Hello everyone

 

I am new to the forum, so nice to meet you and thank you for having us.

 

My name is Jasper and my sister and I have just taken on my fathers old 33' narrowbeam. I'm not going to lie it is proving to be a steep learning curve!

 

The boat itself is in need of a lot of work and the the mooring is on a 'boat club' that is run like a dictatorship by one person making unilateral decisions. Is it common for boat clubs to be run by just one person? The person in question recently forcibly removed a members boat onto a patch of waste ground which has me really worried.

 

I thought setting up a committee, with a charter and a club bank account would be a good idea, so that important decisions, finances etc, wouldn't all be in the hands of one person. Does anyone know anything about this kind of thing or know where I can find out more please?

 

I will have also have lots of questions about boat repair and maintenance shortly as well, so thank you for bearing with us.

 

Thanks again. J.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just as a " for instance" the commitee at Thrupp cruising club are known locally as The Thrupp Mafia. 

So you're thinking about setting up a committee in order to limit the power of the person you describe as a dictator who's currently in control of the boat club? 

 

Sounds like conflict waiting to happen. Wouldn't it be easier to find a new mooring? Should be easy enough for a 33ft narrowboat.

Boat clubs do seem to attract the power crazed. 

Somewhere there will be a constitution for the club, which lays out how it should be run, what any committee should look like, what it's powers are and what any membership can do about it in terms of AGM, EGM etc. That should be your first port of call. Any alternative club will have no standing. In particular, agreements on land, moorings etc will be with the original club. Unless the club is incorporated in some way, contracts for the site will be with individuals. 

Either that, or move your boat to another mooring, as @blackrose suggests. A palace coup is going to be hard to do and deeply poisonous to relationships between all boat owners there, even if you suceed Simpler to move away. 

Every Boat Club I know has a committee, elected in accordance with the constitution. One often finds many new members are only interested in what is generally a cheap mooring but involves a certain amount of work around the premises. It is this participation in the work that causes some discontent. As in all walks of life, you will encounter people who will stretch the rules to suit their purpose, and whilst you may consider that one individual exerts a lot of influence, you mwill be unaware of the pressure he is put under by other members who see a 'shirker'.

As regards the 'Thrupp Mafia', they have a most unenviable job of managing a honeypot mooring where ,as in most popular sites, there are plenty of people who abuse the time limits if they get half a chance.

In your instance, the decision is yours. Either accept the club ethos and management or move.

5 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Boat clubs do seem to attract the power crazed. 

 

Some might say that they show the will to enforce regulation in a way that CaRT seem to be incapable of, or unwilling to do , in their management practices.

20 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

Boat clubs do seem to attract the power crazed. 

 

^^^ This ^^^

 

I got thrown out of the Burfield Island Boat Club for failing to attend enough of their stupid 'social events'. 

 

It all came to a head when I skipped attending their "Welly boot-throwing competition" one weekend, and I got invited to fcuk off and keep my boat somewhere else! 

31 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

^^^ This ^^^

 

I got thrown out of the Burfield Island Boat Club for failing to attend enough of their stupid 'social events'. 

 

It all came to a head when I skipped attending their "Welly boot-throwing competition" one weekend, and I got invited to fcuk off and keep my boat somewhere else! 

Damn those pesky welly boot throwing competitions. They'll get you booted out each and every time.

 

 

Unfortunately lots of these little clubs have power crazed rear admirals. See it a lot in the sailing world too. You wanna do what? Keep your boat here during the winter? Have you not seen subclause 2A, section 3 c.

Edited May 30May 30 by Russ T

4 minutes ago, Russ T said:

Damn those pesky welly boot throwing competitions. They'll get you booted out each and every time.

 

 

Unfortunately lots of these little clubs have power crazed rear admirals. See it a lot in the sailing world too. You wanna do what? Keep your boat here during the winter? Have you not seen subclause 2A, section 3 c.

I am a member of a whisky club, we have about 20 members and meet fridays and have ad hoc social events etc. We had ONE meeting 18 months ago after 3 years of formation. During discussions 3 newish members advocated setting up formal arrangements and a chairman, secretay committee members etc etc 🙄 several of us said it was because it was completely informal that we were members and most agreed that no Hitler status would be imposed on members and we bimble along extremely well without formality. 

11 minutes ago, Russ T said:

Unfortunately lots of these little clubs have power crazed rear admirals.

 

This got me wondering, why don't we have front admirals too?

 

Or maybe we do!

