Chapter One - Club Organization

Membership

1. Types of Membership
   1. Voting Member
      1. All voting members have equal voting rights and receive the benefits of being a club member
   2. Weekend Membership
      1. Weekend members may participate in Club Events for a weekend gathering but do not receive voting rights


2. All members must agree to the following
   1. Have as much fun as possible
   2. Abide by club rules
   3. Practice good sportsmanship
   4. Maintain a signed waiver of liability on file with the club


3. Participants in Club Events
   1. All participants that operate a ship must be club members


4. Members less than eighteen years of age
   1. All club members under eighteen years of age must have a waiver of liability form signed by parent or legal guardian on record with the club
   2. Parent or guardian must accompany the underage member to club events
   3. Members under sixteen years of age must only skipper unarmed vessels





Voting Eligibility and Absentee Voting

1. Eligibility requirements for voting
   1. The person has paid any and Membership Fees for the previous twelve months
   2. The member must also meet one or more of the following requirements
      1. Owns, or has owned in the previous six months, a ship that has passed its technical certification in this club If a ship is jointly owned by more than one
      2. Is currently an officer of the club
      3. Owns a ship that, in the opinion of the Commanding Officer (or the Executive Officer in his absence) and at least two other club officers, would pass Technical Certification if tested
      4. There has been a unanimous vote of the Commanding Officer and all present voting members that the person is a "Friend of the Club" This privilege lasts for the duration of the meeting
         1. Friends of the Club are not considered when determining if enough members are present for a vote to be binding Therefore they can not be used to pad the membership ranks for the purpose of forcing changes to the rules or to levy fees


2. Each member that is eligible to vote gets one vote


3. Absentee Votes
   1. Members may cast absentee votes prior to a vote being taken
   2. Absentee votes may be delivered in writing to any of the club’s officers prior to the vote
   3. Absentee votes can be made verbally provided that the Commanding Officer and one other club officer is notified prior to the vote
      1. The member casting the absentee vote must tell the Commanding Officer which other officer has been notified
      2. At the time of the vote the Commanding Officer and the officer indicated to him must be in agreement as to how the member voted





Club Officers

1. Elections
   1. Elections for Elected Officers are held each year at the first Business Meeting of the year
      1. The elections meeting must be announced thirty days in advance
   2. Officers are elected by a simple majority of the voting members in the club
      1. If a no one person receives a simple majority then a single revote is secheduled for thirty days later If no one person receives a simple majority of the revote then the person currently serving that post continues to do so


2. Elected Officers
   1. President / Commanding Officer (CO)
      1. Organizes the overall activities of the organization
      2. Keeps originals of any waivers of liabilty and other releases for all members
   2. Yeoman / Financial Officer (FO)
      1. Maintains minutes of all meetings
      2. Maintains phone and address roster of all members
      3. Maintains the clubs financial records
   3. Technical Officer (TO)
      1. Inspects ships for eligibility to participate and advises the Laundry & Morale officer of status
      2. Inspects ships safety and compliance to construction specifications and issues Certification
      3. Maintains the list of ships eligible for participation and keeps copies of their certification logs
      4. Controls radio frequencies
   4. Laundry & Morale Officer (LMO)
      1. Monitors morale and takes necessary steps to insure that everyone has an ear for grievances
      2. Assists the Safety and Technical Officers
      3. Coordinates refreshments at all gatherings
      4. Receives grievances If, problems brought to him are not resolvable, then will notify the Commanding Officer immediately for further action


3. Appointed Officers
   1. Vice President / Executive Officer (XO)
      1. Appointed by the Commanding Officer
      2. Fulfils the CO’s duties in the Commanding Officer’s absence
      3. Insures all organizational commitments are fulfilled
   2. Safety Officer (SO)
      1. Appointed by the Technical Officer
      2. Insures all safety measures are followed and safety rules are adhered to during the events
      3. Works closely with the Technical Officer to insure that all ships are in safe condition and operated safely
      4. Is responsible for storing and maintaining the club's safety equipment and that the safety equipment is effectively used at all Club Events


4. Rubber Stamp Committee (Grievance & Anti-Red Tape)
   1. Shall be comprised of each of the Elected Officers or representatives designated by them
      1. Each Elected Officer gets one vote on the Rubber Stamp Committee
      2. Each Elected Officer may appoint one member to represent them on the Rubber Stamp Committee. These representatives serve at the pleasure of the Elected Officer that they represent
   2. The Rubber Stamp Committee is authorized to make decisions for the club when, in their judgment, it is not necessary or timely to wait for the next Business Meeting
      1. These decisions shall be reviewed at the next Business Meeting
   3. Deals with grievances and problems other than Safety and Technical issues
   4. The Rubber Stamp Committee does not have the authority to levy Membership Fees. However, they do have the authority to levy Event Fees


5. Official Spokesperson
   1. Only the Commanding Officer, Executive Officer, or their designated representative are authorized to represent the club for the purpose of making arrangements or obligations for the club


6. Terms of Office
   1. Elected Officers
      1. The term of office for elected officers lasts until the first Business Meeting of the calendar year after they were elected
      2. If an elected officer resigns their post before the end of their term a special election will be held at the next Busines Meeting. The newly elected officer serves the remainder of the term
   2. Appointed Officers
      1. All Appointed Officers serve at the pleasure of the Elected Officer responsible for appointing them
      2. Appointed Officers may be replaced at any time, for any reason, by the Elected Officer responsible for making the appointment. The only requirement is that these changes are announced at the next Business Meeting



