The Chichester Canal Model Boat Group fees are an extortionate £0 again this year 😊

Keeps you young tho Nerys😊

Maybe the Germans dont like Hotspur with its reference to Harry Kane?😊

Wish we had that near me!
Trev

Hi MT,
I live in a village west of King's Lynn so all the places you mention are quite a long way away for me - Norwich is 40+ miles - and I have lost any enthusiasm for driving anything like a long distance these days.
Derek.

Hi Derick , have you tried the Norwich model boat club, Its in our list of clubs, but I'm not sure where exactly you live.

Also at Hopton on sea, Gorleston on sea, and Gt Yarmouth.
Most clubs will allow an occasional sail without charge as an enticer to join but you don't have to.
My own club is a private lake with facilities run by the members so parking is by the lake as are the facilities a great place, All for £30 You can also take your caravan for an extended stay at average site fees.

Hi RN in Munich. I was in Munich for a wedding in October 2021 but I was reminded of when I stayed with my son who lived in Munich for several years. My son 'speaks' Bavarisch. This is like a Londoner going to Newcastle, almost another language.

We used to go full size dinghy sailing on the Amersee, also later with a catamaran. Lovely model shop in Munich but I never saw any models being sailed.
regards
Roy

Recently affiliated to the MYA, Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club allows those who radio sail only to join as social members. 2021/2 fees are £47. https://www.chewvalleysailing.org.uk/join-cvlsc/

Me too here in Munich Griss,
Ost Park lake in East Munich with restaurant and Biergarten right on the lakeside😋😊
When I first started sailing here some 35 years ago there was rather stuffy club in residence.
They seemed to spend more time showing off on the lakeside (on their purpose built permanent display table🙄) than actually sailing. Attempts to approach them resulted in turned backs - maybe cos I didn't speak Bavarian back then, little resemblance to the German that I learned in school and northern Germany!
About 20 years ago I noticed that they, and their opulent table / equipment cupboards / frequency table, and inlaid brass plates 'Stammtisch Modellboot Club' had all disappeared.
I wonder why 😁
My model insurance is covered in my general (all risks) 3rd party insurance for around €100 per annum so can't grumble at that. Club and water fees I don't need cos there ain't no club no more (not that I would have joined them🙄) and the lake is public 😉
Nowadays I mostly see yachtsmen, Graupner, Krick, Aeronaut drivers and an old guy with a magnificent 4ft Titanic which tootles about playing VERY LOUD Bavarian Blasmusik, that 'orrible brass band stuff like at the October Fest🙉
Occasionally wannabe boy racers show up with their plastic RTR 'speed boats', and look somewhat peeved when my 1:72 destroyer HMS Hotspur or my Type 1A U-Boat run rings round them 😁😂🤣
Happy sailing folks, wherever you may/can do it!
Cheers, Doug 😎

I did not realise boaters were paying such fees for waters glad I have access to so many free ones in and around Bristol.

Hi I am Chairman of Cambridge Model Boat Club, we have the use of a lake on Sundays near Cambridge, and the use of another lake near St.Neots which we can use any day, in pairs and after getting a set of keys, we also have a regular club day on Thursdays. For this our subs are £25 a year, our third party liability insurance, which covers the club wherevere we sail, for far more members than we are likely to get, costs arround £83 a year. We have about 45 members and 7 juniors, who pay a reduced fee,. I think our members get a fantastic deal, for less than 50pence a week!

I am glad you started this thread Derek; because it has gotten me reviewing my own position.

I started out paying £66 per year; for club amenities that I never really use - AND - contrary to my initial thoughts of popping to the lake every weekend; I don't get there too often at all.

The club is more geared to watersports than model boating; but it's literally just 5 minutes away.

On review; I might look for a more dedicated and active club - even if it means travelling a greater distance. Quality over frequency / proximity.

👍

Tony

Very interesting !!!!!

My club is £10 a year which includes insurance. It is a council owned lake and we can each have a key to access the waterside parking. It is available every day of the week with the exception of Sunday mornings when another club uses it. 22 miles round trip! I wish. I am 88 too and have a round trip of 120 miles. We have an active committee, a Chairman, Secretary and a Treasurer. They organise regular DF65 racing, open days and other lakeside events,and in the spring, an anniversary dinner,

Nerys

Many thanks for your replies, gents and your various suggestions.
I do not wish to stir things up at the club so will just leave things as they are. If they are doing things wrong it is really up to them to sort it out.
Many members of this forum agree that the funds are excessive and for what I would get from being a member are just not worth it so will not rejoin.
Once again, many thanks.
Derek

I commend your effort to try and keep going Sir! Hope I am up to traipsing 22 miles and then down a beaten dusty/muddy track for a hobby at 88!

:-)

I'd probably just buy one of those cheap (ish) large blue swimming pools that you can get nowadays; stick it in the back garden, and make do with my boats pottering around that instead. Admittedly not so great for the sail boats, but a token something for a motorised model. At least better than the bath tub!

T.

