VANE STEERING GEARS by A. Wicock Reprinted from a series of articles titled ‘Notes for the Novice Model Yachtsman’ which appeared in ‘Model Boats’ MODEL & ALLIED PUBLICATIONS LTD. 13-35 Bridge Street, Hemel Hempstead, Herts.Introduction PIS he fst of sre of artic the jntention ‘of which wil be to cover, as. comprehensively os possible, all aspects of vane. steering a3 applied {0 Steering’ suling yachis. and. in" particular anode Yachts. It is very evident to. the author fie the Miestions he is aaked at the pondside by freelance ipper unsuached to a dub Snd just enjoying their failing, and the more sophisicated ta im the clube Howse that great intrest shown Inthe va ar Snd that it Sill holds mysteries to many. Ye will be the intention to resoke thew. both forthe ‘moviee fnd the more experienced, So many. of the compli ations of the gears used by racing skippers sre Rut evices to mect raciqe regulations without being Ie Beded oy a a dinatannge, at tonto wal aid to the simpler devises’ which can adcgus Etat the sling Fequitanents Of he frooiancyakip- ber, as well. 25 invariably being easier to. construct End therefore within the’ abliny of many more en- thsi Te mmst however be said that there 8 much ‘more fon and satisfaction for even the lone suet Whe has a goer capable of execuling the more Complicated manoeuvres rare many controversial matters and opinions on geting, the best Both out of a. oat tnd Tis Sooring gear. So far as pracicable these Wil be Wen 20 that the reader may be led to try methods Jo himely oven the authors own opinions are ‘no exprest Later in the series desing willbe given as well 3s considerations. affecting design tO enable and ene ‘ourage the reader to experiment for himself. We iran fl however, tn do attention more me lane thinge Iti apparent shat manv do nol ret {Bata yacht sais or should ta primary on the ‘at of its sala'and shat the slesring' gear fe an ane: ery necaary on some pots of sling “This leads ts to the frst instructive section under the tie af "Know the Part in which the various paris of the holland rigging are deseribed. Know the Parts ‘Botore trying to sail a boat it is worth, while knowing the names of the various paris and what they are for. ‘The front end of the boat is ealled the ‘Bow (pronounced bough) and the back end is, the ‘Hern (pronounced stert, not starn). Looking forward This booklet is reproduced from «a series of articles which appeared in Mode! Boats 1965. References to "lost month", “on earlier article? etc. moy therefore be encountered. towargs the bow the left hand side is called the por side while the other isthe staRboskb. The cords oF ‘wires holding “the. mast. in. place. are called the Sandingerigging. “The main ones, from the hounds ‘hore the jib sail is attached to the forcside of ibe ast (about three-quarters of the way up from the ook), to the sides of the boat are called the shrouds. ‘Their point of atlachmont to the sides should be bind tae mast by about one sixth the width of the boat. These should be very strong (0 stop the mast ving, in-a sideways direction under wind pressure sat from the. bow to the foreside of the mast, (0 where the jis Dxed, or to the top of the mast, 1s the forestay. ‘That running from the top of the mast AM (9 the. dack is the back stay. With vane steering this stay. is invariably split about a quarter of the ‘way up from the deck and seeured on the port and Starboard sides so that it clears the end of the main boom and also the vane gear. Tt is desirable to strut the mastabove the hounds with jumper stays. A ‘worthwhile retinement Is 10 ft runing back stays: these come from the mast at the point of attachment fof the shrouds and. jibsail and terminate on the side ‘decks, behind the shrouds on runners so that they ‘ean be pulled tight backwards or slacked off against the shrouds when not required, a point which. will bbe dealt with in due course. Fig. 1 shows the points already detailed. "This may seem @. strange introduction to "Vane (Gears for Ally, but if you think so, then these intto- Suctory pages’ are just for you, ‘The availablity of the corréct siandiag. rigging” and js corveet tee wi make the world of dilerence