So where do we go now?

[Samuel Hagan JR]

Once or twice a year this topic is discussed and it's all talk and no action. The older blames the younger generation, clubs need to do this, cost is to high, kids always on there cell phones, blah blah blah blah blah.

Why don't you all spend your energy to come up with a plan instead of bitching about it and playing the blame game.

Proceed.

 

[Jeff Lutz]

As a relatively young person (at least in RC boating terms), I have to say there is a huge misunderstanding by boomers as to why young people are leaving expensive hobbies behind. It's not our "short attention spans" or our "iphone culture", it's that these hobbies take a huge commitment of both time and money. As others have pointed out above, the economy that we are inheriting from the baby-boomers is not the one they inherited from their parents. We have to work more hours for money that goes much less further.

can't agree more. people love to fall back on lazy, easy excuses like the time-worn "kids these days" BS, but reality is a lot more complicated.R/C boating is suffering the same difficulties as most forms of racing. Back in the early days, stuff wasn't very advanced and people could try a bunch of different things to try to win. But by now, the winning formula has been found and you basically need to spend a bunch of money just to have a hope of being competitive. If you want to have a chance in 1/8 Scale, you'd better be ready to spend a couple grand on CMB engines. I have the luxury of being able to spend that money. a lot of people don't.just like the full-size Unlimiteds. Back in the '50s and '60s, you could get a surplus Allison for a few hundred bucks and build a hull you though might work. Now, thanks to modern tools like CFD the "winning formula" looks exactly like the T4-T6 hull everybody runs. Once that happens, it's an arms race over who can spend the most money to cherry-pick the best hardware available. The low-hanging fruit was picked decades ago.and yes, your comment on the websites is spot on. They're set up for the people who have been immersed in this hobby for years. There's nothing on the IMPBA site which would show a n00b what R/C boat racing is about.

. You wrote “ if you want to have a chance in 1/8 scale, you’d better be ready to spend a couple grand on cmb engines”. Just in case someone is reading and wondering about building a 1/8 scale I’m calling BS on this. One 67 cmb should run at least a season and you can always purchase a piston and sleeve. A fellow boater just had a couple of 67 exr’s and parts that would make anyone race scale for at least 3 years for $700. Just trying to keep it real, don’t mean harm and I’m not knocking being excessive because I have over 20 motors .90 in size myself.

 

[Jarcaines]

As a relatively young person (at least in RC boating terms), I have to say there is a huge misunderstanding by boomers as to why young people are leaving expensive hobbies behind. It's not our "short attention spans" or our "iphone culture", it's that these hobbies take a huge commitment of both time and money. As others have pointed out above, the economy that we are inheriting from the baby-boomers is not the one they inherited from their parents. We have to work more hours for money that goes much less further.

On top of that it takes a lot of time, and culture has shifted (I say for the better) to being more WHOLE family oriented (father included). I grew up with model boats. I loved every second of it, but it was my dad, brother and I. My mom and my sister were left out. My sister has a very different view of our childhood and my dad's involvement with it then I do for the obvious reason that my interests were the same as his and her's were not. Now with a family of my own I am thinking about trying to get back into RC boats, but the rest of my family is not that interested. I have limited time and resources to spend, and dedicating them to something my wife and kids aren't going to enjoy seems like a waste to me. Al made a great point about getting families involved. It all starts with that. Young people value family, despite what some old grouchy people might think of "kids these days", these things are important to us, and if we can make RC racing about spending time together with family, you will get their attention.

Gone are the days of men checking out and leaving "the kids" to "the wife". I don't see this as a bad thing, the sport just has to adapt to keep up with it.

