Revised 2016 – agreed at committee 9-Feb-16.
Item 14: changed from 10 litres to 20 litres fuel - agreed at committee 13th Dec 2016
Item 6.11 updated re committee meetings as no longer on Tuesdays (SCM -as directed by committee - 2-12-18)
Item 9 updated January 2019 (as agreed by committee 6-1-19)
Contents:
1. Introduction
4. Visitors
8. Security
9. Car Parking
11. Waste disposal
12. Mooring and Working on Boats
13. Dry Dock
14. Diesel
1. Introduction
South Pennine Boat Club exists to provide for its members facilities for motor cruising, recreation and social activities.
The facilities, which enable the Club to fulfil this role, are the clubhouse, moorings, drydock and other fixtures on the site at Battyeford.
The Club’s philosophy is that its members should be able to carry out activities at the site and make use of the Club’s facilities as they wish.
However, the Club does not exist in a vacuum, and any use of the facilities has to be carried out in such a way that is not detrimental to others. This is true whether the others are members, the Club itself, visitors, neighbours, or the Club’s landlord. In other words, members using the Club’s facilities are expected to do so in a reasonable manner.
Furthermore, the Club’s insurers place conditions on the activities that may be carried out at the site.
The purpose of this document is to provide members with guidance as to what is considered reasonable when they use the facilities, and what safeguards the Club’s insurers require. It tries to enshrine existing custom and good practice.
These guidelines are additional to, but do not replace the Club’s Rules and Bylaws, the Mooring Policy or Mooring Agreement, or Dry Dock Code of Conduct. Rather, it augments these, and members should familiarise themselves with these documents as appropriate.
SPBC is a registered Community Amateur Sports Club, which is a Government scheme that recognises the valuable role of Sports Clubs within the community. Our CASC status allows us to claim discounts for Council rates relief and other tax incentives. Our rules ensure that we qualify for CASC but in addition, we need to provide evidence that 50% of our members participate in our sport of motor cruising on at least 12 days every year. To this end members are required to complete an annual questionnaire so that we can demonstrate our compliance. We also need a 'crew register' of boat owners who are prepared to take out nonboat-owning members on their boat.
See Handspike Dec 2015 for further details.
2. Facilities Provided
The Club provides the following facilities for its Members and in some cases for visitors:
2.1 Outdoors:
2.2 In the Clubhouse:
These facilities are available to members. Please treat them with the same care you would give to your own possessions. Some of the rest of this document provides guidance on their use.
2.3 AWCC (Association of Waterways Cruising Clubs) membership comes automatically with club membership. See AWCC leaflet or www.awcc.org.
3. General Conduct of Members
3.1 In broad terms it is expected that all members conduct themselves on and off site as they would wish others to do. Respect and consideration for others is a custom we value and encourage.
3.2 The Club does not have any paid employees. Therefore the task of keeping the site and Clubhouse clean and tidy falls upon all members who use them. Keeping them in such a manner not only ensures a pleasant and welcoming environment for members and visitors; it also promotes a favourable public image to our neighbours and passers by.
3.3 The club is its members, not the site or buildings, and our enjoyment of it depends heavily upon mutual friendliness, a helping hand where appropriate, and a shared responsibility for the well being of all.
3.4 It is not expected that everyone will find a mutual compatibility with all other members but a tolerance of difference, respect for the individual and courtesy at all times should be our aim. The Club is for our enjoyment, and the enjoyment of others is easily upset by thoughtless actions or rudeness on anyone’s part. Friendships are to be valued but cliquishness or the public display of personal animosities is unwelcome and divisive. The aim should be that every member can enjoy the sport of motor-cruising and the Club facilities in his or her own way.
3.5 Remember that the Club is judged by its members. We are proud of our reputation and it would not be appreciated should our good reputation be sullied. Your friendliness and helpfulness to other boaters around the waterway system will say a lot about SPBC. We have a Club to be proud of, so let’s keep it that way.
4. Visitors to the Club
4.1 A friendly, cordial welcome to visitors is always expected. If you see a face you do not know, a friendly greeting or an offer of help will rarely go amiss.
