STARLET by Peter Cane - a 34" LOA sailing yacht designed by the late Vic Smeed

[mtaylor]

What John said Peter.  If your scrap box isn't full, you're doing it wrong... or so it seems.

[yvesvidal]

What a gorgeous little boat. I love how you built that spine.

 

Yves

[Peter Cane]

9 hours ago, yvesvidal said:

What a gorgeous little boat. I love how you built that spine.

 

Yves

Thank you.

I am pleased that you like it.

It is a basic hard chine easy to build model that will sail really well.

It has its own character I think because it looks like a toy yacht!!!

If we are honest....us menfolk like toys!!!

Pete

[Peter Cane]

15 hours ago, mtaylor said:

What John said Peter.  If your scrap box isn't full, you're doing it wrong... or so it seems.

Thank you for your encouraging words.

I am not defeated.( Yet) !!!

I think in my field of modelling that there is boat building and sail making.

Sail making is a whole new and for me, an undiscovered ball game.

I am reading up a whole nine yards of material that sends me in circles.

I could get Nylet or someone to make me a perfect set of sails but if I did so I learn nothing and satisfaction levels will be Zero.

So the bins will continue to fill up.

I will have to take this in stages.

Stage one is to make simple unpanelled sails from cotton poplin.

I have seen Gary Webbs sratch built boats with simple cotton sails sail beautifully.

A friend of his built him a set of professional panelled mylar sails and Gary said that yes,....it sails better..." but only a little bit!"

Starlet will not be raced so no pressure here and now.

I have been invited to join a group that race Marbleheads.

It will be interesting to have a fun race with Starlet verses a full on carbon hulled racing Marblehead.

The outcome of  course will be obvious....but by how many boat lengths? Ha ha.

I can see that I may get interested but of course then the sails must be Mylar and panelled.

I know the procedures in making the sail block but placing the ideal camber is the art of it.

The serious ones of course will not let on else they stand to loose!

Win or loose, I am not interested but what intrigues me is HOW they do it!!!

I have the plans for a marblehead, made the baseboard and bought balsa wood to plank the hull.

It will be 50" long and  barely a 7" beam.

I will be experimenting with sailmaking for a long time.

But thats okay...it keeps the old brain working.

Pete

[Jim Lad]

That's the attitude, Pete!  The journey is often much more fun than arriving - and it keeps the old grey cells trudging around! 

 

John

[Peter Cane]

Yes John keep the ol cells working!

Thanks all for the likes and nice comments.

I did not have any 3/16" birch ply so made the keel from 1/8" ally sheet.

It is epoxied into the hull so going nowhere except where the hull goes.

The bulb halves are bolted from both sides and epoxied.

Then a coat of body filler to smooth everything down.

Just a few more rubs now and the hull is ready for painting.

My son will two coat it with his spray gun after christmas.

I was  not sure of the plywood rudder de laminating, maybe parting company with the rudder post because of just relying on epoxy to hold it and also the rudder throw was limited because of the half tube epoxied into the skeg.

So I have over engineered it as Aussies do!! and made a solid larger rudder from 1mm brass sheet soldered to the rudder tube.

It is NOT going to come off otherwise there will be some hat eating to do.

Okay its a bit heavy but I do not think it will have any down sides.

I now have 180 degree swing so this boat will definately turn!!!.

Pete.

 

Happy christmas my good friends.

Hugs all round.

 

 

[Jim Lad]

I think 180 degrees might be a bit of overkill, Peter!  

 

John

[Peter Cane]

5 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

I think 180 degrees might be a bit of overkill, Peter!  

 

John

Ha ha Yes!!!

Lets just say...it's free to swing!

Pete

[KeithAug]

18 hours ago, Jim Lad said:

I think 180 degrees might be a bit of overkill, Peter!

Look on the bright side - it will make a good brake.

[juansystem05]

looking forward to see more of this build log

great work!

[Mark Pearse]

Hi Pete

 

I've just come across you build, well done she looks great. The woodwork is nice & sharp.

 

On the sails - why not try unshaped sails first? They will certainly work, & with that very soft fabric you're using there would be something like camber under wind pressure, & the leech will also open as the boom is so light it will lift. Doing panels to achieve camber is probably not going to be a faster sail unless the resulting shape is nice & smooth.

 

I might not be following 100%, but if you do give it a go, the camber shouldn't be located at the leech (unless you're talking about roach) - if you are looking straight down from above there should be a gentle curve with the shape fairly even front to back, no emphasis on the front (luff) or back (leech). You can always adjust the emphasis of the camber by changing the tension in different parts of the sail.

 

Is there dacron available in a weight suitable for model making ?

[Kay Fisher]

On 11/11/2019 at 9:09 PM, Peter Cane said:

Hi fellas.

I am currently building Emma on another thread but I want something just a bit smaller so as to carry it in a bag ( by train) to the model sailing club some 20 ks away.

 

I just finished an Emma a few months ago and just finished a Footy Brando. 

Do you have a copy of the original MM article - I would live to get a copy.

 

Respectfully,

Kay Fisher