Encouraging youngsters to boat

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Ashley,  just an alert (because I miss mine for ages), sent you a PM about the simple paddle boat for youngsters.

Len.

 

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

I don’t agree that Model Boat Mahem is a very active site, it used to be but lately when I’ve been on I’ve not  found much in the way of new posts or ones that interest me and have left after a few minutes. As Chris E says RC Groups is pretty quiet as well. The other Model Boats forum has been busier and members do actively respond to each other’s posts but traffic does vary and there are few builds going on.

There was an increase in forum usage during Covid, but it seems to me that year on year since then it has got less and less. Partly for obvious reasons but also folks that are still around are not posting much for various reasons. I’m included in the latter unfortunately. I do try and help folks out but other than that I’ve hardly done anything with model boats since last year and so have nothing to post about. Also, as said if you hardly get any response you start to think why bother. Unless things have changed you can’t even see the number of views on here anymore.

The number of Facebook groups must have a bearing as well. I visit Mayhem, which can get quite busy, and other groups and post occasionally, mainly to advise or help, but they are very different animals and can be dominated by some follks who keep posting multiple photos time and again of the same boats which gets repetitive. And for build blogs etc. the format is no good due to its disjointed nature. They obviously have their place though.

There are a few like Ray and myself who visit both forums and Facebook but I think in the main they have separate users which waters down the forums.

Chris

 

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Mayhem is still quite active, but overall since Covid, online Model Boating activity has reduced considerably. Most of us are in our later years and Covid has taken the best part of three of them. That is a big chunk when you are retired.

Many regular posters on all the forums have disappeared or re posting less frequently. I think we are simply seeing the effects of an ageing model boating population.

The writing has been on the walls even before Covid with the dramatic loss of organised events and shows over the last 10-15 years. people are growing older and not being replaced in the hobby. Younger generations have other interests. Just the way it is unfortunately.

Colin

[David Marks 2Participant @davidmarks2]

This may be of use to someone at a club open day or similar. Something that a  9 or 10 year old could tackle with a minimum of supervision.

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hello David,

That’s a nice try, I love the warning at the bottom of the drawing 🙂

Who is going to supervise the Adult ? Would most young parents these days know what a Stanley knife is or was ?

They are unlikely to know their base from their apex .

It’s not the playing by water that is Dangerous !! It’s the falling in the said water 🙂

Regards Ray (It’s just a bit of fun)

 

[Bob WilsonParticipant @bobwilson59101]

As I have said before, my local model ship society, North West Model Shipwrights, has now dropped the title “Shipwrights,” and just become North West Model Society – a retrograde step in my view.      On the surface, it appears that model shipbuilding is in decline.    But for years, I have been writing low-cost downloads on the building of model merchant ships.     Although this class of ship model would appear to be extremely unpopular, I have noticed an upward trend in download sales recently.   Of course I do not know their ages, but it seems that with the decrease in model ship clubs, modelers are looking to the digital world for the furtherance of their hobby.     I cater for all skills from beginner to the more skilled, and find that they all seem to be equally popular!

 

  

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

I think you are right Bob, the steep decline in model boating clubs and shows over the last 10 years or so has resulted in the hobby losing cohesiveness, much less person to person contact than previously which is a great shame but inevitable as so many of us are in our late 60s or 70s and often suffering from various infirmities and health issues which can make travelling difficult. So we find ourselves rather cut off physically and have to turn to the internet for contacts (and even this seems to be waning).

It was the same with model shops which used to be in every town. One the local footfall fell below what was needed to keep the shop solvent, most of them closed and those which have survived have done so on the basis of mail order and internet sales. Most of us buy from the internet these days unless we are lucky enough to have a surviving model shop within reach. (and even then, the chances of it stocking the low value bits and bobs we all need is unlikely).

The MPBA is currently ‘celebrating’ its 100th anniversary year. The current newsletter scarcely mentions scale model boating at all yet the National Scale Championship which was at its peak in the 1980s attracted scores of enthusiasts from all over the country. Today only a small handful of those people are still modelling to my knowledge.

Those few larger shows which do take place now embrace other forms of modelling as well as boats. There are still a few standouts though where clubs are still strong and I was pleased to visit the Midhurst show earlier this year which is 40% boats, 40% trains and  20% other types of modelling.

As far as attracting youngsters is concerned, when many of us were lads, modelmaking what what just about everyone did to some extent whether it was Airfix kits or wooden planes and boats from the likes of Keilcraft, Aerokits and Veron etc. To today’s kids who are consumers of games and social media, model boating must seem like some alien activity out of left field and only a few are likely to gravitate towards it.

Colin

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

• Ah…I wondered why I was green and had 5 eyes…..

