Yachting

Auckland Star, Volume LIX, Issue 230, 28 September 1928, Page 14

Yachting

bq&pcedmell | yy

SEASON 1928-29 AHOY!

ALL HANDS GET BUSY. Ati FITTING OUT THE YACHT. POPULARITY OF OUTBOARD RACING. Fitting-out time is on us, and around all our bays and beaches and in every nook and corner you can find crews hard at work each week-end on their boats. Some may think it hard work, but to the majority it is one of the pleasures of the sport, next only to the joy of feeling vour boat lay over and rush along as a good whole-sail breeze drives her to one of our bays for the night.

The spirit that starts you scraping and puttying and painting in good earnest should continue until the boat is launched and ready to face the starter with the other fellows, and the keener a man is about getting his boat ready, the keener will he be to get a good start, well up to windward of his rivals, and we all know that a good start means the race half won. Sometimes 'when doing a particularly hard bit on the bottom you feel inclined to skimp it and think, "Oh, shell be all right when she gets the capper paint on," but it is these little things that count in a race. No use getting the best of sails, gear, crew and skipper if your boat has a rough bottom, so get to work in your old clothes and do it thoroughly.

The man who buys a boat already done up for him by paid hands misses half the pleasure of the sport. If one has to rely on the ship chandler for every small job of wire splicing or serving it will be pretty expensive in the end, and there is really nothing in wire splicing after all but a little practice, when it comes just as easy as splicing rope. Take a good look at all the seams, and see if there are any soft spots in the caulking or puttying. If you have a suspicion of a weak spot, sort it out and remedy it. See that the lead, or copper covering the keel, is smooth and has no jagged edges to catch the water and stop her. See that the rudder is working freely on its pintles, and the stock is not warped or the rudder head loose. If the rudder head is not rigid it may be the cause of many lost seconds when rounding a mark or make you strike one, and so put you out of a race. The writer lost a bowsprit and the race at the same time for just this fault. Only by constant care for every little detail can you ever get into real touch with your boat; to learn her ways and tricks, and know just when she is really doing her best or if you can get a little bit more out of her. The standing rigging should have an extra careful survey, for nearly everything depends on your shrouds. The ordinary iron wire should last three or four seasons, but it is false economy to let it go too long. A bobstay, for instance, may look all right, but get hold of it and bent it and you will see it is rusted through. A new one will only cost about 5/, thimbles and all, so get a bit of wire and make a new one, for if it carries away you may lose your mast, and it usually goes when you least expect it. Your lanyards, if not screw ones, should always be new each year. It is when your ship is going a bit free in a hard breeze and a roll of sea that the heaviest strain comes on your shrouds. When on a wind the forestay takes its share of the strain and when running free the backstay will help the shrouds, but when only a bit free each weather roll puts the greatest possible strain on your gear, and you should be prepared for it.

Running rigging should be overhauled and a new peak or throat halyard purchased if it shows much wear, for it is a great saving of time to fit it before launching than just before leaving your moorings for an ocean race or any other sailing match, as apart from the time lost, a new rope will stretch for a long time. The peak and throat halyards can certainly be end-for-ended once, but it is better to buy new rope after that. Your moorings should be examined every two years, even if it is a dirty job. Get on some of your old clothes, yachtmen mostly have plenty stowed away in the lockers, and tackle the job at low tide. If you are sure of your mooring block, it will be sufficient to look critically at each link of the chain, cutting out any bad or doubtful parts and joining them up again with good-sized shackles. Rivet the shackle pins with a heavy hammer, for many a good boat has come ashore in a summer gale through the shackle pin working out. If you use a swivel on your chain see that it has a good head on it, and is working freelv. The best place for a swivel is just on the bottom at half-tide.

Don't forget to do up the dinghv while busy on the yacht. Some fellows spend all their time on the yacht and quite neglect that faithful follower of theirs in many a good cruise. Scrape and paint or varnish her and see to the bottom battens and painter. A leaky dinghy is an abomination, and can quickly be cured by paint, unless the dinghy's verv

While "Speedwell" advocates doing all possible work to the boat by owner and crew, which often necessitates a smattering of carpentry, sail-making, rigging, caulking, painting, electric wiring, etc., yet when you have a ship nearly finished, I advise that the finishing coat of white enamel should be put on by a professional, and when this is done you are ready for the water and can worry the boatbuilder until he launches you, or get your crew and their friends to work at some high tide and launch her yourself. The time and labour spent will now be quickly forgotten, and you will get the full benefit for all your hard work. Many boats are already fairly well advanced in spite of the bad week-ends, and by Labour Day quite a small fleet of white wings will be afloat again.

BETTER COURSES WANTED.

