This event has been canceled

Provisional Programme

2008 marks a decade of use of a VPP for SAILSetc designs and it is natural to use this tool to explore the ‘design space’ for this new class to try to identify where effort is likely to be best rewarded. Early progress was stumped as the program crashed repeatedly but it has been gratifying that Clay Oliver of Yacht Research International has been able to develop the program appropriately. Correlation of predicted performance between 1 foot and 2.75 foot long models has been carried out giving an opportunity to consider the scale effect. The relationship between the major performance determining parameters Disp^0.33/L, B/T and draught, and build weight is explored. Differences between design considerations for this class and others are outlined. Some conclusions for the class and for the class rules are drawn.

This paper is intended to give an insight into an approach to design that would have been thoroughly familiar to an Ancient Greek and its application to the Akela – Moonshadow – Voortrekker series of Footy designs. Since it now appears that these boats are not totally uncompetitive, it is hoped that the thoughts the paper embodies on the approach to design - as opposed to the detailed pros and cons of the resulting shape - may encourage those whose formal training in maths and physics does not go much beyond O-level to advance toward more ‘sophisticated’ hulls.

Ian Dunmore: The quest for a simple but fast homebuilt boat.

A review of the design choices and development that led to the design of Polly, a boat that attempts to combine the original concept of the Footy as a boat for school projects and novices, with the serious racing class that the Footy is evolving into.

The thinking behind the hull design and the simple construction techniques used to build a light-weight balsa chine hull capable (I hope) of competing with more ‘sophisticated’ boats.

A discussion of some of the processes used in the manufacture of my products. 
 
Two separate approaches.
 
A: Simple Compression Moulding Techniques. 

Construction of male and female compression moulds that I use to produce a part that is very precise and consistently reproducible.
 
B: Manual Vacuum Infusion.
RTM (Resin Transfer Moulding) without the use of electricity.
The process is similar to the standard way of vacuum infusion moulding, but the vacuum is created manually.  This should be of high value to the hobbyist, because he will not need an expensive, high mercury vacuum pump to make the parts. 

Peter has been working with three groups of young people

Group One, are young men in late teens and early twenties who have grown up within the care system.  Some of them have children of their own.  We are spending one day per week for eight weeks introducing them to building and racing footys.

Group Two, are young people in sailing clubs 9-14 who already sail dinghies.  The aim would be to encourage them to have a go with footys. After having raced them, this group would be encouraged to design and build their own or given a kit that they could assemble.

Group Three are students at college, all of whom have a range of Special Learning Difficulties and Disabilities who are encouraged to sail and race the boats.  I do not envisage that this group would be able to build boats themselves.

The aim of all three projects is to increase the numbers of young people involved in RC Model Sailing. They may suggest ways in which the wider world of footydom might approach its missionary efforts.

For example, should we consider having a group of 10 or 12 ‘Demonstration Footys’ that can be lent out, so that young people can have a go and have lots of fun before they build one themselves.  If we insist that they build one first we may lose them by deferring the enjoyment for too long.

This is a boat which readily crosses the generations and helps to maintain craft skills which might easily be lost.  Here too we have an opportunity to learn something of design work - and to test it in practice, for these boats can be produced both inexpensively and quickly.  Footys provide a splendid learning curve which cannot be exploited as readily in any other class.  Further, much of what we learn also has resonance in the classroom.

 A start can be made so simply with a Footy and lead to so much expertise. We need to take that appealing message away with us.