View from the Pylon

September 2010

Much of our time is taken up with trawling through books and back issues of magazines, either looking for specific information or trying to identify a car boat or engine that has come to our attention. No matter how many times we go through this process, there is always something new that becomes evident and gets tucked away in a corner of the brain for future reference. Our resources are very limited compared with what Peter Hill has access to, and he also has an uncanny ability to retrieve facts and remember references at the drop of a hat. We normally have to do it the hard way and go back through everything again. Updating the site earlier in the year with details about the situation at the various lakes we were reminded of a list of venues available for tethered hydroplane racing that was published in Model Engineer many years ago. Digging out the 55 year old page revealed that there were no less than 30 venues that ran events regularly and 8 more that had facilities for running tethered boats. This did not take into account the private ponds and lakes where individuals and small groups ran their boats. Britain is not short of water, but in most cases, it is the depth that prevents a pole being erected, so making it unsuitable. Mooring a boat with a pole in it now might not be such a good idea, but it is surprising what lengths some will go to. Eaton Park in Norwich was used by the King’s Lynn group prior to the second war and it is a lovely setting, but the powers that be decided that it was not acceptable to put a pole in the pond. Being crafty, the four of them overcame this by rigging up a line across the width of the pond with the running line attached in the middle. OK at the speeds of the day, but still not acceptable to the Parks Department. What they really meant was ‘we don’t want you running your boats on our pond, but can’t stop you within the current regulations’. So faced with this situation, the King’s Lynn Club went ‘private’ and used a pond on a farm at Watlington where they ran their regattas for several years. But what became of these 38 other venues? All of them are still there; some still have the pole, but just two host hydroplane events. Times change, but the search for suitable water goes on, and thanks to all those who are actively seeking out these venues.

Someone else who did not let the lack of an established club or water in his location stop his involvement with tethered hydroplanes was Stan Clifford. The second part of our tribute to Stan takes in the two-stroke years and the remarkable boats he built during this period, including our all time favourite, ‘Polyester’.

As we were on the topic of ponds and poles, our photo this month comes from the other side of the Atlantic and shows the very different pole heights used over there and the unusual way the pole was kept stable. Thanks to an amazing trawl of the memory banks by the Benson family we have also retained last month's photo as they were able to identify just about everyone enjoying the VMSC camping expedition.

The Pitboxes this month are an all ‘mystery’ feature. The car we are showing seems home built, yet someone has taken a great deal of time and effort on its construction. Failing any positive ID so far, it would also seem that the motor is home constructed as well. The engine is equally obscure having been found on eBay and almost given away. What makes this interesting is the use of multiple inlet ports. When the hydro we are featuring this month was first discovered, it was thought that it might be an example of the elusive 1066, but a bit of research revealed it as another Keil Kraft product to sit alongside their Challenger.

After the relative calm of July with just one event, August has no less than five, including the 2-day International at St Albans and the European Championships in Bulgaria. David Giles’ account of breaking the British 3.5cc record in Hannover has now been added to his other articles on car development to bring the story right up to date. Mark Mansell has again kept us up to date with activities at the Sydney Club's magnificent Ludenham complex as they gear up for the World Tethered Car Championships in just a few weeks. After putting in the launching platform at Althorne, it was all hands in the water to remove it again as the level had dropped so much. This gave an opportunity for a day of testing and some unfortunate 'mechanical mayhem'. The water at Kingsbury the following weekend was perfect for high speeds, yet most of the engines had different ideas, with many committing metal munching 'hari kiri'. It was very much a case of what 'might have been', as the report will reveal. For OTW, the appearance and running of a restored vintage boat is always an occasion worth recording as was the case with Tom Clement and  'Fast Cat'. Althorne Lake was a somewhat different affair and disappointing for all those that had made the journey. Sonia and Tony Collins have burnt the midnight oil and very kindly put together a superb report and diary of their trip to Stara Zagora for the World Championships.
An Apology:- Due to our own involvement with the St Albans regatta, we have run out of time to include a report from this event and the results are not yet to hand either. Rather than wait a full month we will do an update when we have the information to hand, so watch this space.

Commercial corner. A substantial collection of tethered cars and related spares and items has recently been offered via ebay, with varying results. Some items have sold very cheaply, some at about what was expected, and some have run away. A complete and pristine M&E Special we featured in Pitbox in Feb 07 topped out at £2350, but it did have all its original paperwork and packaging. The lovely scale MG  we featured in Jul 09 also sold for an impressive £1850. Most of the items are headed overseas though, as the weakness of the pound makes these cars and associated items very attractive. It is amazing though, looking through some of the purchasers feedbacks, just how much is being invested by individuals. We are talking 100s of thousands of dollars in some cases, and at top market values as well. Some remarkable breaking news is that two well known vintage hydros have been offered for sale in the last few days and we will bring details of these in due course.

