Pond Model Restoration
Collapse
X
-
Pond Model Restoration
Wondering if anyone has seen anything similar to this pondmodel. Estimated early 1900’s Englishmodel; either walnut or mahogany; hollowhull carved from solid piece of wood (no seams except joint where keel isattached, and tree growth rings extend from port to starboard betweenfront of keel and bow – not a strip planked hull); brass fittings. 32” LOA, 6.5” Beam. Need to repair rigging and broken mast, andbuild new sails.
Tags: None -
Re: Pond Model Restoration
Hi, welcome to the forum.
Lovely model. Looks a bit shoal draft for a successful pond yacht.It really is quite difficult to build an ugly wooden boat.
The power of the web: Anyone can post anything on the web
The weakness of the web: Anyone can post anything on the web. -
Re: Pond Model Restoration
But, it is a very nice model.I was born on a wooden boat that I built myself.
Skiing is the next best thing to having wings.Comment
-
Re: Pond Model Restoration
Yes, you need to put the ballast as low as you can. Stability scales to the 4th power whilst overturning moment from the rig scales at the 3rd. So a 1:10th scale model with only stand up to 1/10th of the wind on the sails as an approximation.It really is quite difficult to build an ugly wooden boat.
The power of the web: Anyone can post anything on the web
The weakness of the web: Anyone can post anything on the web.Comment
-
Re: Pond Model Restoration
I've seen old ones with naught but a bit of lead on the keel. In fact when you go into a museum collection of sailor made models tap on the keel of anything with sails and 90% of the time you'll get metal. Mystic has a New Haven sharpie model with nothing but a lead centerboard. Light wind sailors.
That said, there is quite a literature of turn of the century British pond model sailing. Sometimes mixed with small boat sailing. Albert Strange published in the Model Yachtsman and Canoeist and if you search on that term it will lead to a UK site on early model yachting.Ben Fuller
Ran Tan, Liten Kuhling, Tipsy, Tippy, Josef W., Merry Mouth, Imp, Macavity, Look Far, Flash and a quiver of other 'yaks.
"Bound fast is boatless man."Comment
-
Re: Pond Model Restoration
Thanks for the interest. Yes the keel configuration is an issue. A portion of the keel as you can see is brass, hollow in the center for what appears to be accommodation for a missing centerboard. There is a hinge pin and a hole for a locking pin. Could have had a brass centerboard with a leading edge lead bulb of some shape.
More importantly is the rig. I need to figure out how it was rigged. Obviously Bermuda main with jib or jib and staysail.
Also comments on the one piece hollow hull. Anyone seen this before? It is definitely one piece of walnut or mahogany, and hollow.Comment
-
Re: Pond Model Restoration
Thanks for the interest. Yes the keel configuration is an issue. A portion of the keel as you can see is brass, hollow in the center for what appears to be accommodation for a missing centerboard. There is a hinge pin and a hole for a locking pin. Could have had a brass centerboard with a leading edge lead bulb of some shape.
More importantly is the rig. I need to figure out how it was rigged. Obviously Bermuda main with jib or jib and staysail.
Also comments on the one piece hollow hull. Anyone seen this before? It is definitely one piece of walnut or mahogany, and hollow.
This is a modern one,
s-l500.jpgIt really is quite difficult to build an ugly wooden boat.
The power of the web: Anyone can post anything on the web
The weakness of the web: Anyone can post anything on the web.Comment
-
Re: Pond Model Restoration
Very similar to one of mine. (I must get my act together re pics). I have a small collection of about a dozen but I do not restore them, just repair damage if I can without effecting the patina of the original finish.
Indeed it likely had a removable bulb keel, making the boat suitable for display when not being sailed.
My similarly aged model was a gaffer, evidence on the existing mast and deck hardware. You are likely right about your rig.
I built a couple this year for charity raffles and I use fine japara stained with tea for an 'authentic' vintage sail look, or in this years boats I dyed them red.Comment
-
Re: Pond Model Restoration
Thanks. I'll certainly keep the hull and all the hardware "as is". Never "refinish" an antique, especially with the patina this has. Will display only. What is japara? Paper or cloth? Yes I was going to stain with tea. Have you seen a solid hull hollow out as this is? Definitely not strip planked. It is very thin and took some excellent craftmanship to build this.Comment
-
Re: Pond Model Restoration
What the previous posters said. It had a detachable "sailing keel." Carving from a solid block of wood, or stacked "bread and butter" waterline sections, both carved out, were common practice. Actually, I've never seen an early pond model that was "strip planked." If it is Marconi-rigged, rather than gaff, it's probably much later than "early 1900's." I can't see from the pictures, but the self-steering gear, if still present, may give you the best idea of its age. These "free sailed" models were raced and there was an evolution in the mechanisms employed to accomplish some semblance of self-steering ability.
The San Francisco Model Yacht Club, established in 1898, is the last vestige of what was once a very popular sport, and one which is now experiencing a revival with radio-controlled model sailboats. They are the go-to authority on pond yachts in the U.S. https://www.sfmyc.org/ There's one other surviving pond yacht racing club in England, I believe.
If you google around looking for scanned copies of old yachting magazines, you'll find articles and even regular sections devoted to pond yacht racing back around the turn of the last century. It was quite a big deal and no large city was really "on the map" unless it had it's purpose-build shallow pond for racing models. They weren't kid's toys back then.Comment
Comment