to how your boat will sail "The cords which hoist or hold up the sails are halliards, while those which adjust the swing of the foot or base of the tals ate the sheets. ‘These work= ing cords (ropes in Tull size) are called the running gy ‘OF the sail, the Bermudian sloop rig is now so universally used in mogel racing yaeats tnat that will be the omy one we Wil conser, ‘his Tig consists of two triangular sas. ‘That betore (in front of) the ‘ast iS called the #6 and that bebund, the main. The ib on its forward edge—the luff—is attached to the tay The ead on peak of i secured {0 the ast by the jb hallard which is adjustable to enable the tension of the lulf to be varied. Tae bottom edge of the sail is called the foot.” The forwardcomer, of it ig the tack while the back corner, the fib"boom. This is usually made of wood in ciscul Oval, oF rectangular crosssection, Where a. radi Jibboom is Used the tack is attached 10 the jib stay and the clew (o the end of the radial jib, Bou these Hrangements aro shonin Fig 2 The positon of ‘the clew on the ond of the boom should also be Adjustable as shown There are theoretical advantages in using a radial jib which will be described In the next sociion, Dut the practical diffeultes of a really sausfactory radial Heat thet leat we io the expect modeler ‘and Skipper. A simple jib boom is shown in Fig. ‘Where the fib boom is hooked to the jib rack on the ‘deck from & point bly. adjustable) near the forward end of the ‘The after edge of the fsal—the Teach —is slightly curved, and may hay battens small slips of wood —in ‘pockets {0 hold ‘out the curve. ‘The threads of the weave of the cloth ‘ust run parallel to fine drawn from the head to the clew. The mainsail is alached at its head to, the mast by an ‘adjustable baliard as for the jb. "The Forward edge. of the main. sail—the luff — lies ‘against the mast and f& attached {0 it either by hooks to a jack line secured down the back side of the ‘mast, is laced to the Mast with a continuous fine ford” passed round. the mast-and through ‘eyelets in the Mit of tho sail. ‘The author favours the latter method and finds it takes. no longer fo change 10 a ‘different suit of sails than with hooks and the Jack line. "The tack of the sail {5 secured to the mast ie retiately above the main boom cither by hooking to a suilable ssceweye or a smull Ue. The boom is ‘again, maue of wood aud ig atlached to the mast at {oe design height above the eck bys unvversal jomnt known as a gooseneck which enaoles the boom fo swing horizonily and lot i aluar end wt Lhe low of the sail i attached to whe alter end of the boom ang, a8 Jor the Wo, should be adjustable. The Teach of the ‘mainsail is invariably curved, at least inthe top suit_of sails, and. has Datens’ tied to hhold ‘out the curve. “This curve i called the roach, improves the. appearanco of the suil_ and” gives ‘Addivonal unmeasuied saul area in the racing classes For thir reason the length and mumber of tne battens ppermulted is given in tne class raung rules. At the Read of the sult headboard is fe maue of ight metal, bone oF paste. ‘This helps to distidule. tne ‘Stamm at the top of the sail and enables the sail t0 set beter. Fhe rauing rules again specify the limit 3s estas othe wy the tanga regard early these resinictions do not apply to, boats not in’ red la and hn ev hou eed ese eases for appetrances” sake and. the normal Benen abiined esse Main boom fitment for really elective sailing is the Meking®sirap. ‘hie is an Adjustable ord or wire from the ‘bate of the mast where it Passes rough tho deck and. direelly below the o0seneck tothe underside of the main boom making Spproximately'« 60/30 deg, tangle. “Theve various vojne ae ia.od mia ‘nally a word about tfc sheets. These adjust the angle the boom and sail make. to the axis of Bost Since this must be varied for the course ‘al a yl be deserted Ty they mat be easly a fowsies, which are rings of bone of plastic, Sislgg on ck lines sab core, sted” alo the booms “ae ed for ths. Pig 3 shows a typi Tigging of @ sheet. Two. ate required on the main boom and ne_or preferably two on the ib: boom, ‘The jb shoot is allached 10 the deck, either to. 8 ceniral