Adventurous youngsters have been making and sailing primitive model boats on local ponds and streams for years. More sophisticated models have been constructed by hobbyists for their enjoyment. Boat builders use models to make their concept of a new boat more easily imagined by potential owners and for use by those who actually build the full-sized boat. Half models were used for many years to communicate the measurements shipwrights would use to build a full-size boat, a yacht, or a sailing vessel. However, these models, often precise down to the ropes and anchors, were never intended to actually be placed in the water.
By the mid-1800s, serious model hobbyists came up with the idea of building miniature, authentic sailboats, complete with sails and rigging, and sailing them locally on ponds or lakes. Hence the name “Pond Model”. The sport of sailing model boats on a pond began when more people, who also had built miniature sailing vessels, got together to sail their boats. As the sport grew in popularity, it took on a new name, “Model Yachting.”
The Deltaville Maritime Museum in Deltaville, Virginia, has recently put on display Genevieve and Robert Boxley’s pond boats collection. This collection was amassed by the couple from Winchester, Virginia over a 50-year period. Consisting of over 150 models, the collection encompasses every imaginable type of model boat, from deadrise fishing boats and ocean liners to beautiful sailboats and speedboats. A larger model of the skipjack Virginia graces the main hall of the museum. It is an incredibly accurate and beautiful model of one of the main types of Chesapeake Bay workboats. It is fully rigged and ready to sail. The 18-foot scale model was designed by Joe Gregory and built by Carl Pedersen in 1973.
The sport of model yachting was already gaining popularity in Europe, particularly in Great Britain, when it was introduced to the United States on Independence Day in 1872. The large lake in Prospect Park, Brooklyn, New York, served as the meeting place for a regatta sponsored by the Prospect Park Yacht Club. In 1875, The New York Times reported that model yachting was occurring in Manhattan’s Central Park as well.
Model yachting was becoming so popular in the New York area that Prospect Park Superintendent, John De Wolf, designed and ordered built a building to house the model boats of the Brooklyn Miniature Yacht Club. It featured a broad float running down from the boathouse to the water to be used exclusively by club members. Enormous crowds of spectators came to the model yacht regattas in both Prospect and Central Parks. Soon, model yachting took hold across the country including in Richmond, Virginia.
The American Model Yachting Association (AMYA) describes model yachting as a hobby focused on building, racing, and historically preserving model sailing yachts. This includes both free-sailing and radio-controlled (RC) models, and the association actively promotes the sport through events, publications, and interaction with other sailing organizations. (AMYA) is the governing body for the sport.
According to WindCheck magazine, Nov-Dec 2017, “Model sailing can be found around the world. In the USA and Canada, the American Model Yachting Association (AMYA) is the primary association, with over 190 clubs on its roster offering 36 classes to race.” It is generally believed the total RC sailing population in the USA is somewhere between 7,000 to 10,000 individuals, with many of them being “big boat” sailors too. The AMYA website is www.theamya.org/
Richmond Model Yacht Club Commodore Scott Duff III explained, “I enjoy this hobby, because I love to race sailboats. Living in Richmond means I have to travel at least 90 minutes to get to a regatta to sail my beach catamaran. With model yachts, I can throw the boat in the truck and be at the pond in ten minutes. Model sailing requires the same tactical skills and awareness that full-scale sailboat racing requires, yet the costs are minuscule, in comparison, and I don’t have to secure a crew. I find that it has improved my big boat tactical skills immensely. This year, we will be hosting the Virginia State DF95 model sailboat Championship regatta. This event will draw sailors from all over the Mid-Atlantic for a two-day regatta on Lake Rooty (in the Innsbrook area).” The Richmond Model Yacht Club website is richmondmodelyacht.wixsite.com/rmyc.