Phew, something of a bumper edition last month with regattas coming thick and fast after the slow start to the season. July was a bit quieter, which gives us a chance to reflect on other matters that have come to our attention.

The Norman Owst hydroplane from the Pitsea collection that we featured in Pitbox a while ago has now changed hands, and the new owner posed an interesting and thorny question. ‘How much restoration should I do on it’? In the case of this particular boat, the short answer would be very little, as it is sound, complete, and could be run with minor attention to the ignition wiring. With other cars and boats it can be more difficult, and the sad fact is that whatever is done will in some way undo part of the history. It is here that there is a major divergence of opinion that covers just about every extreme and position in between. Often the experts on the Antiques Roadshow will hold their heads in exasperation at an item that has been cleaned, polished or renovated, yet turn up at a vintage car or motor cycle rally with a vehicle that has not been restored to within an inch of its life and you will get nowhere. There was a crude suggestion that if it is yours, then you can do more or less what you like with it, but surely we share a greater responsibility? There have been some right old ‘ding dongs’ in specialist magazines over the rights and wrongs of excessive restoration, and inevitably, the effect this can have on values. It also brings into play the vexed question of replicas, reproductions and rebuilds, and what a minefield that can be. A modern replica using only newly made parts can never be more than that, yet could cost considerably more than a useable original, but might still be a lot cheaper than rebuilding a ‘wreck’ into a similar state. It’s a bit like hookey Rolex watches though. You know that it is not real, but are you hoping that no one else does? In our own small world, it is not quite such a problem. With a car, it is easy to recognise what is commercial and what is home produced, while most boats are by their nature almost entirely home built and in that respect will be unique. Hopefully decisions about restoration will be based on what is required, not what is desired. Having spent too many hours gluing delaminated ply back together rather than put in new, you can probably guess where we stand on this.

These considerations were well to the fore during the process of preparing this month’s article. It is surviving artefacts or material that usually set us of on a project, but for once it was something that no longer exists, and that was ‘Polyester’, the late Stan Clifford’s lovely tethered hydroplane. This remarkable boat was the catalyst for what has turned out to be a long and rewarding period of research into the life and long racing career of Stan Clifford. The result turned out to be a sizeable article that we are presenting in two parts. In the first, we trace Stan from a budding model engineer just after the turn of the last century, through to being the outright British Record holder.

The incredible contribution that the late Phil Smith made to modelling in general is well recorded in many magazines and websites, but what is not so generally known is that he was responsible for the design of a tethered car, the Alton Special, which we feature as the first of out Pitbox offerings. We also seem to be entering a season of ‘mystery’ engines with numerous examples having come to light over the last few months. The superbly engineered twin shaft diesel was obviously built to compete with the Oliver Tiger, but by whom we do not have a clue as yet. Normally we only feature items that have been discovered recently, but the hydro this month has sadly become another firewood statistic. It was powered by a motor we featured recently though, which is why it is included in Pitbox.

The good news for auction and swapmeet addicts is that the engine auction at Gildings will be taking place on Saturday 6th November. There was some doubt as the whether it would go ahead following the sad death of David Boddington who had done all the cataloguing for previous sales. Happily, Dick Roberts has now undertaken the task so that we can all look forward to this very popular event.

We have commented in the past about the lack of a FEMA standard car track in this country. This means a long trip abroad every time the dedicated band of British tethered car enthusiasts want to compete or even try out a car or modification. This puts them at a severe disadvantage, yet several times a year they board planes with cars and tools, making for tracks in Europe. Olly Monk has very kindly put together the story of one such trip to Hannover that the group recently made. Thanks to Olly for the report and Debbie for photographs. David Giles has been making the trek longer than most, becoming in the process our only European Champion since Jack Cook in 1955. At the meeting in Hannover David recorded his fastest ever run with his 3.5cc car to break the British record in this class. David has very kindly put together a report on how he achieved this result after many years of hard work and experiment. Our congratulations on the new record and thanks to David for the article.

Hot on the heels of news of David Giles' new record came a spectacular run at the recent Kingsbury regatta, where yet another record was well and truly broken. For the full story of this remarkable achievement and the rest of the news from this event, go to our Kingsbury report. 

The first of the month is not just publication day for OTW (usually) but also brings the eagerly awaited update from Ron Chernich of his superb Model Engine News website. Finding out why the monthly issue was delayed stopped everyone in their tracks, and we pass on our very best wishes to him. All is explained in his July editorial, which also provides a link to an excellent appreciation of the life and work of Ted Martin put together by Adrian Duncan and Jim Woodside. We also pass on our very best wishes for the future and appreciation for all his past efforts to our chief 'sniffer out of undiscovered treasures', Gary Maslin. Gary has been suffering somewhat recently and has had to curtail many of his building and restoration projects, but hope he still has the 'nose' for unearthing some more 'gems'.

