What’s missing from this site?

[captainslogParticipant @captainslog]

Is it just me or has anybody else noticed that there is something missing from this site? looking at the profiles of people and also running through the threads (which i do very often on those sleepless nights) but there is a definite lack of youngsters. by that i mean 10 yrs to 18 yrs old. Either that or their dads have chucked em off the computer!! When I was 10 I joined something called the golden wings club in aeromodeller. I started modelling at 8 mind and waiting untill 10 was a nightmare, it seemed like a lifetime just so i could join the club. Maybe I`m wrong here and if there are youngsters out there then I apologise, but if you are there and reading this then lets hear your voices. It seems a shame that you got to get to my age to take up something like boat building!! days

[captainslogParticipant @captainslog]

Where are the youngsters?

[neil hpParticipant @neilhp]

the old saying…………..you can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink!!!

neil.

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

At the risk of being stoned to death……We don`t want no kids on `ere!

There would completely ruin the peace and tranquility that we enjoy at present!

Model boaters start their hobby after finishing their twenty five year apprenticeship playing with trains, cars and aero`s……Also kite flying, fishing, chasing the ladies, decorating and last but not least Eddie Stobart spotting….lol

About the age of fifty seems a sensible age to start the noble art of model boat building???

Bob……..This is only my personal opinion of course

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Bob

Does your club have any young members or can't they get in to the club house for all of the motorised wheelchairs and zimmer frames parked outside.

How old were you when you first floated your boat?

Paul

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

After serving my apprenticeship, including 3 1/2" and 5" gauge locos, I got into model boats at the ripe old age of about 54 years

As for kids on the club landing stage, we have a list of rules and regulations as long as your arm!

We do get the occasional youngster, but they only last about three weeks!

What about you?

Bob

[David WooleyParticipant @davidwooley82563]

Interesting thread and a well-worn topic for many clubs. Yes there are younger people out there keen to know more about model boating through the model press or sites such as this. Alas the hobby has evolved beyond all recognition since I first headed down to the model boating pool with my Star yacht. The peak must have been reached in the 1970s when the vast majority were keen on power boating not scale, entered competitions far and wide and most were young men. What attracted those young men with some spare cash in their pockets was the thirst for going fast and then going fast with other boats. It was the "thrill" of it all an adrenalin roller coaster. All those young men got older and we are where we are. A youngster entering our hobby now is more lightly to be in their 50s than their teens which is some respects is not to be knocked, Being pragmatic if you were in your pre-teens today would you be tuning into a site devoted to discussions on building and sailing scale model boats inhabited by folks possibly older than their parents, and I include myself in that?

Dave Wooley.

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

By and large Brengar does not come to the pond any more, being 14 1/2, but for 3 or more years he was down, and more than a few of the oddities in my collection were made specifically for him to keep his interest up. he still enjoys it when he comes down.

I think there is a hole around . ooo 13 or so to possibly 18 when they dont know what they want to do, or are discovering boys/girls.

I hope that laying a good foundation for him, he will have something to come backk to. I make lots of other things for him as well, so again he might be a "can-do2 boy later on rather than "dont k ow what to do as I have never done anythink like that" sort.

Clubs… and the attraction for young people at a club is??? The question is…do clubs cater for the younger boater adequately?? (this is a question, not a criticism, as I have no club experience). I can say thet the informal meeting at Bushy Park does have a lot going for it for youngsters, with a wide variety of craft and outgoing personalities (most under 50!!!!) <but not all!> and a burger van across the car park.

Ashley

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

I know from watching at the local public boating lake that young boaters are not made welcome by the older users. The appearance of a child with his birthday present of a plastic r/c from toys r us is usually greeted with a chorus of tutting, sighs and raised eyebrows. Far from being made welcome the child is shunned to the far side of the lake where he can't damage the 'proper' boats.

Is it any wonder that their are so few young people in our hobby.

I cant speak for club waters because like Ashley I have no experience of such things and for all I know every club in the land might have a very active youth section.

I for one would welcome a younger contingent on this site and the added activity that these people would bring.

Paul

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

What, collectively, we need is to have one or more boats that youngsters can try out, with nice rubber bumpers on etc, to give them a taste of the hobby, or at least have something for them to do while they look on in awe and admiration at the herculean creations on the water.

It`s what I made the landing craft for berengar for, quick and easy to build, interesting and fairly child proof.

I may consider making something else along those lines specifically to bring down on a Sunday….or just make some foam fenders for the LCT?

