Minutes of November 2, 2003 Meeting

The meeting was called to order at 2:00 by Roger Newton, acting as Chairman in Jim Lilly’s absence. 15 members were in attendance. Roger opened with a brief recap of the 2003 season, stating that the season was successful and seemed to be enjoyed by all.

Jim Clark reported that there was $1172.94 in the club treasury, with an outstanding bill for T-shirts and web expenses to Jim Lilly yet to be paid. For the season there was a total of 29 registered members, and 24 members actually participated in at least one race.

The minutes from the last meeting, April 6, were reviewed.

The schedule for monthly meetings was discussed and set for the first Sunday of each month, at the HARM at 2:00. Future meeting dates will be December 7, January 4, February 1, March 7 and April 4. Meetings will suspend during the racing season.

It was moved, seconded and approved to schedule the annual banquet for Saturday November 22 at 6:00 at the HARM. The event will be catered by Caveman BBQ. Costs for the banquet will be covered by the club for registered members, and will be $10 each for nonmembers and guests. Families are welcome. Please RSVP to Roger in advance of the event.

Potential race sites were reviewed prior to scheduling races for the year. 10 races will tentatively be scheduled for 2004. Sites under consideration are Coulon, Bellevue Pond, Shady Lake, Puyallup and Lake Waughop. Also mentioned was Marysville, Spanaway, Green Lake, Lake Wilderness, Schreiber Pond in Lynnwood, Silver Lake in Everett and Lake Lawrence. These sites will be reviewed prior to setting the season schedule.

It was moved to make a change to the By-laws to have three members elected in even years, and four members in odd years, to keep continuity through the coming season. (The previous article said three members in odd years and four in even years.) This revision was passed.

The three positions to be filled in even years will be Registrar, Race Coordinator and Statistician. The four positions to be filled in odd years will be Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer and Technical Inspector.

Nominations for board members for the coming season were made. They are

• Registrar: Dave Lilly
• Race Coordinator: Roger Newton. Ron Daum
• Statistician: David Newton

Other nominations can be made prior to the next meeting via email or phone to Rick Lentz. The positions will be filled by vote of the members in attendance at the December 7 meeting.

A review of the previous racing season brought up the following topics that will be considered and discussed over the next few months. Suggestions on improvements included:

• Make a spotter for the driver mandatory instead of recommended.
• Scaffolding is recommended for improved driving control.
• A definite course layout should be determined so that the course can be set up to meet some kind of standard, and the setup should be more formally done.
• More practice sessions on a set course before the season starts were requested.
• More buoys could be used in the course layout.
• The number of boats in a heat was discussed, with the question being that six may be too many, at least in the preliminary heats.

The boats appearance provisions in the rule book were discussed. Other than the required elements already listed in the rules, it was suggested that consideration for review be made with the boat in the water at a 10’ standoff. David Newton has prepared a checklist for the RCU nitro club that can be reviewed to see if this would help with our review.

The rules and bylaws will be reviewed in an informal manner over the winter. If you have any questions, concerns or recommendations, bring them up at a meeting or via e-mail so ideas can be considered.

The need for insurance coverage was brought up for discussion. Several potential race sites could become available if the club had insurance coverage. Roger will look into APBA and NAMBA programs to develop a recommendation for consideration by the members at the December meeting.

A lengthy discussion on power for the modern class was held. After reviewing many options it was voted 13-2 by the members present to make the Astroflight 25 — 5 turn motor the only authorized motor for the Modern Class, same as in the Vintage Class. The allowance for 14 cells of battery power and the use of a flexible shaft were retained as written in the rulebook. Jim Clark will poll the members and place an order for motors as soon as possible in order to have the motors available in the coming months.

The new 3300 batteries were discussed. It appears that the new batteries may have an advantage in total run time, and may be somewhat less expensive that the 2400’s, but there appears to be no advantage power-wise in going to the new cells.

The club would like to have a booth in the February model show in Puyallup. Volunteers will be needed to work the booth. Dates and times will be available by the next meeting. The club would also like to have displays set up in several hobby shops over the winter months to help promote the club. An information placard will be prepared, and fliers will be available. If you have a boat that could be used for several months for display this winter, please notify Roger.

Long-range plans were discussed. The members were quizzed on the idea of some out-of-town sites for races. Some examples would be the Portland area, where some racers are expressing some interest, along with Ellensburg, Elma, Crescent Bar and Chelan. The parameters recommended are that local races should be within a two-hour drive from "Seattle", and that the schedule would have a local emphasis with only a few races scheduled for outside the local area each year.

Long-range goals for the club were reviewed. A value of the equipment desired for club use will be prepared for presentation to potential sponsors. It was determined that for 2004 the series sponsorship would be available for a $1000 fee, and individual race sponsorships would be $100 each. The series sponsor could have a presence on the website, maybe have tee-shirts prepared. This discussion will be continued over the next few meetings.

Under new business, it was voted on by the members present to have the registration fee reduced to $7.50 for 2004 for any new member who paid the full fee after September 1, 2003 but did not race.

It was recommended that fees collected at a race be able to be used for any permits or fees necessary to hold the race, and for reimbursement to the race sponsor for trophies and prizes.

John Williams is working on fake motors that will be available by club members when done. Jeff Campbell is working on creating a boat hardware kit that will be available to the club. Contact either of them to discuss your needs with these items.

The club has donated $100 to Dave Sacry in condolence for the recent death of his wife Teri.

The meeting ended with a "News and Rumor" report by the members present. From the 15 members present there is a count of 21 Vintage Class and Five Modern Class boats ready or being prepared for the 2004 season.

The meeting was closed at 4:30.