Marine modelling international july 2015

FREE PLAN WORTH £11 INSIDE THIS EDITION

JULY 2015

www.marinemodelmagazine.com

FREE PLAN

RAF RESCUE LAUNCH TRADITIONAL CRAFT CORNISH PILCHARD SEINERS

KIT REVIEW

Issue 340 £4.25•

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CONTENTS JULY 2015 – ISSUE 340 COVER STORY

Features 38

RAF RESCUE LAUNCH This month’s FREE PLAN of a classic WW2 rescue boat

48

TINTAGEL CASTLE The construction of a Deans Marine warship kit

54

CORNISH PILCHARD SEINERS Tony builds a model and looks back to when these little boats caught 20 million fish in one day!

60

RAMPT CRAFT LOGISTICS Patrick visits a modern full size British Army vessel used for transporting men and supplies

64

38

WING SAIL In this final part Alan designs and builds his third prototype of wing sails for model yachts

During WW2 the RAF was in need of a rescue launch to try and recover quickly pilots who ‘ended up in the drink’. The design of these launches were very similar to MTB’s (Motor Torpedo Boats) many being built by Thornycroft. The model is built in a similar manner to the full size version with bulkheads and skinned with plywood. The finished model which can be single or twin propped electric powered gives a very good turn of speed on the water.

48

Regulars 5

MESSAGE FROM THE BRIDGE The editor introduces this month’s edition

7

DIARY DATES Forthcoming maritime events for July

10

VINTAGE CHATTER The Pro-Line ‘Competition Six’ and Kraft KP7Z compared

12

54

PLASTIC KIT SCENE Another quite varied selection of releases for this month

14

SCALE SCENE Ian explains Voith Schneider drives

18

LIVEWIRES A report on the recent MPBA SAWS or straight running event

22

AIRWAVES Increasing reliability by keeping the vulnerable components away from water!

26

MEETING POINT

64

Reports of recently held maritime events

34

POWERPLUG Tools the average I/C boater may want to have around his/her workbench area

44

WATERLINES The Cunard Line (Part 1 1839 – 1945)

68

CHANDLERY A new J class hull

74

COMING NEXT MONTH Articles in the planning stage for the August edition

4

JULY 2015

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MESSAGE FROM THE BRIDGE EDITORIALCONTACT MMI generally publishes commissioned articles, but will consider other contributions including news items and factual articles. It is important that contact is made with the editor before any material is written, as duplication of items may result in articles being rejected.

Prospective contributors can email or write for a copy of the MMI Notes for Contributors via Traplet Publications Ltd. Any other Editorial queries can be made by telephone to 01749 347172 during normal office hours.

in this interesting topic. As the show season is now in full swing we have a bumper edition of Meeting Point with reports from five events in the UK. We are more than happy to publish reports from overseas maritime events if the organisers could give us a short report (up to 500 words) and 5-8 high-resolution pictures.

Our regular feature articles include Plastic Kit Scene giving details of the latest in the world of plastic kits, Vintage Chatter examines some of the older R/C sets from America, and our longest running regular feature Waterlines appropriately covers the The Cunard Line (Part 1: 1839 – 1945) this year celebrating the company’s 175th anniversary. Plus we have many other articles for your enjoyment also. If there is a subject we have not covered and you have any suggestions please let us know.

Have a good month sailing,

Barrie Stevens MMI

GREETINGS ALL It was good to meet the many modellers who visited the Traplet stand at the South West Model Engineering Exhibition held in Shepton Mallet on the first May bank holiday weekend. I am amazed at some of the modelling projects readers are about to embark on, including one person who is researching to build a tug a mere 72" long 18" beam and 50" high, hopefully we will follow this project and report in MMI. The other topic, which always seems to have a common factor is when I ask readers how many maritime projects they have started and not finished, perhaps this could be a good competition? I am sure Mrs S. would say I would be a good contender for winning! Don’t forget that we are always keen to hear from readers all over the world on what maritime projects they are embarking on, please let us have some pictures and information so we can share with other modellers.

