Club charters new Inspection Committee

Over the last few years, ERCU has been a little bit lax about inspections. Part of that is due to the rule that says only new boats or those with significant changes/repairs need to be inspected each year. Part is due to the fact that we’ve worked really hard to bring fun back into the club.

Due to a couple of situations over this past offseason, we’ve learned that its important to inspect all boats every year. As a result, the club’s Board of Directors voted to adopt a proposal to create the Inspection Committee. The committee is chaired by Board Inspector Bill Mowatt. Jim Latimer and Robbie Roberts have also been appointed to assist the inspections.

As defined by the new committee’s charter, boats will be inspected by a minimum of two members of the committee. If there are not two members of the committee present at any inspection opportunity, a waiver will be granted so the boat in question can race. But an inspection will need to be done at the first opportunity.

Starting with the 2023 season, we will be doing inspections under the following guidelines:

• All NEW boats (all classes, all divisions) shall be inspected prior to the boat's first race of the season.
• All currently registered boats shall be inspected either before the first race or during the season.
• Owners of boats determined to have any features that do not conform to the club's scale appearance rules (both above and below the waterline) will be given a one-year grace period to race as is, before changes must be made to the hull. If the scale/tech inspectors deem that any new boat or a currently registered boat that has made changes that the committee deems to have created a competitive advantage, the committee at its discretion may require changes to be made prior to any competition or give a waiver for a specific time frame to make changes. If an owner/builder of the hull in question can produce photographic evidence that the real boat had the features in question, then there will be no requirement to change the hull.
• All boats (all classes, both divisions) shall be inspected again prior to each boat's first race in 2024. Any boats that still have features that do not comply with the scale appearance rules will be deemed ineligible for competition in ERCU until such a time that the boat in question does comply.

Please click here to see the Charter for the Inspection Committee.