HOW IT WILL WORK 

• Kits were given out at the Oct pack meeting.  If you didn't get yours, you can pick it up at John Stackpole's house at 39 Coolidge Street.  He will also be bringing extras to the fall camping trip.

• Scouts should prepare their boats before the pack meeting.

• We will have pairs of straight, 10' long raingutters set up on tables.  They will be capped at each end and filled with water, making two racing lanes for each den.

• Dens will conduct their own regattas as they see fit, making sure that all Scouts get an equal chance to race.  We are emphasizing having fun, not winning.  There will be no prizes, overall winners, or other competition.

• For each heat, two Scouts will place their boats into their den's two gutters.  They then will each blow on their sails through a straw, walking alongside the gutters, propelling their boats to the other end - first boat there wins!

• Hands are only to be used to upright a turned over ship, and are not to be used to advance the boat. In addition, boys should not use their faces, lips, hats, nose or other bodily parts to move the boat - just the air in their lungs!

SHIP BUILDING TIPS

• Keep hull flat. Do not round the hull into a V as with a normal boat. The flatter and wider the hull the more stable the boat.  Put sail as low on mast as possible to promote stability.

• Use strong, waterproof glue to attach the rudder and keel to the hull.  Gorilla Glue works well.

• Secure the sail at a 90-degree angle so it doesn't rotate around the mast when blown.  Two possible methods:

  • Glue the sail to the mast using strong glue.

  • Tie back the sail by tying thread to each of the lower corners of the sail and then securing the "lines" to each side of the boat (tying to a straight pin and then pushing the pins into the hulls is an easy way to do this.)

• Keel.  Some recommend to place the keel about 3/4 of an inch behind the mast, contrary to the instructions in the kit

• Rudder.  Make sure the rudder is aligned with the centerline of the boat and the keel.

• Keep it up.  Boats may sail better if balanced with a little weight to the rear, to keep the bow up

• Blow evenly with the straw at a point about 1 inch from the bottom of the sail.  It is not how hard you blow but how straight you blow that makes the difference.