you seriously need a reality check.you have no clue as to what it is to work long ours.i work 14 hour days 6 days a week. i am 51 years old and have been a truck driver for over 28 years with over 3 million miles under my belt! i have been working since i was 14 years old and never had anything handed to me like this younger generation has handed to them! i am working much longer hours for less money than i ever have.if you see what i pay a week in taxes,most people in my town don't even gross! you don't have to spend a crap load of $$ to get into this hobby and have some fun.yes i will agree with you that you have to spend a lot of time and be dedicated to be successful, but that is with most hobbies.i am a long time drag racer and if you think this hobby is expensive and time consuming,r/c does not even come close,hell i blow up a motor in my 90 rigger or mono i have a spare $700 motor in the pit box.i blew up my motor 2 seasons ago in my drag car and it was $10,000 and i sat out a hole 14 months to save up for the parts,and that with me doing the labor re building the engine and re installing it.would love to have a spare $32,000 engine sitting in my trailer(maybe if i hit the lotto), the bottom line is 99% on the newer generation is not interested in most of the stuff the the guy's in my age group did as kids and now as adult's,that just the cold hard truth! things go in cycle's and this is true with our boating hobby.you can lead the horse to the water,and you know the rest.

What exactly is "handed to" young people? The cost of a college education has increase 1,120% in the last 30 years, nobody offers paid internships anymore, pensions no longer exist, The median price for a home in 1950 in inflation-adjusted dollars was $44,600, according to the Census Bureau. Compared to the current median price, that’s an increase of almost $192,000 in 67 years. That's just a small sample. The fact that you personally work less for more pay now is exactly the point. Boomers aren't retiring and giving up their cushy positions to the next generation at 60 like the generation before them did. Young people are stuck in middle management jobs with decreasingly significant benefits packages and nowhere to advance. Do we want to go into the rest? Why do you think single income families are almost nonexistent anymore?

Your anecdotal story doesn't hold up to the facts. Seems like you are the one in need of a reality check.

It was asked originally why the sport is suffering with the younger generations. I am just trying to shed some light on it as one of them. These problems don't effect me as much personally, I am self-employed, I have as much time and money as I am willing to afford myself to have for it, but these are the concerns people have.

 

[Joe Wiebelhaus]

Im guilty of some of the above, but realize that if you really want to do it, you'll find a way, time, money, dont mean squat if it dosent interest you.

 

[Michael Costanzo]

Im guilty of some of the above, but realize that if you really want to do it, you'll find a way, time, money, dont mean squat if it dosent interest you.

well joe i also mentioned this in the end of my post but i guess people have selective reading..

 

[Michael Costanzo]

As a relatively young person (at least in RC boating terms), I have to say there is a huge misunderstanding by boomers as to why young people are leaving expensive hobbies behind. It's not our "short attention spans" or our "iphone culture", it's that these hobbies take a huge commitment of both time and money. As others have pointed out above, the economy that we are inheriting from the baby-boomers is not the one they inherited from their parents. We have to work more hours for money that goes much less further.

On top of that it takes a lot of time, and culture has shifted (I say for the better) to being more WHOLE family oriented (father included). I grew up with model boats. I loved every second of it, but it was my dad, brother and I. My mom and my sister were left out. My sister has a very different view of our childhood and my dad's involvement with it then I do for the obvious reason that my interests were the same as his and her's were not. Now with a family of my own I am thinking about trying to get back into RC boats, but the rest of my family is not that interested. I have limited time and resources to spend, and dedicating them to something my wife and kids aren't going to enjoy seems like a waste to me. Al made a great point about getting families involved. It all starts with that. Young people value family, despite what some old grouchy people might think of "kids these days", these things are important to us, and if we can make RC racing about spending time together with family, you will get their attention.

Gone are the days of men checking out and leaving "the kids" to "the wife". I don't see this as a bad thing, the sport just has to adapt to keep up with it.

you seriously need a reality check.you have no clue as to what it is to work long ours.i work 14 hour days 6 days a week. i am 51 years old and have been a truck driver for over 28 years with over 3 million miles under my belt! i have been working since i was 14 years old and never had anything handed to me like this younger generation has handed to them! i am working much longer hours for less money than i ever have.if you see what i pay a week in taxes,most people in my town don't even gross! you don't have to spend a crap load of $$ to get into this hobby and have some fun.yes i will agree with you that you have to spend a lot of time and be dedicated to be successful, but that is with most hobbies.i am a long time drag racer and if you think this hobby is expensive and time consuming,r/c does not even come close,hell i blow up a motor in my 90 rigger or mono i have a spare $700 motor in the pit box.i blew up my motor 2 seasons ago in my drag car and it was $10,000 and i sat out a hole 14 months to save up for the parts,and that with me doing the labor re building the engine and re installing it.would love to have a spare $32,000 engine sitting in my trailer(maybe if i hit the lotto), the bottom line is 99% on the newer generation is not interested in most of the stuff the the guy's in my age group did as kids and now as adult's,that just the cold hard truth! things go in cycle's and this is true with our boating hobby.you can lead the horse to the water,and you know the rest.

