Included with your CDSOA membership cards...

[SurryMark]

Then again...
Not only leave things as they are, but go further, and totally BAN power boaters.

Members would be required to submit a detailed log of their last five seasons. The logs would need to be certified by a Notary Public (known in rural Maine as a Notarary Republic.) Of actual miles traveled underway, those who have logged less than 50% under sail will be designated as Power Boaters and summarily expelled. No fuss, no muss.

Other than the total eradication of the Chesapeake Fleet, what could be the possible downside?
Dean

Honor system? CDSOA? Come back with a system to verify no inboards, outboards, dodgers, biminis, chart-plotters not approved by Carl Alberg, or non-CD owners who post detailed how-to photos.

[pete faga]

This will be my 20th year owning a cd. One year away from retirement age(probably never retirement) how much do i have left in the tank? Sooner or later all members for and against the proposed amendment some day will be giving up there cd. whether it's age,health,brand x or power. This includes all the current people that do all the work(web master,masthead editor, fleet captains etc) For those people to be reduced to associate members some day does not seem fair to me.I have read and re read the above posts and i see no harm in voting for the 2 proposed amendments.

[joelcunningham]

WOW! Re: my CDSLA post. Remind me to never post anything tongue in cheek here again.

[trapper]

IMHO, the board (with a little help from OJ) did a great job in getting in front of the membership an issue that matters to a lot of people. However the vote goes, I feel like the board of directors is responsive to the CD membership. Thank you.

I am voting yes to both amendments.

[Warren Kaplan]

I know of two very recent Fleet Captains, Fleet Captains I say again, who put in alot of service to the organization but now do not own Cape Dory boats. As it stands now, these two are NOT allowed to cast a vote for who will hold their previous position.

Mind you, its not like we cast 40 or 50 votes a year in this organization. I've been a member since 2000. I held a fleet office for 2 terms, and I think that there is one single solitary vote I did each year. That vote was for fleet officers at our annual fleet meeting.

Certainly it is no big deal whether the rules are changed or not, or whether we get to cast our single yearly vote or not. But it is somewhat insulting (to me anyway) to tell a former fleet captain, who pays his dues, that he can't vote because he changed his boat.

To me its a question of right and wrong to FORMER CD owners.

[Bob Ohler]

We are now getting troubling reports from Florida and Wisconsin, two states that know a lot about voting controversy and know nothing about how to count votes.

"Perky" Couric reported tonight that in Florida, the problems revolve around the CDSOA Members that do not know how to vote electronically and instead are using paper ballots requiring a "chad" to be punched to indicate their vote. In seems the chads are hanging-up like a genoa sheet on a light air day. Lawyers from both sides are enroute as we speak. Just back from Libya, Heroldo Riviera will have a live report at 2300 hours.

In Wisconsin, an entire box of completed ballots that were not recorded in the initial vote count have been found. The CDSOA Administrator responsible for the ballots said "she forgot."

This just in, in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, the New Black Panthers, dressed in black berets and carrying billy clubs are preventing "conservative" CDSOA Members from voting. The Attorney General, Error Holder, when asked about voter intimidation in Philly had "no comment." Dolf Blitzer will have a full report in the Situation Room.

FAUX News says they have a team of reporters on both scenes and will have a bubble-headed bleach-blonde come on at 5:00 with more details and..."with a gleem in her eye." (I've heard that somewhere before!)

Can you say deja vu...? PMSNBC's Sniff Mathews, host of "Softball," said he got chills up his leg when one his guests asked him if he had ever seen anything like this before.

(As one newspaper in Washington, DC says, if you don't get it, you don't get it.)

(As Larry the Cable Guy would say: "I don't care who you are. Now that's funny right there.")

LOL!

rbo

[Dean Abramson]

When I wrote the following, it was a joke! A lousy one perhaps, but a joke.

Then again...

Not only leave things as they are, but go further, and totally BAN power boaters.

Members would be required to submit a detailed log of their last five seasons. The logs would need to be certified by a Notary Public (known in rural Maine as a Notarary Republic.) Of actual miles traveled underway, those who have logged less than 50% under sail will be designated as Power Boaters and summarily expelled. No fuss, no muss.

Other than the total eradication of the Chesapeake Fleet, what could be the possible downside?

I was trying to inject some levity into the proceedings.

My reference to the Chesapeake Fleet was merely part of the joke; I was referring to what I have heard are generally light wind conditions on Chesapeake Bay.

It has just now been pointed out to me that many of the opponents of the amendments are from the Chesapeake Fleet. I have not followed this issue closely, and therefore I was not aware of that. I had no idea that opposition was centered in any particular fleet or geographical area.

