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What started as a fun project for an Omaha man to make a model of his own racing yacht has inspired dozens more to make their own boats and form a club.
Now the North Omaha Point Institute of Senior Sailors (NO PSS) meets to race their vessels every Tuesday afternoon at a lake at the Omaha Beach Golf Course. It all began about five years ago when retired pharmacist Cam Duncan decided to make a model of his Noelex 22 trailer yacht. Cam had never attempted such a feat before, but he carefully measured his boat and reduced the dimensions to make a model about 1/12 the size of the original.
He then created a skeleton of the Noelex 22 to serve as a mould for his model. This was surrounded by glued strips of cedar planking to create the model itself. The mould was later withdrawn from the back of the model’s stern.
Cam was delighted with the result and soon got requests from his wife to build another and later, from his two granddaughters. Some friends also became interested and were eager to build their own boats using Cam’s moulds and under his supervision. The craze spread through word-of-mouth leading to the construction of more than 40 boats and the formation of NO PSS.
Cam says many club members have never sailed a yacht before, let alone built one, but all learn woodwork skills and helming tactics.
Cam says one modeller was originally no good with his hands and could not even put a flat-pack kitset together, but he eventually learned to cut straight lines of cedar with a bandsaw.
“He was getting quite competent towards the end of the build and really fussy, insisting on closely matching all the planks on the deck,” he says.
“Then he went on to varnish it and did a fabulous job.”
The models are made from recycled timber and sail off-cuts. The cost of glue and paint for each model is about $20 and a remote control to operate the sails and rudder costs about $120.
This means the entire model need only cost about $140, though Cam says some modellers have splashed out on modifications of their own, including professionally made sails.
NO P*SS member David Stone describes the group as a mixed-gender bunch of jovial, friendly locals.
“Helming skills vary, but anyone can compete regardless of sailing experience,” he says.
