Couple of points:
1) having just shut off the Xbox a half hour or so ago I can attest that video games now are hardly instant-gratification. Some of them are far more tedious than work! What hooks people is a gradual progression from one thing to the next within an acceptable difficulty curve, not instantly winning. Modeling CAN compete with this.
2) there will always be boat modelers as long as there are two kinds of people in the world: people with an interest in boats, and people with an interest in building things. These are the people you should be reaching out to. Most passerbys will express an interest in models at shows but this will fade moments after they get in the car to go home.
3) how many kids now are growing up with parents working service industry jobs, who have no real knowledge of building things? Occasionally installing something according to carefully vetted instructions doesn't count. people grow up thinking that it takes a certain education to even begin to make these things, or that it takes extraordinary patience, when patience is really the enemy of modeling (how many people here have been 'working on' something for 4+ years? Come on now, be honest.)
4) this discussion is usually brought up by scale modelers but there are many more disciplines within RC boating. Teens are impressed by speed and power: try showing them to nitro and gas boats.