Introduction to the Raingutter Regatta

     The Raingutter Regatta is similar to the Pinewood Derby except that the models are miniature sailboats.  Although the seas are only 10-foot lengths of raingutter filled with water, and the ships a mere 6 inches long, the race is a very exciting event.  Each boy builds his own boat with supervision and help from parents or other family members.  He also provides the wind for the sail with his own lung power.

     The regatta boat kit has a pre-shaped balsa hull, metal keel and plastic sail.  The hulls are sanded and shaped, and are colorfully painted.  Hull and sail are then decorated with colorful decals.  The boats race in pairs on raingutter courses propelled by the boys blowing into the sails.  The races can also be run as a team relay event. 

     Reference:  Refer to the design in the Cub Scout Leader How-To Book, pages 9-47 through
9-49, ISBN 0-8395-3832-4.  

Raingutter Regatta Boat Specifications:

o      Hull: No longer than 7" or shorter than 6 1/2"

o      Mast: 6 1/2" from deck to top

o      Keel: Supplied in kit

o      Rudder: Supplied in kit

o      Sail: Supplied in kit

 

Basic Information to Run the Event 

    The actually "race" will be divided into age categories: Tiger, Wolf, Bear and Webelos.  Each age group will race amongst themselves.  The race will involve two lanes of "rain gutters".  The boys are to blow air on the boats in order to advance them through the water.   Hands are only to be used to upright a turned over ship, and are not to be used to advance the boat.  In addition, boys should not use their faces, lips, hats, nose or other bodily parts to move the boat - just the air in their lungs!

 

    The Raingutter Regatta is similar to the pinewood Derby except that the models are miniature sailboats.  Although the seas are only 10-foot lengths of raingutter filled with water, and the ships a mere 7 inches long, the race is a very exciting event.  Each boy will build his own boat with supervision and help from parents and leaders the day of the event.  He also provides the wind for the sail with his own lung power.

 

    The regatta boat kit, has a pre-shaped balsa hull, metal keel and plastic sail.  The hulls are sanded and shaped, and are colorfully painted.  Hull and sail are then decorated with colorful decals.   The boats race in pairs on raingutter courses propelled by the boys blowing into the sails with a drink straw.

 

Raingutters:

o      Have a spare raingutter on hand.

o      Pre-test all raingutters for leaks.  Have some crimping tools on-hand (such as vice grips) to seal last-minute leaks.

o      Keep caulk on hand.  Do not use 100% silicone on wet surface since it dissolves in water.

o      Clamp the ends of the raingutters down so that they do not get knocked over!

 

Cleanup (for indoor activities):

o      Have mops handy!

o      Have plenty of towels handy!

o      Use a Wet-Dry Shop Vac to remove the water! This is the best hint I can provide!

 

Helpful Hints:

o      The best "sailing" boat is a raw un-finished boat with the mast and sail stuck on! It does not look pretty, but ...

o      For the reason above, try to incorporate a design category or weighting into the judging categories.

o      Try to keep the bottom as flat as possible; that is as close to the original flat bottom as possible.

o      Have a waiting deck: Try bringing a small plastic pool or sandbox to fill with water that is called the "marina" where the boys can test their boats.

o      It is not how hard you blow but how straight you blow that makes the difference.

o      More keel(s) or a more heavily weighted single keel is needed for top heavy boat; such as if you were to put some form of cabin on the deck!

o      The bottom edge of the sail needed to be about 1/2 inch above the deck of the boat.  If the sail was too low the corners rubbed against the gutter or dipped in the water.  If the sail was too high the boat was top heavy and tended to tip over.

o      The boats sailed best if they were balanced with more weight to the rear.  This elevated the bow of the boat, and when they were blown, they ran almost even.

o      The keels needed to be placed about 3/4 of an inch behind the mast.  Don't follow the instructions in the kit.

o      The rudder should be placed touching the keel.

o      Blow evenly with the straw at a point about 1 inch from the bottom of the sail.  Blowing the boat down one edge of the gutter rather than letting it "tack" back and forth seemed to be the fastest.

o      Use "Krylon" spray paint -- it dries in about one minute on the balsa wood hulls.

o      Try to learn how to make double elimination brackets for odd numbers of boats before the race.

