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Catalina 25/25 National Association From the Office of Association Secretary Fleet Development ManualThe officers and
staff of the Catalina 25/250 National Association believe that one of the keys
to strengthening the National Association is the development and redevelopment
of local fleets. The purpose of the Fleet Development Manual is to provide a
tool that local fleets can use in developing their fleet organization; or, that
existing fleets can use to re-organize their fleet. A local fleet is the responsibility of the local
fleet. The organization, by-laws,
qualification for membership, the fleet program (racing, cruising, rendezvous
and social activities), meetings, officers, dues, etc. are decisions that the
local fleet needs to consider. The officers
and staff of the National Association are glad to assist local fleets, but the
ultimate responsibility is vested in the local fleet. REQUIREMENTS1.
In order to
charter a new fleet, or recognize the re-establishment of a former fleet, the
local fleet must provide the National Association Secretary a list of Regular
Members who are members of the Catalina 25/250 National Association. A minimum of three Regular Members and all local fleet officers will be required
to be members of the National Association to receive a charter for a local
fleet. (See Catalina 25/250 National Association Constitution and Bylaws,
Section III. Membership Eligibility, Sub-paragraph A.) 2.
Local fleets
are encouraged to require all their
members be Regular Members in good standing of the National Association. However membership decisions are decisions
that the local fleet must deal with, so in submitting an application for fleet
charter, local fleets are requested to submit a list of Affiliate Members of
the local fleet. An Affiliate Member is
a member of the local fleet, but not a member of the Catalina 25/250 National
Association. As such an Affiliate Member
is not eligible to participate in “member-only” activities of the National Association,
including, but not limited to helming in the National Association Regatta. 3.
In addition
any local fleet requesting a fleet charter should submit the following with
their Application for a Fleet Charter: ·
A copy of the
fleet bylaws – if and when drafted. ·
A copy of the
program for the first year of fleet existence. ·
A schedule of
meetings – if the local fleet anticipates regularly scheduled meetings ·
A fleet
calendar – if appropriate ·
Identification
of Fleet Officers. DECISIONS, DECISIONS, DECISIONSIn order to develop
a local fleet, there are many decisions that need to be made. The purpose of this section of the Fleet Development Manual is to highlight
some of these considerations. 1.
What is the purpose of your local
fleet? It is expected that the objective and purpose
of the local fleet will be consistent with the objective and purpose of the
National Association. (See the
Constitution and Bylaws of the Catalina 25/250 National Association; paragraph
II, Objectives for the objective and purpose of the National Association.) 2.
Do you want to draft bylaws for your
local fleet? Bylaws do not need to complicated, and can be
a one or two page summary of who you are as fleet and how you plan to
operate. The Fleet Captain’s Manual (attached to Fleet Development Manual) gives some simple advice on the nature of
bylaws that might be appropriate for a local fleet. You could also review the Catalina 25/250
National Association Constitution and Bylaws and modify them to fit your
special circumstances. Or, work with the
draft taken from the Catalina 30’s.
Remember all this is suggestion, you in your local fleet need to decide
what you want to do. These examples may
not be appropriate for a newly organizing fleet with 3-5 regular members, but
as the fleet grows, you may find advantage in formalizing the way you do
business together. 3.
Who is eligible to be a member of your
local fleet? It is probably a good idea to address the
following as part of your discussion: ·
Is your
membership limited to just Catalina 25’s?
Or, just Catalina 250’s? Or is it
open to both? ·
Is your
membership open to members of a specific yacht club, or to boats sailing a
particular geographic area. ·
Are you going
to require your local fleet members to be Regular Members of the Catalina
25/250 National Association, or, are you going to establish an Affiliate
Membership category for owners of a C25/250 yacht who are not members of the
National Association? The officers and
staff believe you will build a stronger fleet if all local members are Regular
Members of the National Association. 4.
What officers are going to administer
the affairs of your local fleet? You may want to at least four officers: Fleet
Captain, Secretary, Treasurer and Measurer.
Initially your organization is likely to be fairly informal, but as your
fleet grows you may want to formalize some structure and these are the offices
you want to incorporate into your local fleet structure. What kinds of responsibilities does each
officer have, and what kinds of decisions need to be brought before the entire
fleet membership? 5.
What meetings are going to have?
Most fleet members are interested in sailing, and are not interested in
meetings. Maybe you want to hold
infrequent meetings, and then only on Sunday evenings. Perhaps a potluck would make a meeting a fun
social event. Perhaps you will want to
have only an annual meeting, combined with a holiday social activity. 6.
What are going to be the annual dues of
your local fleet? How are they established? Do members need to approve dues, or do the
fleet officers establish annual dues based on expected fleet activities? Perhaps you will decide not to establish any
local dues, figuring each fleet event will pay for itself. 7.
What will be the program of your local
fleet? Are you going to have local regattas for the
racers in your fleet? If so, who will
run the races? How are you going to
select an annual fleet champion? What
cruises will you provide for your cruising skippers? Will you plan any rendezvous’ during the
season? Where will you meet? What kind of activities will be planned? What other social activities will be part of
the life of your fleet? Once your
program discussions have taken place, you can prepare a fleet calendar for the
year. It would be a good thing to
include other events on your fleet calendar: races, cruises and rendezvous that
your members might be interested in attending.
This would be especially valuable for the trailer sailors in your local
fleet. 8.
What kind of communications will be
part of your local fleet? Many fleets use e-mail to communicate with
their membership, reminding members of future fleet activities. It is also important to communicate with the
community beyond your local fleet.
Stories about regatta results, or fleet cruises will attract attention
of others who might be interested in your fleet, and tell the larger community
about the value your local fleet is providing the members of the fleet. You may also want to consider development of
a fleet web site – either as part of your yacht club’s web site, or a local
fleet member whose business will provide you space. Local fleets have the opportunity to share
their experiences with the Catalina family through writing articles for the Mainsheet, the quarterly publication
sent to all members of the various Catalina families of yachts. Local fleets may also share their stories
with Catalina 25/250 regular members though the TellTale. These are
important vehicles to build fleet strength and to encourage fleet membership. It is the desire of the officers and staff of the Catalina 25/250 National Association to make the process of organizing a local fleet as simple as possible. We hope this manual will assist to organize your fleet, and help all your members enjoy their Catalina Yachts even more. If you have any
questions or comments about the Fleet
Development Manual please feel free to contact Association Officer for
help. e-mail attachments: For Catalina 25/250
Constitution and Bylaws, see: http://www.catalina25-250.org/bylaws.html For USSailing, Fleet Captain’s Manual, see |
Catalina 25/25 National Association
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Application for a New or Renewed Fleet LOCATION: FLEET MEMBERSHIP
Please include the
following (use back of this page and additional pages as necessary): ·
Fleet Bylaws ·
Fleet
Officers Fleet
Captain: ___________________________ Fleet
Secretary: __________________________ Fleet
Treasurer: __________________________ Fleet
Measurer: ___________________________ Other: ___________________________________ ·
Fleet Program
(including expected meetings, racing schedule, cruising schedule and rendezvous
schedule) |