SOUTH MANCHESTER MODEL BOAT CLUB

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Scale

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Club Competition    Current championship standings

A scale boat can mean anything from a warship to a merchantman, a ferry, a tug, a cabin cruiser, a fishing boat, a work boat, etc. There is no limit on the prototype you can choose to model, or the scale you choose. Size can vary between 300mm to 3m and beyond. The only limit is your skill, available transport and the depth of your pocket! 

The model shown in the thumbnail above is a WWII Flower Class Corvette at 1/72 scale built from a Matchbox plastic construction kit (now marketed by Revell) and comes out a handy 32 inches long.  To view this better, click on the thumbnail and use the back button on your web browser to return to this page.

Once you have built your model, what can you do with it? Try entering a competition!  For more details on national competitions as run by the Model Power Boat Association (MPBA) see the article MPBA Competitions

Club Competition

We, like most other clubs we know run competitions based on the MPBA Navigation class.  This means the models are only judged on the ability of the skipper to get them around a course in one piece.  We pride ourselves on setting realistic courses.

We run a Club championship based on performance over the full year using the following rules:

SCALE STEERING LEAGUE RULES

  1. The league is run over a full year with the champion being declared at the AGM.  Two champions are declared - senior and junior.  Junior is defined as under 16 years of age on 1st January of the year of the competition.
  2. Each member may enter as many models as they wish.  Each combination of member and model counts as one competitor, but in the final placing at the end of the year only the best placed model of each member counts.
  3. The league will comprise a number of scale steering competitions over the year.  The penalty score for each competitor at each event will be accumulated in to a total penalty score over the year and the final positions adjudged on this total score. 

  4. Any competitor (i.e. member/model combination) who misses a single event will be awarded a score for that event equal to their average score for the other events in the year. 

  5. Any competitor who misses more than one event in the year will be allocated a score equal to their standard handicap plus the sailing score of the last placed competitor on the day, plus 1 point for each missed event.

  6. If an event allows two runs at the course for each competitor, then the best run only counts.
  7. This competition is to be run on a handicap basis by penalising various model features for each competitor at each event by adding a fixed penalty score to the actual sailing score.  The principle is that all models, regardless of size and features, should be able to compete with an equal chance of success.  The following handicaps will be added to the sailing score at each event as applicable.  The handicap is cumulative:

    Feature Penalty
    Khurt nozzles 1 point per nozzle
    Twin or multiple drive 1 point
    Twin or multiple independent drives 2 points
    Steerable/azimuth drive 2 points
    Functioning bow thruster 2 points
    Boat under 300 mm o.a.l. 6 points
    Boat between 300 mm and 600 mm o.a.l. 4 points
    Boat between 600 mm and 900 mm o.a.l. 2 points
     

The first two penalties are only applied if the course has a reversing section.  Bow thruster penalties will be applied unless the competitor proves to the satisfaction of the judge that the bow thruster is disabled and can not be used prior to the run commencing.  Each penalty is applied independently of the other.

For example, on a course with a reversing section a 30" model with twin independent drive, fitted with khurt nozzles and with a bow thruster will have a penalty of 2 (khurt nozzles) + 1 (twin drive) + 2 (independent twin drives) + 2 (bow thruster) + 2 (length), giving a total of 9.  If the competitor scores 4 sailing penalties then their total score will be 13.  Note the penalty would be reduced to 7 on a course with no reverse section.

  1. The standard sailing penalties are:
Action Penalty
Touch any part of an obstacle (other than when instructed to 'come along side) 1 point
Unduly heavy contact coming along side 1 point
Excessive manoeuvring (more than two attempts to come alongside, actual reversing when not instructed to do so, etc.) 1 point
Straying outside a designated area on an obstacle once the area has been entered and prior to completion of the evolution 1 point
Wrong course - if an obstacle has been started it must be started again - this penalty does not count towards the total score for that obstacle 2 points
Maximum that can be lost on an obstacle ( the judge may ask the competitor to move on to the next obstacle without completing this one) 6 points
Failing to complete an obstacle (other than when instructed by the judge) or missing one out altogether 10 points
Cursing the judge, course designer/setter or any other official 5000 points!

Current championships standings

The 2002 results are:

Senior Champion                Steve Booty with Lady Jan

Junior Champion                Lee Hackand with his unnamed launch

At the end of the three events held this year, the standings in 2002 are:

Skipper Model Points
Steve Booty Lady Jan 3
Steve Booty Janette 4
Don Hindley Gaurdsman 5
Arthur Cass Artur 5
Jim Taylor Snowberry 6
Peter Thomas Antonia III 7
Lee (junior) Unnamed 7
Jim Taylor Bent 7
James Jones (junior) HMS Javelin 7
Nat Mather Gaurdsman 8
Peter Thomas Lilian 9
Nat Mather Antonia III 11
David Fred 12
Jim Taylor Talacre 13
Jim Taylor Puffer 14
Arthur Cass Corvette 16
Alan S29 26

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Copyright © South Manchester Model Boat Club 2002

This site created and maintained by Steve Booty

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Or address snail mail to our Secretary: Mrs J Booty, 26 Amberwood Drive, Baguley, Manchester M23 9ND

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