Somehow, August has also ended up as another 'bumper edition' and we thank everyone who has contributed articles, photos and information to enable us to put it all together.

July 2010

We live in a remarkable age of technical and scientific advance. Who would have thought that Captain Kirk’s ‘communicator’ would become a reality and a way of life (or nuisance) within 40 years? Even more remarkable is the ZX81s and BBCs that were the cutting edge of technology before being consigned to the skip as they were swiftly superseded, are worth more now than we paid for them at the time. With our quad core processors and terabyte hard drives, what possible relevance could a Commodore 64 have nowadays? Well, it is down to history and nostalgia and how we got to where we are. OTW unashamedly wallows in these aspects; after all, it is why we exist; yet to someone who does not share the love of the past, it is difficult to explain. Nostalgia can be very big business, just try and buy a Ferrari 250 and see how little change you get out of several millions. Any event featuring old anythings will have the public flocking in for their ‘bit of the past’, and anyone who was canny enough to snap up a few tethered cars or engines when they were virtually being given away will now be sitting on a very handsome profit. But is that what it is about? Well, human nature being what it is, that will be the driving force for many, yet up and down the country, countless thousands of individuals and groups are devoting huge amounts of time and money to preserving, restoring and displaying objects and material from days gone by. Often enthusiasm on its own is not enough as the scale of the venture, cost and lack of facilities can lead to collections being broken up, items destroyed or left to rot. The TV series on museums shown a few weeks ago provides an interesting insight into these aspects, and our own experience of Pitsea is a prime example of what can happen. At least a tethered car or hydro is portable and should avoid the fate that some full sized aircraft have met recently when museums have closed.

In our own sphere one can only speculate as to whether MB 10s or PICCO EXRs will be changing hands for £20,000 in 2050 or the ‘inter-thought net’ equivalent of OTW will be sending out stories about tethered car and hydroplane racing back at the ‘turn of the century’. What we do know, is that the process will be the same, because we will continue to throw out what is recently past its ‘sell by date’, not thinking that anyone will be interested 40 years hence. Happily this is not always the case as shown by Stan and Steve Poyser and the collection of flash steam motors last month. OTW is eternally grateful to all those who have ‘hung on’ to items for whatever reason, as it keeps us going and makes each months edition possible. July’s ‘feature’ is somewhat different, and was inspired by just one item that was in the process of being thrown out, but happily was brought to our attention before being disposed of for good. ‘How Fast Does It Go Mister?’ takes a look at timing systems from the last 100 years, well 98 to be precise.

Pitbox starts with the last of the boats from the Pitsea collection and a rarity at that, being a commercially produced Drome. ED Challengers are not uncommon, but sightings of the Frog Whippet are rare and the 1066 24" hydro non-existent. Will we ever be able to find either of those? The engine is a remarkable piece of craftsmanship and had several of us scratching our heads as it seemed obvious what it was, but in truth, it wasn’t. Our car, well not ours exactly, serves to illustrate the desirability and value that can be attached to tethered cars. It has no connection at all with the British scene but is included because, as far as we know, it is the most expensive car ever to change hands (unless someone knows differently that is?)

'Workbench' returns, although it is something of a Pitbox update as well. We have not been able to bring you updates on Gary Maslin's Pioneer project and the two versions of the Bob Curwen's car he was working on as Gary has been suffering a bit lately. We hope to be able to report on his own 'restoration' soon. Instead we have an in-house update on Bill Everitt's 30cc 'Swinging' featured in April Pitbox this year.

We are pleased to say that all the hydroplane events on the calendar are back on schedule, which means that we can re-launch 'Tightlines' but in a different format. Following representations at the hydroplane conference, each venue will have a dedicated page with results, reports and photos being added as the season progresses. Each page will remain on the site until the end of the year when we clear the decks for the new season. After the early seasons difficulties June has a full list starting with the Victoria Open regatta, followed by the first meeting of the year at Kingsbury and then the Northern Area Championships at Hull and the Southern Area Championships at Althorne. Should keep everyone busy?

Model Boats has recently published its 60th anniversary edition, which almost completely avoids any mention of tethered hydroplanes. Very little used to be printed before 1985, apart from major championships and the occasional article by Jim King. From then on, and for the next 20 years, thanks to all the hard work of Peter Hill and the other correspondents, tethered hydroplanes and vintage news were very well publicised with a incredible number of detailed and informative articles and reports. With the retirement of John Cundell however, Model Boats seems to be ignoring A/B matters entirely? It does raise another question. How did Model Engineer in the days of hot metal typesetting and block making for pictures manage to get regatta reports published in a week, yet with all the modern technology there is 4 to 5 months lead time with magazines?

Happily, OTW uses its technology a little more effectively and Mark Mansell's reports and photos that arrive overnight from Sydney go the DTP route in double quick fashion. Thanks to Mark for keeping us up to date on events in slightly different temperatures. 12 degrees only there!