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Ashley, you must concede that many of your weird and wonderful models definitely do include aliens…

Colin

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Completely agree with your comments Colin, especially about losing nearly three years due to Covid, which happened soon after I retired. We had plans for a road trip in Europe but that didn’t happen and won’t now. I also had plans for trips on my motorbikes but they also didn’t happen and as you say three years is a long time out of your retirement years and whilst I still ride my bikes now and again the time is approaching when I shall sell them. Shouldn’t complain though.

Must finish my Faireys but I’m still working on my son’s flat!

Chris

 

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Yes Chris, one has to face reality. I lost an eye during Covid because it couldn’t be treated in time and the treatment to save what was left of my sight stopped due to budget considerations. At the moment the other one is OK but modelmaking has become much more difficult with no binocular vision. I am cleared to drive by the DVLA but I just don’t think it is advisable to do so abroad where two eyes are essential and people drive on the wrong side of the road and do strange things! We used to drive around France and Greece extensively but that has all gone out of the window now and even in the UK I can’t drive too far in one session as it puts too much strain on the remaining eye without regular breaks so no extensive touring here either although shorter trips are OK.

Fortunately I retired quite a while back and we managed to get our road trips and bucket list items done while we could including The US Pacific Coast Highway, Canadian Rockies, New Zealand, Nova Scotia and New England so we have the photos to look back on. We have also driven around most of Greece, France and a good bit of Holland too but the Isle of Wight is probably our limit now!

Tonight I have been working on my 1:150 scale liner model started pre Covid. Still managing to produce handrails and fit 2mm portholes so all is not lost! Takes a lot longer than it used to though and a lot of stuff vanishes onto the workshop floor never to be seen again.

My knees are pretty shot too so launching my boats is a bit problematical without the risk of following them into the pond but Ashley has been extremely helpful in that respect.

Growing old is no joke.

Colin

[Tony HadleyParticipant @tonyhadley]

One side of the hobby which appears to be doing well is the ‘Pond Yacht’. At a recent ‘Star Yacht’ event held at Hoylake by the Birkenhead Club, there was good participation. Star Yachts, from the past can command a good price, dependant on condition.

At the event there was a ‘fun’ race for yachts under 8”, the winner was a reduced Vic Smeed pond yacht design.

https://www.birkenheadstaryachts.co.uk/nsyd_2024.htm

From my personal point, I guess I was lucky, as a youngster my parents were very supportive of me doing the hobby and this has stuck through to today. Can remember dad putting shelves up in the bedroom for my Airfix/Revell kits. They also bought me a Star Pond yacht 18” Endeavour version secondhand from their friends which got lost with “life”. Things go full circle, as my current builds are once again plastics from Airfix/Revell. Hope to start a new r/c model in the autumn.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Model boating: resistance is futile!

Trekky joke/reference.

No boating today as flower show at Hampton Court, rain and I had yo go to clspham to play on the bandstand early. However…we didn’t play due to the pairing rain. Thunder and lightning!

More work on new boats in what’s left of the afternoon.

Ashley

[Chris FellowsParticipant @chrisfellows72943]

Some great trips there Colin. Always fancied the Pacific Coast Highway one. Did manage to get back to NZ again this year for another wedding. Managed to do things we didn’t do last time including boatie things. Still fancy Canada as well.

Better let the thread get back on topic!

Chris

[James Hill 5Participant @jameshill5]

On the subject of declining members in clubs etc, the latest news letter from my club said numbers had dropped this year due to cost of living, age, ability to travel etc. We’re down to 87 members now ( not sure if that is good or not compared to others ) but certainly things are beginning to bite. In my own case, I have models built but have to rely on someone else to get me there and assist with the sailing. Hence none of them have been in the water yet.

Old age is a friend to no one.

Jim.

 

[Len Morris 2Participant @lenmorris2]

Hi Jim,

Have you thought about contacting your local school or youth club?  I am sure there must be teachers and club leaders who would love to get a group of children involved and get you and your boats on the water.  You could teach and show them a lot.

The theme of this thread is “Encouraging Youngsters to Boat”.  It seems to have been highjacked by doom and gloom merchants with few positive comments pertinent to the subject.  Sorry for the rant.

Len.

 

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Sorry Len, but it is not ‘doom and gloom’, just accepting reality. For at least 20 years now, the model boating community has been bemoaning the absence of younger members in the hobby and many, many strenuous efforts, usually at club level, have been made to remedy this. Some of these initiatives have been relatively successful but not to the extent of significantly  boosting numbers in the hobby which is increasingly rapid decline. There are now far fewer clubs than there used to be and those are fading from an ageing demographic. And really, only clubs can successfully encourage youngsters into the hobby as they can provide the support, expertise and, most importantly, somewhere to sail a boat. The individual on their own relying on Dad to drive to a water miles away is a lost cause.

There used to be a lot of national and area model shows around the country which could get kids interested but most of those have now gone.