A HINT TO SAILING COMMITTEES.

Now that all clubs are about to hold their annual meetings, when the officers and committees are elected, including sailing committees, it would be a good thing for the sport, especially amongst the small classes which compete over harbour courses, if the respective sailing committees would consider the necessity of using courses which provide a good test of the weatherliness of competing boats. It frequently happens that a boat can lay all round the course. This is not what the Yacht Racing Association intends, for one of its recommendations is "that as weatherliness is a quality which it is especially desirable to test in yacht racing, courses should, wherever possible, be so laid out as to include a large proportion of windward work." This is quoted for the benefit of sailing committees who may not be aware of their existence, although all our local races are sailed under the Y.R.A. rules. It happened more than once last season, both with clubs wnich sail above and below the King's wharf, that boats were able to complete the course without making a single tack. ° This does not give the boat which is good on a wind a chance. It is not fair to a good skipper, for he has no opportunity to show his skill at sailing a boat on a dead-beat to windward. If he gets blanketed at the start through no fault of his own he has no chance of recovering the ground lost; he simply has to resign himself to following the "procession" round the course and hope that some "fluke" may come his way enabling him to win. No true sportsman likes to win a race by a fluke. He likes to haul in his sheets and beat his competitors tack by tack in a slog to windward. He likes to feel his boat and to edge her out to weather and to kiff to every puff. That is the real game. The good helmsman says to himself as he watches some fellow reaching through his lee: "Wait till we come on a wind, then 111 show you how my boat and I can eat out to windward of you." Without doubt the true thrill of a yacht race is the dead slog to the weather-mark, the rest is child's play compared with it. All this sailing committees should remember when they are drawing up their courses. They should have an alternative course, so that, no matter where the wind may be, the course for the day would include a large proportion of windward work. In cruising races, the course is more often all "off the wind" than "on the wind," but in harbour events it should be possible to get one of the legs to windward.

THE BRITISH-AMERICAN CUP.

BRITISH BOATS WIN AGAIN

While Britain has never won the famous yachting prize known as the America Cup, successively competed for by Lord Dunraven's Valkyries 1., 11., and 111., and more recently by Sir Thomas Lipton's series of Shamrocks, yet in the international races for the BritishAmerican Cup, which was established in 1921, Britain has successfully upheld the prestige of British yacht racing. This cup, for the international 6-metre class, has been competed for five times, the races being held alternately in England and America, with the following results: 1921—Solent. Britain won by 107 points to 88. 1922 —Long Island Sound. America won by 111 points to 104. 1923—Solent. Britain won by 129 points to 86. 1924—Long Island Sound. Britain won by 129 points to 121. \ 1928—The Clyde. Britain won by 83 points to 61. In each contest a team of four boats has represented each country, a point being counted for ea«h boat'beaten in. Thus the first boat to finish would score seven points for beating seven boats home. The four British boats this year were Felma, Fintra, Finvola, and Haushabah, all designed and built by Fife, the noted Clyde yacht builder. Naushabah. sailed by Sir Ralph Gore, came in first three times; another British boat, Felma. won the fourth race; so that in this contest no American boat crossed the finishing line first. It was reported that the American team went to Scotland prepared for heavy weather racing. They met with as heavy weather as thev could wish for, but could not beat the Fife boats or the British amateur helmsmen who handled them. It was hoped that some of the visitors would take part in the racing at Cowes, but they were shipped straight back after the cup races. The boats are handy and fast, and the contest always creates great interest in each country. The six-metre class is established both at Sydney and Melbourne, State contests being held annually. So far we have only Delville to represent the class here, otherwise we might see contests during the season for the Tasman Cup, donated by Sir Joseph Ward for the class. This contest must not be confused with the America Cup. This is for boats not less than 90ft waterline and is the blue riband of the sea. The last race for the America Cup was held in 1920 between Resolute and Shamrock. Resolute retaining the cup. While it has been rumoured that Sir Thomas Lipton intends to challenge again, so far it has not materialised.

A FOUR-CYCLE OUTBOARD MOTOR

The majority of outboard motors are of the two-cycle type and are admittedly noisy, in spite of the attempts to drown the "putter" in a silencer. We now have, particulars of a four-cycle outboard motor, which the makers claim justifies its name of "the silent four." Thie should be welcomed by all who love quiet. Strange to say this new motor is of British make. It possesses several good features, which hare passed successfully the most searching teste. The engine has two cylinders, developing 4-5 h.p. at 3000 r.p.m. The weight is 561b, but for greater ease in carrying it can be divided into two parts, the power unit being easily detached from the underwater assembly. While the big American jobs will surely hold their own for racing craft this style should have a good run for other purpose*.