eye, which is quite adequate for s radial jib Soom, GF to a_horse, which i preferable for the {ype of boom recommended as shown in Fig, 2 THe ‘bebe’ of the mais shes ne of whith aed the bgaring "sheet and the other the running shee, Wicked when we den with salting WE 23s in he ntrodcton and iain for plain sailing. the various parts of the standing” and running rigging. Wo ean tow turn to sal setting and at Teast sant some stling. Before we do, however, ict tr jost go back a moment and see that our stand: ing Tsing —-on which much Of the performance of ur boat depends is se up correcily. This is doe Because if you are going to ket your boat to sal well seems etn he ait of conta doing hs, acing skippers doit during & rac no only ust Uelore he Slack " i ‘Start by secing that the shrouds are reasonabl taut and hold the mast upright, flative 1 the fll {na sideways direction, “Tbs ie best done wih the hull ona stand, either ona table if your boat is stiall or on tho floor ff if one of the Tanger casses find sizes If you tighten the shrouds (00 imuch you wil bend or distort the mast between the hounds andthe deck and this is to be avoided as much as having them so that the mast can wave about. Now adjust the Backstay so that the” mast. Teass backwards stihl say’ in, for each 21. of mast above the dock; this ig called the rake. ‘Finally tighten the forestay ‘until ‘it just holds the mast’ [rom being pushed backwards. "Now take the boat off fs stand ‘and Tay it on ils side—look down the mast from Is top and you should see. fairly straight mast — sf net look found to. s9 which part of the standing Figting needs adjusting wo make it so. 1 may be that the forestay only comes up to the hounds and that the backstay is bending the top of the mast backwards from this point particularly if the mast 's light in construction. “This ean be corrected by fising jumper stays which is thelr real purposo. Te i easy to see that A main sail with a sleaight Luff can Rover be property “set” on a mast bending, as distinct from leaning backwards Fig. 4 shows the details of the jib sail. Fist tis the wry of the clot in the eu TL impor ‘ant that the leach i parallel to the selvedge ot the ‘uletial. Do not think that the seam on the teach wll give adequate strength on ‘erossct material be: ‘aus I wil not The roech on the wb is quite small, ‘about 4 in, per foot sun. Now look at the jist land. note this i independent af the jb halyard or ‘phat nd hay ils_own adjustment bowie Hal ‘he most sulable, “This Separate adjistment en bles the it athe jib: boom: ta be contellecs By Pilling this bowsie none tho bottom St wil note Confused with the bowsle near the top used for the Seting of the Iu of the fo whieh i the next point ign Lao noo tel of hes and ae the’ simple-mgaan that cin be adopted fo act the foot “il, "Arrange things so that tho clew can be Frauled back practelly tothe end of the boom, sins thar ib must be set s0 that the sail just cae the ‘mast in’ swinging from side 10 side an6 a Tong un ted eno te boom doe ot aio in, Ea The. metal top 19 an" old fountain pon or lips holder will be found qsefol material to fashion heal ricong end to the boom. ‘The hore, where one Wied, should allow a boom movement of no more than I2i dea. each side ofthe conte line of the boat. ‘This ft about the. angle for a close beat (ee Later) and enablos the clow fo be held down fairy tight Tey the horse ais the tension on the Jib slay Summing up the iting of the jb we have (I) The way or weave of the stilloth must be parallel to the ffee"edns, each); (2) The jb say" must be really tgts @), The ib boom fs, hooked 16 the fib rack ‘om the deck x0 that se end jst clears the mast in-swinging from port to stafbeafd, Tc se of the flber hook. posifons “will be eiscssed “in” sl ‘rimming Defore finally leaving the jib itis appropiate wo saya feo words about radial ibs “mentioned iter Looking atthe ib. arrangement fst ds fussed, wo disadvantagsous featured shld be men toned ‘The fst that to hold the clew of th sai own the boom ie used as a lver with the jib hook fs Tero and the ji stay poling on one sige of Je "Thus, when the jib it act Tor beating at, say, 9 angle of 18 dep. to the