Helping New Boaters

[Foswick]

At a recent yacht club bridge meeting, we were discussing the need to recruit younger members. Someone rightly pointed out that younger people increasingly can't afford to get into boating.

As we all know, it isn't particularly hard/expensive to get a serviceable boat. The expensive and labor-intensive part is everything that follows. And, new boaters don't always appreciate what all of these costs and efforts will look like.

I think a strong path forward for us it to specifically try to find and appeal to new boaters in general, and sailors specifically. My idea is to figure out ways to support people who are new to the sport - like maybe just before or just after buying their first cruising boat. (We are a cruising club.) Our club is rich with experience but, as are many clubs, short on younger members. We are not in a position to run youth sailing programs and the like, for a number of reasons. But, I am thinking more of targeting the 35-50 crowd.

Does anyone have ideas for ways a (fairly small) yacht club could support new boaters that makes it easier for them to enter and stay into cruising? There are some obvious ways, such as simply having experience "on-tap" to answer questions about insurance, maintenance, moorage, anchoring, etc. But, I think there might be an opportunity to do something more formal - something that helps all new boaters, not just members. It would be a community service, but also a good recruitment tool.

I should also mention that there is an excellent ABC club in town that already offers much in the way of education. And, we have a thriving community boating center that teaches small paddle and sailboat skills, up to intermediate keelboat. I tend to think our niche in supporting new boaters is more about the non-sailing parts - buying a boat, insurance, moorage, etc.

Thoughts/ideas?

 

[Rick D]

One thought may be to contact brokers and offer the club's services to help orient new sailors (and power boaters). Maybe offer a free six-month trial membership.

 

[thinwater]

My suggestion is to have them start with dinghy/beach cat sailing. Perhaps the best way to learn. It does NOT need to be a performance dinghy; something conservative and lightly ballasted by a heavy centerboard is fine.

There is a feeling that dinghies are for kids, but the average age of the Fly Scott sailors in my club must be 60. And they make it look so easy and relaxing, every move polished by 40 years of practice. They could tack up a sidewalk. Watching them makes me feel unworthy.

 

[jssailem]

First you need to identify how to reach your desired group. Are they at boat shows? Local gatherings? Fairs or neighborhood community events?

Then you need to participate in their activities and establish your presence. Understand the way they communicate: Social Media, Newsletters, etc.

Then start participating. Give interesting presentations. Provide outreach opportunities. Engagement on their terms. Rewards for interaction.

Some ideas.

 

[yelkenli]

Does you club have any club owned boats that people can check out, either dinghies or keel boats?

 

[jssailem]

Does the club have reciprocal recognition with other clubs/sites?

 

[Project_Mayhem]

The problem with the club at my marina is that nobody, including the members, nor their website, can tell me what I'd be signing up for. What do I get for the $500-1000 I'd be forking over each year. That's one new winch a year!

My suggestion would be to offer free or very low cost outings so people can see if it's right for them. Advertise such an offering in a non sailing related media

 

[shemandr]

The biggest barrier to young sailers is the cost of docking, mooring or dry sailing a boat. While typical yacht clubs do a lot for youths it is usually for the offspring of existing members. That grows the sport but doesn't really bring in the public that doesn't sail.
Here in Martin County the sailing center offers scholarships that donors can purchase to be bestowed on applicants who aren't already in the sailing community. These do bring in new faces. Maybe the OP's Bridge Committee could pursue a policy of raising money to assist with boat storage/docking/mooring fees. It sorta depends on how much the principals want to be open to the pubic. Clubs are by definition exclusive. But they also need youth membership to graduate into the workers who carry on the business of the club. There's got to be a balance. Maybe some kind of work for discounts.
For prospective I've never been a member of a Yacht Club with a clubhouse, restaurant, docks, or bar. I have been a member of paper sailing clubs and served in many capacities within those organizations. I have learned that outside the "Yacht Club" structure there are many middle class of struggling middle class sailers who love sailing and find a way to be involved. For many it's by serving as crew in racing. They do need time and enough disposable income to participate in events. Often they are not boat owners.

