Pacific Northwest Model Yacht Club
Annual Meeting of Members.
February 21, 2015, at Seattle Yacht Club

At 11:08 AM Commodore Allan Van Ness called the meeting to order.

Commodore Allan Van Ness, Vice Commodore John Ive, and Secretary Philip Hubbell were 
nominated and re-elected to their offices. Commodore Van Ness was elected Treasurer.

The treasurer reported cash on hand of $944 prior to revenues collected at this meeting. 
Charges of $315 were expected from Seattle Yacht Club for food services at today's meeting.
Expenditures in the year preceding included purchase of a radio-controlled tugboat and mark 
launching barge to serve club races, $400 in trophies, and $250 premium for liability insurance.

Commodore Van Ness awarded the Rookie of the Year Trophy to Dan Matthews as "the 
obvious choice for 2014." Dan's rapid ascendancy through the rankings in his first year of T-37 
racing and his advancement from attendee to lecturer/coach in the Learn to Sail Your T-37 
seminars were cited in the presentation. 
The flag officers all respect Dan's sailing ability and knowledge and eagerly engage him in 
discussions of matters of import to the fleet. 
Dan was not present, owing to a previously scheduled annual family event.

There was a brief description of annual trophy events and their corresponding trophies.

Commodore Van Ness discussed the fact that AMYA-sanctioned regattas have been hosted 
exclusively and most graciously at Seattle Yacht Club for over four years.
He proposed that PNMYC members consider and investigate the option of rotating some 
sanctioned regattas through other PNMYC-affiliated yacht clubs for the benefit of members 
living outside Seattle proper.
In 2015, Regionals are scheduled for April and Nationals in October, both at Seattle Yacht Club.
Michael Machette delivered the proposal of Port Townsend Yacht Club to host the 2016 
Regionals to be held at the Port Ludlow resort ponds.

Members waived reading of the minutes of the 2014 annual meeting. 
Secretary Hubbell listed among successes achieved:
1. New club banking arrangement, divorced from officer's personal account.
2. Credit card acceptance capability.
3. Publication of adopted General Sailing Instructions (which have now evolved to General 
Notice of Races and General Sailing Instructions).
4. Liability insurance coverage implemented.
5. Non-profit status accomplished.
The sole item of 2014's meeting not yet achieved is improvement of water conditions in the 
South Lake Union pond. Derek Storm reported that the Center For Wooden Boats seeks 
assistance in pressuring the Parks Department to service this community attraction.

Secretary Hubbell presented a restatement of the PNMYC local variances from Class Rules 
and Racing Rules of Sailing in tabular form and as the PNMYC documents "General Notice 
of Races for 2015" and "General Sailing Instructions for 2015." 

There was a discussion of the value of maintaining a high level of one-design control for the 
quality of competition and for maintaining attractiveness of the class to potential new members. 
The same benefits and recharging interest were cited as resulting from an acceptance of 
innovative ideas that bring improvements yet maintain the concept of low cost and simplicity.

A question from Grant Chyz resulted in a discussion of ideal mast rake and mast position.

A question from John Ford highlighted the minimum rudder length and a lack of a 
maximum length. A brief discussion of the history of standard kit rudders ensued, with the 
suggestion that a range of rudder lengths from 6" to 6.5" might be considered this season.

Secretary Hubbell demonstrated the current state of the PNMYC.org website. 
He discussed the desire to refine the site to be of immediate interest to casual visitors, such 
as walk-ups at a T-37 race site. 
The need to reform the website for mobile (small screen) access was discussed, with members
invited to communicate their ideas on how to optimize the site for current and potential members.

The meeting adjourned to enjoy the lunch prepared by Seattle Yacht Club.

With the meeting called back to order, Commodore Van Ness introduced the feature speaker, 
three-time national champion, Bill Jones.

Bill Jones shared his secrets to "Winning Light Wind Races."  
With the aid of his boat and sketches on a flip chart, Bill discussed these tuning tips and strategy:
1. Bigger slot, backstay off (floppy rig!).
2. Pre-start: stay close to the line, frequently approaching from course side for a dip start, rather 
than entanglement below the line.
3. Downwind: steer only with trim tabs.
4. Overstand the marks, for safety, rather than risk missing the mark. "Undershooting is Death!"
5. In the holes: sails out, be patient, point the boat toward the next mark.

Will Lesh entertained and even amazed the PNMYC with an industry member's perspective 
and commentary accompanying a slide presentation of pond sailing history, prominent pond 
boat builders of Paris and London, and his own recent visits to great and famous sailing ponds 
in London and the ponds central to the Tuileries Garden and Luxembourg Garden in Paris.
Will also recounted his input in Seattle's design of the South Lake Union model boat pond.

Will Lesh presented appreciation plaques from Tippecanoe Boats to: 
1. Allan Van Ness for his many years of effort in growing the T-37 class in the Northwest and 
creating the Pacific Northwest Model Yacht Club, and
2. Dan Newland for his many, many hours of effort and his skill in instructing T-37 builders and 
in producing a video detailing the processes of building a T-37.

Commodore Van Ness presented a history of the T-37 fleet, complete with photos and a 
recitation of the friends and families that challenged oneanother to join in T-37 radio-sailing.

In the open discussion and Q&A session members sought ideas for these items of interest:
1. A means of demonstating, before racing, the four boatlength circle at a distance.
2. Tips for gauging the layline of distant windward marks. 
3. Size, placement, and need of drain holes. 
Size is determined by the available plugging material and whether the boat needs to rinsed out 
after salt water sailing. 
Holes placed either high on the transom or in the deck help avoid accidental flooding. 
The need is reduced by waterproofing methods, such as installing a barney post for the sheet 
exit and taping over cockpit hatches.
4. Purpose, benefits, and building details of sheet barney posts. 
Several designs, sources, and types of materials were discussed.
5. The use and design of adjustable mast steps for mast rake and how to bring it about. 
Some who have experimented with adjustable mast steps promised to share details and ideas 
in future communications.

Presentations of "Pearls of T-37 Wisdom" innovations and experiments in improving the boats:
Vice Commodore Ive demonstrated Fuel Line Clips adapted as clamps to grip T-37 booms for 
adjusting running rigging.
Secretary Hubbell demonstrated a Laser dinghy style bungee arrangement to offset drag on the 
main and jib sheets that helps the booms to swing outboard downwind.
Hubbell also showed a method to allow the top of the mainsail to jibe right and left to increase 
effective sail area on a run. He cautioned there may be a corresponding loss of power upwind.

28 members were in attendance.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:20 with a reminder of races scheduled on March 28.

Philip Hubbell, Secretary.