled through to take the
keel-bolts, which are made from two motorcycle
spokes, twelve-gage. These should be cut to a
length of 5-1/2 or 6 inches. Great care should be
taken to insure that the midship lines are exactly
vertical over each other when these layers are
glued up.

Before gluing these four layers on to the hull
proper, they should be held in position by means
of the spokes, in which position they can be sawed
to shape for the keel pattern. First, with a small
plane or sharp chisel cut down roughly, then a
rasp and different grades of sandpaper are used,
working across the joints.

It will be realized that, if the pattern for the
keel were cut off dead on the line indicated on
the design, there would be a loss of wood through
the saw cut. In order to obviate this, another
line 3/16 inch below the proper lead line is
drawn, and the saw cut made between these two
lines. You will now plane down each face that is
left rough by the saw, straight and square to each
of these lines. On the top face of the pattern
for the lead, glue or tack a piece 3/16 inch thick
along the face, and cut down the edges flush.

You will by this means have made up for the amount
of wood carried away by the saw. You will no doubt
find a difficulty in holding the pieces of wood
for planing in the ordinary way, but it is simple
enough if you set the plane nicely, grip it in a
vise or bench screw upside down, and push the work
over the plane's face, instead of vice versa. But
be careful of your fingers!

Take the pieces left from the spokes when cutting
down to length, and put these in the holes in the
keel pattern. These are for cores, and if you take
your pattern to a foundry they will cast it for a
small amount, with the holes in it.

Shoot the top face of the lead in the manner
before described, and fit on. The hull is now
ready for carving out. Screw on your bench two
pieces of wood about 18 inches in length and 4
inches wide, so that they project over the edge of
the bench about 10 inches. These should be about
15 inches apart. Place your hull upside down on
them, and fix it by nailing upward into the top
layer. After cutting off the corners of the layers
roughly with a chisel you use a small plane set
fairly fine, and work all over the hull evenly,
taking care not to cut below any of the joints. A
small gouge will be required to clear the wood
from the region of the after fin, a round
rasp--sandpaper being wrapped around a small
stick--being used for smoothing down afterward.

Templates of the cross-sections should now be made
from thick white paper. This is done by pricking
through the design to transfer their shape onto
the paper. The cross-sections have on this account
been produced here actual size. If cross-lines
representing the water-lines are drawn, you will
have an excellent guide for fitting, as these
lines will, of course, come opposite each glued
joint.

Try your templates now and again as you work, and
do not try to finish one spot, but keep the whole
at an even stage, and you will see the hull
gradually grow into shape.

The topsides (which is the name given to that part
of the vessel's hull above the water-line) are
responsible for the boat's appearance when afloat,
and until the top sheer is cut off the boat looks
very disappointing. The cross-lines being still on
the upper layer, draw square lines from them down
the topsides and from the drawing mark the points
through which the sheer-line runs. The thickness
of the deck must be allowed for, and as this will
be just over 1/16 inch, the line must be drawn
this much below the finished sheer-line. The arch
of the transom must be marked, and the hull cut
down to the sheer. To avoid the risk of splitting,
a number of fine saw cuts are made down each
section line and two or three at the transom.

You now proceed to carve out the inside. Pad your
bench bearers and rest your hull upon them. A
curved wood gouge with a fairly flat edge is the
best tool. Get it nicely sharpened, and work all
over the inside of hull until it is about 3/16
inch thick, the top edge being left 3/8 inch wide.

Keep holding up to the light until it is showing a
blood-red color, and smooth down the gouge marks
with coarse sandpaper.

The hole for the stern-tube must now be drilled,
and the tube made and fitted. The hole should be
1/4 inch in diameter. First drill a smaller hole,
and then with a 1/4-inch rat-tail file slowly open
it out, at the same time rubbing a groove down the
stern-post. The stern-tube is made from a piece of
light-gage brass tube, it being cut away with a
piercing saw to leave a strip the length of the
stern-post. Drill three holes in the strip at
equal distance and large enough to take a 1/4 inch
brass screw, No. 0 size. Temporarily screw the
tube in position, and from a piece of thin brass
make a plate for the inside. An oval hole will
have to be made in the plate to enable it to seat
flat over the tube. Solder this while in position.
Then remove the whole, and replace, after
white-leading where wood touches brass.

The deck-beams, three in number and 1/4 inch
square in section, must now be fitted. The sheer
edge which we left 3/8 inch wide must be recessed
to receive the beams, the recess being made with a
1/4-inch chisel.

Before gluing beams in, three coats of good
varnish must be applied to the inside of shell.

The deck should now be prepared and fitted. You
will require a piece of pine of ample length and
breadth, 1/8 inch in thickness, and after planing
finely and sand-papering, pieces of the same stuff
should be glued on the under face to reinforce it
where the bowsprit, keel-plate, hatch rim, and
mast will be fitted. Cut these pieces to shape
before gluing on.