 

 

 

2 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

I am a member of a whisky club, we have about 20 members and meet fridays and have ad hoc social events etc. We had ONE meeting 18 months ago after 3 years of formation. During discussions 3 newish members advocated setting up formal arrangements and a chairman, secretay committee members etc etc 🙄 several of us said it was because it was completely informal that we were members and most agreed that no Hitler status would be imposed on members and we bimble along extremely well without formality. 

 

You could propose the following single, informal rule for your whisky club:

 

"Any member wishing to introduce club rules will be expelled immediately".

 

Ermmmmm......

4 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

This got me wondering, why don't we have front admirals too?

 

Or maybe we do!

 

 

 

I duno, but possibly for the same reason we don;t have Unabled seaman (as opposed to Abled ones)

To answer the original question, I suggest contacting the AWCC (Association of Waterway Cruising Clubs) to find out about actual boat clubs.

Oh a club for boat clubs to join!! 

 

Is there a club for boat club, clubs? 

 

 

4 minutes ago, Russ T said:

I duno, but possibly for the same reason we don;t have Unabled seaman (as opposed to Abled ones)

 

... and there are several inert gases, but as far as I know no "ert" ones.

Just now, alias said:

 

... and there are several inert gases, but as far as I know no "ert" ones.

 

Maybe there are some "outert" gases though....

 

 

1 minute ago, MtB said:

 

Maybe there are some "outert" gases though....

 

 

 

I'm off out to a ruly gathering of gruntled people soon, so I'll ask them.

I concur that finding a mooring which suits your needs is going to be far easier than changing the rules at the current one.

 

Unless you are in a particularly obscure location it should be fairly straightforward, and best done without causing offence - simply let them know that, following the change of ownership, a different location suits you better for the time-being. I recommend this because you never know exactly who will pop up where in the future.

Alec

3 minutes ago, agg221 said:

I concur that finding a mooring which suits your needs is going to be far easier than changing the rules at the current one.

 

Unless you are in a particularly obscure location it should be fairly straightforward, and best done without causing offence - simply let them know that, following the change of ownership, a different location suits you better for the time-being. I recommend this because you never know exactly who will pop up where in the future.

Alec

 

 

Don't tell me. You ran Burghfield Island Boat Club back in the 1990s?! 

 

  

Just now, MtB said:

 

 

Don't tell me. You ran Burghfield Island Boat Club back in the 1990s?! 

 

  

Well, funny you should mention that...

 

😄😄

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

^^^ This ^^^

 

I got thrown out of the Burfield Island Boat Club for failing to attend enough of their stupid 'social events'. 

 

It all came to a head when I skipped attending their "Welly boot-throwing competition" one weekend, and I got invited to fcuk off and keep my boat somewhere else! 

Only because they found out you were 2nd in the Jesus Docs flinging competition on Eel Pie Island on the same weekend.

With what you’ve said and others have

ment maybe look to moor somewhere else, as if you go against this one individual and he feels revolt is in the air, he will simply ask you to leave or remove your boat. Is it a busy club with many boats? 
 What I find with these clubs, it’s normally the older retired generation that keeps them going and once they start dyeing off, they realise they have to change their ways to attract new younger moorers/members to keep their empire from falling😂

 The club’s not in Yorkshire is it? As there’s a few up this neck of the woods, Commodore, Captain etc 😂🍓🍓
 

Edited May 30May 30 by BoatingLifeUpNorth2

27 minutes ago, MtB said:

Oh a club for boat clubs to join!! 

 

Is there a club for boat club, clubs? 

 

 

The Association of Associations of Waterways Cruising Clubs was formed. After the excitement of the knife fight to decide who would be Commodore,  the entire executive committee died of boredom during their first and only meeting. 

3 minutes ago, Jen-in-Wellies said:

The Association of Associations of Waterways Cruising Clubs was formed. After the excitement of the knife fight to decide who would be Commodore,  the entire executive committee died of boredom during their first and only meeting. 

Which is a shame, as there was then nobody left to form the Association of Associations of Associations of Waterways Cruising Clubs.

 

Alec

3 minutes ago, agg221 said:

Which is a shame, as there was then nobody left to form the Association of Associations of Associations of Waterways Cruising Clubs.

 

Alec

Ass of Waccos is more catchy

AWCC clubs are very useful, if you belong to one you get reciprocal moorings for up to 2 weeks at most other clubs. Good if you are traveling the system and leaving your boat places whilst you go back to work Monday to Friday😉

57 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

This got me wondering, why don't we have front admirals too?

Historically the front bit of a fleet was commanded by a vice admiral, who’d be the first to go, with an admiral in the middle trying to keep everyone in line. The rear admiral at the back was charged with cleaning up the mess when his superiors were dead.