Hello David

I totally agree with you, I was messing about with glow and petrol engines when I was eight years old and never lost any fingers……mind you I came close a few times and burnt various bits of me on hot exhausts.

The experiences gave me a very good grounding in practical skills that have served me well all of my life.

The JAP engine is a superb power pack but if you cant find one I would recommend a Briggs & Stratton 75cc 4 stroke (as found in many lawnmowers) they are almost the same size and weight as the older JAP units but have more power and fewer starting problems.

Roll on the revolution!

Paul

you will be sidelined as a troublemaker…

Me…..a troublemaker…….oh yes most certainly.

I've been on more blacklists than a miners timesheet

Paul

This is so typical of the modern world. New Brighton has even banned steam for gawd's sake. And that was the club members themselves apparently.

I know of one club that actually PROMOTES IC, but that's it.

And look at how many superb old hydro venues have been lost to namby pamby Pinko councils.

The only tether car track left is in a private back garden.

Having said all that i have never yet managed to get an I.C. engine to start in a boat<G>

Cheers,

Martin

They will ban hi speed electric motors next and limit lake speed to 1mph.

I would like to correct a misunderstanding .The pond at New Brighton is not off limits to steam or even IC power. Except the pond is too small to accommodate really fast models be they IC or fast electric and as such common sense prevails and the pond is seldom used for these types of models .

At the height of interest in IC speed and multi racing back in the late 1960s through the 1970s Noise , Nitro content in fuel, course safety, frequency clashes and classes of racing boats dominated the power scene . So much so that the MPBA made it mandatory in 1971 that every IC meeting was required not only to have a noise meter but to apply strict levels , ninety decibels being the maximum . Nitro content was a big issue then especially the level of Nitro in the fuel mix , If my memory is correct I seem to remember 15% as being the maximum but alas some added more , eventually Nitro was classed as a hazard and at first reduced then banned . In the same period fast electrics where limited to 42v maximum and as most meetings where MPBA battery voltage was measured and the ruling strictly enforced . This was a Naviga international ruling, and as such it was considered a hazard to exceed 42v in water Few model boaters these days are aware of how involved UK model boating { MPBA } was on the international stage and in many East European countries then part of the Eastern Block Model Boating in all its forms was considered a sport. During the 1970s there was a period when you actually had to book your place months in advance to get a racing slot.

Dave Wooley

I know New Brighton lake very well indeed as its my local sailing water and for good or ill I must bear some responsibility as I was involved in the design and initial planning with the developers.

Martin you ask what happened to all those massively loaded fast electrics and their odd cells . The rules changed and gradually the big 42v boats where replaced by smaller, faster and more practical machines but it was fun while it lasted and I must confess I enjoyed beating the Soviets and the DDR at Naviga , . This view of modelling may seem strange now but it was accepted then and I was younger and keen to compete .

Dave Wooley