Racy SUPER MODELS - radio controlled model yacht racing

Boat/US Magazine, May, 2000 by Elaine Dickinson

With the pop of the starting gun, all hands flew into action. Rudders strained to tack sharply and get on the favored side of the racing course; sails were trimmed tight as a drum to eke every last iota of speed out of the wind; waves slammed into bows and washed clear over the decks. And as the fleet raced toward the first turning mark, the atmosphere intensified and nervous fingers grabbed the toggle switches for additional maneuvering.

Toggle switches?

Model yacht racing, or "RC" racing (for "radio controlled") is what gets many boaters through the winter. It keeps the adrenaline flowing from the thrill of competition, albeit on a small scale. But, like boating, it offers camaraderie and fun that's easily accessible to anyone with working fingers and enough charged up AA batteries for an afternoon of sailing.

Thinking small is easier on the bank account as well. The outlay for a ready-to-sail RC boat is usually in the hundreds of dollars, not thousands. Access to the water is as simple to find as a quiet pond at a local park. Some cities have even built special yacht racing ponds, such as San Diego, because it's such an eye-catching attraction.

"Model racing is less of a commitment in terms of time as well as money," said Dick Rutledge, a BoatU.S. member from Houston who is also the national vice president of the American Model Yacht Association (AMYA), the all-volunteer organization which sanctions classes of RC boats and all official races. "I can have my model loaded and on the water in 20 minutes."

Rutledge and his wife Nancy are avid racers on Lake Conroe in Texas and compete in their full-sized "people boat," a Ranger 22. One day at the dock, one of their Ranger class friends was playing with a model yacht and handed the control box to Rutledge. "I was hooked," he said, and now travels throughout the U.S. to compete in the Star 45 and 36/600 class races. His wife is a top competitor as well. The Rutledges also belong to the Houston Model Yacht Club, one of 120 in the U.S. that organize local races.

A CLASS ACT

Currently, 21 classes of boats are recognized by AMYA, from 30-inch, 4.5-pound Victoria one-design models up to huge 1/16-scale 1930s J class boats, nine feet long, 10 feet tall and weighing 100 pounds. Each class has a class manager and all sanctioned racing and championships are held within each class. (In fact, the enormous J class models will be holding their first ever national championship in a three-day event at Mystic Seaport, CT, July 28-30.)

Within AMYA are special interest groups such as the U.S. Vintage Model Yacht Group where builders of antique and classic yacht models such as the J boats congregate. This group works to preserve the history and craftsmanship of vintage model building. There is also a subculture of what's called scale model builders, those who specialize in 1/144-scale fighting warships from 1900-1946, some wired with shooting guns and explosives with which to stage sea battles.

Two racing classes are recognized internationally -- the International One Meter (IOM) and the Marblehead -- and they're raced all over the world.

While AMYA has grown to 2,000 members, it is estimated that tens of thousands of "unofficial" sailors race models around the country. The hobby has become a national craze in Japan where hundreds show up for a single race.

Just like the full-size yacht racing world, AMYA also recognizes a number of developmental classes. These are models that can be custom built as long as they conform to a specific rule, or rather, a formula of measurements. The old America's Cup 12-meters are a good example.

Finely crafted boat models are an art form dating back centuries but, beginning in the 1800s, hand-built models were raced, with no controls. They were designed to sail in a straight line or use wind vane self-steering. Their popularity steadily grew, dampened only during the war years.

It wasn't until the late 1960s that radios became small enough to fit inside a miniature hull and the thrill of maneuvering a boat around a race course started to become the attraction, more than the model building itself.

Now in its third century, model building and racing may get a boost from the relatively new "ARF" kits -- Almost Ready to Float -- which make it easier for novices to put together a boat and join a fleet.

A PARALLEL UNIVERSE

As life imitates art, so does full-size sailboat racing imitate model racing. If you're really into competition, you can lead two lives and compete on two different levels. While the official U.S. racing rules are virtually the same for both, Rutledge and others point out some significant differences that make RC racing a different sort of challenge.

Out on a real sailboat, numerous adjustments can be made on board, such as adjusting tension on stays, changing sails and weight distribution. "For model racing you really have to learn how to tune these little boats up before you begin," Rutledge said. "Once it's out on the water you can't change anything."