What exactly is "handed to" young people? The cost of a college education has increase 1,120% in the last 30 years, nobody offers paid internships anymore, pensions no longer exist, The median price for a home in 1950 in inflation-adjusted dollars was $44,600, according to the Census Bureau. Compared to the current median price, that’s an increase of almost $192,000 in 67 years. That's just a small sample. The fact that you personally work less for more pay now is exactly the point. Boomers aren't retiring and giving up their cushy positions to the next generation at 60 like the generation before them did. Young people are stuck in middle management jobs with decreasingly significant benefits packages and nowhere to advance. Do we want to go into the rest? Why do you think single income families are almost nonexistent anymore?

Your anecdotal story doesn't hold up to the facts. Seems like you are the one in need of a reality check.

It was asked originally why the sport is suffering with the younger generations. I am just trying to shed some light on it as one of them. These problems don't effect me as much personally, I am self-employed, I have as much time and money as I am willing to afford myself to have for it, but these are the concerns people have.

as to my comment about handed to them,i pushed my first car home and most of the kids today are getting brand new high end cars for graduating high school.how about going to a trade school and become a welder,or carpenter,plumber,NO,everyone wants to make 6 figures and what about the 2 BILLION $$ in default college loans!!! who the hell do you think pays for them,ME and the rest of the middle class tax payers!!!! and again to your original point of the younger generation,i have tried to get people from ages 12 to 35+ years old and they are just not interested in anything that does not resolve around social media or computers,texting,that's just the way it is.most guy's who are still in the hobby or any other r/c hobby started out building plastic or wooden models and then it evolved from there.i could name 100 guy's on this and other sites that have know me and raced with me for many years some for well over 25 years. i come and go like the wind but have never lost my roots in modeling,this hobby is not just about racing.i could have a good time throwing a boat in the water and just burning some nitro.

 

[Jarcaines]

...

 

[Jarcaines]

I have never met anyone who has received a brand new car as a graduation present. You just keep going back to cliche antidotal stories and ignoring reality.

I am a youngish (39) person who loves RC boat racing, and I am telling you why I have had a hard time dedicating as much time to it as I would like, but you keep ignoring what I am telling you and complaining about the kids these days. THIS might be the problem right here.

 

[Hydro Junkie]

Okay, Mike and Jarcaines, time to call a truce as I've seen both sides of the argument and can say I've seen some of each.

To Mike's comments:

1) I will agree that there is a large group that expects, from the get-go, the same pay,benefits and respect from a job as someone that's been on the job for 15+ years. I see it quite often at work myself.

2) I know of people that have been given cars by parents due to graduating from school or other reasons

3) Many of the new people in the work force expect to be told what to do or have others do their job and get paid for it. Again, I see it quite often

4) Many can't put down their smart phones/Ipods/tablets, a vast majority due to being addicted to the media

Now, to Jarcaine's comments:

1) Yes, the hobby is time and money intensive, relatively speaking

2) No, the hobby isn't really family friendly for several reasons

3) Family time has become more important since the world has gotten more dangerous, just for starters

4) Cash doesn't go as far due to inflation

NOW IT'S MY TURN

1) The group that expects everything to be handed to them normally gets a very rude awakening. When one comes into my work area, it's either figure it out yourself or I fail you. I don't care if that person is a 40 year employee or one with 6 months. In many fields, that way of thinking holds true, do the work or lose the job.

