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

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

• Loads o' tubes o' various sizes, shiver me timbers, several small BT5 etc
• Couplers
• Balsa sheets - one o' a complete set o' fins, another 2 sheets o' really low grade balsa
• Three noses comes, ya bilge rat, 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. Arrr!

Well what t' do. Begad! Avast, me proud beauty!

Gliders were out, me hearties, helicopter be a possibility, me bucko, cluster, me bucko, two stage. Avast! After spendin' several weeks dry fittin' parts and changin' me mind I decided on a rocket in me head. Blimey! Blimey! 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. Begad!

T' main body tube chose itself - it fitted t' nose cone I wanted t' use. Begad! T' motor choice was goin' t' be 24mm as I be 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. Avast, me proud beauty!

T' base be goin' t' be bulky, and was goin' t' have tabs on it, ya bilge rat, so t' rocket would rotate as it boosted. Well, blow me down! Aye aye!

Building

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

T' entire o' t' coupler base unit had three coats o' sandin' sealer added, with all t' fiddly bits, shiver me timbers, t' sanding down be quite tricky. Aye aye!

T' main body tube fitted neatly into t' large coupler base. Avast, me proud beauty! Blimey!

Finishing

• I went for a red/yellow finish
• Everythin' was given two coats o' primer. Avast, me proud beauty! Ahoy!
• T' main body tube be given 4 coats o' light yellow spray paint. Blimey! Begad!
• T' nose cone be given three coats o' red gloss
• T' base unit be given three coats o' rouge. Avast! Blimey! Begad! Blimey!
• 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. Aye aye! Begad!

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. Ya scallywag! 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, slowish rocket.

Flights

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

T' take off be good, arrr, t' rocket started t' rotate after about 50 foot, and the rotation got faster and faster as t' D12 burnt. Begad! Arrr! Ejection took place after apogee as expected. Ahoy! Avast! T' recovery was scarily fast, matey, as expected. Aye aye! This rocket needs a 24 inch 'chute. Arrr! It hade a 14 inch chute! On handin' t' aft protrudin' fins all popped off. Arrr!

Again I had expected that t' happen. Aye aye! Ahoy! Blimey!

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

Third flight was time for t' procrastinator t' be clustered. Begad! Four A10 -PT were added, ya bilge rat, shiver me timbers, in addition t' t' D12-3. Arrr! The procrastinator jumped off t' pad. Begad! 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. Well, blow me down!

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