HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1970-04-23, Page 13• n
Followingplication last week of a story
on • the sailboat the FIREBALL (The'
Effervescent ,Fireball,. , Aprr1 wi6 issue),- we
.Have received. a number -of calls from people
Interested in the craft who are curious' as to.
just how easy or., how hard it would be to
„ build ' a Fireball .The best 'source of
information on that subject right now would
be the Blue Water Sailing Club, or members
of that club at least.
Club president George Robertson, shown
at work on one of the boats, startea the
project; in town with the 'help of Bert
Corbett and the pair -was soon joined by two
other enthusiasts;.. Harold Jeffery and Burt
Kheul11The, four started construction of their
boats about two months ago in the -loft;
move Macfonakl Electric's offices, on
13ritannia "Road. So far parts of :six boats
have been prepared and four of these are
well under construction. Two 'will be for
Sale.
Mr. Robertson, or any of the others
building, boats .right now, would be pleased
to give any advice, and information is always
gladly`. given by the Canadian Fireball
- Associ ation. .
Cost of the boat would be•better obtained•
from those in tower} who area building them as
the figure varies from time to time and. with
'the source of supply tiled. •
Time of construction is about 100 man
' hours and the boat was built with ease of -
D
construction in mind. Few tools are needed
and even an amateur carpenter can do well,
• Little needs to be said here on the.
performance of theboat as it was covered in
the last issue ' of the Goderich -gnat-Starr
but for those who missed it; the boat is a
dream to sail and a breath.taker when the
winds pick up, planning at extremely, high
speeds for a relatively small boat.
It is, light in. weight, easily trailered and
just as easily launched and rigged.,)
Two people• are needed to sail it ,in
competition •although one lean handle it
quite well when not. racing'.
It is not a family boat as such, but a fun
boat to sail and one • that can be .used for
sailing around the shores without fear )of a
capsize leaving you stranded, The boats will
capsize occasionally when sailed ` hard in a
fair wind, but are easily righted and may be
sailed':agai r without bailing:, Self bailers are
•
standard equipment. , _a
Over all the boat is a good one to own and
one that loses little In value after a year or
two of hard sailing.'
The Fireball ~i_s one of the fastest growin
classes p ` pure racing sailboat. In the worl''
today, and once the tour that are being built
here are launched and raced,'we would guess
they will become ,one of the most popular
here too.
4
ro
e
'George Robertson, president of rthe recently formed Blue Water Sailing . Club, was. instigator of the A
FIREBALL sailboat construction- at -present under way in Goderich. He started the project after reading an
article in CANADIAN 'POWER AND SAIL • magazine. The club 'was formed to help foster an interest in
sailing. Mr. Robertson is shown fitting the forward decking to the FIREBALL he is buildin"g:
Six ,F•I9EBALL sailboats are under construction in Goderich and at least four of them are expected to be in
the water this season: Two others will be for sale. ,Harold Jeffery, one., of four local men builditig the boats,
finds faring in the chines for the bottom panels takes some conceq.tration - and a bit of help from daughter
Sue.
h
Schematic construction details show limp may
NOTE: SAND 'MEASUREMENTS ON
MIST TAKEN TO HEEL
TENON EXCLUDED
MAX. HEAD6OARD WIDTH
!'/152.4 MM
•
2'
655
6
9' 41 2545 MM TO MAST
-16„
.1119'/ 5060 MM
1.h
9
DIAG MAX
5' O:! 1571 MM 'b
1
"FIREBALL"'
These `sketches by the designer are included on a larger scale ill the
' plan. The cutaway drawing is to help the amateur builder.
1p
FIG. I
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FIG. 4 •
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FIG. 7,. ...ta
°FIG.5 ......1..,1,E n'a st:7a
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1100..•• 04.60
FIG. 922.ii
FIG. 3 nn',a
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^ ti
FORWARD WEB
FORWARD COCKPIT.
BULKHEAD
CENTRE BOARD
CASE
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AFTER COCKOI,T
BULKHEAD
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1 1111
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