Again this month we have a varied mix of maritime articles that will be of interest to readers. This includes our FREE PLAN for the popular RAF Rescue Launch. This is a reasonably easy to build model and should help if you want to have a boat with a reasonable turn of speed and recreate part of WW2 maritime history. The other warship we have is a detailed review of the Tintagel Castle, a WW2 corvette. At the other end of the speed spectrum we are continuing the traditional boats series with the history and build of the Cornish Pilchard Seiner which could land many millions of fish a day all by hand! For our sailing readers the wing sail used to propel a boat is always a great fascination and may inspire some more development

EDITOR Barrie Stevens mmi@traplet.com Tel: 01684 588604 Traplet Publications Ltd, Traplet House, Willow End Park, Blackmore Park Road, Welland, Malvern, WR13 6NN ASSISTANT EDITOR Chris Saunders chris.saunders@traplet.com CONTRIBUTORS Barrie Griffin, Tony James, Allan Miller, Alan George, Kelvin Holmes, David Wiggins, Patrick Boniface, Robin Trott, Ian Williams, Rick Eyrich MANAGING DIRECTOR Tony Stephenson OPERATIONS DIRECTOR Tom Stephenson

PRODUCTION MANAGER Nick Powell DESIGN TEAM James Scott MARKETING EXECUTIVE Wendy Adams - 01684 588521 Email: marketing@traplet.com ADVERTISING SALES Angela Price - 01684 588568 Email: advertising@traplet.com ADVERTISING COPY CONTROL Cindi Griffiths - 01684 588517 Email: adcopy@traplet.com PRINTER Warners plc NEWSSTAND DISTRIBUTION Seymour Distribution Ltd. (02074 294000) HOBBY TRADE DISTRIBUTION Traplet Publications Limited (01684 588568) US DISTRIBUTION Traplet Distribution USA Ltd., 816 N.

At shows and public events novelty models are always of interest to the younger generation, we saw this one at the South West Model Engineering and Hobbies Show on the Sedgemoor MBC stand. It is one of the prettiest ducks we have seen for some time. Created and owned by Mike Clapperton the duck swims, quacks and her eyes glow green!

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Tel: (02) 9520 0933 Fax: (02) 9520 0032 Email: sales@traplet.com.au SOUTH AFRICAN DISTRIBUTION P.O. Box 1067, Oudtshoorn, 6620, South Africa Tel/Fax: +27 44 272 5978 Email: southafrica@traplet.com PUBLISHED BY Traplet Publications Ltd, Traplet House, Willow End Park, Blackmore Park Road, Welland, Malvern, WR13 6NN Fax: 01684 578558 email: customerservice@traplet.com

SUBSCRIPTIONS 1 Year subscription prices: UK £51.00 Europe £73.80 Worldwide £77.40 USA & Canada US $131.88 2 Years subscription prices: UK £102.00 Europe £147.60 Worldwide £154.80 USA & Canada US $263.76 BACK ISSUES UK £4.25/US $9.99 Order Hotline: 01684 588599 Online Ordering: www.trapletshop.com 2015 Traplet Publications Limited.

All rights reserved.

This magazine is sold subject to the following conditions: that it shall not without written consent of the publishers be lent, resold or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in excess of the recommended maximum retail price. All rights strictly reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any way without the prior agreement of the publisher.

All letters must be accompanied by the senders full name and address. The publisher cannot accept responsibility for unsolicited correspondence nor some of the opinions expressed.

