Evening star., 1939-04-23
Shack in Georgetown
HUNS Each Eveninq
As They Tinker
Thrills Of Large Craft
Rocing to Be Enjoyed
At Lincoln Pool
By MALCOLM LA,1BORNE. Jr,

BY MALCOLM LAMBORNE, Jr.
In little shack out in George
town there gathers each evening a
handful of men whose professions
range from grocery clerk to college
professor. Far into the night they
work over engines, machine lathes
and tools 1t is the rendezvous of the
ington.
They are assembling tiny engines,
some of which weigh less than a
pound. but can turn up the remark
able count of $500 revolutions a
minute Or they are painting hulls
OF fragile boats, few of them more
than 3 feet long, yet capable of
travelling 40 miles an hour.
These men get all the thrills of
large speedboat racing without any
where near the operating cost of
even a 135-cubicinch hydroplane.
In addition. they have that satisfac-
ton of seeing their me-designed
hulls perform under high speeds
Model boat making is as old as
the first sailing ship, while the
racing of miniature speedboats goes
back to the days of Gar Wood S
first Miss America. 1t is only in the
last several years that the sport has
taken hold on local lobbyists. With
the growing interest in all matters
nautical. there is little doubt of its
) increased popularity.
Building Cost Under $40.
A boat ready for the race course
can be built for less than 500. But
just try to buy one of the models
from its proud owner. 1t can't be
done. Some of them represent
years hard work of a builders spare
time.
Within a few weeks enthusiasts
will be back at the Lincoln Memo
rial Rejecting Pool for their Sum-
day series of informal races. In the
meantime the club is sending out
invitations to model owners of De-
troit, Chicago. Columbus, Jersey
City, New York and Richmond for
regatta here on June II. They
will come by train and car without
even the incentive of prize money
or trophies. Racing will begin early
in the morning With the entry list
heavy and boats racing one at
time, it requires most of the day for
a regatta. Besides, some of the boys
will have to come down on a one
-day excursion and there is work
back home the next day
Later this season several of the
Capital boatmen will attend a re-
gatta at the New York Worlds
Fair.
With Detroit model boatmen pos
sessing shallow lake especially
built for the tiny craft, and Chicago
and Columbus, Ohio. reported con-
sidering similar facilities, Washing
ton owners have been assured of
concrete base in the Memorial Pool
upon which will be placed a pole
that serves as an axis for each boat
as it is released for it's run.
Unlike larger boat racing, model
craft takes the prize by fastest re-
corded time. Held by a stainless
steel cable, they race in a circle,
five laps for the classes A. B and
G, and three laps for class D. A lap
is 800 feet. And if you don't be-
lieve those little fellows can move,
many are the times that a skipper
slow to move out of the arc of the
course has been all but run down
by his boat completing the first cir
cult.
Use Little Gasoline.
Each boat carries 2 or 3 ounces
of gasoline. which is good for about
miles. While speedboat racers
quibble about 400 or 600 cubic inches,
these experts are satisfied with 0.91
cubic inches for cylinder displace-
ment. They have tried the fancy
"doped' fuels, but good straight gas
seems to do the trick.
A recent development in model
engines. tiny airplane conversions are
becoming increasingly popular.
Knock-doWn sets can be bought as
cheaply as $5.
Only three years old, the Minia-
ture Power Boat Club is headed by
Jack Buckley, with Ray Meir as vice
president and John Pendleton as
secretary
ouChlCy SllCI lollcS d CldSS n UOdl,
the Petrol, that has as enviable
record in its field as Mike Wander
bits cup defender Ranger posses in
sailing yachts. Seven years ago it
was completed by its former owner,
Elmer Luke, pioneer in the sport.
Then named the Wasp, it held for
three years the class A and B rec
ords Of the United States. Luke. in
cidentally, was the founder and first
president of the American Model
Power Boat Association, which is a
counterpart of the American Power
Boat Association for the big fellows
The very newest model-still in
the first stages of construction-is
a class c job followed out of solid
block of balsa wood and designed by
Pendleton. He will have what is
certainly the first three-point sus-
pension hull ever attempted for a
model boat-that new engineering
development so successful on last
years crop of 225 hydroplanes. The
fleet even includes a steam driven
model, owned by DR.. George E. Emig
and rating in class c. He is build
ing also class D boat.