When I first started running R/C boats, btw a long time ago, it was a family activity. Many of the racers were Mom, Dad and the kids. Today, many of those kids are now the adults racing boats and helping to run the show.
But, today we don't have the family turnout we used to have. There are few Moms racing and few kids. So what happened?
In my opinion we have allowed poor behavior, bad language, and temper tantrums run off many women and children. In the 70's I took my two sons to races and they had their own boats. Today I would not take an 8 year old child to some of our races because of the way we let people behave.
I don't think it's that. I don't see that kind of behavior that often. Yes, some people pick at each other, or protest a bit too much about a call/non-call, but it's not worth worrying about. We have the same problem that professional motor sports has. It's like Unlimited Hydroplanes. Back in its heyday, you could build a wood boat from plans, get a few surplus Allisons or Merlins for pennies on the dollar, and go racing. In NASCAR, you could weld up a roll cage in your car, drop in a big V8, and go racing.
then, as time went on and technology advanced, it just gets more and more costly in terms of real dollars to participate. every year the Unlimiteds are "can we or can't we" about putting on races because it's so expensive. if you want to be even remotely competitive in NASCAR, bring money.
and it's the same in R/C boats. This is (supposed to be) a hobby, yet if you want to get into say 1/8 scale or sport 40, you need to stump up $500-$600 just for an engine if you want to be competitive. Or you need to know (and trust) people who can sell you something used but good. I can afford to buy new stuff. A lot of the folks I race with have been doing this for almost as long as I've been alive. There are members of my clubs who have
libraries of parts on hand. They blow up a CMB Greenhead? pull some parts off of the shelf and rebuild it. A newbie doesn't have that capability.
a newbie is faced with making a huge investment in something, and having to step into an established clique. It can be intimidating.
Consider this: Why do you think gas Thunderboat is popular? Because you can go get a $150-200 hull kit and build it, get a $200 Zenoah G26 off the shelf, and $150 in hardware and you've got a potentially competitive boat. Think about that. You can build a complete gas Thunderboat for roughly the same price as a nitro E engine.
In any racing series, once it becomes an arms race, the only thing which matters is the size of your wallet.
Q: "How do you make a small fortune in racing?"
A: "Start with a large fortune."
so really, if we want to get people into this, we all need to do something to help them get into it. Anything. Things like offering to sell someone a boat which is set up to run well. This is what got me into Sport 40; Chris Capaldi offered me a Phil Thomas hull with hardware for a very good price, and since he had raced it I knew it was set up right. and I've done OK in Sport 40.
Or it can be offering a helping hand to someone struggling. Joe Wiebelhaus and Bert Dygert have given me a lot of advice on modding and setting up my U-11 Peters & May, and finally this year it's a runner.
Neither of those things could have happened if someone hadn't offered me a hand.
we need a way to
ease people into it. Coaching, constructive criticism, training, and all that. we're not dealing with 1.8 horsepower scale boats like back in the '80s. We're dealing with 70-80 mph monsters. my biggest mistake getting into racing was jumping feet first into 1/8 scale with an old Dumas kit and underpowered engine. and I got my arse handed to me (literally, I got rear-ended out there on the course.) And that was 7 years ago.