All material and artwork originated by Traplet Publications Ltd., photographs, drawings, plans used in this magazine become the publishers copyright under Copyright law. Some photographs may have been digitally re-mastered. The Company reserves the right to suspend or refuse any advertisements without giving reasons. Whilst every care is taken to avoid mistakes, Traplet Publications Ltd. cannot be liable in any way for errors or omissions. Nor can the Publisher accept any responsibility for the bona fides of advertisers. © Traplet Publications Limited 2015 ISSN 1746-8590

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GREAT BRITAIN

CORNISH PILCHARD SEINERS AUTHOR: TONY JAMES

TONY LOOKS BACK TO WHEN THESE LITTLE BOATS CAUGHT 20 MILLION FISH IN ONE DAY

Waiting for the tide and the pilchards

F

or some 150 years Cornwall depended on pilchards‌ those small oily fish (sardine pichardus), first cousin of the sardine, which descended on the south-west peninsula in their millions to become the staple diet of many Cornish families and a godsend to those earning a hard living from the sea. A fleet of several hundred pilchard seiners owed its existence to the brief period every summer when pilchards over-ran Cornish coastal waters in a silver torrent until they mysteriously disappeared in the early 20th century, leaving consternation and real hardship in their wake.

FISHING FOR PILCHARDS Today the Cornish seining fleet has sunk without trace and it’s hard to believe that for centuries, pilchards were a major part of the Cornish economy. For instance, in the 1880s over 400 men and women worked in the Newquay pilchard fishery. Over 60 vessels went pilchard seining and curing cellars were built into the rock faces surrounding the harbour. So heavy were catches that a harbour railway was built to connect the town with the quays.

Pilchard seining only took place for a couple of months in the summer, around harvest time so considerable capital was tied up in this speculative business and boats had to work for their living for the rest of the year. Many seine-fishermen also went crabbing or used their boats to collect seaweed, taking it upriver and selling it to farmers for manure. Others went long-lining for mackerel and herring.

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Seine boat as sea www.marinemodelmagazine.com

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Seine boat at Coverack

Seiner and loader boats in Sennen Cove, 1880

Salting pilchards at St Ives, 1900

Huer at Coverack

Seine boat in gale - unknown artist

Blueprint for pilchard seiner Olive

On arrival the catch would be hoisted ashore in wheelbarrows and wicker baskets, gutted and placed in huge piles known as baulks upon layers of salt. The piles could reach 5 ft high. After being baulked for a month fish would keep for a year without further processing. Then they were packed tightly into wooden hogshead barrels, each holding up to 3,000 fish. The fish were ‘back laid’ in

Seine boat unloading piclchards, 1890

a circular pattern so that they looked the same whichever end the barrel was opened. Ready for sale, a hogshead weighed about 450 lb and women workers were paid 2s6d (15p) for each one they packed. A lucrative side-product was oil from the pressed fish which was used in lamps and also exported – in 1879 over 40,000 barrels of Cornish pilchard oil went abroad, to be used for dressing leather.

It’s not too melodramatic to say that pilchards were almost life and death to many Cornish ports. Households usually laid in about 1,000 pilchards for winter use, curing them in large earthenware pots known at ‘bussas’. The usual price was ten fish for one penny or as low as sixpence for 120 when there was a glut, as on a day in 1834, now part of Newquay folklore, when an estimated 20 million fish were caught by seiners in 24 hours.

A local newspaper reported: “Day and night the silvery catch was carried into the fish cellars to be seized by children who piled them into ever-growing heaps according to size. The smallest fish were sold at 10 pence a cartload for manure. The best were salted and packed in barrels for export to Mediterranean countries, particularly Italy, where they are much esteemed.”

By the late 19th century St Ives was Cornwall’s biggest seining station – in 1870 the town had nearly 300 seine fishermen organised into five companies which worked different locations in strict rotation. Precedence was decided by the results of a seine boat race at the beginning of each season.

Why the pilchards eventually swam away from the south-west remains a mystery but by 1908 few commercial seiners were still operating and the last catch of any consequence was recorded off Porthcurno in Mounts Bay in 1916. By 1920 traditional Cornish seine-netting was history and pilchards were rarely seen in the old seining grounds and any surviving fish were quickly scooped up by steam-powered drifters.

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