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Brentwood Model Yacht & Power Boat ClubYACHT SectionWe sailing skippers, whilst not having the complexity
of the building that the scale modelers have to contend with, think that
on the water our sailing requires the sort of skill which is a notch above
the scale and speed boys! We do not have an engine to propel our craft
– it is the wind, our sails and our tactics and ability that dictates
our performance.
The Model Yacht Association, who also represents us internationally, controls all competitive sailing in Britain. There are approx 75 clubs in Britain and they sail one or more of six classes of yacht. Four of these are recognized internationally, the other two are UK only. These classes are strictly controlled regarding their size, weight, sail areas etc. These vary in length from 36” hulls to around 80” hulls, so a factor to be considered is the method of transportation of your boat. There are also numerous other yachts that are either one-design class or controlled by length only. These are fairly new and vary between 12” and 24”, they have become the stepping stones to our bigger racing classes. The rules we follow are basically the same rules that have been applied by the International Sailing Federation to the full size yachts. We have adapted some of them to suit radio-controlled yachts. Race meetings are held at Club, National, European and International levels. The general public do not realize that this is one sport that the British have dominated for many years. We regularly have European and World Champions here. The British have also been at the forefront in both design and manufacture of model yachts and components for a lot of years. You can sail to suit your pocket as well as your ability. Depending on how much you want to build yourself, you can make a boat from just a few pounds to many hundreds of pounds…….but once made the running costs are virtually nil Here at Brentwood we concentrate basically on the One Metre class boat. This is the newest international class and now the most popular world-wide. It was started a few years ago to combat the rising costs of the high-tech other classes. Strict rules were drawn up with the intention of controlling costs, whilst allowing the homebuilder to construct an inexpensive and competitive boat. These boats are measured and registered to comply with the rules and because the regs ensure that there are limits to what can be done in construction, the boats stay very similar in performance and can therefore be competitive for many years. Once you have bought or built a yacht, you can then decide
how far you want to go with competing against other skippers – club
or international. Even at club meetings you can be in battle with world-class
sailors, and when you finish in front of one – the kick is great!
A visit to our lake will enable you to try your hand at sailing one of
these boats, and we will be only to happy to help with advice and information
to get you started.
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