When the earliest personal computers such as the Sinclair Spectrum came out in the early 1980s they encouraged programming skills and creativeness as you had to be able to be very cunning indeed to get your programs to work in the tiny amounts of memory that were available by todays's standards. I ended up building around a third of my career on the basis of the techniques I learned then. You also needed to know just how the software and hardware interacted and in my case I was responsible for physically installing the first Local Area Network in my employer's organisation. An accounting and property information program I started writing back in 1987 is still in use today for reference purposes!

Of course things became more complex to the extent that these days most techies only have a grasp of part of the overall picture and have to take the rest on trust using tools provided for them by other specialist techies.

One of the big differences these days is that most kids play games that have been devised by others and the most they can achieve is perhaps high scores and hand/eye co ordination whereas in those days the ambition was to actually create and write the games ourselves.

I suppose it is a bit like the difference between scratch and kit building!

Colin

I wholeheartedly agree with Bob (and Trevor Baylis) as I have seen at first hand the changes in skill levels of tradesmen on building sites and the increasing lack of true craftsmen. Younger generation bricklayers and joiners, through no fault of their own, are sent into the working environment when only capable of carrying out basic work and usually have to be placed with older workers to be taught the finer details of their craft.

Where apprenticeships used to take 5 to 6 years and a typical apprentice spent the first twelve months just learning the basics now modern training courses last for 6 months after which the graduates are pushed into the world only just able to hold their tools correctly.

I was involved in reconstructing listed buildings in Liverpool and had a very difficult time filtering out decent craftsmen who could carry out detailed construction work and every one of these men were over 50 years old.

I can understand what Colin meant about the difference between scratch build and kit build as an inability for people to think for themselves simply because they have been taught to follow instructions developed by someone else i.e. computer games.

The worry is just how many practical skills are going to be lost forever as the current older generation dies off, this is now becoming very evident in the construction industry and I can foresee a time when building design and construction will be limited to basic shapes simply because of the inability of the workforce to carry out the designers intent.

Paul

Colin

I have also noticed the increasing number of design related questions that are popping up on the forums and I agree that a worryingly large number of model boat hobbyists lack some or all of the fundamental basics required to scratch build.

Changing the education system will eventually help future generations but what of the current crop of young to middle age model builder who struggle to do anything more than blindly follow someone else's designs without fully understanding what they are building.

Perhaps it would help if a small section of the magazine could be given over to a series explaining the basics of design, some kind of duffers guide that showed how and why model boats work and encouraging readers to attempt their own designs.

Paul

Colin

I have thought that a short series along the lines of the one that Dave Wiggins has penned that would explain the basic principals of model boat design in a way that non technical people could understand.

By working through three models of increasing complexity the reader would gain an entrance level knowledge of geometry and drawing skills, material science and the principals of construction. Non technical text, simple technical drawings and photos of the build would link everything together.

Starting with the simple shapes of a landing craft the reader would gain the confidence to go onto the next design of a typical modern frigate and then finally the complexities of the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier.

The three models all have common themes of design and construction and as such the lessons learnt on one can be carried forward to the next.

The readers would learn the basics of model boat design and construction and hopefully be able to move on and design their own models, but if they wanted to build one of the featured models they would be able to purchase the plans from My Hobby Store.

It could be an interesting and informative feature in the magazine that has the added bonus of potential income for the publishers.

Paul

I should add the caveat that whilst I think this is a good idea it does not form the basis of an offer to undertake the work especially as Paul already has access to established contributors who are more able to produce better editorial

Colin as my dad was a Cheif Petty Oficer , m.e., RN . i have been bought up on building things and yes ok they have not always gone right but dad always encoraged me to keep .So i progressed from Airfix and Tamiya on to big and better from my first model boat kit a Scalecraft minesweeper , all plastic snap together with a small motor and a ruder you could fix at any direction as memory serves they also done an air sea rescue boat , these were fantastic pocket money models ,any one rember these ??? must have been the early 70's

Andy from Cardiff

.There are a number of really interesting thoughts being floated but the long and the short of the discussion is most modellers entering the hobby are of a more mature age and as such leaning a new skill from scratch is not uppermost in their minds, getting a model onto the water is. As for information there is so much out there that there simply is no excuse. The Model Boats magazine has been running many such easy build articles for years and there are a plethora of boat modelling related books that are easily available that provide a step by step description of how to get started through to the more complex forms of construction and methods applicable to our hobby. In the days of the Model Maker magazine forerunner to the Model Boats there was actually very little by today’s standards. But thanks to such publications as "Boat Modelling" by Vic Smeed which was a true beginner’s hand book with chapters relating to design and how to interpret drawing through to the use of basic tools. And yes these forms of how to publications are still being published but with a much more modern slant. So there is no excuse, it’s all there all any would be boat builder has to do is pop along to their central library and ask or get in touch with their nearest model boat club . Or they could just purchase Model Boats and its two informative specials for a cracking good informative read .

Dave Wooley

Edited By David Wooley on 31/12/2012 12:05:13

Bob

Surprisingly a lot of people in their 30s and early 40s haven't got a clue about undoing nuts or wiring a plug.

The skills shortage in the construction industry was critical just before our current depression and will be even worse when we eventually get back to work.

Paul

I remember going on a 'management' course some 25 years ago and those present were absolutely amazed that I could change a plug so perhaps there is nothing new!

I also used to service my own car but that is no longer possible for an amateur these days with the computerised control systems that run all modern vehicles.

However, I do think that it is vital for today's youngsters to be offered opportunities in engineering training and courses as opposed to 'soft' options such as Media Studies. When I take my car into a garage, I want it to be serviced by somebody who knows what they are doing even if they are armed with all the latest computer based tools. Threre is little to beat some basic engineering knowledge, aided by practical common sense when it comes to resolving a problem.

There was a report in one of the Sunday papers yesterday where a motorist had all his lights, except the headlighst go out at once. Slamming the boot lid brought them all back on again. The garage's solution was to replace all the bulbs at £80!!!! The real problem was a duff contact!

Colin

I was born in 1959 and my generation was almost the last to be taught imperial measurement, the last to be taught technical drawing, woodwork and metalwork. We gained practical experience of the real world by working with sharp tools, high speed lathes and welding equipment without the health & safety worries or cost constraints that plague todays society. We all left school with practical skills that would be useful in later life and no matter whether we became tradesmen, intellectuals or labourers these abilities helped us through our everyday lives.

When my son went to high school (only 20 years after I did) he sat through 3 double period lessons being taught how to wire a plug, that equates to nearly 5 hours spent on teaching a person how to connect 3 wires….what a waste of time. The nearest he got to practical work was making a small toy whale out of a bit of wood using a fret saw and sandpaper, something that my generation did at junior school.

It seems that schools today are just factories devoted to churning out candidates for universities and those that fail are lost before they even start their adult lives, I do worry for my grandson who has just started primary school as I suspect that by the time he reaches high school the nearest he will get to any kind of practical experience will be pressing buttons on a keyboard.

All of this begs the question: Am I the last of the dinosaurs or am I the last of a golden age of practical people? I imagine the answer depends upon your viewpoint and how old you are but I believe that we in the UK are in real danger of loosing the very thing that makes us who we are as I can't foresee computer programmers or accountants pushing the boundaries of engineering in the way that Brunel did or market researchers sailing forth and forging an empire.

I have ranted enough on this subject as this forum and the magazine are not the places for fundamental changes in educational policy.

Paul