The KISS Principle

[Slideblues]

I think it may need to be a joint venture between fellow racers, the governing body, and the LHS.

Case in point...... New guy strools into LHS, Sees new boat and is told its the fastest thing made, goes to local race and finds out his new boat is not competitive, and there is no class for it, BIG turnoff and hard to come back from,

Gene

 

[SColby]

I would have to agree. The LHS need to be honest about what they are selling. If someone asks tell them it is a good entry level boat but if you want to race you may want to check out boat x,y,or z. Not everyone is out to race and starting with an affordalbe boat may be enough. More than likely this will hook them and they will want to get something better and faster. The only way new poeple are going to become involved and stay with it is to start somewhere with whatever they can afford. This gets them to places like this web site and to the ponds where fellow boaters are for advice or whatever it shall be. Once there, they will see what other poeple have and chance are will have to have one.

BTW this is a great web site. I really appreciate all the help I have received and advice that has been given. Also for all the info that I have picked up. Thanks to everyone.

 

[GTR]

Hi Gene

Really good point that can be overcome by the active boat modellers in the area staying in contact with the LHS and say don't bother with XYZ because it isn't supported at our local club. If you can convince them to sell stuff that will be consumed and need repairs through constant use they will get a better long term customer than a one off sale that doesn't do anybody any good. You still need to define a newbies class to support though - that problem doesn't go away.

Newbies always think their boats are way faster than they are until they get smoked by a hotshot - but that's where the hotshot needs to step in and say it has taken me X years to get to this point and I have Y dollars invested in this speed so that they can get some perspective. Even though nervous to suggest it - if you run a fast tunel or mono say and you think the newbie might be able to cope give them a taste of real speed and watch how quick the reach for their wallet.

 

[Slideblues]

Hi Gary,

Yea, I have been known to let a new guy have a go with my tunnel,

Its worth it to see the look on their face, and then answer the where, what, and how much questions

 

[Grimracer]

Boy does this make me miss the old Hobby Master days.

When I was working retail we always told it like it was. They came in for the hydro and got the “please be ready for some frustration and high cost with this boat speech”. They also got the “FE boats are a great way to start but there is no racing in the area for them at this time in town speech”. We would then recommend that they attend a local boating event or pond night.

Now take a peek at “this here” little tunnel and “that there” little motor and you will be HALF WAY to the racers and if you never race, not a problem as you are going to have all kinds of fun with it at the lake.

Guess what.. They walked out with the Hydro but I did my job.. They came back and got the tunnel later.

Too bad there are not more shops like this anymore. Sure its been a little over 6 years since I left the place. We also did not have all the Internet pressures the shops have today.

We were a full service hobby shop meaning that if you bought it from us we would (if you needed our help) help you build it, test it, and learn to drive, fly it.. If you did not buy it from us…well being good hearted we helped anyway.. More often then not we gained a customer. Did not always like it but it’s the way it was in that business.

How does this relate to this topic you ask?

If money is in the way its in the way Its just needs to be reasonable. Nobody likes it but its a fact. 100 bucks to some is not a big deal but its a huge deal to others. We cannot decide this for most.

Get a good running boat to the public. Lets see.. Needs to be easy to get and get parts for. Needs not to change for at least 3 years. Should be exciting to drive (relative). Should be recognizable to the public.

Also the public:

1 Needs to know we are here: Let as many people as possible know we have and enjoy this crazy hobby.

2 Let them know they are welcome: Making a new person feel welcome goes a long way to growing the hobby.

3 Give them advice if they ask for it: Understand that they will likely not listen at first. Maybe never. This is OK.. its there hobby too.

4 Give them encouragement: If there boat runs good let them know it.

In conclusion I would say:

Foster the shops and if they do not have the know how in boating ask if they need any help. Invite them to stop out to the pond. Lets face it they are hobby nuts like me and you..

To tell you the truth im not sure what else to conclude. Seems to me that we are close to offering a solution but most are afraid to take the time to help. When its comes to race day its hard to skip a heat to help another racers. Do you know anybody that has ever done this? Especially if this person has a chance to win on the day. I saw Cliff Lett do this once at an RC car race and it left a profound impression on me. Also I have always said that RC boat racing is a bit of a cult sport. You have to know or Blo# somebody to get the good stuff. Power Surge Racing Products is doing what we can by offering online purchasing and hobby shop offerings. Also you can buy our stuff at Als in IL and other shops that handle the products. Our goal to get our products main stream without becoming involved with the big distributors. (not going to happen.. EVER) I would close of shop before I would hook up with they big guys.

Grims words for what there worth.

Grim

 

[DJT]

Grim

Just out of couriosity, why do you not want to get hooked up with a distributer?

 

[Eric Canto]

I know this will probably be an unpopular post.........but..........This entire thread is absolutely insane. I fondly remember the days of two day races with an appropriate number of ONLY NITRO boats that moved quickly and finished on time. Then someone decided we needed a "cheap and easy" way for "new people" to join the sport and suggested that a pull start, gasoline powered, air cooled, "spec class" would be the way to fill the ranks. Now I travel to far off races to sit for hours each weekend as the "offshore" bouys are put out and then picked up and gas class after gas class keeps us at the pond until all hours. The "cheap and easy to run" spec boats that were the original idea have given way to engines and boats that are more expensive and complex than most of the nitro boats. Years later, gas boats have not increased the number of people at the races..........only the number of classes. The same will be true of ANY new classes that are introduced. The simple truth is that running an R/C boat of any flavor is a complex undertaking and that in itself is the limiting factor of how many people are going to be seriously involved. If you would like to increase interest on a local level to have more people get together and "play with toy boats", that is fantastic and I wish you the best of luck, but, please let's not start any talk of adding classes to IMPBA or NAMBA RACES. Thanks for the consideration.

 

[Slideblues]

Hi Eric C,

No worries, the purpose of the forum is to discuss different aspects of the topic,

Yours is just a different view of the question.

Actually the money needed for a newby to get started nowadays was what made be start the post,

And misinformation from the LHS adding to the problem.

Gene

 

[SColby]

I don't race and I know that there has been a lot of things said about adding a class for new people to join in on. Do you have to race to promote and stay acttive in it? No. I have read this post many time through and I think that it was intended to not be about adding a new class but to say that that there should be a good affordable boat that attracts people to the hobby. How else are you going to get poeple to stay invoved and join in if you don't have something affordable and have them at the races or local ponds? Having them there has a real good chance of increasing the want for more and interest for other things. Not everyone is going to want to race but they need to know that there are people around their area willing to help them out and show them things. If they want to race, they should know that there would be a place for them.

It is more fun to run with others than by yourself even if it is just for fun.

 

[DJT]

SColby

Your words speak volumes, not everyone is intrested in racing.

 

[Ron Olson]

Good point Steve. I find myself answering questions on other sites with that thinking, not everyone who owns a boat is into racing. I know of a lot of people around here that don't want to race, just build, tinker and have fun by themselves or a few friends.