Ashley

[mike farrellParticipant @mikefarrell21522]

Regarding the lack of youth in our hobby goes back to school days .

I was introduced to woodworking in my second last year at school .I was taught to measure (twice) properly and how to use a saw square and not to rush at any time .First item was a towel rail which I took home with much pride That after 6 weeks on wednsday after noons to happy parents

My point being young people never get to appreciate what it feels like to make any thing with pride ,with no knoledge as to what it feels useing tools .

Imagine the school head if we offered our services as instructors ,teaching safe use of tools .Where is the insurance etc . No until the system changes we will suffer the old fogies who keep the hobby alive until they realise that there is more to life than the Planythiaystation.

My grandchildren are only too proud to say ,my granddadcan fix anything still no urge to learn themselfs

Thinking about it I,m glad to be an old fogie

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

When most of us were younger you literally had to make your own entertainment rather than buy it and modelling was a major leisure interest for younsters growing up in the 50s & 60s. As Dave says, there was a huge club and association infrastructure to encourage and support various branches of modelling and lots of opportunities for competition, even for scale boats once proportional R/C became widely available.

Youngsters naturally gravitate towards fast noisy things and probably get most of what they want these days from video games. What is lost however is the satisfaction and pride that comes from being able to say 'I made that' as opposed to literally dancing to somebody else's tune.

I have always been interested in boats of the scale variety myself since primary school although, like most people of my generation I dabbled in other branches of the hobby. With aeromodelling I quickly discovered that what goes up will inevitably come down and frequently either in bits; over the horizon and never to be found or, on one notable occasion, in flames due to an incorrectly mounted Jetex motor. I found that boats, which usually stayed in one piece after you had made them, to be a more satisfying option.

So, these days, model boaters are largely comprised of retirees returning to the hobby or refugees from other areas of modelling looking for a quieter life and of course age does tend to bring patience with it although, for some obscure reason, this never seems to apply to painting!

Colin

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

Posted by Bob Abell on 08/10/2012 09:10:43:

At the risk of being stoned to death……We don`t want no kids on `ere!

There would completely ruin the peace and tranquility that we enjoy at present!

Model boaters start their hobby after finishing their twenty five year apprenticeship playing with trains, cars and aero`s……Also kite flying, fishing, chasing the ladies, decorating and last but not least Eddie Stobart spotting….lol

About the age of fifty seems a sensible age to start the noble art of model boat building???

Bob……..This is only my personal opinion of course

##############

" We don`t want no kids on `ere! "

Consider your self stoned..

I really do hope that your comment is a joke!! , as it does not portray your club in a friendly manner.  We once had a few people on out tennis club committe like that when I was a Junior, Strange most of us were still members after they had left .., a few went on to play in the big league.

With-out up coming youth the Hobby will die, I started building at 10, built my first (and Only Might add) working steam engine at school when 15, can't see many kids doing that now if the school even had the facilities.. Clubs should be Actively encouraging kids not making rules and regs no wonder they only last a few weeks.

I go to quite a few shows and it is worring by the lack of youngsters you see.

We get Parents and Children coming down with their new boats, as soon as we see them we know that they will get upset as soon as they put it in the water as when other transmitters are out they just don't work. I try to go to them and explain, I do suggest that if they go to the other end it will normally work a lot better, but I also explain why and if they come back when no one is on the lake it would probaly go pretty well, we have gained a few members this way..To me it is this stage that the intrest can be gained or lost, if we have a safe boat on teh lake they can usually have a go and go away happy.. 

 

Edited By The Long Build on 08/10/2012 21:57:04

[Peter FitnessParticipant @peterfitness34857]

The situation regarding younger members is much the same in my part of the world. Our club has had several young people as members but, mainly for the reasons stated above, they have drifted off. It appears that scale model boats are either not fast or noisy enough, and also have trouble competing with high tech video games. We do our best to attract young people, and we always have some boats available for them, or their parents, to have a try at sailing. However, when we are asked "how much did it cost?" or "how long did it take to build?", the answers seem to put them off.

Peter.

[Ian GardnerParticipant @iangardner62867]

Having been in primary education all my life I can say with certainty that younger children love making things that go. We used to make small boats from stripwood and card (suitably varnished) with tiny electric motors and the excitement when sailing them acroos the school swimming pool was palpable. Similarly with sailing boats made from old plastic bottles.

It seems to go a bit wrong in secondary education when for many young people (I think we have to call them that these days) it 's not cool enough- and of course it's not compared with computer games, rock music and … girrrls! I was the same at that age.