If you are a 10 year old these days and have the choice between an X Box games console or sticking bits of balsa together it’s just no contest is it?

As a youngster myself, my Dad was very keen to get me started in stamp collecting because that was what he and his Dad used to do and considered it to be educational as it broadened the mind. He bought me a starter kit but I preferred to spend my time building Airfix kits. Why? Because that was all my friends at school did. They weren’t interested in sticking tiny bits of paper into albums.

Modelmaking is recognised as an educational activity in schools, maybe more by its absence than otherwise, but the type of modelling encouraged tends to be gender neutral as it always has been since I was in primary school messing around with flour, water and newspaper to make paper mache masks. Schools are not going to want to support making model boats when half the class consists of Girls who appear to be genetically indifferent to model boats, planes and cars etc.

There are always those individuals who will have their interest sparked by seeing model boats on a pond (particularly Ashley’s entertaining creations) but they will be few and far between among today’s youngsters.

So, you can put a lot of effort into encouraging interest but the payload is going to be very small.

Colin

[Len Morris 2]

On Len Morris 2 Said:

 

The theme of this thread is “Encouraging Youngsters to Boat”.  It seems to have been highjacked by doom and gloom merchants with few positive comments pertinent to the subject.

I have to disagree, I’ve seen a number of positive comments, which I found interesting, and the negative ones seem to be putting the current situation into perspective and offering reasons that might help us identify other solutions.

As I said at the beginning of the thread I suspect we can consider a lack of interest, enthusiasm and encouragement on forums as playing a part in the issue.  So we could ask ourselves “Why do we not participate on forums much any more?”  A good example would be Neil, who has posted some absolutely wonderful build threads on here in recent years but has now gone back to ‘Mayhem’ rather than sign up on here again.  Do we put that down to the new forum software?  Or do we put it down to little feedback being offered during his builds when he put so much time and effort into posting them?

I actually think it is a great shame that forums seem to be loosing support as more and more people seem to prefer either chatting with their mates on a phone app or watching something on Youtube.  Forums used to be particularly active and lively places to be and information and encouragement was exchanged freely but we seem to be loosing that.

And that not doom and gloom either, that is simply asking why members don’t bother to post encouraging comments in response to the significant amount of time and effort that someone puts into a build thread.

[James Hill 5Participant @jameshill5]

You weren’t having a rant Len, It was my fault for posting on this particular thread. I just picked up on what a few others had said.

Jim.

PS, How’s the puffer going? Mine is moving very slowly at the moment.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

The problems with implementing the new forum lost us a lot of members. Although it has better image handling than the old one, people still perceive it as clunky and if something isn’t easy to use then they just won’t bother. Neil had problems re registering on this forum and must still be feeling the effects of his serious surgery.

Yes, activity on Mayhem is down too, I get the impression that there simply are not so many people building as there used to be. There was an upswing during Covid when people had time on their hands, but that seems to have faded away. It has to be said that the average age of boat modellers is rapidly increasing all the time.

The last proper Model Engineer Exhibition was held at Brooklands in 2016, 8 years ago. I have all the entry forms. The average age of entrants was then 67 and the youngest 48.

Once you get into your mid 70s, most people tend to slow up noticeably and have various health issues which can get in the way of leisure activities. Sad but true!

Colin

[David Marks 2Participant @davidmarks2]

I was talking to an ex working colleague on Monday who is into model railways. He belongs to two clubs and neither club has a single member who still works……all retired. I resigned from my local model boat club (where I was Chairman) about 4 years ago and when I went my son packed in as well. At that time he was as far as I am aware the only one working full time.

[Richard SimpsonParticipant @richardsimpson88330]

Well I’ve got my nine year old great nephew coming to stay with me for a week in August.  I asked him what model he wanted to build and he said a castle.  So I’ve got a slot together wooden castle kit!  I also got a Superquick card model of a garage so we have a couple of things to play with.  He doesn’t know it yet but he’s going to get introduced to some decent music as well, starting with Led Zeppelin and progressing through Bowie and Queen.

Whether this encourages him to take up modelling remains to be seen but no-one can say I didn’t try!

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

It might encourage him to save up or hearing aids Richard!

[Ray Wood 3Participant @raywood3]

Hi All,

I have to say Neil posts most days on Facebook 🙂  I recall he struggled with the photos so gave up, which is a shame having said that I miss my old album !! , part of the problem is the forum doesn’t update properly on android devices still, not that many folk use PC’s these days there in lies the problem I think. The Chantry club has a thriving membership as we have great facilties, but very few are building models these days 🙁 I took a SLEC Police launch kit down on Sunday for £50 which is half price not a glimmer of interest I’m afraid….

Regards Ray

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Yes Ray, when I visited the Midhurst Show in February there was a great turnout of boats but not very many new ones from three years previously.

Colin

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