axis of the boat, the at of ihe sll moves slightly to. windward and the plane ff the salsa no fonger on the axis of the boat but Sig ta windward at ths Gow, iy the hull pushed slighty to leeward Zor a given sail tt Felative tothe wind. Theoretically then the boat wi ot sal lle ae low to The wind 86 fhe of the fib "anchored to the cone Line of the Bost, wich iis wih the radial je Expertence show! that this © only marginal, The lier disadvantage is"that ‘becuse the tack and chow of he snl 308 ‘Rae Jot cen os cotinon bag, he Stow or bageiness of the sal fina for of St ting ge one i const ah sew. TC generally advantugeous to have in the heaung or close hauled condition an quite & bit of flow in the seashing/ronsing course (ase Inet for explanation of counes) and this the radial} utomaticaly gives. It you want te experiment with shri thve ave The Gait oi, Hatch, (1)"Seo. that ‘the poston. which. the radi ib i ‘mounted poins- towards the. hound si is not parallel tg the jlo say but fr at'a sighily steeper Engle, and is-srong. Since it maybe" desirable fo move jt nearer the mast when ring the smallest Suit of siile'@ base Tike amas side ie a usefal Foundation.) That its a dallas the sf plan wil allow s0"thal the stones exited ‘by the wind pres Sure’ on the salt Wammided atthe lew will not sive binding. This the greatest difelty to overs ome in obtining a saatdctory ragial ys The ficking' strap. which controls thei ofthe hoor tous be of metal throughout and the bottle screw Strong, athe tension inthis lin inva strong wind an be very" considerable. (4) The distance of the ‘ada ib post behind the ib stay Wea mater of pinion bul about tin per 1D in. af the foot of the SA's good starting point [Now let us turn to the mainsail, also depicted Fig.) Fist aote thatthe elth runs from the head or peak of tho ail to the slow, not parallel (othe malt "The laters the commonest faufe noticed with novice made sail, nnd’ Unir, baggy leads canbe fear serine” pond, The tack fhe al Hooked immediately” crer ihe goossneck or usd t0 ie'The clew secured to the eld of the boont in an Adjustable manner similar to that ofthe jh. The teach of te male Sosy Tied the ain fue giving a limit to the length of batens permitted Frnt siento titi oath fe 4010 er cont of the length. of bali. permed Where, as novice, you are not limited by rating Toles agai tin per‘2 trun gives nce appear {es aR yo may wh experiment wi aly Batined ‘salle, Whether the Toll of the ail iscisely scaight or has a slightly outovard or inward ow or curve depends on both the sail material and ‘what you want the sail for. With the currently Fishionale vamished. nylon, varnished Tergene, end PVC on Terylene miteriala, cut the loll stag If you are using cloth an inward. curve enables the Sail C simmed Aer for Beaty wether le Sn oulward carve gives-a hege¥ sad, more sultable fr light weather, Clearly the straight cut is com Promse if you are only going to allord one top sult Fhe degreot carve caf Ge say in pee 2 ron ‘The ll is seeoced to the mast either by dress hooks (oa jack line atfached £0 the mast of lasing through eyelets (now obiainabto with pressing pliers te" cheaply from, Woolworths). Both methods are fsstrated in Fig. The full is hauled tight with halyard. and bowsie from the head and secured (0 he fast about the honds. Ke shouldbe only tight Enough to. prevent bageing down the ‘mask, fot Serehed. Wis will of course vary slighty sesording to the strength of the wind, “The attachment of the beating and running sheets fo the deck will vary according to the type of ster Ing gear sed and wi be described when we come (0 $e gears The meantime 1S sft fo that where nots i ust should ‘be no Tonge than Tnosessary to give a 12 deg. movement of t boom either tide of the centee ine of the boat. A Fiching suap is esootinl for good sail imming and Himust be strong. Stainless ste) vice or a cycle Spoke with # good! bolilesorew f idea. In is tightest aujisiment it shoule held the boom from iting 10 the samme extent asthe beating. sheet pulled home Although tis tightness is sed more on dhe fun when ihe bom is fet well out and the kicking strap pre ents the boom ling and the sail belyingout For