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The Cygnets Model Boat Club is one of the few clubs in the South East that has a very active IC section. There are different classes of boat, divided into Multi’s, Hydro’s and Sports. There are generally five types of engine available too and these are Glow Engines, Four Strokes, Diesels, Rotary and Spark Ignition. The most popular and certainly the most common to be seen at Mote Park are the Glow Engines. In addition to all of this, there are different engine sizes that will also depict the class that you can run in. Our members of the IC section have a variety of boats, but the most common you will see being used at the Mote are Sports boats.
Sports boats are boats that have any of the engines mentioned above, and are usually run on glow fuel or a 2–stroke mix. The sizes of boats also vary from a foot to 5.5 feet in length, and bigger. The shape of the hull is usually a “deep V” as these boats are ideally suited to fairly rough water, not that the Mote is particularly rough, but it can get interesting at times!
Once you are happy with your choice of craft, you will then need to add a good carburettor and silencer. The sportier version of the silencer is the Tuned Pipe, and this works by providing the most efficient way for the gases to escape whilst providing that all important power boost. If you want more speed, then you can also fit a gear box.
There are a few more considerations to make such as type of propeller and propeller shaft. The prop used is critical, as the wrong one will at best slow the boat and at worst destroy the engine.
The Cygnets MBC can use the lake from Tuesday to Sunday, but the IC sections are usually found on a Thursday afternoon, and Saturday morning. The IC section also runs its own series of races, which are held on the first Saturday of the month. It has to be pretty foul weather to stop these events!
The club also has a rowing boat available to members, and as you can see from the description of IC power boating above, it can be put to good use at times.
A good proportion of the active members are also members of OMRA (Offshore Model Racing Association), which allows them to run and compete at different events and locations around the country. The IC section also hosts it’s own main event each year, usually in June, and incorporates the OMRA ‘Z’ Class National Event. The section also partakes in “Boats on the Mote”, usually held in August.
If you make it to Mote Park and see the boats in action, please feel free to lean over the compound fence and have a chat. We are always more than ready to explain further and show what is going on. If you feel this is something that you are interested in, why not become our next member and compete too if you wish, you could be the next Cygnets IC champion!! You must be a member of the Cygnets in order to launch any boat at Mote Park, as this will provide you with an enclosed compound, people with similar interests to yourself and of course the all important insurance needed to sail in a public place.
Happy boating…
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