Remote-controlled crafts give 'boaters' a taste of adventure
Ahh-there's nothing like the feeling of sailing along a placid lake in the early morning hours. The calm and relaxation is beyond compare, especially if you're doing it via remote control.
For six months out of the year, members of the Fleet 4 Commanders Radio Control Scale Model Boat Club batten down to do just that two Sundays a month. The group of 23 sail around the world right smack-dab from their plump lawn chairs.
Well, OK, "around the world" is only in their daydreams, and their vessels - sailboats, tugboats, submarines, and others - are model-sized. The action doesn't take place on the high seas, but rather, at the Fred W. Volkening Recreational Area in Schaumburg.
"It's nothing formal," said Dick Chvojka, the club's president. "We just put our boats in when we get to it. Some people just talk and never even get to putting it in."
The 23 club members hail from several areas including Naperville, Huntley, Chicago and Algonquin. The men are in the 50 to 85 age range. However, females and younger folk are welcome. The organization spun off from two other now defunct clubs in 2002.
They sail the seas from May through October and during the winter months, meet at the Schaumburg Township District Library to plan, exchange tips, or help with building issues. In February, the boaters run their vessels on an indoor apartment complex's pool. Other activities include parties and maritime museum trips.
Costs involved include a $20 membership fee and a $20 Scale Ship Modelers Association insurance fee. The only other cost is for the boats, which in this club run from $300 to $2,000.
"There are kits out there for $10,000," said Chvojka, a Cary resident. "I don't know anyone who owns one, but I know plenty of people who would like to."
Member's boats run the gambit from ready-to-run hobby models, to detailed built-from-scratch.
"The most popular is a sailboat," said Chvojka. "Unlike others where you just hit the throttle and go, with a sailboat you have to play with the wind and adjust the sails. Tugboats are quite popular, too."
Longtime member Arthur Fletcher, 77, chose to build a RNLS Windsor Runner English Lifeboat.
"It's based on the Trent class lifeboat," said Fletcher. "This model is an actual lifeboat that sailed in Great Britain and belonged to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution."
Although he is originally from Great Britain, the Des Plaines resident said that is not why he chose the model.
"I liked the challenge of building something so complicated," Fletcher said. "It had 1,200 individual parts and it took me two years to build."
Fletcher said he almost gave up on the build. However, after putting it away for four months, he pulled the model back out and finished it. He also has finished other crafts including tugboats, a sailboat, and what he calls "a tongue-and-cheek project" for an event seeking unique ships.
Fletcher paid his granddaughter $5 for her baby bottle bank and then turned it into a remote control boat.
Of course, Fletcher doesn't corner the market on cute granddaughter stories in this crowd. Michael Kennedy, with the club for three years, also has a "grand" story.
"Last year, I took my granddaughter out for the first time," said Kennedy. "I was really excited to get her into it. It was very windy that day. We were using a replica of a fishing boat. The wind took over and it sank within a minute!"
Fortunately, his granddaughter was not traumatized. She simply put boating behind her and found another child to play with that day.
In a way, the day was about playing for Kennedy, too. He enjoys the camaraderie of the group, and he relishes the challenge of the hobby.
"What appeals to me is making the boat sail well, like a real boat," said the 63-year-old, whose homeport is Bartlett. "I built a loose replica of the Australia II that took the America's Cup back to Australia. It handles better on the pond."
Kennedy has been carving boats since childhood. Like many in the club, he wishes he could pilot a real ship. However, also like most of his mateys, for now he is happy remote controlling on a lazy lake, where it's always smooth sailing.