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yachtsea
1st Mate

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USA
73 Posts

Initially Posted - 03/18/2019 : 11:12:41

Hi,

With all of the kind and informative responsiveness found here, I was hoping to learn if any members out there belonged to an online forum for club board members sharing how they conduct business. My wife and I are on the board at a small club among many members who have been around for decades; yet, there are some topics that come up each year we think would be common to similar organizations i.e. insurance policies and premiums, racing organization, storage, property protection, sailing and non-sailing activities, liability, etc.

Thanks,

Carl

Carl Sattler

DavidCrosby
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
229 Posts

Response Posted - 03/18/2019 : 21:13:19

quote:
Originally posted by yachtsea

Hi,

...an online forum for club board members sharing how they conduct business...

I am on the board for our sailing club. I have not seen any forums for this topic. Can't say that I have looked. However, it sounds like a good idea. We are definitely working hard to grow our membership. It has been steadily declining over the years and we have finally managed to start a turn around. The thought being that Millennials do not care to own anything. So, we have invested in creating a fleet of low cost rental boats and an attractive membership level that gives them incentive to join the club and get involved. Ultimately, hoping that they will eventually get sucked so deep into sailing that they will buy their own boat and then join the club as full members. So far so good. There are lots of things that could be shared.

David Crosby "Small World"
'02 C250 WK #614

yachtsea
1st Mate

Members Avatar

USA
73 Posts

Response Posted - 03/19/2019 : 05:13:48

Hi David,

Thanks. I think it would be useful as well. Maybe I'll look at starting one up this year if I don't find one. Winter is a good time for that sort of thing, guess there is still time this year.

I'm not sure where you are located nor the size of your body of water you're on but based on your report, I'll risk my suggestion being valid for your circumstances. We have a waiting list that has been growing and the board's membership's average age is half what it was three years ago. We're careful to make sure we encourage a co-mingling of ages because, particularly with sailing, you want some salts speaking from experience but the younger crowd's enthusiasm, tech-savvy, and perspective. I think we have three people who are in IT (Commodore, communications chair, myself) on the board and it's really starting to show in the meetings, where to store documents, webcams, website, etc.

My wife and I are 43. She had zero interest in sailing; in fact, she wanted a pontoon (gasp), now she's the vice-commodore. For our 21st anniversary, I booked a night aboard a small Catalina 30, just sitting in the marina in Bayfield. She loved it. We wound up spending a second night there. The following weekend, we took out an Islander 33 down on Lake Pepin, decided not to purchase, but the hook was set and we picked up a Catalina Capri 16 the following weekend locally. A year later, we're in a 25.

My point is that another angle might be to take your more interested younger sailing individuals or couples on a charter or maybe make it a prize for the most improved sailor or whatever. Once they get on a larger boat that they can take selfies on and promote their involvement (grinding on the winch is addictive), it might perpetuate into something more local. Sailing is booming on YouTube right now, sorry, "trending".

I've only been with this club for a short time, about three years and two as a board member. There are noticeable tiers of ages but my wife and I are not the youngest by any stretch. We have a couple of club boats and being the only sailing around for at least 100 miles, some of our boats stay longer than the members. Our board holds a number of social events including salmon dinner, 4th (3rd) of July boat parade (last year there were five decorated units), Chrimstas parade on trailers (one unit), camping in the cove evenings (raft up), ice cream socials to encourage kids with free rides, we allow the local sea scouts' chapter access and storage of their vessels, and of course racing.

Do you have moorings or slips, daysailers? We have moorings and trailer sailors and charge accordingly. The price of membership and boat over a season is a small fraction of what you would find really anywhere I have seen. We have some people driving three hours because of the price and they like the view. I wouldn't over-mention it but that's quite a bit of travel for a daysail on a 6000-acre lake.

Carl

DavidCrosby
Navigator

Members Avatar

USA
229 Posts

Response Posted - 03/19/2019 : 07:37:07

Carl,

Just a quick reply for now. I will review more in depth and probably share at our next BOD meeting which is tomorrow.

Our club is Carlyle Sailing Association (CSA), Carlyle Lake, IL. Located about 50 miles east of St. Louis. So, a long drive for most of our members as well. Carlyle Lake is a 26,000 acre lake. There are three other marinas on the lake, with some fairly large sailboats (39 - 40 feet).

CSA is a dry sail club. Boats stay fully rigged ready to go on their trailers. You launch when you want to use the boat and pull when you are done. We have a lot of day sailers that are hoisted into the water. We also have a fairly large fleet of cabin boats, 26 feet and smaller. My Catalina 250 WK is amongst the largest boats at the club. The largest being a Capri 26. We do have E-Scows, which are 28 foot racing scows. They are the longest, but by far, significantly smaller than a Catalina 25. The club has a pretty strong racing program.

