History of Model Yachting
Model yacht racing became an organized sport in Brooklyn, New York after the Civil War. Soon there were clubs emerging in the port cities along the East and West Coast and in Detroit. The early clubs sailed on semi-open waters until specially built model yacht basins were built. Many of the yacht basins were built between 1935 and 1943 with government money using Work Progress Administration labor. During the Depression (1929-1939) many people substituted model yachting as a more affordable hobby. During the 1940s and 1950s the sport became elitist, partially due to the fact that advances in design and technology were available to only a select group of people. Women were rarely included in the sport, except in auxiliary roles. This and the availability of other leisure time pursuits contributed to a decline in the popularity of the sport. With the advent of radio controlled models around 1965, model sailboats again became popular and widely available.
In 1921, America was invited to participate in an international race and the Model Yacht Racing Association of America was formed. It was affiliated with other regional model yacht clubs throughout the United States and was made up of three divisions, Eastern, Midwestern and Pacific. In 1970s the popularity of radio-controlled sailboats was growing and a group decided to form the American Model Yachting Association. As of 2008 it is the national governing body for model yachting.
Biography of Theodore W. Houk
Theodore W. Houk was a physician in the Seattle, Washington and was very active in the Model Yacht Racing Association of America, holding various offices from the 1930s to the 1950s. He encouraged young people to build and race their own boats. He also invented a “self tacking” vane gear in 1939. Many of his ships plans are in the Daniel S. Gregory Ships Plans Library at Mystic Seaport.
Biography of Roderick A. Carr
“Roderick A. Carr has been a member of American Model Yachting Association since 1969 and holds membership number 2. He has served the organization by being elected or appointed to several national offices, including Secretary/Treasurer, Chairman of the American Model Yachting Association Racing Rules Committee, member of the International Yacht Racing Union-Model Yacht Racing Division Technical Committee, and Region 6 Director. He has served as Class Secretary of the EC/12, Star 45, and J-Class, and has conducted numerous national and regional championships. Roderick has been active in the formation of numerous clubs, written numerous newsletters, designed hulls, and built sails for several classes.” (Adapted from http://www.modelyacht.org; accessed January 2, 2009)
Scope and Contents of the Papers
Series 1: Newsletters and annual meeting minutes for model yacht clubs, the majority of which were collected by Roderick A. Carr and kept in alphabetical order; 1931-1997
Series 2 : Personal and model yacht correspondence of Theodore W. Houk; 1926-1951
Series 3: Model Yacht Racing Association papers; 1937-1980
Series 4: Model building plans and designs; 1931-1967
Series 5: Card files of Theodore W, Houk; undated.
Series 6: Miscellaneous papers; 1898-1978
Series 6: Miscellaneous papers; 1898-1978
Series 7: Volume; undated
Restrictions
Restrictions on Access
Available for use in the Manuscripts Division.
Restrictions on Use
Various copying restriction apply. Guidelines are available from the Manuscripts Division.
Index Terms
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the G. W. Blunt White Library. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
Persons:
Carr, Roderick A.
Houk, Theodore W.
Corporate Bodies (Including Vessels):
American Model Yachting Association Eastern Division
Model Yacht Racing Association of America
Greater Seattle Model Yacht Club
Model Yacht Racing Association of America
Seattle Model Yacht Club
Subjects:
Model sailboats
Models and modelmaking
Ships models-radio control
Document Types:
Card indexes
Correspondence
Newsletter
Specifications
Return to the Table of Contents
Administrative Information
Coll. 284, Manuscripts Collection, G. W. Blunt White Library, Mystic Seaport Museum, Inc.
Detailed Description of the Collection
The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.