Before doing the latter, apply a coat of clear
size to the upper face of the deck; this will
bring up the grain, so paper it down when dry.
This process should be repeated three times.

Three coats of varnish should be given to the
under side of the deck after the pieces have been
glued on, and when dry the deck can be fitted,
3/8-inch veneer pins being used for fixing on, and
care being taken to get it true to position. A
center line is drawn down the under side of the
deck, and marks made to correspond at the stern
and transom on the shell.

The planking lines on the deck can be drawn to
suit your fancy, India ink and a draftsman's
ruling pen being used to do it, afterward applying
two coats of carriage varnish.

To paint the hull, white lead and dryers, in the
proportion of 5 to 1 by weight respectively,
should be dissolved in turpentine, a few drops of
linseed oil being mixed to make it work freely.
Have this about the consistency of milk, and,
after straining, give the hull about eight coats,
one every twenty-four hours, rubbing each down
when dry with No. 00 sandpaper. Keep the joint
representing the load water-line always in sight
by penciling over after each coat of paint is dry.
When a sufficient body of paint has been applied,
the colors can be applied. Enamel is best for
this. Stick strips of gummed paper around the hull
at the water-line, and paint up to the edge. When
the paint is dry the paper can be soaked off, the
paper being again applied, but reversed for the
other color. If you can use a lining brush the
paper is not necessary for the second color.

While the painting is going on, spars, sails, and
fittings can be made. As the spars have to be
varnished, it is best to make them first. Pine
should be used, and after cutting strips of
suitable length and diameter, plane them square in
section. With the batten draw on the face the
amount of taper to be given, and plane down to
this line, still keeping the spar square in
section. This having been done, the corners are
planed off carefully until the spar is octagonal
in section, when it is easy to make it perfectly
round with sandpaper by rubbing with the paper
rolled around the stick. The diameter of our mast
is 1/2 inch parallel until the hoist of the fore
triangle is reached, tapering from there to 1/4
inch at the masthead or truck. The boom is 1/4
inch at the gooseneck, thickening to 3/8 inch
where the main-sheet is attached, down to 1/4
inch at the outboard end. The jib-boom is slightly
less than 1/4 inch parallel.

All spars should be treated with clear size and
fine sandpaper before varnishing. This will
prevent discoloring by the latter, and will also
allow the India ink markings to be made, which
latter will be a guide for the trimming of the
sails.

In order that any yacht, model or otherwise, may
be able to perform her best, it is essential that
she should have well setting sails. In fact, in a
model a badly setting sail will sometimes even be
enough to prevent her going to windward at all. By
well setting sails we mean sails that are
naturally flat and not made so by straining them
out on the spars. Light material, such as cambric
or light union silk, is best for this purpose, but
not a material that has any dressing in it.

This particular sail plan is very easy to mark
out. Lay your material out on a table or smooth
surface and pin it down with drawing-pins,
sufficiently stretching it so as to pull out any
creases. The length of the back edge of the
mainsail (which is called the leech) is measured
off 1-1/4 inches inside the edge of the cloth, and
a curve struck as illustrated. The other two sides
of the mainsail are then laid off and pencil lines
drawn. You will note that allowance must be made
for hemming the back edge of the mainsail. If your
sewing-machine has a hemmer, find out how wide a
hem it makes (the smaller the better), and make
allowance accordingly, twice the width of the hem
being necessary. Much depends upon the tension at
which the machine is set, so be careful that the
latter is sufficiently slack so that it does not
draw up the material.

The jib is marked out in the same manner, and, as
illustrated, the lines representing the positions
of the batten sleeves are drawn. The batten
sleeves are small pockets into which thin pieces
of cane (called battens) are inserted to help the
sail to set nicely. Unless the sail is a good cut
to begin with, however, the insertion of these
battens will never make it right. The sails should
now be cut out with a sharp penknife or scissors,
care being taken not to pull the cloth, and
especially not along the edges that run across the
threads. You then hem the backs and also the foot
of the jib. The batten sleeves (which should be of
white satin ribbon about 3/8 inch in width) should
now be sewn on by stitching down along the extreme
edge to the line drawn, and then down the other
edge, the ends being left open. A strip of narrow
tape is sewn across the foot of the jib-sail to
take the strain of the pull, the part of the jib
contained by the curve of the foot and the tape
being known as the bonnet of the jib.