Ward of the ast in the. beating” adjustment the ‘icking strap is cased slighty from dht-adjstment fliowing the tension to come on the besting sheet, at more of that anon. "We can now turn to sail setting and trimming, As was mentioned earlir the course a Boat sils should Se'prinmrly determined by the st of the ails. Fig Sgr ES ied tl ste compass and Woxth wile copying and carrying with you unl practice Ha commit toc By” placing ion the round or holding. iin the hang. withthe wind Efrow on it pointing. in the direction int which. the Sind ic blowing one can see the tall setlings required Tor any practical course from the point at which SS'standng, Let us however explain the chart i more dei, "The single arrow shows, the assumed item of the wind, while Between the two circles Ste a seriss of yacht hull pointing in eiferem iee: fons relative. tothe. wind” Superimposed on those sre eared shine enn the a abd aie fail wih thelt_angles relative to. the. axis of the Boay“tor the bose can sail in the direction it is Poinking relive to the wind, as shown by the, Wind, Errow ‘On courses on which a spinnaker can be set iis & shown dotted for both boom ahd sai, "Nate Sow the broad reach and Gee wench Js 2 fal Spinnaker almost likes genoa fib sot inside the jb, Son he rnning cura allon spinal Dutside (in front of) the jib is carried, Note also how the spinnaker boom i always a lille more forward than the Tine of the main boom extended forward ‘The short straight ‘slid line. near the stern of the boat shows vane singles and wil he referred t later indiscussing vane steering. Round the outside of the sea cag he af sine Hi iw ing er et lor cre derek eet ea ee ar OE etd eee eee ees Seen es Seon me Mee Se) ce el Mite SES a Sa a ad paving sini aan A Sah Ea Soha ae ES Sue ee Se es ee basen weap ane, tee at te peste ie es ne be ce es at ee a a oa eta of wear oo sone oe oes YOR attention can_now he directed 9 helm or udder requirements in’ theoretical way the pracieal aspects wil be covered in the sections On Reerng.grare Good model yachs ‘have. beam ro: nawnod Fr tht alanes Ti a somplated Subject and one beyond the intention of these ariles owe must be satbfed with a thumb nail efiton. [2 Seldslan propery by which ae the os of he varies In varying wind stongihs as ies sling ‘it maintains its tian ‘and holds to. the same. course: Assuming, we have a well Gesned balanced ull i pecestiy to have the sal plan—"that is Ge fb aad tached, av deserined before, to the mast correct, situated. over’ the hull This is Uunlly chewed by being able to move the mast fligly ina fore and aft direction while maintaining iitrake, Then with the sail set for a close beat (4 hart) the Bout 'wil sul’ stendy course at abou 30 deg, tothe wind. This should be teed wih the ude def held firmly central, the mast i. In the correct Position it wil eo so. IC it sails up into the wind, Ssiiftapping the: mast is too far’ back, wil if i tears aways if on a free beat or even a dose ‘ach, then the mast Le sat plan, Too far forward. In ether cose the man should bo moved (0 correct if laving found ths postion i wil be found that the eouses from a close beat round to almost a full Fesceam be sled by purcly acting the sails accord. Fig.6ing to the chart. ‘These are the courses on which the whole of the jib sail and the whole of the main- sail can "ice" or fee! the wind unimpeded. As soon fs the wind is striking the sail plan from abafe the eam then. the mainsail ‘shades! the jib to a lesser fo greater extent and the driving force’ on the sails is fo Tonger. balanced. “The. pressure onthe jib is Towered and the unbalance fends to move the bow fof the boat round to head into the wind: iti from this point that helm is noeded 10 counteract tho une balanoe and to do so the rudder blade needs 10 go {0 leeward, ic, to the side of the boat that the booms are. This Is called weather helm, ‘since, it there were a tiller projecting forward of the radder post as on a manned craft it would be pulled over {0 the weather side of the boat to give this movement to the rudder blade. Tho angle of movement needed I nly anal and’ increase ighlly a> you move towards a full run, ‘The eavtying of spinnaker