February 15, 2007

          Tucson Model Yacht Club
                Tucson, Arizona

Organized model sailing racing has been documented since the 1800'. but real growth coincided with development of light, reliable and inexpensive radio control, the model skipper can duplicate the tactics and boat handling capabilities of his counterparts in big boats. The laws of scale , however, dictate that things happen more quickly with model boats - more races (10-12 in an average afternoon), more start's, more rounding's, more rule question's, etc,. Interestingly, model yachts race under the same ISAL rules (International Sailing Federation) as big boats. ISAF-RSD covers radio control yachts.

The Tucson Model Yacht Club sails model yachts in the East Coast - 12 Meter class. The EC-12 is almost 5Ft long on deck; displaces 23 Lbs; has a 6Ft. mast; and carries 1300 sq/in of sail. The heavy-displacement full-keel form of the EC-12 differs from most other model yacht classes which tend towards lighter hulls with exaggerated keel length and weight bulbs. The original EC-12 came from a Charles Morgan design made into 1 9/10" to 1' scale model for resistance testing in a towing tank. The design - circa 1962-63 was under consideration as a potential defender in the 1964 America's Cup. The full size boat was never built, but the tank test model survived as today's EC-12

The EC-12 is a restricted one design class, Fiberglass hulls are from near identical manufactured molds (Dumas hear in Tucson is a hull manufacturer); construction and materiel restrictions are specified; sail dimensions are controlled; and radio functions are limited to four - rudder, main sheet, jib sheet, and jib twitcher. All other rig tuning controls (boom vang, cunningham, outhauls, stay tension, etc. ) replicate those on full size boats but must be manually set rather than radio controlled. The result is a class of boats with similar speed potential. As with any good restricted design class, racing success is determined by boat handling abilities.

If you've got nothing better to do on a Sunday afternoon come see us. We're at Sun City Pond. 
We sail the 2nd and 4th Sunday of the month from about 1:30 PM to 4:30 PM.