Hi Derek
I can sympathise with your predicament regarding the fees, which do seem excessive unless perhaps you have unlimited access 365 days a year.
I have been a committee member for my own club for many years and it can be a pretty thankless task at times.
We pay an annual fee to the lake owner and have group insurance through N.A.M.E. which also covers our boiler tester. We aim to cover all our costs from the membership and at present charge £35 (£10 Insurance and £25 water fees). This allows us access on Mondays and Wednesdays from noon to 3pm on a private lake with toilet facilities and free parking alongside the lake. We also run a mobile cafe selling coffee cakes etc to add to club funds and it has proved popular in the colder weather.
I think I would ask the gentleman running the club exactly who gets the £25 and what exactly is the agreement. I would also ask for a copy of your insurance document so you can see what is and isn't covered. All insurance companies will provide a policy document.
It is quite possible that the fees do just cover the costs involved but the devil, is as they say, in the detail. I believe it is entirely reasonable to know how the fees are distributed and if all is above bord then there should be no reason to not disclose the details.
I do hope your health allows you to continue to enjoy you hobby.
Best of luck
Dave

At 88 and in rather poor health I think that I am too old to start helping out with the administration of the club.
The general opinion seems to be that the fees are too high and that, combined with my comment in the last sentence, I don't think that I will be joining again. I was hoping that I might be able to get along to the lake, even if just to watch others sailing but all this and a 22 mile round trip makes it hardly worth while.
I will have to do my boating on my computer and dream about the past with models and full size yachts.😀⛵🚤

Those Fees are steep! The two Clubs I belong one is £50.00 24/7 access and Club Racing 7 days a week across 6 Classes.Parking adjoining Lake is extra !
The other is £45.00 for Sail reduced for 2022 due to no use during Lockdown and parking is free and next to the Lake for the first 10 Cars. Any others in the Car Park still free

Hi in our club we have to insure for hot 'dangerous' 5 inch gauge locomotives and also cover the officers of the club for liability. But the insurance per member is not that high. We have 70 members.
If there is an angling club involved they tend to have high fees to cover maintenance etc. I think a local angling club with excellent lake areas is £600 p.a. per member.

It is difficult to know which side to agree with so for now I am with the innocent party side.

I think if I were staying with the club I would offer to help out with admin and perhaps sharing the load would give some membership representation for the club.
By the way is the name of your club officially registered perhaps with the county which would then get recognition and logged in to local library records?
regards
Roy

I think you are right in what you say about being 'an innocent middle party'. I presume that the £25 to the gravel company or the angling club (not sure which) covers their insurance cost and the £35 fee is the cost of insurance to the model club to cover their activities.

Personally: from what you have said - I would assume that the guy you deal with is an innocent middle party; trying to do what he feels is a nice thing for some like-minded people - through negotiation he has done on everyone's behalf with the landowner.

He possibly has no idea of some of these costs. Either he has been duped into paying some insurance that the landowner ought to be responsible for (public liability); or he has self-assumed he needed to get it on behalf of "the club". I'm surprised he could even get someone to underwrite it for him, given he is a 3rd party and not the registered owner.

Given the questionable professionalism surrounding "the club" management, I am surprised you all get ID cards!! I don't even get an ID card at my club - just a piece of cardboard with a squiggly signature on it.

Thanks for your reply Peewit. All I get from the 'organiser' is an email with an attachment setting out the two fees that I have shown, to be returned to him along with the fees, a self addressed and stamped envelope and a passport size photograph so that a membership card can be returned along with the code for the lock on the gate.
I agree with you that, it would appear, things are not being done correctly but, as I have already said, I do not think that I am the person to point this out to him.
Derek.

My wife has just stuck her ore in (an acountant) the figures just don’t add up, I agree - and the insurance just doesn’t seem right.

I would love to see what paperwork you as a “member” have ever been given.

I would be interested in knowing how many people are in the club as well.

Many thanks for your replies. I don't think that the person running the club is doing it for any personal financial benefit. I just think that the 'club' is not being run properly as a club but I am not prepared to tell the organiser what he is doing wrong as I do not feel that I am in a position to do so, especially if I do not continue with my membership. The lake that is used is owned by a large gravel company and I presume the £25 part of the fees goes to them. The lakes are also used for angling.
The club that I belonged to when I lived in Hertfordshire was run properly with chairman, treasurer, etc. and the accounts and running of the club could be scrutinised at the AGM with any points arising being discussed. Unfortunately there are no other clubs near me and I am too old to go chasing about trying to find another one.☹️

Wow.

That's a very significant cost right there.

What exactly is the insurance supposed to cover; as that is a large chunk... Are you paying for landowner's insurance for 24x365 days; when you are only possibly using the lake for a few hours a week (if/when you go)?

I sail my boat at a local lake that has a Watersports Club: and the lake is used for a significant variety of things. Free secure parking year round on a proper tarmac court. Cafe (run by volunteers), toilets, showers, storage.

The club itself owns it's own selection of Canoes, Paddleboards and other watersports kit.

It costs £66 for the year; but you can use the lake at anytime, and "hire" of any equipment is all included in the cost.

I suppose it is a significant price just to sail a boat; but it saves me that amount in parking fees as a "non-member" - and I can do some interesting water sports for free if I want to... I'm happy to pay the fee for ancillary benefits (that I don't use very much) and to support the club.

If I had to pay almost the same amount of money for a gravel pit with no amenities and a dusty/boggy unkempt access trail.... well - I just wouldn't! I would find a better quality club and choose to travel further to get to it - and pay them money instead.

That said: if travel was onerous, and I REALLY liked the guy that tried to run the local gravel pit - AND he could explain what the charges were supposed to cover... I might still support it (at a push). I still think the insurance part is excessive though.

Tony

Ours is £10 a year which includes insurance and use of the local council lake.

It actually is not a club or “unincorporated association”.

The chap good or not is on very dodgy ground legally doing it this way. I hope he is declaring to the revenue, he is providing a service for which people are paying money and the way he is doing it he is actually running it as a business. He may not be making enough to pay tax but set up this way he must declare.

My wife is an acountant and I am a charted insurer - the insurance sounds rather a lot - and you should know who it’s with by the way - legally.

Get him to look at this.
https://www.myerssolicitors.co.uk/the-law-of-clubs-they-can-be-tricky/