2) As I said, many were given new cars, but what most are also given is the responsibility that comes with them. Most are given the task of paying the monthly payments, insurance, gas and maintenance or they lose the car. It's a very small minority that are given a new car that's got a clear title. I many cases, the person that was given a free car also worked for their parents. Hell, in my case, my father cosigned a loan for a car(the catch being that he had to approve of the car first) under the restriction that if I missed one loan or insurance payment, he got the car. Needless to say, it was paid off several months early.

3) Since many races, in my area anyway, take place at a park, whey can't a family day out be added to a race? Dad only needs to be away from the family for the driver's meeting and heats. The rest of the day, he can spend with the family. This would also give mom and the kids a chance to watch dad race a few times during the day. I know, in the case of my wife, when she's gone with me and we've had the camp trailer, if she didn't want to watch the races, she'd go in and watch a movie. She had a day to relax away from the house so it was all good.

4) CASH!!! This is the biggest issue with many. No, it doesn't go as far even though many of us make more per hour than what our parents did. This is actually a very simple to solve problem. Each month, everyone has a set of bills to pay. There's the additional costs of food and gas for the cars. The wife and I, when we got together made a simple basic rule to allow me to be in the hobby. Plain and simple, the bills due for that payday had to be paid, the gas tanks had to be filled and we had to have food in the house. After that, I could spend part of what was left on the boats or going to races. If the cash wasn't available, I don't get to buy for the boats or go to the races, plain and simple. Obviously, this is made easier due to the fact we don't have any kids but, that being said, it's still a workable solution to the cash issue

5) Now we come to everyone's favorite item to blame: SMART PHONES AND MEDIA!!!!!!!!!!!

What many don't realize is this is not just an issue of time use or wasting. In most cases, it's actually an addiction that has built up and it will actually take an intervention to break it. What's even worse is it's something that we do to ourselves without even knowing it. As bad as this sounds, I'm going to blame the parents for this. When you look at how many of the kids have smart phones with them everywhere, usually with unlimited text and internet access, apps for almost everything and their social life tied to it's memory, how can they not become addicted. The phone lets them communicate with others "covertly", does their homework, lets them take pictures and post them to anyone of several "LOOK AT ME!!!!!!!!" sites(can we say Twitter, Facebook, etc) where they base their social status on how many hits, likes or friend requests they get in return. As the kids get older and the addiction gets stronger, these little electronic marvels become as important to the one using it as cocaine or alcohol is to an addict, they have to have it. You want to get the kids interested in other things, QUIT ENABLING THEM AND TAKE THE ELECTRONICS AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Matt Schofield]

Grew up with electronics, grew up with video games and yet I found model boating 5 years ago with my Dad. Like Al said make it about family.

Stop blaming the electronics and video games. Video games have been around for 30 years. Social Media is a huge platform to promote the hobby. The Nitro boats only page on Facebook has 3,500 members on it. Smart phones and video games are not the problem.....

The hobby grows at the local level. After that it's a trickle down when a club racer goes to a district race then that same racer goes to a national event. But it all starts at the local club. See ya at the pond!

 

[Wesleys Custom Graphics]

Once or twice a year this topic is discussed and it's all talk and no action. The older blames the younger generation, clubs need to do this, cost is to high, kids always on there cell phones, blah blah blah blah blah.

Why don't you all spend your energy to come up with a plan instead of bitching about it and playing the blame game.

Proceed.

Amen brother

 

[Terry Keeley]

Lol!

ps: Us "boomers" were no better just different, we're just the old farts that get to be critical now...

 

[Tom Foley]

I think it's more frustration than anything else but all I can say is that whomever the new participant is in any activity in order to get more proficient at anything you have to be willing to work and learn which requires a mentor of some kind . I saw a tether hydro on a wall in one of ,my hockey buddies house when I was around 13 - 14 and I was a boat guy already so it was a natural for me but I did not get my first boat (dumas Drag N Fly 40 ) till I was 23 and a mechanic at a local motorcycle shop . Jim Allen and Larry Szybkowski and others were running at the Freeport , NY pond so I was in good hands for learning . I'm still doing it when I can but just cater to full thrash prep for races .