re- dluoes or eliminates the need 0\carry helm because St eorrects the unbalance’ of the sail plan. It is seen then that the spinnaker’ has two ‘very beneficial ‘effects. (I) Te tedueos oF eliminates the drag caused by helm. (2) I'adds more driving force in the nature of square inches of sail, The use of a rudder to turn ‘comers as ina full sized ‘raft does not normally fan odes allo yl be oa tr et ean be used for euying andgybing, “This simple ex Planation of the ‘need and ube of the rudder with ‘model yachts wil sullice for the moment ‘Having described the ‘engine’ of our model vacht (he Sals) and iis relation to the body (the hull} at Some Tena, we can now tum ‘our aention (0 eering it it may be of some advantage here to Fecord, oF rexteeord, some history. “Model yachting has been an organised hobby, sport and ‘reeréation for over a hundred years. “A"few ‘years ago one of the London clubs clebrated its Centenary and others In the area are over 75 years ‘ld. The boats themselves have evolved almost out ‘of recognition in this time, a¢ well as the method of Steering therm as we shall sco. Before 1900 it would appear that two basic types cof steering were in common. use’ apart from the semifived radder which Is unfortunately stl soen ‘on some shop models and can only lead to frustra: tion and disappointment to their purchaser. These ‘were tho ‘wolghted rudder and. reversed tier. "A. Weighted rudder is illustrated in Fig. 6. O10 books, And, attces, show refinements {ovary the position ‘Of the: Weight and therofore its ellecliveness. From ‘what was ssid in the last section on the need for a central rudder it will be appreciated that a balanced oat “heels most” on those “courses (beating. and Bacine when im is lease needed, po a 'y current experience and theory a. weighted rudder is’ therefore. almost useless. No doubt at. the time the, sail plans of the craft were set sufficiently far back to éxute the boat to head to the wind and the Fidder” would Cortect this, "The. stceessful" model ight "yas the one who, could Best get oe zm'and ‘balance of the foress. Having. wien one realises how inve it iy even todays but ih & quite ditlerent set of conditions, Unfortunately one SUilasss weighted uddors om guile expensive om: ‘mercial products, while devices which are much sore ‘Mecdve” could "be Incorporated at’ relatively tle ta vost “The reversed tiller illustrated in Fig, 7 as the other type of steering of the me idole more sensible onizol and asa realy simple devies forthe sowie, ‘without agpirations to’ funny rks, will stil permit Course sailing, tee the boat going where you want P'0,-a6 distinct from going where it wants to. Wi {his plan, the mast positon should be placed fo give good’ beating courses without helm and. with the Beating shoot connected to & horse. When the do. sed Sours isu reach Or sey Hes ‘boNtig sel dclachod from the horse and hooked. up ‘on the ‘boom and the ring sheet connected 0 the re: oracd “tiller comet into. play. ite efietivencss iz Aslermined by the. point of connection to the ter fhe renga ofthe eosing na, Note how he enivng Tne f not pulling on the rudder post whi ould suse binding. but is action oblained by fasting t throughs hole or eye. This feure will Eetfound to be used whenever n strong pull could be ekerted by the centring line. In sbout 1804 MG Brae invented the Brine stcering pear whieh tele tony fr thi caeniry afer the second world wat and ah Foun diminishing numbers in organised racing. 1 interes ing (9 record thatthe parts of the orginal gear a ull displayed on a board in the clubhouse of the Model Yacht Saling Association, Kensington Palace Gardens. Fig. 8 shows the final dowelopment of the Braine gear with main and jib lines and separate port and “earboard stop: and. tension “adjusters ts ‘hormous advantage over its predeossor was that itaetion on port and starboard tacks could be con trolled soparaely‘and precisely. For best performance balanced al with fhe sss plan sot over the hell for good benting without helnt wes calcd for For beating courses the main and jib sheets Were hooked {6 horses and for reaching and running. to the ines Sonnested othe quadrant. “Only. top clas