Class association websites

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steveeasy

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Hi,
Over the last year or so ive noticed a decline in interest in a particular class association forum to now almost nothing. How does this compare to YBW forums ?.

The Twister class association forum used to be very active, now no owners seam to use it. A good reference site but little else. Any suggestions from Twister owners why they don't use the forum any more. I would have thought it would be a good place to promote get togethers, racing and discuss matters of mutual interest. Or is this a thing of the past ?.


Steveeasy
 
The Corvette Motorboat association website has become more of a reference point now after ~2-3 years of its existence, with a separate Groups.io site being used for regular chat. The two together seems to be working quite well for our members, who now number ~ 70.
 
As web sites become more focused, it follows that they attract less interest. And the less interest they attract, the less interesting they are. Until they become a waste of time, and fade into oblivion. We all know that a boat is a boat, whether it's a big motor cruiser or a catamaran sailing boat, so it follows that they have a great deal in common. But some motorboat owners will only ask questions about cleats (for example) on a motorboat forum; it makes no sense at all, and only serves to fragment and diminish the readership.
 
As we can see here, there are many sailors who just aren't club people. If anything, this trend seems to be increasing, as people get into sailing as an accessory to their lifestyle and just want to potter around with their family or drinking-mates.

The HR association is very active, though many owners, including some that I know, don't join. The forums deal with a wide range of issues, many of them technical of course, and the two Facebook pages are well-used, almost daily. One is for gossip and the other for brief cruising comment with pictures not allowed so that those with limited access can receive them. The website is open to view but forums and other pages are restricted to members. http://www.hroa.co.uk
 
Sadler and Starlight Facebook page is very active but the class association website can go a week without a single post. Pity, because the FB posts soon disappear whereas the website material is permanent and can be searched.
 
Well the Twister association forum can go weeks without a single post. new members post and don't get a welcome. Nothing is promoted and as such the ethos of the association is being lost.

Steveeasy
 
I think there are are several factors.

For a start, people seem less able or willing to work on their boats nowadays - as shown by no kit boats now - and rather than ask advice just bung the boat into a yard and pay through their nose ( a great shame as knowing every bit of your boat may save you or more importantly your family's lives one day, as well as being therapeutic and kinder on one's wallet ). Yes I'm half Scottish.

Facebook is all very well but jumbles things up so much I can't keep track of conversations, it's like playing drunk scrabble with a Welsh lady.

Our A22 association has suffered lately due to my illness and also falling out with a helper, hopefully I can get it back on track soon.

It used to be the case that people would join just to get advance news of boats coming up for sale; that fell off 2-3 years ago but this last year has been busy, in fact too much so for me to handle presently.

People now are ' cash rich, time poor ' which is to my mind a sad way to be, and doesn't lend itself to sailing boats.


Then look at the magazines - when I started one aspired to a Mirror dinghy, now if you don't start in a £100,000 +
40'job in a marina you're nobody - even though the 40' will be a right pain for a husband and wife team at close quarters or a system fails while the Mirror or racing dinghies will have taught very valuable lessons.

Paying silly money to be in marinas with usually half-arsed staff is a huge draw even on a good salary - on a larger boat I once had, they dropped the keel stepped mast like a piledriver taking out a lot of woodwork " Oops sorry " then cleared off for lunch, I suppose I should be grateful it didn't go through the bottom as well.

I do feel this was just a phase, and proper sensible affordable good to sail boats able to go on sheltered, attractive half tide moorings are on the way back.
 
Seajet said:
I think there are are several factors.

For a start, people seem less able or willing to work on their boats nowadays - as shown by no kit boats now - and rather than ask advice just bung the boat into a yard and pay through their nose ( a great shame as knowing every bit of your boat may save you or more importantly your family's lives one day, as well as being therapeutic and kinder on one's wallet ). Yes I'm half Scottish.

Facebook is all very well but jumbles things up so much I can't keep track of conversations, it's like playing drunk scrabble with a Welsh lady.

Our A22 association has suffered lately due to my illness and also falling out with a helper, hopefully I can get it back on track soon.

It used to be the case that people would join just to get advance news of boats coming up for sale; that fell off 2-3 years ago but this last year has been busy, in fact too much so for me to handle presently.

People now are ' cash rich, time poor ' which is to my mind a sad way to be, and doesn't lend itself to sailing boats.


