It’s no secret that there are many, many more sailboats sold that there are members to any club or sailing association like AMYA. RC Sailors are such a quiet, polite bunch of guys that sometimes I wonder if we are doing something wrong and shouldn’t be PURSUING members for our clubs and AMYA.
Our small numbers gives us virtually no voice with city or county governments on where and when we can sail. Many never even heard of such a thing as an RC sailboat.
Of the kit boats I’ve built, I don’t think there was any literature included which pushed the idea or registering the boat or the advantages of AMYA membership etc. This seems an awful waste to me.
What do you guys think? What can we do? What should we do? Or is everyone happy being the ghosts of the RC world?
G’day Pecos. You raise some important issues here, It can be said that Most R/C yachtsmen only are interested in what’s in front of them on the workbench. There’s an element of truth in that.
If you want to interest governments, well that is something else again.Government are there for masses of people, your hobby appeals to less than .001% of the country and hence , no appeal to governments.
Are you wondering why your hobby has not got the facilities? Well we have a saying in Australia that says there is more than one way to skin the Goanna(lizard.
So what do you want to accomplish? To accomplish anything you, you must gather around you some like minded people. If you go it alone you’re considered a “crackpot”.
Good points, Steve. No secret our hobby isn’t for everyone and there aren’t enough channels for everyone to sail anyway.[:D] What I would like to see us do is just get enough people in the sport that we COULD drag a half dozen folk before a city council meeting if necesssary. Enough to rise above the “crackpot” level you speak of.
I don’t think a little sociatle muscle ever hurt any organization. We just have to figure out how to do it.[:-bigeyes2]
guys i have done this
i have included city council. and where i am they are all for it. bringing people into the city. the big problem i had was that they did not know.“what i was talking about” marblehead,IOM. so i got used to just saying model sailboats. this went over alot better. most city councilmen will help once they see, rather than beeing told. what is going to happen. also is there a lake in the city that can be used. I am lucky that i live in a twinn city. and both city have a little grudge. so i can run my races anywhere. the important thing i have done is to bring 2 boats. get people invovled. most poeple will walk up and talk to you. " where is the motor" is the common thing. so you hand them the transmitter and you sail the other boat. people see 2 boats they start to see races. even though there is no races. this starts a small gathering. city council will love something like this because it draws people into an area. and only one person can sail. the other can shop.
good luck
cougar
Well Pecos, Cougar put it in a nut shell.It shows you in no uncertain terms what you’re up against.
What you may consider is thinking outside the ‘square’? I take it, the end result you want to achieve is facilities for your chosen hobby or sport and perhaps recognition?
Who can you think of in the community that have similar facilities, to your needs? Maybe a power boat club , golf course,Yacht Club, Horse race course. Perhaps a farmer with a nice water dam or maybe a lake/ fountain in the town centre, that will only except little (micro) type yachts. the facilities that your after make sure your boats fit the facilities. Now you may have to go to micro mini radio receivers etc and perhaps set up your plastic portable swim pool in front of city hall? I’m not kidding here! What do you want to achieve Pecos?
And just one more thing Pecos, I’ve always found the public more on side if I refer to them as MODEL BOATS OR MODEL YACHTS. This term R/C sailing boats only confuses John Doe.
pecos
one other thing. I am the bad guy at my old club. I have been drummed out of it. because of just what i said. I wanted to grow the sailing division . i went behind some peoples back to go and look for another pond. some place closer to the people. I even had to start my own club (KMYC) but with the help for goverment . I got my own pond. and like steve said. it is a dammed up river next to a kids park. thi smakes for great veiwing. parking and alot of people watching. and asking question. the other thing i do is to bring flyers. i made up on the computer, how the yacths work. because you will get asked. where is the motor? where can i get one? and how much do they cost. heheheh also a cheap way to get my club logo out there. and my email
good luck
cougar