racing Sots worried about the jib ties to the quadrant but inthe. hands of the expert they "would. play valuable part 4 ‘We cad now turn to vane steering gears. In spite of whot has alcady becn sid, iis recorded that the fea of vane’ steering. "was, "fst put forward. by ethane! Herreshof! tm the Ite 180s in one form, from a burgee fying at che mast heed. and secondly in the correntiy more sonventional' position near the adder pont. Somehow mover ‘caught on and it ‘was not'untl Ivereon and Berge experimented. im the Sery Pith wih nonselseking rane on tine Sigeested early 40"years before, that any. practia inte was chown. From what now knewn about ‘ane steering one can be amazed that 40 years should lapse between the conception ‘and. the fist real practical application, and 1 worth (postulating &reason, Look at any old books and photog Dubliahed before 1950 and you soon ace" thar dean ‘eas sil inthe ert of the ga rigged sal plan whe the iio extended forward of the bows on a bowsprit and the main boom prokcted wel aft over the stern, there ust-was nowhere fo. mount a vane and it had {ovwalt til the advent of the Bermudian sloop. iB its tall efient ib and mainsail which are Short nthe Toot and are now almost universal, The problem of carrying a vane and adequate sail sl Tends to pers In the 36 in. restricted class. Fig. 9 hows the Lind of ilucration one sees of the carly ‘ane in which the fether holder could be ted and popped into sclected hole on the scale. ‘The reals Tronot the need for s counter-balance to the fet aie er, wel se ftom movement high fives infirie’ positioning ss distinet fom the series Sf holes. “The entry by Sam Bergo of Norway of boat wilh vane gear inthe Inirnational races held i 1935 cusad a rage of controversy in be Very Conservativs cloister of the mods! yachting fratenit So" whether such a device was iin the Spe the'sport or s means of ohiaining unmeasured sal rear in this atmocphre Tite. progress was made the ott lore th snd way wate an was eft to. the "Americans. to develop the device While! were otherwise oscupied. Fig! 10 shows a imple noracking, bul aianced gear with fiction grip for the feather. This is simple. and. wil give Fain course sling as adequately ay the most com: Pleated ears les iclation to the sclftncking. gears ftevnow gome (0 is somesthat parallel to that of the eet lr and ke uly nedged Brine ear A ‘World of iffeence, but the simple gears wihin the erations ably mary aunevce and wl ave {g008 plain sailing although ie always very Brat Iipicd be able fo ermine the mansewres of Re ring skipper even yom are not racing. wil have been appreciated by now that the next step in development was the selfaching. Vane Eea, and i is thie self-tacking feature which creates, the constructional problem rather than utilisation. The Sclttacking fealure and. other refinements are needed to moot (vo basic sequitements: (1) Racing rules on tacking whereby, if the boat fs turned by pole {ror one tae "the ter, ouching nly the hall wah the pole, it may be done without stopping: @) Vary- ing Buying conditions (hese will be described in the read section ‘Arlicles ‘published shortly after the war show clearly three sie types. of self-iacking Vane gears that had been developed in the Siates during the war find had got their designcre' names tacked on 1, ‘the Laseel type, Ballantyne type and Fisher type. In fact it could be said that American designers. were Keen ts publish their ideas and get their name ached as with the Braine gear. ‘These treo 1 MCS fp yoo) general se and det denign poms Bis described below. Before doing so however. men- tion must be made of « fourth type of sell-tacking ‘ane developed in his country in the 19505 and de- Jenbed by tbe author sander the tide “A. Moving tee Vane. Gear™ in the. February 1961 Model Mater and now being used in ever inrcasing own eeitReunoramats hatte fas he dane fame attached as forthe earlier fype% But this must beMpul down to the reticence of the’ British model Yecltsman who: bad a hand init and so far as the Mths aware there was more than on2. ce ee Sr tae Sree {orbe noticeable, When, broken le helm i positive i at Semone og he ie sone les fe rae ELE