Fees and Dues

1. Membership Fees
   1. Membership Fees are those fees that need to be paid to maintain or obtain voting rights in the club
   2. The Commanding Officer or Financial Officer may submit requests that fees are levied of the membership
      1. The request must clearly state how the funds will be used
      2. The request must clearly state how any unused funds will be disposed of or spent
   3. The Commanding Officer must schedule a vote at the next Business Meeting to approve the requested fee
      1. The date, time and location of the vote must be announced to the membership at least thirty days in advance
   4. At least two thirds of the eligible voting members must cast votes for the vote to be binding
      1. If two-thirds of the eligible voting members are not present and do not cast absentee votes than another vote must be scheduled within ninety days
      2. The date, time and location of the revote must be announced to the membership at least thirty days in advance
   5. At least three quarters of the votes cast in a binding vote must be in favor of the requested fee for it to considered approved and be a required fee for membership
      1. Members may voluntarily pay fees before the fee is approved by the membership. If the fee is approved then the member is considered to have paid that portion of the fee. If the fee is rejected then the member is considered to have made a voluntary gift to the club
      2. Any requested fee that has not passed a binding vote is not considered when determining if a member is eligible to vote


2. Event Fees
   1. The club can choose to levy fees that are specific to an event. If a fee is to be specific to an event then this must be made clear when the fee is voted on. These fees need not be paid by members not participating in the event
   2. If a Club Event will have an Event Fee associated with it the amount of this fee needs to be publicly announced at least fourteen days before the Club Event
   3. Failure to pay an Event Fee does prohibit participation in the Club Event. However, it does not prohibit Voting Members from participating in the Business Meeting held before the Event
   4. Event Fees may be specific to Voting Members, Weekend Members, or non-members. For example, a single Club Event could have different fees for Voting Members, Weekend Members and spectators
   5. The Rubber Stamp Committee has the authority to levy Event Fees


3. The Financial Officer will collect approved fees and maintain a record of which members have paid what fees
   1. These records must be available for review by any voting member or club officer
   2. The Financial Officer is responsible to insure that all funds are disposed of or spent exactly as directed by the Voting Members or Rubber Stamp Committee (as applicable)



Rules Changes

1. Any member who is eligible to vote may submit a rule change request to the Rubber Stamp Committee
2. A simple majority of the Rubber Stamp Committee must approve of the rule change request before it is brought to the membership
   1. The Rubber Stamp Committee must vote on the rule change request within thirty days of when it was submitted
3. Once a rule change request is approved by the Rubber Stamp Committee the Commanding Officer must schedule a vote at the next Business Meeting on the rule change request
   1. The date, time and location of the vote must be announced to the membership at least thirty days in advance
4. At least two thirds of the eligible voting members must cast votes for the vote to be binding
   1. If two-thirds of the eligible voting members are not present and do not cast absentee votes then another vote must be scheduled within ninety days
   2. The date, time and location of the revote must be announced to the membership at least thirty days in advance
5. At least three quarters of the votes cast in a binding vote must be in favor of the rules change for it to pass



Waivers and Research & Development

1. Research & Development (R&D)
   1. Any new development in technology may be tested for three months if approved by a simple majority of the voting members present at a Business Meeting
   2. After three months, the new item will be reviewed at a Business Meeting. After review, the idea will either be voted on by the voting members present as approved, disapproved, or allowed another 3 battles for additional evaluation
   3. Approved developments will be automatically submitted as a request for a rules change
2. Waivers to the Rules
   1. In some situations minor waivers to the rules may be appropriate. As a guideline, when certifying ships if the ship does not gain an unreasonable tactical advantage as the result of the waiver, or if the ship is placed at an unreasonable tactical disadvantage without the waiver, then the waiver may be warranted
   2. When the information described in Conway's is found to be incomplete the Technical officer may accept other reputable sources of information and issue a waiver to supplement the information in Conway’s
   3. Both the Technical Officer and the Commanding Officer must agree on any waiver



Meetings

1. Club Events
   1. Any club meeting, scheduled by the Commanding Officer, that the public is welcome to attend is considered a club event
2. Business Meetings
   1. A Business Meeting is any meeting of the eligible voting members that is scheduled by the Commanding Officer
   2. There will be a Business Meeting as part of each club event
   3. Business Meetings are closed to the public. Only eligible voting members and their guests may attend a Business Meeting
   4. Unless stated otherwise in these rules, the eligible voting members must agree by simple majority for a vote to be binding
3. Meetings of the Rubber Stamp Committee
   1. The Commanding Officer may schedule a meeting of the Rubber Stamp Committee to conduct any business that, in their judgment, can not wait for the next Business Meeting or does not require the participation of the other eligible voting members
   2. Any eligible voting member is welcome to attend any meeting of the Rubber Stamp Committee. However, only members of the Rubber Stamp Committee get a vote at these meetings
   3. Unless stated otherwise in these rules, members of the Rubber Stamp Committee must agree by simple majority before taking any action. If consent can not be reached a Business Meeting must be scheduled for the matter to be brought before the eligible voting members
   4. Any and all actions taken by the Rubber Stamp Committee must be reported at the next Business Meeting