Then look at the magazines - when I started one aspired to a Mirror dinghy, now if you don't start in a £100,000 +
40'job in a marina you're nobody - even though the 40' will be a right pain for a husband and wife team at close quarters or a system fails while the Mirror or racing dinghies will have taught very valuable lessons.

Paying silly money to be in marinas with usually half-arsed staff is a huge draw even on a good salary - on a larger boat I once had, they dropped the keel stepped mast like a piledriver taking out a lot of woodwork " Oops sorry " then cleared off for lunch, I suppose I should be grateful it didn't go through the bottom as well.

I do feel this was just a phase, and proper sensible affordable good to sail boats able to go on sheltered, attractive half tide moorings are on the way back.
Click to expand...

Apologies as I'm slightly off topic to start!

Lots of good points there Seajet, the only thing I'd disagree with is people being cash rich/time poor. I'd suggest many have good income but no spare cash by the time they've taken out the leased cars/house/clothes/phones/lifestyle goods etc there isn't anything left for going boating.

I read YW and to be honest often think I'm failure financially as I can't afford anything for sale in the back pages! The magazines do make it look like 11-12 metres and knocking on £250k is about right for a family cruiser and that being kitted out with every safety and electronic gadget is essential to sail a coastal passage in good weather.

Add in the mainly shocking weather we get on all the public holidays and kids that have access to games/phones/screens/TV from a very early age....getting someone in a wet suit, launching some training and safety boats and then getting battered by the weather is hard work, no wonder numbers are falling.

Back on topic, the owners and club websites need a big pool of members to work, there was a suggestion that MYC would have a forum like YBW but with 600 members, probably 300 of them in a age group that would use it, it just isn't enough to keep it active. The worry was there would be a flurry of activity at the start then dead, so it didn't happen. I don't know what the magic number is to make it start to work, I'd guess around 2000.

Social media, has many faults but it is useful when used in moderation, I use it for X-Yachts and X-362 owners, promoting our MYC events and publishing race results, Ramsgate Week info, Sanders Sails, MSBA, etc etc.

I've avoided the habit of posting photos of my breakfast etc!
 
In the case of the Sadler and Starlight owners' forum there seem to be many active owners judged by the number of posts on the FB page. It seems the web page is too difficult or unfriendly to use, certainly the case so far as posting photographs is concerned. If websites were as easy to use as FB maybe we would see a change. Does it cost that much more in server space to store photos in the way FB does?
 
vyv_cox said:
In the case of the Sadler and Starlight owners' forum there seem to be many active owners judged by the number of posts on the FB page. It seems the web page is too difficult or unfriendly to use, certainly the case so far as posting photographs is concerned. If websites were as easy to use as FB maybe we would see a change. Does it cost that much more in server space to store photos in the way FB does?
Click to expand...

I think you have knocked it on the head. Things have to be simple and it can be. Im no IT expert but for instance you can link a post to notify members of a post such as on here. members then in turn reply. it creates interest.
Activities. list them on the website and encourage members to use the site to again create interest. the twister site operates now as solely an information site. it does nothing to stimulate members. Im sure we want increased participation in classic racing etc, but for this to work you need to feel as if its a group activity, not participating on your own.
Lots can be done at very little cost and a tiny bit of effort.

Steveeasy

If you had 50 active members and they only posted once per month, that would be a huge increase than now. Of course it all depends on the membership numbers.
 
The HR forums allow notification of replies. There are numbers of members who will look at the website but wouldn't be seen dead clicking onto Facebook. I agree that it needs to be simple. I imagine that in website terms you get what you are prepared to pay for.
 
steveeasy said:
Hi,
Over the last year or so ive noticed a decline in interest in a particular class association forum to now almost nothing. How does this compare to YBW forums ?.

The Twister class association forum used to be very active, now no owners seam to use it. A good reference site but little else. Any suggestions from Twister owners why they don't use the forum any more. I would have thought it would be a good place to promote get togethers, racing and discuss matters of mutual interest. Or is this a thing of the past ?.


Steveeasy
Click to expand...
Have you thought of becoming involved in the running of the Association yourself? I know the TCA has faced enormous difficulty finding replacements for the long-serving General Secretary, the Treasurer and the Magazine Editor who wanted to retire after many years loyal service.

You might be just what is needed to revitalise the TCA.
H
 
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