NAMBA April 2020 Web.pub

They are usually cut fingers and often need emergency room attention. Please don’t get close to a running propeller and keep others clear as well. Fires are the last serious accidents I’ve observed. Familiarity as well as proper charging with modern battery chargers has largely eliminated lithium polymer battery fires. Lots of water to cool the battery or sand to smother the fire is the proper response if one happens. Gasoline is much more flammable than methanol and nitromethane. Please be very careful around gasoline cans and don’t smoke around either gasoline or other fuel. Use the right dry chemical extinguisher for a gasoline fire. Since gasoline floats, water will only spread a gasoline fire. It’s easy to keep model boating a safe hobby. We all know how. Just keep reminding others when they have a lapse in judgment. It’s everyone’s job. It’s a Matter of Respect By Alan Hobbs NAMBA President NAMBA does not own any races sites. We do not have our own ponds. Someone is responsible for the locations where we practice and where we hold our races. The owner might be a city, county, state park or is private property. It is the owner that tells us how to use the property. If the city parks official says that we must park our vehicles in a certain place. That is where we will park our vehicles. If the owner of a private pond says this is where we can set up our pit area and drivers’ stand, that is where we will set up our pits and drivers’ stand. When one person decides that the rule does not apply to him or her, we are all to blame. Allowing one person to disregard the owner’s requirements, shows total disregard for the owner, the owner’s rules, and the owners authority. Someone has worked with the property owner to provide us with a race site. That person, normally a NAMBA member has agreed to make certain that the people attending the race; racers and spectators will follow the rules as set out by the property owner. When one person decides that the rule does not apply to him/ her, we are all to blame. Allowing one person to disregard the rules, shows total disregard for the NAMBA members who have worked to get us that race site. It is up to the CD to explain the rules either in the drivers’ meeting or in the race invitation. It is up to each racer and pitman to make certain that they understand and adhere to the rules. The CD and/or District Director will enforce the rules. If someone decides that the rules do not apply to him/her that person should leave. If someone decides to not adhere to the rules, the CD and/or District Director will require that person to leave. If a race site has rules, such as parking, camping, pets on a leash, etc., that you do not like, you are not required to enter that event. If you do enter an event at a location that has different rule requirements, such as parking, camping, pets on a leash, etc., by entering you have agreed to accept and comply with the rules. It is really quite simple. We do not own the property where we race our boats. We are only there because the actual property owner has allowed us to be there. We will abide by the property owner’s requirements. The rules might change over time. The CD will explain the current rules. District 9 race sites are located in or near some of the most amazing destinations in the United States including Lake Tahoe, San Francisco, Yosemite, Monterey, and Napa and each site is located near commercial airports. Bring a boat in that golf bag and we’ve got your back for tables and equipment you might need and then head out and have some fun in our area. Don’t wait for Propwash to find out what’s up @D9! Follow us on Facebook (@RCBoating) and Instagram (NAMBA_D9). Happy boating and the best of luck to all in 2020. The Best Place for Boats is @9! Spring Safety Corner By Lohring Miller NAMBA Safety Chairman Once again, the racing season is ready to start. Our hobby has gotten even safer through the system of approving ponds. We still need to remember all the standard safety concerns and police ourselves. These efforts are the only things that keep our insurance affordable. You all sign a document with your membership that says you will follow NAMBA safety rules. Our insurance may not cover you otherwise. The big advantage model boating has is that the boats are contained in the pond and usually can’t travel very far from the shore. I do remember several notable exceptions, one where the boat cleared a six foot bank and was retrieved from a tree another five or six feet above the ground. Incidents like this always stick in our minds but are relatively rare. I believe that at least one boat hit the shore in every NAMBA Nationals I’ve attended. None got more than a few feet beyond the edge of the pond. I’m only aware of two incidents where a person out of the water was hit by a boat. Both were serious, though. The best protection in these situations is distance from the pond’s shore. While heavy duty sports netting or a chain link fence could actually stop a boat, I think that cones or simple caution tape that reminds spectators to stay back from the pond edge is all that’s needed. In addition, all of us need to be our own safety officers. We need to be sure our equipment is in good working order as well as watching what is going on beyond our own pit area. Don’t expect the CD to be the only person responsible for spectator safety. Hitting a person in the water has been fatal and usually results in serious injury. Don’t operate your boat while swimmers, pets, or full size boats are in the water. NAMBA has paid vet bills when a dog was hit. I’ve seen several cases where a model penetrated a retrieve boat that was on the shore. Several years ago a raft was sunk after being hit by a model boat and the boater in it drowned. NAMBA’s insurance may not cover you for these serious violations of our safety rules. On this note, what are the most common safety issues I’ve observed? Falling out of the retrieve boat is the most common incident that has a potentially fatal result. I’ve seen that happen at least four times, once by a non-swimmer who was not wearing a life jacket. All fortunately only resulted in injury to the boaters’ egos, but could have been very serious. Even in the summer, water in deep ponds and rivers can be very cold. A sea safety course I took illustrated the danger of falling into cold water. While death from hypothermia can take 30 minutes, shivering in cold water can make it impossible to swim in 5 to 10 minutes. Death comes from drowning in this case. A life jacket is all that’s needed where a quick rescue is expected. Of course, don’t ever swim out to retrieve your boat. Propeller cuts have never been fatal in model boats, but can be quite serious. PROPWASH April 2020 21