Club Rules

Listed below are the rules of Quannapowitt Yacht Club.

Alcoholic Beverages

No alcoholic beverages of any kind will be allowed on Club or surrounding property, except at club socials and as approved on specific occasions by the Board of Trustees.

Gambling

No gambling of any kind is permitted.

Loitering

No member may loiter on the premises after 10:00 p.m. For special occasions, this rule may be relaxed under supervision of an officer of the Club. All children under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult member at all times.

Pets

No dogs or pets are allowed on the Club premises.

Automobiles & Parking

A speed limit of 10 m.p.h. shall be observed in the parking lot and on Linda Road. Unnecessary racing of motors and blowing of horns will not be permitted. Do not block exit of other cars in the parking lot, be considerate of others. Parking of boats and/or trailers for extended periods of time on the club property will not be permitted except as approved on specific occasions by the Board of Trustees. A period of time exceeding 24 continuous hours will constitute an "extended period of time". Parking of boats and/or trailers on club property will not be permitted for any period of time on Sunday except for club sanctioned regattas.

Clubhouse & Grounds

1. The first person arriving at the Club is requested to hoist the American flag.
2. It is the duty of all members to assist in keeping the Club property clean and to assist with maintenance. All members should take pride in keeping our grounds free of litter.
3. Personal property should not be left in and around the Clubhouse. The Club is not responsible for personal property.
4. Persons wearing wet bathing suits will not be allowed in the main room or the kitchen.
5. Only authorized use of the main room and kitchen is permitted. The kitchen will be available to members for light cooking except when required for Club functions. Those using kitchen facilities must clean up after using them.
6. The last person to leave the Club must check to ensure that the premises are secured. That is, all oars are put away and all dinghies are locked, the life-saving ring is put inside the building or the container, the hoist is secure, the bathroom windows are closed and locked, all interior lights are turned off, all doors to the building and the container are locked, and the American flag has been lowered and stored.
7. Smoking is prohibited in the Clubhouse.

Swimming

1. There will be no swimming out of boats. There must be at least two persons present when going swimming use the "Buddy System". Swimming is permitted in the beach swimming area only. There will be no swimming after sundown.
2. Parents are responsible for their own children. No child under the age of 12 shall be left unsupervised on Club premises.
3. The stewards have the right to institute disciplinary action, but should not be considered baby-sitters or lifeguards.
4. Swimmers are prohibited from impeding or interfering with boats.
5. Diving off the docks and swimming under the docks are prohibited.
6. Inflatable toys (air mattresses, tubes, etc.) are not permitted outside the swimming area.

Wharves & Boats

1. The tenders provided by the Club are for the sole purpose of getting to and from your mooring. Club tenders will not be left tied at your mooring while out sailing or working on your boat.
2. There will be no pushing people off of, diving off of, or running on the docks.
   In the consideration of the property of others, all boats tied at the docks will be expected to use suitable fenders.
3. Clean up the beach after working on your boat and put tires and rugs away. No boats except Lasers, Sunfish and JY155 are to be in the beach area from 12:00 noon to 6:30 p.m. on Sundays or other race days.
4. Boats will be maintained in a safe and shipshape manner; those not conforming may be requested to be removed from the fleet by the Fleet Captain.
5. A member will be limited to having two boats in the fleet at one time; except with the permission of the Board of Trustees. A written request must be sent to the Board of Trustees for consideration. Tenders are not included in the number.
6. All boats shall be moored with an adequate mushroom mooring, shackled to an initial rode of chain in good condition. The mooring weight shall be no greater than 75 pounds. Moorings shall be located as directed by the Fleet Captain and shall be clearly marked with the identification of the owner and the boat name or number. Mooring placement and mooring suitability will be at all times subject to the approval of the Fleet Captain.
7. Lasers, upon beaching between races, shall not lay their boats over on the beach consideration shall be given to the number of non-stayed boats to be accommodated in the beach area on a given day. Sunfish will be headed into the wind with their sails lowered when on the beach.

Life Preservers & Safety

Each boat shall carry a USCG approved life jacket for each person on board. It shall be the individual responsibility of each person to wear a life jacket as conditions warrant.

Use of the Hoist

Any adult member is allowed to use the hoist. At least two members must be present during hoist operation. No one is permitted to be in the boat being hoisted.
Those using the hoist are responsible for securing the hoist and mechanism.

Use of Power Boats

1. The powerboats are provided for the safety of all members and for use in Club activities. They are not to be used as pleasure craft. Towing boats to moorings during HEAVY WEATHER or pulling heavy moorings is considered a safety service. b) When operating Club motor craft, make no wake in the dock and mooring areas. Please proceed slowly. Powerboats shall be docked on the windward side of the north dock in order to comply with state regulations regarding required distances between a designated swimming area and operation of a motor craft.
2. Only members properly checked out by the Fleet Captain will be authorized to use the powerboats. Those using the boats will be responsible for checking the gas tank (and filling it if empty).
3. CAUTION: Outboard motors use gas that is mixed with a certain ratio of oil do not fill tanks with raw gas! Ask the Fleet Captain for assistance if necessary.
4. No more than four persons should normally be aboard the boats when dispatched on rescue missions.
5. MANNING OF THE POWER BOATS AND RACE COMMITTEE STATION: A powerboat must be in operation for all Sunday and holiday races. If the Race Committee cannot find volunteers for the power boat and the Race Committee station, it will request that the senior officer present ask the various fleets to provide a skipper or crew for that race. Any skipper performing this duty will receive a score equal to his/her average for the series, after discounting throwouts. The fleets may be approached in rotation by the Club officer if such a situation arises, with the rotation the same as the starting order; however, a skipper may only be asked to work one day per series.