 

[SteveHughessails]

Being a part of a yacht club would be great.

 

[JBP-PA]

Maybe an 'open house' day. Free sailing day for kids, parents need to accompany their kids. (Thus parents would be in your target age range). They get to check out the club, go sailing with experienced sailors, maybe a picnic dinner afterword.

 

[dLj]

Your question is being asked by many clubs. There does not seem to be a simple answer. While sailing in Nova Scotia, I was amazed at how active the sailing community is there. Perhaps contact the Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron and talk with them about how they do it and what programs they support. They are really nice folk and I'm sure they would be open to talking.

Royal Nova Scotia Yacht Squadron

www.rnsys.com

dj

 

[Foswick]

Lots of responses. Thank you!

I'll try to offer up some context.

First, membership dues are not a barrier for our club. We charge $100/yr/family which, in boat dollars, is pretty much free. We have a great club house in a great location, but we are in a fortunate position to not pass that along as an expense to members.

We do have reciprocal arrangements with several other clubs, including a few in your neighborhood, @jssailem. We have really good relationships with a few clubs.

The biggest barrier to young sailers is the cost of docking, mooring or dry sailing a boat.

I think this nails the focus. There is no shortage of people interested in getting into boating (sailing or power), and a fair number of them want to cruise. People come from all over the world to cruise in our backyard.

The problem is that there is a gap between the desire and the actualization.There is no getting around the fact that boating is an expensive hobby, but it doesn't have to be THAT expensive. I talk to people who are paying 5 times what I pay for half the insurance. People pay hundreds/thousands of dollars for maintenance tasks they could easily do, if they knew how and/or had the equipment. Moorage is hard to come by, but there are a few clever options if you know where to look. People pay for boat features that they don't really need, but think they do when just starting out.

This is kind of where I think we could do some good. Our club has deep experience, collectively. We could really help new boaters taking some of those first steps. The problem is that people tend to not think about joining a club until much later. They assume it is expensive and exclusive. They assume that their fixer-upper boat will be looked down at. They assume it is only for experienced people.

Some clubs are like that, but that isn't us.

 

[PaulK]

Our club does a number of things to attract and keep younger members. We cannot compete with your $100 dues, but we do have "Corinthian" members up to age 36 who pay dues that are less than half of what full members pay. There is a sliding scale so younger Corinthians pay less than older Corinthians. They don't get to vote, but they get full use of the club.
We have also developed what we call "SAMs": Special Activity Memberships. This allows people who are interested in specific club activities to participate for up to two seasons at minimal cost before they have to apply for full membership. This enables them to get to know the club and vice-versa, so that people who are not a good match for the club don't become members. We offer Frostbiting, RC boats, and Ideal Sailing as SAM programs. The Frostbiting and RC boat programs essentially allow SAMS to race in our Dyer Dhow Frostbiting series in the winter or in the Radio-Controlled (Liberty Class) races over the summer. They are not overly expensive. The Ideal Sailing program is more expensive and deserves more explanation. Our club has purchased a fleet of eight Ideal 18's which are available for members to use when the club is in commission. Members pay a nominal fee for this if they wish to sign out one of the boats for a two hour sail or participate in any or all of the various Ideal programs. SAM members pay more than regular members with the goal of having the overall costs of buying the boats and all their maintenance and upkeep paid by the people who use them. The club maintains the boats and keeps them moored, ready to go. There are many programs that use them: Free Sailing; Learn to sail; Advanced Sailing; Women's Sailing; Fleet Racing; Team Racing; Match Racing; Masters Racing; and Holiday Series Racing. They are kept quite busy, but the range of options seems to attract a good number of interested people. Many of them participate for one or two years and then become full members. Our club is limited to 250 members and is almost full. Your club might not need the same type of boat or as many of them. They don't have to be new, but for fleet racing to be fair they should all be the same one-design and in similar condition. Good luck!

