Pond Model Restoration

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  • Bruce Soule
    Junior Member
    • Jan 2019
    • 3

    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.
    Attached Files
  • Peerie Maa
    Old Grey Inquisitive One
    • Oct 2008
    • 62452

    #2
    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.

    Comment

    • Rich Jones
      What boat to build next?
      • Apr 2009
      • 19656

      #3
      Re: Pond Model Restoration

      Originally posted by Peerie Maa
      Hi, welcome to the forum.
      Lovely model. Looks a bit shoal draft for a successful pond yacht.
      I was wondering that myself. Does shoal draft translate into sailing models? Every sailing model I've seen has a deep fin to keep it upright.
      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

      • Peerie Maa
        Old Grey Inquisitive One
        • Oct 2008
        • 62452

        #4
        Re: Pond Model Restoration

        Originally posted by Rich Jones
        I was wondering that myself. Does shoal draft translate into sailing models? Every sailing model I've seen has a deep fin to keep it upright.
        But, it is a very nice model.
        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

        • Ben Fuller
          Senior Member
          • Jan 2000
          • 4470

          #5
          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.
          Last edited by Ben Fuller; 02-03-2019, 07:04 AM. Reason: more
          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."

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          • Bruce Soule
            Junior Member
            • Jan 2019
            • 3

            #6
            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

            • Peerie Maa
              Old Grey Inquisitive One
              • Oct 2008
              • 62452

              #7
              Re: Pond Model Restoration

              Originally posted by Bruce Soule
              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.
              I would suggest that that was for a removable fin with a lead bulb at its bottom.
              This is a modern one,
              s-l500.jpg
              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

              • skuthorp
                Senior Member
                • Jan 2002
                • 73625

                #8
                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

                • Bruce Soule
                  Junior Member
                  • Jan 2019
                  • 3

                  #9
                  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

                  • Bob Cleek
                    Senior Member
                    • Feb 2000
                    • 11970

                    #10
                    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.

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