In any event, if anyone was offended, I offer my sincere apologies to them. No offense was intended. I thought that the joke was obvious. Again, my apologies to anyone who may have been offended.

Sincerely,

Dean

[CD-Sailor]

DELETED

[Leo MacDonald]

Hi All,
For the reasons I expressed in the Nov. 2010 BoD meeting, I am opposed to watering down the CDSOA membership (and I had been the person who introduced and championed “Associate Membershipâ€

[Neil Gordon]

It would be helpful to the readers of this thread if the identity and status of the various contributors was known. Let's go for three major categories:

Voting Member of CDSOA. (A real name and member number would be helpful.)

Associate Member of CDSOA. (A real name and member number, plus reason for Associate status.)

Non-member.


Thank you.

[Neil Gordon]

... history has shown that specific oriented organizations that try to be ‘all things to all people’ result in demise.

The new bylaws will simply make CDSOA "all things" to current Cape Dory owners and former owners who meet very specific continuity requirements. That's hardly "all people" There's no slippery slope here.

[Angela and Tom]

This seems to be a well-thought-out change.

I can understand all the reasons for not indiscriminately allowing just anyone to join as full members. But the two parts of this proposed by-law change don't throw open the doors to just anyone. Full-membership for non-CD owners is limited to those former CD owners in good standing with an uninterrupted membership status dating back to when they did own a CD. If their membership lapses, they lose their full membership and are then limited to associate status. This approach is very far from a wholesale dilution of the association.

Also, I don't see the downside of including powerboats--they are, after all, Cape Dorys, too. Are there so many of them out there that their inclusion would make any impact on the association anyway? (I assume CD motor-sailors are included as full members already.)

Looks like most posters support the change. Those against have mainly argued that the general opening of membership to the sailboat public at large would cause the demise of the CDSOA--which is not what these two proposals allow. Could those of you voting "no" please explain how THIS specific version of the by-law change would harm the organization?

Angela

[Dick Barthel]

I too voice my thanks to our board for listening to us. I also agree with Warren that this is not a watershed moment for the organization. I honestly don't see how the organization will be hurt if either amendment passes. To my mind neither amendment risks "watering down" our association.

Apparently CD power involvement is miniscule so it is almost a non-issue and they are our brothers in a sense. And I don't see how former CD owners could have it in their hearts to hurt the CDSOA organization or its mission. At its essense CDSOA is a social bond of like-minded individuals and I like the idea that once a full-fledged member always a full-fledged member.

I am personally voting yes but will happily abide by the will of the majority whichever way it goes. Hopefully everyone realizes we can't split the baby here and doesn't take the outcome to seriously.

Dick

[Dean Abramson]

Bob Ohler wrote:

When the CDSOA Board realizes just how divisive this issue is, and when they realize this is exactly why we already have Associate Membership, I will then renew my membership in the CDSOA. Until then, I will simply be a "past member" and "Past Commodore." To be clear... this is exactly why I let my membership lapse this year.

I am a Cape Dory owner and a dues paying member. I love my Cape Dory and have enjoyed meeting a lot of nice people while sailing; both Cape Dory people AND many other kinds of boat people. I am a Registered Nurse and a very busy person - just ask Dean. I am also a heck of a sailor and sailboat owner. I work hard, with Dean, to keep our boat in "bristol" condition as much as possible. I am interested in a lot of stuff that is posted on the Board but don't have time to participate much myself. With all due respect, what is the "this" that you refer to, Mr. Ohler? I simply do not have a clue what you might be talking about. I admit I don't know much about the history of the CDSOA, except what I have read on this thread. I cannot for the life of me see what would be the upside to excluding a few certain people from full membership. Life is short. Take it from me. I see it every day.

"Marvo" Gilkey, First Mate of Loda May (named for my dear late mother-in-law)

[Bob Emmons]

As an associate member now, ( I sail another brand of sailboat) I do not feel any less a citizen now. The CDSOA is a Cape Dory sailboat owners organization not a yacht club. I do not feel the need to change anything, nor do I take issue that I can't vote. The reason I still want to participate in the organizational activities is because of the people, and I feel privledged that they will allow me to "park" my boat within their rendezvous waters and share the commradship of my freinds, even though I don't own a Dory anymore. If I wanted to vote, I'd go out and buy a Cape Dory!
See you at the Maine Cruise....

Bob Emmons
Savannah

Past NE Fleet Captain
Past CDSOA Treasurer
Past CD30 Owner of "RedWing"