 

[JimZaremski]

you seriously need a reality check.you have no clue as to what it is to work long ours.i work 14 hour days 6 days a week.

it's not a competition.

and here's another thing- complaining about kids being enamored with their phones is missing the root of the problem. it's not the kid's fault.

it's the fault of their parents who toss an iPhone into their kids' hands as a sort of "digital pacifier" to keep them quiet. You don't want your kid to spend all day staring at his phone? don't give him one.

seriously. I see people on other sites asking about smartphone advice for what they should give their 9-year-old "in case I need to get in touch with him."

lazy parents who think raising kids is supposed to be "easy" is the problem. not the kids themselves.

 

[Andy Greene]

I think it's more frustration than anything else but all I can say is that whomever the new participant is in any activity in order to get more proficient at anything you have to be willing to work and learn which requires a mentor of some kind .

Bingo - Had it not been for the amazing amount of high quality racers in my area , in classes I raced - reaching out to me when I got started to make me a better racer, I would have never wanted to make the $$ commitment it takes- even just to run a class or two. I thank Gene Mongar , he didnt stop helping or offering advice in 40 mono ( holding my hand ) so to speak - till I beat him the first time. I think the conversation went- Your on your own now , when I won overall for the year in that class in WCRA - I got a well deserve smile and pat on the back.

At any rate, a guy thats been around the block a time or two - taking a minute to encourage a new guy / coaching , goes much farther than some may think.

Just my worthless .02

 

[Hydro Junkie]

you seriously need a reality check.you have no clue as to what it is to work long ours.i work 14 hour days 6 days a week.

it's not a competition.

and here's another thing- complaining about kids being enamored with their phones is missing the root of the problem. it's not the kid's fault.

it's the fault of their parents who toss an iPhone into their kids' hands as a sort of "digital pacifier" to keep them quiet. You don't want your kid to spend all day staring at his phone? don't give him one.

seriously. I see people on other sites asking about smartphone advice for what they should give their 9-year-old "in case I need to get in touch with him."

lazy parents who think raising kids is supposed to be "easy" is the problem. not the kids themselves.

Gee, the part about the kids and phones pretty much echos what I said back at post 49. If you need to give a kid a cell phone, give them a bare bones flip type with nothing else added or enabled but the voice phone and, if really needed, maybe text mode and only if texting is limited. Next, teach them that's it's just a phone and that they don't need all the other stuff just because "everyone else has it" or "I'll get made fun of if I don't have this model smart phone". If they start whining because you're not going to spend the money on the latest smart phone, tell them they don't get anything and they can deal with going without. I know I grew up without anything but land lines and pay phones and survived. To this day, I've never had a smart phone, just a basic flip type. I don't see where I'm missing anything by not having a phone that can do everything for me except eat and use the bathroom

 

[Bob Kensill]

How about an adapter to mount a .12 or .21 r/c car engine on a .21 lower unit? Some ideas are; PTO, gear drive, cast aluminum, 3D printed, machined or composite..

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Kensill]

I see a melding of the 2. A heads up display driving/racing the rc boat from the comfort of the lawn chair?

Watch r/c drone racing! I would hate to guess what our insurance would cost!!

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[Bob Kensill]

We need a good site to run our boats, a dedicated hobby shop, on site with the correct parts in stock, and the knowledge to help the "rookie" boater get back on the water quickly and without too much out of pocket expense.

Sent from my VS985 4G using Tapatalk

 

[John Finch]

Back in the mid 1980s I owned Twin Craft Model boats and wanted to promote the hobby. We had a local hobby shop and I asked the owner why they did not stock boat parts. They said it was not profitable because people did not buy boat parts. I asked if I could stock their shelves with boat parts engines and boats and they agreed. They were right. Nothing sold. Boaters bought from the manufacturers directly or from garage operations. I sold many parts, engines, and other parts along with the boats out of my garage, so I was part of the problem. That has been the issue all along with hobby shops competing with the garage operations. Now with online sales most of us buy on line. So the local hobby shop is a hard sell for model boats. Having a local pond for the hobby to grow is absolutely necessary. But mentors are also needed as stated many times on this subject. It has to start at the local level and we need to mentor the new model boaters. Just take a new model boater and make a new friend. Help him to succeed and it will be rewarding to both of you.

John