Likewise, we have a lot of events and are trying many different things. Things are definitely changing. I have been sailing at CSA since I was 12 years old, with a couple small gaps over the years. I am now 55. I think we have a great low cost club. And we have an awesome lake to sail on. When I was a kid, the club was jam packed with boats. Every spot was filled and we had a waiting list. The trends have shown a steady decline in membership over the years. We have made a concerted effort over the past few years to reverse that trend and the membership is heading back up. Just need to keep improving and moving in the right direction.

David Crosby "Small World"
'02 C250 WK #614

yachtsea
1st Mate

Members Avatar

USA
73 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2019 : 07:12:55

Hi David,

Thanks for responding. I wonder if our Anodyne was ever on your lake. I know she was in/around St. Louis in the latter half of the 80s and Carlyle sounds familiar. We found her in Pella, IA in 2016.

At any rate, we have pictures and an album a long-standing member assembled, showing a significantly larger proportion of daysailers than cabin craft; whereas now, there are six rows of moored cabin boats with a maximum of 25 LOA. There are quite a few 25s out there among some 22s. To my earlier point, the smaller boats seem to be owned/sailed by purists and the last generation of sailors and the newer (80s/90s) 25s are a younger crowd. Call it hipster, millennialism, or whatever, I think a large factor is the ability to pick up a cabin vessel for $5-10K.

The club activities are certainly recognized and recounted each season during the banquet and I wonder if that is because they are less prone to excuse/weather. Sailing can, unfortunately, find itself on the back burner throughout the short season but an event is on the calendar and only requires presence.

If such a forum came to fruition, what would you be comfortable discussing on a public board? Insurance premiums and comparing policies? Dues? or maybe something a little more sanitized like Spring/Fall Clean Up organization. One thing I found to work well during our two all-hands events (most hands) is to take quality digital photographs of various tasks to be accomplished and put them into print, post them to "Wall of Work" and a short descriptive caption below each. That way, individuals can take ownership of each task and walk around with it. Once accomplished, it can be discarded and the remaining items on the Wall indicate what is left to be done. Tasks include: sections of grounds to be raked, tree branches collected, picnic tables repaired/arranged, landscaping weeded, boat lifts put in, anti-snowmobile fence removed, goose barrier erected, beach cleaned, windows cleaned, etc. I (Buildings and Grounds) take care of summerizing the clubhouse the week or two before (weather permitting) so we don't have a cavitated pump or the like. There are pictures and guides for those operations as well so the next B&G member can pick up.

bigelowp
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

USA
1736 Posts

Response Posted - 03/20/2019 : 13:43:52

Have to chime in . . . . . I think the idea is an excellent one. I know locally al the yacht clubs "talk" to ach other during the season typically about "sailing" things but off season they compare notes on increasing participation and membership, insurance costs, etc. My bet is that having a larger group would be beneficial as more ideas could be shared as well as what has not worked, etc. I believe their is some form of yacht club registry that the large clubs are members of, and may be a starting point to see if anything exists and/or how to move forward toward such an organization. Keep us all appraised if you choose to be the trail blazer!

Peter Bigelow
C-25 TR/FK #2092 Limerick
Rowayton, Ct
Port Captain: Rowayton/Norwalk/Darien CT

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 03/21/2019 : 06:35:07

www.ycaol.com

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

yachtsea
1st Mate

Members Avatar

USA
73 Posts

Response Posted - 03/21/2019 : 09:40:39

Bigelow: Seems plausible doesn't it?
Stinkpotter: ycaol.com has what appears a registry to put your club on the map but I didn't pay the admission to see if they had a forum for discussing Club Operations. You are not a member are you? If so, or anyone, and are comfortable taking a screenshot of a sample discussion so I could see the format, not unlike what we are doing here, that would be helpful.

Thanks,

Carl

Stinkpotter
Master Marine Consultant

Members Avatar

Djibouti
9013 Posts

Response Posted - 03/21/2019 : 18:18:40

I know nothing about them, but was thinking if they don�t have a forum, they might be the organization to start one�they have the first prerequisite: potential participants.

Dave Bristle
Association "Port Captain" for Mystic/Stonington CT
PO of 1985 C-25 SR/FK #5032 Passage, USCG "sixpack" (expired),
Now on Eastern 27 $+!nkp*+ Sarge

yachtsea
1st Mate

Members Avatar

USA
73 Posts

Response Posted - 03/22/2019 : 10:39:49

That is true. Thanks.

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