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Conference unifix::sailing

Title:	SAILING
Notice:	Please read Note 2.* before participating in this conference
Moderator:	UNIFIX::BERENS

Created:	Wed Jul 01 1992
Last Modified:	Mon Jun 02 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	2299
Total number of notes:	20724

1418.0. "Red Tape in Yacht Clubs" by HXOA01::MOWBRAY (from Newfoundland) Thu Dec 28 1989 13:40

    I am a member of a small (50 boat) yacht club in Newfoundland (a
    Canadian Province).  We are currently reviewing our constitution
    in light of some of todays reality such as female skipper/owners
    etc.                                     
                                             
    One issue that has arisen, and although it may sound a little trivial
    it is quite a hot topic in the club, is that of voting rights.  The  
    traditionalists in the club propose a "One boat one vote" policy     
    which has worked in the past, however that does not address things   
    such as : Social Members and how they are represented in the club,   
    family memberships or how to allow very active family members to     
    both participate fully.  A lot of the "mates" in the club feel that
    they should be able to vote as well as (or maybe in spite of) the
    skipper.  Then, of course we get into the issue of what constitutes
    a "bona fide" mate etc....                                           
                                             
    We do not have a family membership, our fee structure is simply
    a "membership fee" which works for a family or a single person and
    then there are wharf fees charged per boat.  
                                             
    I am sure that others have thought about this issue, I have been
    given the responsibility of drafting a new constitution and I would
    certainly appreciate any input I can get.

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
1418.1	YACHT CLUB RULES	ILO::TFOOTE		`Fri Dec 29 1989 08:50`	21
	My own club here in Galway is also a relatively small club both in membership terms and boats, so maybe there are a number of similarities. Currently we have a pretty mixed bag of around 50 cruisers also and perhaps a further 50 or 60 dinghies. Membership is made up of three categories, Family,Ordinary,Cadet and Pavillion. Family provides two votes (husband & wife) Ordinary one vote Cadet - membership confined to under 17 years age - no voting rights Pavillion - non-sailing membership, no voting rights. Personally I believe it would be difficult to cater for everyone if voting rights were confined to cruiser owners only. That seems a bit un-democratic and smacks of cheque-book diplomacy!! Regards & a happy New Year, Tom Pavillion - membership confined to non-sailors - no voting rights.
1418.2	no simple answer	MSCSSE::BERENS	Alan Berens	`Fri Dec 29 1989 09:11`	24
	re .0: (Disclaimer: I do not belong to any yacht clubs.) It seems to me that the voting rights allowed might depend on the purpose and future of the club, One vote per member is the most democratic, but it also entails the risk that the club will eventually be something other than a yacht club. For example, if there are many members who do not own boats or who are not enthusiastic about sailing (eg, spouses of either gender), then these members (who could be a majority) might vote to spend club funds on improving the tennis courts (for example) instead of on necessary dock repairs. One vote per boat would tend to limit membership but would also tend, I would think, tend to keep the club yacht oriented and expenditures sailing related. Maybe a two-body voting system is needed -- a one vote per member and one vote per boat (House of Commons and House of Lords as it were) -- and both bodies must agree. But this obviously has a bunch of disadvantages also. Since joining or not joining is an option, I'm not sure that the voting needs to be totally democratic. Rather, the voting should keep the club pointed more or less at its goals. Happy writing.
1418.3	my experiences	CSSE32::BLAISDELL		`Fri Dec 29 1989 12:13`	21
	I've been a member of two sailing clubs and one club that allowed powerboats. My experience is that voting rights are always associated with family memberships with one vote per family regardless of the number of boats. Other classes of membership, eg. social and group, did not exist in all cases; but, where they existed, carried no voting rights. To keep the club focused on boating, two clubs required a boat to join; however, those selling their boats could remain members. In two cases, family was defined to include children only up to a certain age. Your reference to mate interests me because it possibly implies that the husband is assumed to be the primary family member. I'm aware of one club that recently changed an article that required the named member to be male. The club was not actually observing the rule (and most members didn't know it existed), but the state required the rule be changed before granting them a mooring field permit. The state found the offending rule when they required club rules be included with mooring field permit requests. The moral is that if your club depends on public permits for its operation, then avoid any rules that could be construed as discriminatory. - Bob
1418.4	What are the members' priorities?	AIADM::SPENCER	John Spencer	`Fri Dec 29 1989 15:49`	12
	Alan hit most of my thoughts in .2. The fact is in most clubs boat owners end up paying more than non-owners. A club needs to decide if it wishes to favor yachting/boating development or allow general shoreside issues to perhaps hold equal or better priority. The club I belong to went through a period years ago when they almost bought land for tennis courts and rebuilt the ambient temperature sea water pool into a heated freshwater one. They didn't, and now the yachties have reasserted control, though more through membership recruting and services offered than through a voting scheme. J.