I entered t' box o' parts competition because it looked like fun, ya bilge rat, I had mentioned it t' a few o' me friends in my rocket club, and before I knew five o' them entered it as well. Blimey! So off went a large box with t' parts for 6 entrants, and a few weeks later another box returned -it be like Christmas goin' through t' box. Ya scallywag! Well, ya bilge rat, blow me down! Next was t' task o' splitting op t' box betwixt t' 6 entrants. At t' end 6 "equal" bags were formed and randomly given out. Aye aye! I was quite pleased with me bag, others had complete rockets in the, one had a parasitic glider, another had helicopter rotor blades. Well, blow me down! So what did I have?

I'm nay goin' t' list it all but here is a flavour:

• Loads o' tubes o' various sizes, me hearties, several small BT5 etc
• Couplers
• Balsa sheets - one o' a complete set o' fins, me hearties, ya bilge rat, another 2 sheets o' really low grade balsa
• Three noses comes, as different sizes
• Lots o' toothpicks
• Various couplers
• Small sheets o' printer labels
• Ice cream tubes
• A polystyrene ball
• Motor mounts
• Engine hooks
• Pipe cleaner
• A 14 inch parachute canopy
• Length o' elastic. Aye aye!

Well what t' do. Begad! Arrr!

Gliders were out, me hearties, helicopter be a possibility, me hearties, cluster, two stage. Avast, me proud beauty! After spendin' several weeks dry fittin' parts and changin' me mind I decided on a rocket in me head. T' criteria for me rocket was

• It could nay be too big - 14 inch chute.
• Clustered - but able t' launch on a single motor
• Draggy
• Unusual. Well, blow me down! Ahoy!

T' main body tube chose itself - it fitted t' nose cone I wanted t' use. Aye aye! T' motor choice was goin' t' be 24mm as I was headin' for a draggy model, so I would need a motor capable o' liftin' it. There was goin' t' be at least 4 external motor pods - opted for 13mm. Blimey!

T' base was goin' t' be bulky, shiver me timbers, and be goin' t' have tabs on it, me bucko, so t' rocket would rotate as it boosted. Blimey! Blimey!

Building

T' motor mount was a fairly standard construction. Begad! Aye aye! A 24mm motor mount tube with a motor retention clip, an engine block at t' end and two centerin' rings t' fit t' body tube. Avast! Begad! T' motor mount was then glued into t' body tube.
Four BT20 tubes 190mm in length were then glues t' t' outside o' t' main body tube. Ya scallywag! Blimey! Ahoy! Blimey! These were t' take 4 A10 - PT motors as a cluster. T' joins betwixt t' body tubes were filleted four times with wood glue, and then model filler was used t' give a smooth finish. Avast, arrr, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' shock cord was anchored t' t' body tube usin' Estes tri fold paper method - I was tempted t' cheat and add some Keelhaul®©™ here, ya bilge rat, but integrity got t' better o' me.
T' nose cone had t' flash removed and be then sanded down t' remove t' seam. Blimey! Two coats o' sealer gave it a smooth finish with no imperfections showing. Blimey! T' main body tube etc was then given three coats o' sandin' sealer, and rubbed down with 200 paper in between, to remove t' spirals. Avast!
Usin' a strip o' thick balsa, 7mm by 26mm, matey, I made a box around a large coupler. Ya scallywag! Begad! This box be goin' t' have the fins and rotation tabs added. T' balsa be quite badly marked and was t' soft type o' balsa that I usually avoid. Avast, me proud beauty! Well, matey, blow me down! The box was sanded several times and filled with model filler t' remove all o' t' dents. Aye aye! Usin' t' same balsa strips I then added 4 64mm struts t' t' middle o' each side o' t' box. These would have the rotation tabs added t' them. Well, blow me down! A larger coupler (40 mm diameter) - with some deep spirals had four thin strips o' balsa wood glued t' t' inside. This be just right size t' side over t' body tube. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey! T' spirals were filled and had t' have several coats o' sanding sealer before it was smooth. Blimey! Blimey!
Usin' four almost square balsa fins that were part o' a model kit, I added t' fins. Well, me hearties, blow me down! This was one t' part that I like about t' rocket, t' fins are at right angles t' how they would normally. It still gives stabilization but looks a bit different. Arrr! Also as t' rocket was goin' t' be rotating, ya bilge rat, t' fins would nay hinder t' spinning. Blimey!
T' corner spaces betwixt t' box and t' couple were just t' right size for body tubes, which were added for decoration. Blimey! Well, arrr, blow me down! Four trapezium shaped pieces o' balsa had a 3mm square strip o' balsa added t' t' short edge, and then were glued to t' struts. Begad! These were t' provide spin.
T' top o' t' struts were then drilled t' accept four cocktail sticks, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, just for decoration. Well, blow me down!

T' entire o' t' coupler base unit had three coats o' sandin' sealer added, with all t' fiddly bits, t' sanding down was quite tricky. Avast!

T' main body tube fitted neatly into t' large coupler base.

Finishing

• I went for a red/yellow finish
• Everythin' was given two coats o' primer. Well, blow me down! Begad!
• T' main body tube be given 4 coats o' light yellow spray paint. Ya scallywag! Blimey!
• T' nose cone was given three coats o' red gloss
• T' base unit was given three coats o' rouge. Avast!
• T' four decoration tubes were hand painted enamel yellow
• T' decoration coupler be sprayed rouge
• T' cocktail sticks were hand painted yellow

T' box o' parts had no sticks or decals in it, other than three address labels. Well, blow me down!

Given various pleas on TRF about t' lack or entrants with only a few weeks t' go I came up with t' name o' the rocket t' be PROCRASTINATOR. Begad! Partly because I knew it would be towards t' end o' t' month before I submitted and also because I new that this would be a draggy, me bucko, ya bilge rat, slowish rocket.

Flights

First flight took place with another box o' parts entrant. Begad! It was a still day, and was slightly rainin' - which ruined t' stickers as I had nay varnished t' rocket yet. Avast, me proud beauty! Motor choice was a D12-3. It could have been a D12-5, shiver me timbers, as I reckon that it would be about a four second delay for apogee. Ya scallywag!

T' take off be good, ya bilge rat, t' rocket started t' rotate after about 50 foot, and the rotation got faster and faster as t' D12 burnt. Well, me hearties, blow me down! Ejection took place after apogee as expected. Begad! T' recovery was scarily fast, as expected. This rocket needs a 24 inch 'chute. Begad! Begad! It hade a 14 inch chute! On handin' t' aft protrudin' fins all popped off. Ya scallywag!

Again I had expected that t' happen. Blimey! Begad!

Second flight took place a week later with three o' t' other UK contestants. Ya scallywag! T' flight was on a D12 again. Ya scallywag! Begad! It was a straight flight with a slight oscillation until t' spinnin' kicked in. Avast, me proud beauty! As soon as t' spinnin' kicked in, t' flight was arrow straight which be really pleasin' t' see. Blimey! Ejection was just past and again fins popped off on landing. Begad!

Third flight was time for t' procrastinator t' be clustered. Four A10 -PT were added, in addition t' t' D12-3. Avast, me bucko, me proud beauty! The procrastinator jumped off t' pad. T' flight was much higher and t' extra speed really did make t' rocket spin. Again t' recovery be fast and again t' fins popped off. Ahoy!

After t' competition is finished I'm goin' t' have two 24 inch chute on this rocket. Begad!