Duff continued, “The Richmond Model Yacht Club consists of about 12 members from the Richmond and Northern Neck region. Our membership is made up of men from 50-85 that enjoy sailing, fun and fellowship. We gather about a dozen times in the spring and fall at Lake Rooty to sail/race our radio control DragonFlite 95 sailboats. We throw out small inflatable buoys from the shoreline to create a racecourse. We are governed by The Racing Rules of Sailing which encourage a responsibility towards sportsmanship and reducing the environmental impact of sailing. The boats are 95cm long and are two-channel boats, meaning we can control the rudder and sail servo. The boats come in kit form and can be assembled in a couple of hours. They cost about 425 dollars for the boat and transmitter.”
In the early days, the model boats were prodded with poles to keep them sailing in the right direction. Then, model yacht sailors devised innovative mechanical methods to control direction. The devices developed are similar to those used on full-size sailboats to raise the sails and control the rudder. The major game-changing innovation was the introduction of the radio-controlled remote control (RC). In 1898, Nikola Tesla developed the first radio-controlled vessel, which he called a his “robotic boat”. Tesla demonstrated his control system at a grand event in Madison Square Garden.
Photo courtesy of the Virginia Beach Model Yacht Association
Duncan Bell, Fleet Captain.
Duncan Bell is the Fleet Captain of the Virginia Beach Model Yacht Association. Bell said: “We sail the RC Laser, a 41- inch model sailboat. Having sailed and raced real sailboats for over 50 years, I had imagined that radio controlled (RC) sailing and racing could be an interesting challenge as it would encompass all the intricacies of big boat sailing but from a different perspective since the sailor was not on the boat.
In 2000, I happened to see an RC Laser model sailboat in the back of a pickup truck and spoke with the owner. That gave me the impetus, and that Christmas my wife gifted me with a new RC Laser. I went looking via the internet for other RC sailors in the area and, eventually, founded the club. The sport had truly become global by 1922, as was evidenced by the participation of W.J. Daniels, a famous British model yacht sailor and well-known designer of the Tidewater RC Laser Fleet model boats. The fleet was sanctioned by the American Model Yachting Association (AMYA) in 2015 at a regatta on Lake Christopher with 28 boats participating.
Over the last 25 years, I have found model sailing to be everything I had imagined. Sailing a boat from the shore is quite different and requires intense concentration to observe every minute change in the boats motion to maximize performance. From a racing viewpoint, being on shore allows the skipper to observe the entire racecourse and the tactical situations as they develop somewhat like watching a dynamically moving chessboard. This, in itself, makes model yacht racing the thoroughly challenging pastime enjoyed by many all over the world.”
Like full-size sailing yachts, there are a variety of model yacht designs. Some model yachts are very basic, while others are accurate reproductions of classic full-size yachts. Control devices range from basic remote-control devices that move only the rudder to elaborate powered gearing that adjusts the sails. Model sailors love innovation. One of the most apparent differences between a model sailing yacht and a full-size sailing yacht is the size of the keel. The keel is the fin that sticks down in the water to keep the wind from capsizing the boat. On model sailboats, it needs to be much larger in scale compared to full-sized.
Equipment for model boats is manufactured globally. The sport is conducted both indoors and outdoors. Indoor facilities are a crucial component of the youth programs offered by various clubs. Young people are trained to build and decorate model boats, sail it and then take their very own boat home. Online details at www.usmyg.org
Another side to model yachting is its use in films. Remote-controlled models have been built and used in hundreds of films, including Mutiny on the Bounty and The Hunt for Red October. For the film African Queen, a model was used to film the sequences where the boat, along with its passengers Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn, is swept over the rapids. In that sequence, mannequin doubles for the stars were placed in a model boat.
Model Yachting is the premier magazine for the sport, featuring articles about model yachting and ads for the equipment needed for all sorts of model yachts. The magazine has made available a one-time special web edition that offers insight into the sport. It is available free online at www.theamya.org/model-yachting-overview.asp
If the sport of model yacht has piqued your interest and you may one day consider participating, consider this advice from a sailor: “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~Mark Twain