To prevent the edges of the sails (other than
those hemmed) being stretched, you bind them with
good tape. The tape is first folded and creased
by rubbing over an edge. The end of the tape is
then turned in. Take a corner of the sail and
place it inside the fold of the tape, care being
taken to get the raw edge right up against the
crease. The needle of the machine should then be
lowered through it as near to the edge of the tape
as practicable, taking care that it goes through
both edges. Keeping a slight pull on the binding,
arrange the cloth in it without pulling the edge.
Put the foot of the machine down and sew it,
afterward raising the foot again and proceeding as
before right around the raw edges of the sail,
leaving the needle down each time the foot is
raised. Do not sew where a batten sleeve passes
under the binding, as you will require the former
left open to allow the batten to pass into the
fold of the binding. The rings for putting up the
luffs of the jib- and main-sail are made by
winding a piece of thin brass or German silver
wire around a steel rod (the spokes used in the
keel being suitable for the latter) and sawing
down to divide them. A small eyelet should be put
in each corner of the sails, and others spaced
evenly at about 2-1/2 inches apart along the boom
and about 5 inches apart along the mast, for
lacing on. An extra row of stitching may be run
down the outer edge of the binding to smooth it
down.

The simpler the fittings of a model that is
required for practical sailing, the better. They
should be as light as practical. Aluminum is not
advisable for fittings when the boat is to be
sailed in salt water.

The bowsprit fittings, which are known as the
gammon iron and heel plate (Figs. 157, 158), are
made by soldering pieces of brass tube (cut to
suitable size and shape) onto pieces of triangular
sheet brass, as illustrated. The horses can either
be of wire with the ends turned to suitable shape
and fitted with one screw, or they can have plates
for two screws, in which case the wire is either
threaded and screwed into the plate or
silver-soldered to it. Silver-soldering is done
with a blow-pipe. The flux used is borax made into
a thin paste with water. Silver-solder is bought
in small sheets, and a few cents' worth will go a
long way if used properly. Cut small pieces about
1/8 inch by 1/16 inch, and, after painting the
part to be soldered with your paste borax with a
very small brush, pick up the solder with the tip
of the brush and put it in position. It will then
run around the joint when the metal is raised to
sufficient heat.

The hatch-rim is made by cutting a strip of thin
brass 1/4 inch in width, the length being the
circumference of the oval. The two ends are
brought together and silver-soldered. Cut out the
oval in a piece of very thin brass and fit in your
oval strip so that the flat is just in the center
of it. This can then be sweated around with an
ordinary soldering-iron, the flat being trimmed
down afterward with the shears to leave a flange
1/4 inch in width, the latter being drilled to
take 1/4 inch No. 0 round-head screws.

The deck fitting for the mast, (Fig. 159) is made
in much the same way, a piece of tube being used
instead of cutting a strip of brass. To receive
the heel of the mast a fitting known as the
mast-step must be made and fitted. This, of
course, must be done before the deck is put on.
The step is made from two pieces of brass, each
about 1/32 inch in thickness, 1 inch long and 1/2
inch wide. One is hard-soldered on edge down the
center of the other to form something like a T
girder. A slot, as illustrated, is cut in the
upright piece with a ward file, and holes drilled
in the flat for screwing down on the inside of the
boat. A ferrule of brass tube is fitted to the
heel of the mast, a cut of suitable size being
made in it to receive the upright of the step. A
hole should be drilled through the heel of the
mast at right angles to the slot, and a wire
passed through and riveted, the latter being of
suitable thickness to be received by the slot in
the step.

The rudder-blade (Fig. 162) is made from a piece
of sheet brass fitted to a tube, the latter being
an easy fit into the stern-tube already fitted.
The blade can be soldered onto the tube. The
pintle on which the rudder fits and swings is a
strip of brass, the width of the after fin, a wire
pin being hard-soldered in to fit up into the
rudder.

The pintle (Fig. 163) should be fitted before the
painting is started.

In the steering gear, instead of a quadrant, as
the fitting on the rudder-head of the "Braine"
gear is called, you fit an ordinary tiller (Fig.
164) by bending a wire to suit your fancy and
soldering it on to a collar made from a piece of
tube that will just sleeve on the outside of the
rubber-tube, which latter is fixed by drilling a
hole right through it and the rudder head, and
fitting a tapered pin.

The steering-gear rack (Fig. 165) by which the
amount of helm is adjusted is made from a strip of
brass cut with lugs which are bent up at right
angles as illustrated. This need only be of thin
sheet metal, as the strain is very small.

For running before the wind, separate lines are
used, two in number, as illustrated, and the
amount of helm is governed by the distance away
from midships that the lead is moved. For
instance, if the lead is placed amidships, the
pull will simply keep the rudder dead straight,
whereas if placed on the deck edge it will allow
the maximum amount of angle.

Your bowsers can be made from pieces of toothbrush
handle or from brass or German-silver wire. Very
efficient bowsers can be made from aluminum tube
cut in sections about 3/16 inch long, with three
holes drilled in each piece around its periphery.

Plaited bobbin cotton should be used for the
cordage, as it does not curl up when wet.

If you decide to fit the Braine steering gear, a
spur or bumpkin, as it is termed, must be fitted
to take the rubber centering line.