Derbies

Pinewood Derby

The Pinewood Derby is one of the most popular events in Cub Scouting. Every year more than a million boys and parents team up to carve, decorate, weigh, adjust, fret over, and finally race a Pinewood Derby car. The first Pinewood Derby was held in 1953 by Cub Scout Pack 280 of Manhattan Beach, California, and as of 1991, more than 81 million Pinewood Derby model car kits have been sold. The purpose of the Pinewood Derby is to help the Cub Scout build a team relationship with their parent or helper, experience the sense of accomplishment and the excitement of competition, learn good sportsmanship, and to have fun.

The first, second and third place winners often receive ribbons or trophies. Some packs also award on the basis of car design. The first place race winners may get to go on to race first place race winners from the entire district.

 

Space Derby

The Space Derby is similar to the Pinewood Derby except that the models are miniature 'rockets' -- propeller-driven and powered by two or three rubber bands -- that travel along a heavy monofilament fishing line. The rockets are carved by the boys, with the guidance of their parents or other family members. Space Derby kits with building instructions are available at the Scout Shop.

Track Construction

Use the design in the Cub Scout Leader How-To Book, pages 9-44 through 9-47, ISBN 0-8395-3832-4. Do not deviate from the measurements. The 4 lane design fits nicely in a large van (or any vehicle that can handle a 4x8 sheet of plywood). It is also nice to load the starting gate with 4 space derbies.

Measurements that are NOT included: The upright dowels (to stabilize the space derby in the starting gate) should be 3 inches tall and spaced about 2 inches apart.

Thread the monofilament fishing line through each eye on the gates back and forth. Do not make separate lengths of line for each lane. This makes it easier to make all the lanes the same tension by simply pulling the gates away from each other. Weigh down the starting and ending gates with sand bags.

Tie several (5) pieces of cloth at and just beyond the finish line. This acts as a bumper stop without damaging the propellers. Carefully look at the illustration in the Cub Scout Leader How-To Book.

Getting Things Started

100 turns, 3 rubber bands for a 45 foot run. To reduce rubber band breakage, do not wind more than 100 turns.

"The Rocket"

There are many alternative non-rocket designs such as: cruise missiles, boats (Titanic is always popular), planes, jets, etc.
The little plastic straw MUST go over the hook (not just the shaft as the drawing in the space derby kit illustrates) This is where the rubber bands will hook on - the wire hook will cut the rubber bands without the plastic straw liner!!!
Lubricate the rubber bands (spray silicon, ethylene glycol, castor oil, ...)! Stretch them numerous times before loading, hand wind the bands numerous times before races (20 winds, then 40 winds, then 60, 80, 100) -- this helps relax the elastic properties of the band and makes it more pliable and durable (this is exactly why the clowns stretch the balloons before blowing them up!).
The plastic dowel at the rear of the space derby to hold the rubber bands MUST be kept from rotating (groove out the back so the dowel can sit in it!) - do not glue it!
Do not glue the front nose/propeller assembly into the front of the space derby. It is pulled off to re-load new rubber bands!
Do not glue the back dowel onto the rocket. It is pulled off to re-load new rubber bands!
The propeller should have the rounded shaft-end pointing into (touching) the space derby (this makes the bending of the wire easier and it reduces friction).

 

Raingutter Regatta

The Raingutter Regatta is similar to the Pinewood Derby or the Space Derby except that the models are miniature sail boats. Although the seas are only 10-foot lengths of raingutter filled with water, and the ships a mere 6 inches long, the race is a very exciting event. Each boy builds his own boat with supervision and help from parents or other family members. He also provides the wind for the sail with his own lung power.

The regatta boat kit, available from the Scout Shop, has a pre-shaped balsa hull, metal keel and plastic sail. The hulls are sanded and shaped, and are colorfully painted. Hull and sail are then decorated with decal kits (also available at the Scout Shop). The boats race in pairs on raingutter courses propelled by the boys blowing into the sails. The races can also be run as a team relay event.

Raingutter Regatta Boat Specifications:

Hull: No longer than 7" or shorter than 6 1/2"
Mast: 6 1/2" from deck to top
Keel: Supplied in kit
Rudder: Supplied in kit
Sail: Supplied in kit
 

"How to"

The actually "race" will be divided into age categories: Wolf, Bear and Webelos. Each age group will race amongst themselves. The race will involve two lanes of "rain gutters". The boys are to blow air on the boats in order to advance them through the water. Hands are only to be used to upright a turned over ship, and are not to be used to advance the boat. In addition, boys should not use their faces, lips, hats, nose or other bodily parts to move the boat - just the air in their lungs!

Raingutters:

Have a spare raingutter on hand.
Pre-test all raingutters for leaks. Have some crimping tools on-hand (such as vice grips) to seal last-minute leaks.
Keep caulk on hand. Do not use 100% silicone on wet surface since it dissolves in water.
Clamp the ends of the raingutters down so that they do not get knocked over!

Cleanup (for indoor activities):

Have mops handy!
Have plenty of towels handy!
Use a Wet-Dry Shop Vac to remove the water! This is the best hint I can provide!

Hints:

The best "sailing" boat is a raw un-finished boat with the mast and sail stuck on! It does not look pretty, but ...
For the reason above, try to incorporate a design category or weighting into the judging categories.
Try to keep the bottom as flat as possible; that is as close to the original flat bottom as possible.
Have a waiting deck: Try bringing a small plastic pool or sandbox to fill with water that is called the "marina" where the boys can test their boats.
It is not how hard you blow but how straight you blow that makes the difference.
More keel(s) or a more heavily weighted single keel is needed for top heavy boat; such as if you were to put some form of cabin on the deck!
The bottom edge of the sail needed to be about 1/2 inch above the deck of the boat. If the sail was too low the corners rubbed against the gutter or dipped in the water. If the sail was too high the boat was top heavy and tended to tip over.
The boats sailed best if they were balanced with more weight to the rear. This elevated the bow of the boat, and when they were blown, they ran almost even.
The keels needed to be placed about 3/4 of an inch behind the mast. Don't follow the instructions in the kit.
The rudder should be placed touching the keel.
Blow evenly with the straw at a point about 1 inch from the bottom of the sail. Blowing the boat down one edge of the gutter rather than letting it "tack" back and forth seemed to be the fastest.
Use "Krylon" spray paint -- it dries in about one minute on the balsa wood hulls.
Try to learn how to make double elimination brackets for odd numbers of boats before the race.