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[SimonCornes]

This might seem like an odd title but I'd like some opinion please about how Clubs go about accommodating fast electric boats?


My club has members operating the usual range of scale electric, scale steam, scale sailing, racing yachts and fast electrics on a lake specifically excavated by the local council back in the early 70's so we're very lucky. Over the years the vegetation has grown and matured and it's all very pretty but no longer great for yacht racing because of very fluky winds due to the bushes and trees, but its the same for everyone.


My concern is for fast electric boats. I have no issue with the likes of Club 500's which have relatively modest top speeds but I am getting increasingly concerned about the breed of Almost Ready To Run boats coming increasingly from the Far East which, in some cases are blisteringly fast and probably as noisy as the IC boats of the 'Good Old Days'. These fast boats are great for entertaining children but I worry that the speed of that sort of boat is exceeding the size of the lake and I worry that there might be an accident. Of course its a public lake in a public park and anyone can operate a boat without being a member of our Club but you can be sure that if there was an accident - involving one of our members or not - then the Club would be blamed and we might even lose the use of the water as a consequence - Council's are not known for conducting in depth investigations about such matters.


It's not just a hypothetical concern either. Last year a fast electric left the water and ran up the bank and allegedly flew through the air at above knee height, narrowly missing a member of the public with a push chair. It has never been established if the boat was being operated by a club member or a member of the public. My understanding is that the boat operator got their 'left' mixed up with their 'right' and thats how the boat ended up running up the shallowly sloping bank. Since then we have brought in a Club rule requiring operators of fast boats to check that their transmitter fail safe is operating and will kill the motor and apply rudder if the signal is lost.


So, with some boats having advertised speeds of 70mph plus, how do other clubs go about making sailing safe? Let me make it clear that I don't want to be a kill joy and the Club has maybe half a dozen members who are very keen on this sort of boat but I wish I knew the answer!

[SteamboatPhil]

In response I would like to say this is becoming a big problem across all ponds and lakes, as a club on our water it became clear our club were being blamed for events which had nothing to do with the club, with a meeting with the council we could prove that all of our craft have our club numbers on (Model Power Boat Association)
Sadly as you say Chinese imports and RTR boats unless (somehow) are controlled we could all be in trouble,,,,,
Just a thought

[tsenecal]

Here in the states, i know of one specific pond where fast electric boats have been banned.

[NickelBelter]

One pond where our club runs is scale electric and steam only.  Our 'private' club pond allows fast boats, but the operators have to wait until there's no slow traffic around.  Thankfully there's lots of places for fast electric and IC to run, so there's no competition.

[KitS]

What about a 'fast' scale boat though?

Defining the level of 'fastness' is the problem I guess. My Huntsman 31, Dave Milbourn's prototype, is 'fast' to me, but compared to a few of the race boats running at last year's Mayhem it just crawls along to my eyes.

[Akira]

"What about a 'fast' scale boat though?

Defining the level of 'fastness' is the problem I guess. My Huntsman 31, Dave Milbourn's prototype, is 'fast' to me, but compared to a few of the race boats running at last year's Mayhem it just crawls along to my eyes."This is a valid point, however the Public often does not see it that way. I agree that "fast" scale boats should be differentiated from "fast" speed boats, but even then some places ban all "fast boats"Operators and the environment seem to be the limiting factors. It only takes one inconsiderate individual to ruin an opportunity for others.

[tigertiger]

Here is a controversial thought.
Put out a video camera with wide angle lens, every time the club meets. You don't need permission to video in public places in the UK. I would not ask the council permission as they will probably say no, even though permission is not required, as lots of people video in parks.
Then in the unlikely event that there is a problem you at least have some evidence that it was not a club member. Especially if every member makes a point of walking in front of the camera with their boat as they go out. It would not be 100% proof that it was not one of your members, but would go a long way, especially if you do capture images the perpetrators either doing the act, or just walking by with the problem boat.
Some of the new action and 360 cams have very high resolution.
The camera would not be permanent, just put it out on a tripod, and as long as someone has an eye on it, it should not get stolen. You will only need to keep footage if there is an accident. An additional benefit is that you can capture members sailing activities and share them. If you do get some Karen wanting to know what you are doing, just tell them you are filming club sailing activities, but because the camera will be passive, probably no one will even notice.

[Akira]

Tigertiger, A valid idea, however it only protects you and the Club/group members. It will not stop Karen's from complaining, and as we know, the louder the complaint, the more likely that the powers that be will take action to quiet the complaints, ie, ban all model boating from the venue.

[Colin Bishop]

It is a shame that many waters which were purpose built or traditionally allocated for model boating have lapsed into 'environmental locations' where models boats are now considered to be intrusive.

Colin

[likeomg]

Hi all,


I do have quite some experience with this.. having 5 boats that run at over 100mph, 3 that run over 120mph and one that runs 140mph (possibly 150+ if i can get the tuning and conditions later in the year)


One of which is 1.9meters long and close to 20kg when fully loaded with batteries. so yes, it would be considered a weapon if it ran away etc.


so for me - i only run on specific lakes that i have permission to do so, out of the way of the public eye. I have designated "model boat lakes" local to me but there are more bird feeding sanctuarys than model boat lakes. Tthis is pretty hard now having lost the use of my main fisheries lake when it changed ownership.


I do think the fast electric section has already died in the UK, the racing is almost non existent, as is the Straight away racing, I will attend the Munich event in October this year which is a 4 day event and has a very large attendance.

[tigertiger]

A glimmer of hope. One thing I have seen is that the people who get ARTR fast electric boats and cars fall into two groups. The first group, the majority, loose interest very quickly. The second much smaller group move up to racing, which usually means joining a club and buying class boats, and race on dedicated waters.
The other thing to consider is that other members of the public are completely beyond your control. You can choose to let their behavior drive you nuts, or not. What you can control is how you present yourselves to the local council, and the public. Having some documentation, including vids, showing that you do not have fast boats. If you have Club 500 showing how small they are, or consider not having them. Then put this in your club charter. This would be useful in any appeal of a council decision. Also try to befriend your local councilor, maybe make them an honorary member.

[likeomg]

[size=78%]I'm actively looking for lakes / bodies of water that would allow me to run if any clubs have anything on offer i am happy to bring a selection of fast electrics.[/size]



- my 1.5 meter "striaght away boat" this is built to make two 100 meter passes as fast as possible and currently holds the UK record.

[likeomg]

This boat ran at 101mph in the 2023 SAW event, i didn't change anything and it will run for 3 mins straight making passes at these speeds

I'm 6ft 4" for reference...

[Neil]

Sadly in todays society, where some people have little thought for others you will always find problems like this.

However at Fleetwood, which is a local council owned lake, any form of boat propulsion is allowed, even steam, if a boiler certificate is valid.

There are also sailers of both ICE boats and of course yauchts of all classes and sizes, even A Class wappers.

However I have never ever seen and animosity between sailors of different classes and types of boats. Every one seems to get on with each other, which is nice.

The only possible problem is..........its almost all the time rough as Cape Horn on a good day lol.

Sadly it is a case of human beings and wild life all getting on together nicely.


However if it is a privately owned lakle, it is up to the owners to make the rules and if things are going awry, they should be notified by the club committy to rectify the rules.

[tigertiger]

***Topic split***
New topic for Big fast boats on lakes and ponds, here https://www.modelboatmayhem.co.uk/forum/index.php?topic=70920.msg768649#msg768649