 

NO Raingutter Regatta Catamaran Design (for Pack 133) 

Looking for a fast, stable, good-looking Raingutter Regatta boat design? Here it is! 

Regatta catamaran in action The following information provides plans for a Raingutter Regatta catamaran that was used in winning pack races and "most original design" awards.   Included are pictures of boats, and directions for building one of your own--as a service to Scouting.   The ideas behind the design are also listed to help you develop even better ones.

All materials needed (except paint, glue, and decorations) are in the Cub Scout kit, and it's not much more difficult to make than the standard boat (much easier than a good Pinewood Derby car, too).  Check your local race rules before building to be sure that this design meets all of your pack or district's requirements. 

 

Problems with the "Standard" Regatta Boat Design

Talk to anyone who has watched the standard Cub Scout raingutter regatta boat in a race, and you'll hear that it doesn't work well.    The design has a number of problems:

1.     It's too heavy.

2.     The center of gravity is high and the sail is too tall, so the boat rolls easily.

3.     Because of the shape of the hull (the pointy bow, in particular), the standard boat tends to steer to the side when it rolls.    So the boat first rolls, then turns to the side, and finally gets stuck sideways across the gutter as the bow drives into the wall.

4.     The curved (looking down from the top) sides of the hull tend to turn the bow into the side of the gutter when the boat brushes against it, again causing the boat to get stuck sideways.

5.     The sail design is inefficient, so scouts often have to blow hard to get the boat to move.   This behavior is unpredictable--depending on where the blow strikes the sail, the boat sometimes goes, and sometimes doesn't.    Scouts find this frustrating and tiring!

6.     The standard sail design easily gets caught on the edges of the gutter.

7.     Many scouts and Akelas don't know that the sail must be anchored to the mast or hull to prevent it from spinning.   A boat with a spinning sail won't move. 

8.      

NO CubCat  DESIGN FOR PACK 133 RACES!

The catamaran design overcomes all of these problems, providing a fast, stable, predictable boat that kids love racing and watching. 

The blue boat (see Fig.  1 & 2 next page) is built to a 1-7/8" beam required by that district and standard mast.   The other two boats were built with no beam restrictions -- 2.1" beam was used.   The sail design is more advanced--no masts were used, and the top spar was added.   The green and yellow boats were the two fastest boat designs in a pack "fun race".  

...and Why It's Better

A number of features make this design much faster and better-handling than the standard boat.   (Feel free to use these ideas in developing your own boat designs.)

1.     It's light--the boat can be built to perform well without the keel or mast in the kit (up to 50% weight savings).

2.     It's stable--the catamaran hull has much less tendency to roll than the standard one, and when it does roll, it doesn't steer to the side as much.   It naturally holds a very straight course down the gutter.

3.     The sides of the hull are straight, so when they brush against the side of the gutter, the boat doesn't turn its bow into the wall and get stuck.

4.     The sail design is more efficient, and is more forgiving of blows that aren't aimed perfectly into it.

5.     The sail edges won't get caught on the gutter.   In fact, the rounded front corners of this sail tend to bounce off of the edge of the gutter, so the boat often rights itself when it tips (you can see this happen in the movies).

6.     The sail is firmly anchored to the hull (can't spin).

 

Things Scouts Learn from This Project...

 

     Besides learning a few basic things about sailboat types and design (what a catamaran is, importance of weight, center of gravity, sail shape/size, etc.), this project is a great way for scouts to experience that good ideas and "outside the box" thinking really do make things better, and that being "different" in an effort to make something better is good.  Scouts quickly learned to handle the boat much better during practice (they could see their own progress), and came away with an appreciation for the value of practice and preparation, in general.   And it was fun!  The kids loved building and racing these "different" boats, and got many favorable comments at the races.