| Series 1: Newsletters and annual meeting minutes for model yacht clubs, the majority of which were collected by Roderick A. Carr and kept in alphabetical order; 1931-1997 1931-1997 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | Capitol Radio Control Model Boat Club; 1969-1970 (62 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Club Argentino de Yachting Minatura; 1951 (21 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Greater Seattle Model Yacht Club newsletter; 1986-1987 (72 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Greater Seattle Model Yacht Club newsletter; 1988 (64 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Greater Seattle Model Yacht Club newsletter; 1989 (63 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Greater Seattle Model Yacht Club newsletter; 1990 (55 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Greater Seattle Model Yacht Club newsletter; 1991-1992 (74 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 2 | 1 | Greater Seattle Model Yacht Club newsletter; 1994-1995 (89 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Greater Seattle Model Yacht Club newsletter; 1996-1997 (79 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | International model Racing Union; 1949 (10 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Minuteman Model Yacht Club and Seattle Model Yacht Club; 1994-1998 (25 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Model Yachting Association Great Britain and the Commonwealth; 1931-1935 (64 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Model Yacht Racing Association of America annual meeting minutes; 1936-1942 (58 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Model Yacht Racing Association of America annual meeting minutes; 1942-1949 (74 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 3 | 1 | Model Yacht Racing Association of America annual meeting minutes; 1943-1949 (55 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Model Yacht Racing Association of America, correspondence; 1950-1951 (13 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Model Yacht Racing Association of America, Eastern Division newsletter; 1950-1951 (95 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Pacific Division; 1951 (8 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Potomac Radio Control Sailing Association; 1974-1977 (32 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Southern California Model Yacht Racing Association; 1938-1939 (7 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Strictly Sail; 1970-1974 (43 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 2: Personal and model yacht correspondence of Theodore W. Houk; 1926-1951 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 4 | 1 | Paul W. Sweet, John Ward, Henry Kaiser and Charles Farley; 1926-1951 (69 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Model Yacht Club mailings, forms, and applications; 1945-1951 (72 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Technical questions and sketches; 1948 (18 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Pond endorsements; 1948-1949 (17 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Foreign clubs; 1949-1951 (17 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Model Yachting subscriptions; 1949 (111 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Model Yachting subscriptions; 1950 (58 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Y.M.C.A.; 1950 (30 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Pacific Northwest Model Yacht Racing Association; 1950-1951 (29 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Manufacturers of model yachts; 1950 (29 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Books and magazines; 1950 (7 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Youth leaders and mailing labels; 1950-1951 (9 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 3: Model Yacht Racing Association of America papers; 1937-1980 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 5 | 1 | Burgee sketches; undated (20 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Correspondence; 1950-1951 (15 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Eagle Trophy winners, list; 1937 (5 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Forest Hill Model Yacht Club; 1935-1941 (12 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | “J” and “S” class, rules; 1950 (19 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | “M” class, rules committee; 1940-1943 (89 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | “M” class registrants; undated (13 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Measurement Certificate blank forms; undated (18 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Roster and constitution; 1976-1980 (3 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Rules committee; 1948-1950 (70 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 11 | Seattle Model Yacht Club race schedules; 1950-1951 (21 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 12 | Slo Mo Shun Model Race correspondence; 1952 (48 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 13 | Starting schedules; 1943, undated (33 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 4: Model building plans and designs; 1931-1976 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 6 | 1 | Building instructions; 1967 undated (32 pieces) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Fireboat parts checklist; undated (4 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Marine Models, designs; 1931-1932 (30 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Patterns; 1927-1941 (6 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Plans, Modelljacht,Tiller=Junior”; 1939 (6 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Technical plans for magazine article; undated (4 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 5: Card Files of Theodore W. Houk; undated | |||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 7 | Card file, model yacht people and subject, A to J; undated (221 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 8 | Card file, model yacht people and subject K to Z; undated (250 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 9 | Card file, people A to Z; undated (129 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Box | |||||||||||||
| 10 | Index, model yachting periodicals and books; undated (260 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 6: Miscellaneous papers; 1898-1978 | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 11 | 1 | Forest and Stream supplement; 1898 (1 piece) | |||||||||||
| 2 | Scientific American supplement; 1899 (1 piece) | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Souvenir booklets; 1929, undated (24 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 4 | Hobby catalogs; 1934-1950 (13 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 5 | Newspaper clippings; 1951-1952, undated (30 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 6 | Hobby shops mailing list; 1950 (8 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Instructions for homemade mimeograph; 1950 (8 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 8 | Newspaper clippings; 1951-1952 (19 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 9 | Scraps of paper with notes 1951, undated (14 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| 10 | Stem to Stern, Model Yacht Association articles; 1971-1978 (96 pieces) | ||||||||||||
| Series 7: Volume; undated | |||||||||||||
| Box | Folder | ||||||||||||
| 11 | 11 | How to Sail your Model Yacht; undated (1 volume) | |||||||||||