 

[BarryL]

Hello,

I don't have any good suggestions for you.

I think that TIME is the most precious commodity required for sailing. This is for sailing in general, weather cruising, racing, or just day sailing. If you are middle aged or younger, and you mentioned 35-50 as your target age group, them time is the hardest thing to come by. Especially since sailing requires decent weather for it to be fun. If you have a schedule and the weather does not cooperate, then sailing loses. Pick a weekend to cruise somewhere. No wind - hard to enjoy the sailing. Too much wind - hard to enjoy the sailing. Too hot, too cold, you get it. If you're 35-50 and have kids and those kids have activities, where are you going to find the time to sailing?

I started sailing in 2003, when I was almost 40. My kids were young (2, 5, 8), and had numerous activities. I also had other hobbies that took up time. Once I tried sailing I was hooked. Nothing was going to stop me from sailing. Nothing. I loved sailing, and I was completely hooked. The love of sailing is why I made it a priority and why I devote(d) significant amounts of time (and money) to sailing.

My kids are much older now and while they enjoy being on the boat, they don't love sailing and they have zero interest in owning a boat. Same with my wife. She supports my sailing and enjoys a nice sail but she's not going to suggest we go out.

It seems to me that either you love sailing and are willing to do what it takes to sail, or you don't. In that case, no yacht club, sailing center, cheap mooring or slip is going to make you go sailing. I suppose that if a boat were free and the mooring cheap, that more people would own a boat, but how often do you see boats in slips and on moorings that rarely ever go out sailing?

Barry

 

[Foswick]

If you're 35-50 and have kids and those kids have activities, where are you going to find the time to sailing?

Yeah, that's a difficult issue for a cruising club. We do a certain number of cruises each year on certain days. It is tricky for most pre-retirement folks to coordinate - kids or no kids. There are only a few of of us, in the club, who are not retired. But, most of us have a great deal of flexibility or availability in the summer.

Traditionally, our club has scheduled cruises to align with weekends because the membership used to have a lot more pre-retirement members. Since then, pretty much everyone has retired. I put out a survey, this year, to discover if people actually preferred weekends, or if was simply the way we've always done it. Turned out, no one preferred weekends. So, this year, we are avoiding weekends. But, that also makes it challenging to attract new pre-retirement members.

To your point, you either prioritize time on the water, or you don't. It doesn't come easily for most folks and won't happen unless you make it happen.

But, to the point of kids - I really want to see us become more multi-generational. We've got this really cool old home movie from 1939 when the club was still pretty new. A bunch of members cruised out to a nearby island for a day cruise. There were ages from maybe 14-15 to maybe 70s or so. It was a real family outing and looked like a great time. My hope is to regain some of that.

 

[PaulK]

Family-friendly outings are a great attraction for younger members. We are lucky to have a big open harbor about three hours' sail from our club. We schedule a "Rat Race" to it every fall. The Race Committee sets up a pursuit start late on a Saturday morning. The slowest boat starts first, followed by the next, etc., based on the PHRF rating and time differential based on the length of the race. The first boat there wins without the Race Committee needing to be on station. The prize is "The Rat" - a 2-foot long plush rat glued to a plywood board with all the winner's names engraved on brass plaques behind it. Theoretically all the boats should arrive at the finish at about the same time Because the wind might be flukey each boat is allowed up to 20 minutes of engine propulsion. This avoids adolescent truculence on windless afternoons and has led to drag-race finishes on occasion. After finishing everyone rafts up in the bay for the party. People bring paddle boards, windsurfers, kayaks, and swing off spinnaker poles into the water. When they get tired they climb back aboard and move from boat to boat sampling the hors d'oeuvres (prizes for the best ones?) and enjoying various beverages. Someone with a guitar starts singing favorites. At dinner time boats that have galleys share with the ones that don't. Some boats leave the raftup after dinner for more restful sleeping. The next day everyone sails home when they feel like it.