I agree with Mike though that practical skills aren't taught enough in secondary schools. I knew technology teachers who complained that it was all designing things with felt tipped pens and paper rather than teaching wood or metalwork. Those latter things were taught because they may have had some use in the working world- not so much now I'm afraid. And workshops are expensive, as are materials.

The world always changes and it's never really possible to turn the clock back however much we might wish to. As a grandad of two toddlers I shall be interested to see how my grandchildren develop. At the moment they love my models but will it last? I shan't be making them feel guilty or somehow inadequate if their interest wanes, but will try and encourage them in any sensible (and legal) endeavour they may choose. My own son has zero interest in modelling but is a fine guitarist. I never felt I wanted to push him in a direction just because I was interested- but I did pay for a lot of guitar lessons!

And Bob comes across as a charming and tolerant man doesn't he?

It will rumble on,

Ian

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

I don't think that we should throw to many stones at Bob, he does have a very dry sense of humour and has put forward a valid point of view (if a little bluntly)

In a way I can appreciate that some unsupervised youngsters can be a handful especially when they are not related to you or if you are not used to dealing with younger people.

We live in a far different society these days where children are told to avoid strangers and adults are very wary of going near unaccompanied children.

After all you cant cuff them about the ears any more or explain your point of view with a kick up the jacksey (like we used to get all those years ago)

Some say that the world has changed for the better but I think that we are building invisible walls between the generations that are getting increasingly difficult to breach.

Paul

[Ian GardnerParticipant @iangardner62867]

Lest I gave the wrong impression- easy to do on a forum- I certainly wasn't having a pop at Bob. Having taught all my life I have some sympathy for his point of view! I always thoroughly enjoy his contributions to the forum. He is a little tinker though- he knew he would be stirring it up a bit.

All the best…Ian

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

Cor, little tinker.. I have not seen Bob called that before!! TINKERER perhaps!

Kids need to be supervised by their parents when boating perhaps, and for safeties sake, no fast electrics when there are slow models about on the pond!! On the other hand, a bit of common sense can prevail, and when there are fast things on our pond, the slow ones move to one end and the fast ones zoom about the middle.

Variety has to be the thing for kids, speed is ok but it will be a 5 minute wonder.

Ashley

[Bob Abell 2Participant @bobabell2]

I said…….."We don`t want no kids on `ere"

Meaning …..On this forum!……….Fearing that we would be deluged with their dreadful text type slang!

ie………………………"Ow r u m8"………etc

I am slightly saddened that so many of you thought it necessary to throw stones

Bob

Edited By Bob Abell on 09/10/2012 15:40:18

[Paul TParticipant @pault84577]

Bob

I know what you mean……..my kids are in their 30s and they use this shorthand text language and I haven't got a clue what it means.

Mind you I also struggled with your slang and use of the double negative

I don't have any stones to throw but I have got some 8in whitworth nuts………..will they do?

Paul

In answer to your question some posts ago my first model boat would have been when I was 6 or 7.

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

Ok Not stones (did that once bounced of what I was aiming for and broke my Aunts Window, did not chuck another one) sherbert saucers then !! but sorry did not understand the word "ere" , I now, know you meant on "here" LOL

TTFN

[The Long BuildParticipant @thelongbuild]

Posted by ashley needham on 09/10/2012 14:02:33:

Kids need to be supervised by their parents when boating perhaps, and for safeties sake, no fast electrics when there are slow models about on the pond!! On the other hand, a bit of common sense can prevail, and when there are fast things on our pond, the slow ones move to one end and the fast ones zoom about the middle.

####

Sounds just like some Senior Club Members I know.. Should it not be , Some adults needed to be supervised by their kids when playing with boats..

[ashley needhamParticipant @ashleyneedham69188]

May have a point there, judging by the woeful display of control shown at our pond on Sundays! Ashley

[Trevor HollowayParticipant @trevorholloway99134]

I hope you are not referring to anyone on this forum !

The "slow corner" of the pond gets a bit crowded at times, still it means that any collisions are minor.

I try to get my daughter down as often as possible with her little Police boat, she likes chasing the ducks with the siren blaring out.

[Colin BishopModerator @colinbishop34627]

Trevor,

If you meant that last comment seriously I would hope you would persuade your daughter not to do this. Chasing the wildlife is a surefire way of getting model boats banned from a water. It only takes one complaint from a member of the public and that's it!

Colin

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