Winter Meeting Recap: Already getting started on ’21 racing considerations

The first ERCU Winter Meeting was held on Tuesday, Nov. 24 via Zoom, and was very productive.

Given the shorter offseason we find ourselves in due to the Covid-19 pandemic that cut our racing season in half this year, it was a high priority to get back on track with offseason decisions and recommendations to the membership.

In attendance were Nelson Holmberg, Rick Evans, Ron Daum, Len Taylor, Jerry Dunlap, Bill Mowatt, Ben Keller and Jim Clark (a former ERCU racer who’s interested in what we’re doing).

We’ve adopted the name “Winter Meetings” for the offseason club work (which is primarily handled by the board, but with recommendations for feedback and input from club members) as a way to make it even more clear to everyone that all are welcome. These meetings are open and if you’re interested in participating, we would love to have you.

On to the business of our first winter meeting.

Board Elections
After our board elections that were conducted online this year, we’ve added Bill Mowatt as a new member to the board. Bill replaces Kerry Kjos, who served two terms and gave a lot to the club. Kerry’s work for the club is appreciated.

• Appointments for the different positions on the 2021 board: Nelson Holmberg, chairman; Rick Evans, secretary; Ron Daum, registrar/treasurer; Len Taylor, statistician; Robbie Roberts, inspector; and Bill Mowatt at large.
• The board chose to appoint Bill in an at large position due to the experience of the other board members in their positions, and Bill’s relatively new status as a club member. This is a great way for Bill to serve the club and to get familiar with serving on the board and what the different jobs entail.

2020 Awards
We were able to finalize the awards for 2020 ERCU members, which will be announced on Sunday, Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m., during a club Zoom Happy Hour. Everyone is welcome to attend from the comfort of their own homes (masked or not), with beverages and snacks of your choice. We’ll celebrate our abbreviated season together by announcing the award winners and have a little fellowship for an hour or so virtually.

• Award winners will be posted on the club website and club Facebook shortly after the Zoom Happy Hour, too.
• But wait…there’s more! This year, we’ll double-dip the honors for our award winners. At the first race of the 2021 season, we’ll have an extended lunch break where we’ll actually physically hand out all of our awards and get photos to honor the winners appropriately.

2021 Registrations
With the season being interrupted and abbreviated, not to mention running beyond the end of our normal October 31 registration expiration, the board acted to make a one-time exception to the grace period for renewing your registrations.

• If you had a boat registered in the club for the 2020 season, each of your registrations are also valid for the 2021 season, and you will not need to pay another $5 per boat in 2021.
• You will need to pay your $25 membership fee to the club to stay current as an ERCU member.
• New registrations will be charged at the full $5 per boat, and $25 for annual membership.

Potential Rule Changes?
There was also discussion about potential changes to the ERCU rulebook, but the board ultimately decided to leave it alone this year. The justification behind that decision was that the club made significant changes in 2020, and we have not heard any strong concerns about changing any rules for 2021.

Motor Rule
Having said we wouldn’t make general changes to the rules this winter, we are finding ourselves in a situation different than we were in during the winter of 2010-11 when we changed the motor rule to include the Himax 1500 kv, ProBoats Dynamite 1500 kv and the Aquacraft 1500 kv, which all were 3630-1500 motors that were readily available on the market.

• Today, we have just Himax motors available as 3630-1500s, since the Dynamite and Aquacraft motors are no longer in production.
• Himax motors have had quality and distribution inconsistencies and have become difficult to find, at times, in the numbers we’ll need them
• As a result of a lengthy conversation about motors, the club board recommended a member review of the NAMBA P-Limited approved motors, which most closely match the motors we use.
• This rule (on page 108 of the NAMBA rulebook) states “Motors shall be of an inrunner design and shall not exceed the following dimensions: a) Length: 60mm (2.362 in.), this includes any bearing protrusion; b) Diameter: 37mm (1.457 in.)
• Use of this rule would mean the motors we currently run ARE still legal.
• It also would mean the upper end kv limit on motors would be eliminated
• It would additionally mean that a much larger stock of motors would become available to racers.
• There has been significant testing done on a long laundry list of motors, by Darin Jordan. The results of which were published in the June 2018 issue of Propwash.
• Ultimately, the difference in kv is made up by boat setup and propellers.
• At this point, no formal decision has been made, but the club board is asking for feedback from members about changing the motor rule. We will take all club member feedback into consideration at the next Winter Meeting, Sunday, Dec. 13 at 11 a.m.

Members are certainly welcome to also join in on that meeting and weigh in with their opinions, but we’d like to be able to study feedback prior to the meeting as much as possible, so please do provide feedback prior to the meeting.