Boys' Book of Model Boats

by Raymond F. Yates

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 1¹/₄ 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 2¹/₂ 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.