Catamaran

Anything related to Raingutter Regatta racing and event coordination.
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Gavin Chafin
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Catamaran

Post by Gavin Chafin »

Our Regatta is coming up next weekend. Our Pack has never had any rules. They just hand you the Regatta box and say, “Make a boat”. Most people in the Pack don’t actually make the boat until the day before, or the morning of the race. This year I couldn’t resist the temptation…My son and I built a Catamaran :shock: We’ve never had any Catamarans at our Derby before, and I suspect there will be some discussion regarding our boat next Saturday. But hey…They have a “Most Original Design” contest and, in the absence of rules, I really don’t believe we did anything wrong. By the way, my son has great difficulty blowing the boat (he has some issues) and he normally isn’t even half-way done when the other kids are done. We bought a gutter so he could practice. This darned Catamaran has gotta be 4 times faster than the other boat. My son consistently travels the 10-foot gutter in a shade over 9 seconds (which is much, much faster than what he was doing…I can blow the boat in a little over 5 seconds). The practice is helping a great deal as well. He has never won a heat before. This should be interesting. As for next year’s race, I suspect they’ll be passing out some rules :P
ExtremePWD
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Re: Catamaran

Post by ExtremePWD »

If there are no rules then there shouldn't be any concern about using a catamaran design. Instead of fearing rule changes to disallow catamarans maybe it will inspire others to be more creative. Good luck to your son in the race.
Gavin Chafin
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Re: Catamaran

Post by Gavin Chafin »

ExtremePWD wrote:If there are no rules then there shouldn't be any concern about using a catamaran design. Instead of fearing rule changes to disallow catamarans maybe it will inspire others to be more creative. Good luck to your son in the race.
Excellent point...and this is exactly what I was thinking as well. This will obviously be a topic of discussion at the following committee meeting (and I’ll likely get some nasty looks). This will go one of two ways: A rule will be passed forbidding the use of Catamarans and/or the cutting of the hull at all, or creativity in design will be encouraged. If the latter prevails, I believe the annual Regatta could become A LOT of fun and it’d be a pure joy just to see the boat designs every year (almost as much of a joy as seeing the PWD car designs every year).
Gavin Chafin
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Re: Catamaran

Post by Gavin Chafin »

I’ve done some Internet research and I’m starting to get some cold feet with the Catamaran design. This one guys complained about how he made a Catamaran only to later discover that he violated an “unwritten rule” at his pack. I’ll still try to use the Catamaran, but we’re going to build a back-up boat. And, I think my son is going to love it since I have an idea that calls for him to use the drill press a lot (he simply adores it any time he can use the drill press). I haven’t seen any plans on this, but I think I can design a single-hill that somewhat mimics the operation of a catamaran (hollow out the inside of the underside of the boat). Then, don’t use the mast, but rather lay the sail sideways on the boat (somewhat mimicking the characteristics of a catamaran as well). Then, I think we can get away with not using the keel (which should save a lot of weight). It’ll be fun to see how it works.
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Da Graphite Kid
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Re: Catamaran

Post by Da Graphite Kid »

Gavin,

It's great to see so creativity in the regatta boat designs. This year we had a catamaran which was fully legal. Thsi was built by one of the dad's for our all-comer's race but would have qualified for the Cub Scout races as well. The father that bult it checked with me the whole time he was building it and I just kept quoting our Pack's rules to him. It didn't run worth a flip (weight ditribution was too far forwards) but it sure got everyone's attention and there was plenty of talk about next years race. In fact, we sold the four spare kits we brought in case someone needed a part or showed up 'boatless'.

Don't wait for someone else to write the rules. Write your own and present them to the committee and/or offer to head up the ragatta the next year! If you would like a copy of our Pack's Raingutter Regatta Rules, just PM me.


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Gavin Chafin
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Re: Catamaran

Post by Gavin Chafin »

Rules. We just had a committee meeting the other night. Our Pack’s Pinewood Derby is coming up in a few months. I wanted to point out that we’ve always had a few problems with boys showing up every year with illegal cars and the problems that it causes on race day. I simply pointed out that we need to do a better job as a Pack of ensuring that the kids and parents understand that they HAVE to use the wheels and nails out of the official BSA kit. Last year, 2 boys showed up with “Pinecar” cars. Three years ago, the rules said, “The wheelbase may be extended.” So, my son and I extended the wheelbase. Well, when we got to the mall, Districts didn’t allow extended wheelbases and we came within a hair of getting DQ’d. The problem turned out to be that our Pack is very lax regarding the rules and the Cubmaster simply “forgot” about that “insignificant” new district rule and he neglected to update our Pack’s rules.

In a nutshell, I was simply trying to point out that we, as a Pack, need to take the “communication” of the rules more seriously since this seems to be our area of weakness. One of the other leaders gave me a back-handed response and said, “Gavin, they’re just kids. Let them race and don’t take it so seriously. So what if a kid has the wrong wheels.” My response was, “Well, if that boy who didn’t follow the rules ends up placing in the top 3, he’s taking a trophy, and a trip to the district races, away from a boy who was honest and who followed all the rules.” His response? “Well, then we’ll let him race but just tell him that he can’t win a trophy or go to the District Races.” Y’know, I’m the one who has to sit behind the desk and inspect these cars. I feel that if you let a boy race, you can’t take a trophy away from him. I simply fail to understand why the thought of seriously communicating the rules is deemed to be so silly. Personally, what I think it all boils down to is that my son does well every year in the Derby and the parents and leaders hold that against me. Whenever I try to make valid points regarding the Derby, they just roll their eyes like I’m some kind of overzealous father. It’s OK to do a lot of research and spend a lot of time building the car with your son…as long as you don’t win. If you win, you’re a leper.
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Da Graphite Kid
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Re: Catamaran

Post by Da Graphite Kid »

Gavin,

I feel your pain... try also being the owner of the track whether it be pinewood derby or raingutter regatta! At the Pack level, my oldest son had always been lucky enough to win all but the first pinewood derby race we were in. He also won every raingutter race we had (he's full of hot air!). My youngest son has not been as lucky but no one sees that; they just see that one of my sons "always wins the race".

I am also the "rules guy" in our Pack. I believe that if you have a rule, it should be communicated and adhered to - that way all of the boys have a fair chance.

These are some of the reasons I volunteered to run both races and have done so since even though I no longer have any Cub Scouts of my own.


Da Graphite Kid
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Re: Catamaran

Post by PackMan »

Last year our pack of 29 kids held a regatta and my son literally "blew" the competition away. He would be at the finish line while the other boats were only half-way down the course (10' 4" PVC pipes with a 90 degree arc cut out).

The catamaran design is inherently more stable and tracks much better than a single hull design. It doesn't get turned sideways and caught up on both the sides of the pipe because of its wide beam. Also, since you don't use a keel, it rides on top of the water instead of through it-much less energy is required. This was especially important for Tim since he was born 4 months early and still has some respiratory issues.

BTW, a little practice definately helps the scouts perform to the best of their ability.
rdeis
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Re: Catamaran

Post by rdeis »

My son is a Tiger Cub and also won big with a Catamaran. There was talk of updating the rules next year after the race.

Even with a more conventional hull, though, you can cut the sail into a cup-shape and gain a lot of stability.
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