CLUB POLICIES

1. At a Board of Trustees meeting held on May 5, 1992, it was voted to adopt the following Club policy:
   1. B.Y.O.B. at Club events be limited to beer and wine.
   2. That Club and/or fleet provided alcohol shall be limited to no more than 1/2 keg of beer.
   3. It has been a long-standing policy of the Club not to pay Club members for work they perform at the Club. The Club depends on volunteerism on the part of its members.
   4. Members may be considered for paid staff positions at the discretion of the board.
2. As discussed at the 1998 Fall meeting, the QYC Board wishes to provide the highest level of service to club members while encouraging members to support the club and to participate in its operation. Beginning in 1999, continuing club members are all charged a Service Deposit in advance to cover costs that are incurred by the club when club members cannot participate in volunteer activities.
3. The Service Deposit will be reimbursed to club members who provide volunteer services to QYC. The reimbursement will be at the rate of $10 per full hour of volunteer activity. The volunteer time will be tracked using the "honor system". A log will be maintained at the club for members to report their volunteer time. The log will include the date, time, hours of service, and a brief description of the service. The Service Deposit rebate will be made at the end of the season after closing day.
4. The services are expected to include cleaning or maintaining the house and grounds; set up, take down, and storage of Club equipment; maintenance of club-owned boats; race committee duty; kitchen or social function operation. Providing help to the steward in the performance of steward duties will also be included during busy hours when the steward has a backlog of work. Running regattas where the participants include non-members is not included as a service to the club. A family of four that works for four hours will be allowed to record 4 hours of service.

Guest Policy

The Quannapowitt Yacht Club welcomes the guests of our members and members from other yacht clubs, and we extend to them all the privileges of our Club. Guests are welcome to attend cookouts and other social functions at the Club.
It is the responsibility of the host member to advise their guests as to the rules and customs of the Club which guests will be expected to observe.

Guests must be accompanied by a Club member; the host member shall be responsible for the guests while at the Club.

Please use restraint in extending guest invitations since the use of club resources is a privilege of club membership.

Membership

NOTE: The following membership definitions were purposely placed within the Club Rules by the Constitution Committee of 1990. This provides for year-to-year changes within the categories of memberships as the Club's needs change. Changes may be made here by a vote of the Board, foregoing the need for a Constitutional change and vote of the membership each time a change is needed in the membership definitions. Broad membership guideline definitions are contained within the Constitution and they refer to these definitions for the finer points; in turn, these Rules refer to the Constitution for the broad guideline definitions the Board should follow when changing these categories.

DO NOT DELETE THESE CATEGORIES FROM THE RULES, THEY ARE NOT REPETITIVE OF THOSE IN THE CONSTITUTION.

Fees and dues are set by the Board each year. All memberships are subject to the Constitution and these Rules.

Active memberships as defined in Article XV, Section 2a of the Constitution include the following:

1. Full Member: May be granted to an adult applicant and their immediate family which includes the wife, husband, and all children who are 19 or under living at home. Membership an be extended to allow members of family who are full-time students up to the age of 23. Applicants for membership, on acceptance, would pay full initiation fee, plus dues and be granted all privileges of the Club. Members of a family who apply for their own membership will not be required to pay an initiation fee upon acceptance to the Club.
2. Limited memberships as defined in Article XV, Section 2b of the Constitution include the following. (These are non-voting memberships and are not automatically renewable.)
   1. Crew: May be granted to applicants who do not own a class racing boat, but will be an active crew. Such applicants must be sponsored by a current active member for whom the applicant will crew. Such applicants, upon acceptance, would pay dues equal to a percentage (set by the Board of Directors) of the Full membership rate. They would be granted only the right to crew for a Full Member and would only have use of club facilities while in the company of the member.
   2. Associate: May be granted to an applicants who does not own a class racing boat, but who has expressed a desire to be a committee person, or has an ability critical to the needs of Q.Y.C. Such applicants, on acceptance, would pay full dues and be granted all privileges of the Club
   3. Sailboard: May be granted to applicants who race in QYC's scheduled sailboard racing series. Such members' dues are part of the racing series fee. Membership confers only the right to participate in the racing series in which the member is enrolled and social occasions to which the member is invited.

Special Fleet Regattas

Special regattas sponsored by QYC racing fleets may be scheduled in consultation with the Race Committee and the Board. Special regattas will be scheduled to ensure that they do not interfere with regular QYC racing. Although the Race Committee will cooperate in every way possible, it will be the responsibility of the sponsoring QYC fleet to organize the regatta and to conduct the races.

Use of Club Sailboats

With the permission of the Sailing Program Director and as defined by the guidelines drawn up by the Sailing Program Committee and duly accepted by the Q.Y.C. Board of Directors.

Last updated 12:48pm on 4 February 2024