Following pictures show the Taifun of Manuel Dufresne

Manuel is happy to help modellers building the Taifun.

You can contact him under manuel.dufresne@gmail.com

The Marblehead Class

The Marblehead club was always a bit of a maverick in model yachting circles, since it was large enough (70 members in 1930) to support classes of its own. Throughout the 1920's a very popular local class was the one originally suggested by the full-scale designer L. Francis Herreshoff: 450 square inches of sail area and no other restrictions.

The 450 class, like other classes with no hull restrictions, lead to long, handsome "greyhound" shapes with extreme overhangs. The plans shown here are for a design by C.W. Sweet. LWL 30.5", LOA 39", Displacement a mere 4.5 pounds.

In 1930 Roy Clough, then commodore of the club, proposed a new class of larger boats.

The 450 class has been so popular, with so many boats racing in it at Marblehead, that a larger sail area class has been started there. These boats must be 50 inches on deck. At first it was proposed to carry 700 sq. in. of sail, but after trying one out with 795 the question as to whether the sail shall be increased to 900 or 1000 sq. in. The result, of course, was that the sail area was settled at 800 sq. in. and the single most popular class in the history of model yachting was launched. Called variously the "Marblehead," "50/800," or "M" class, it had at one time over 1000 registered boats. The class became a national class in the U.S. in 1932 and an international class in 1937. There were many reasons for its popularity: the size of the boat made for a good sailing model in all kinds of weather and was still (by design, it was rumored) small enough to fit in the back seat of a car. The simplicity of the rules contrasted with the other classes of the day, which required extensive measurement to determine whether a boat was legal.

that although the class was limited to 450 square inches of sail we had a real 'mongrel' class of boats. Boats of all sizes, from 30 to 45 inches long; regular keels, fin keels, overhanging rudders, and boats anywhere from five to ten inches wide all belonged in the same class.

From that time on, membership began to increase, and the club had to hire larger quarters. New clubs seemed to spring up overnight, and things started to boom for the Marblehead class. Later the design was officially adopted by the Model Yacht Racing Association of America, and the greatest model yacht building boom ever seen in this country was under way. Clubs and trophies began to appear as if by magic, and at the present time the most sought-after trophy is the 'Marblehead Perpetual Challenge Cup' which was won this year by the Jersey City Model Yacht Club. The Heisler Cup, which was given by Mr. Charles Heisler of Rensselaer, N.Y., is another beautiful prize. This cup is held by the Red Bank Model Yacht Club. Another trophy, a sterling silver bowl, which was won last year by Mr. Frank Goodwin of the Marblehead Yacht Club, is the Chester I. Campbell Cup, which was given by the estate of the late Chester I. Campbell. The winner of this cup holds it for one year and also receives a replica to keep. There are also large regattas held each year by other clubs at which there will be from 50 to 60 models. One of these events is the National Championship Races of the Marblehead 50-800 class.

"Little did anyone who saw the first profile drawing on the old barn door think that it was to be the forerunner of the largest model yacht class in the world today.

The Model Sailing Club, a department of the German Sailing Club, has accepted the Marblehead 50-800 class in Germany because they believe that this class will render very nice and useful boats with a simple formula which are not difficult to build and are handy . They will hold an International Race at Hamburg. One of the two yacht classes selected for the race is the Marblehead 50-800, and this country will be invited to send two boats to the competition. Eight other countries have also been invited to participate.

From the small beginning on the old barn door has come the most popular class of yachts the world has ever known; after blanketing our country, it has spread to foreign lands, and is still growing.