4.2 Visiting Boaters. Fellow boaters should always be made welcome and assistance should be given with the mooring of visiting boats. Established procedures are in place for the management of visiting moorers and members should make themselves familiar with these.
If you are the first person a visiting moorer contacts please ensure that they have all the assistance and information they require. On occasion a boat may arrive hoping for a mooring without any previous notice. Every effort should be made to contact the Mooring Officer, Deputy Mooring Officer or other committee member if there is any doubt about the availability of a mooring. Wherever possible, it should be our aim to accommodate a visiting boater who is in any difficulty at least over night.
The key to good practice concerning visiting boats is to ensure that the Mooring Officer or, failing that, any other officer or committee member, is aware of the visitor’s presence at the earliest opportunity.
4.3 Members’ Visitors. Members are responsible for the proper conduct and safety of all personal visitors. The safety and conduct of children is especially important. It is the members’ responsibility to ensure that Club Bylaws, Rules and Policies are adhered to. All visitors to the Clubhouse must be booked into the visitors’ book.
4.4 Visitor Authorisation. On occasion a member may wish to authorise another person or persons to visit the site or their boat unaccompanied. Members who hand their site or boat keys to a third party should do so in the knowledge that they will be held responsible for the actions of that visitor. In all cases a written authorisation should be given by the member to that visitor, briefly stating the business of the visitor and bearing the date and signature of the member. The visitor should be encouraged to show the authorisation to any member who requests it.
4.5 Visiting Contractors. All visiting contractors, whether working for the Club or individual members, must be issued with a copy of the Policy document covering sections 12 and 13 of this document. Individual members will be responsible for this. Copies are available in the clubhouse. Where appropriate, an individual risk assessment should be carried out where a hazard may affect more than an individual’s personal property.
4.6 Telephone ‘Visitors’. Many people contact the Club by telephone. You answer the telephone on behalf of us all. Rudeness is rarely forgotten. Please do your best to be helpful to callers and locate other members if requested.
4.7 Complaints should be handled with courtesy. It should not be our practice to enter into an argument with a complainant but to politely acknowledge the complaint and inform the person that the complaint will be looked into. All complaints, with a date and time they were made, should be entered in a written log (kept near to the telephone) and the Secretary or Commodore informed as soon as practical.
5. Personal Property
In general, members’ personal property (excepting vehicles - see ‘Car Parking’) should not be left on site other than for brief periods or with the permission of the Site Officer. Any personal property should be clearly marked with the name of the owner. Any such property is left at the risk of the owner.
Property which is temporarily left on site should not be hazardous and should not be allowed to clutter walkways, the raised area adjacent to the linear moorings, the sheds, the clubhouse or verandah. If in doubt, seek the guidance of the Site Officer. (See also: 12. Working on Boats, and 13. Dry Dock)
6. Club Facilities and Resources
6.1 The Clubhouse is there to be enjoyed by all. There is disabled/wheelchair access to the clubhouse and shower and toilet facilities suitable for use by disabled persons.
6.2 All kitchen facilities are there for your use if needed, but remember - bills have to be paid so an occasional donation towards costs incurred is appreciated. Tea, coffee milk and sugar are provided for members’ use. There is also fridge, microwave, crockery and cutlery (in corner cupboard under sink). Please make sure you wash and clean up after using any of the facilities. Towels are washed by volunteers – this may be an area where you can help.
Kitchen waste is taken away by volunteers - please try to do your bit. Recycle bins are provided for clubhouse waste – emptied by volunteers – see 11.
6.3 There are ladies and gents toilets as well as a disabled toilet which has a shower and baby-changing facilities. The coin-op box is no longer functional, but may be used for donations for shower use. Please leave the toilets and shower room in a clean condition.
6.4 Please help save electricity costs by turning off lights, heaters and equipment when they are no longer required. BUT please do NOT adjust or turn off frost-stats or timers and do not turn off the storage heater or leave furniture in close proximity to it.
6.5 Notice boards: The Notice board above the telephone desk is primarily for Social events.
The green Notice board between the kitchen and the gents toilet is for general use and messages.
6.6 Library. A bookcase of second-hand books is situated in the Clubhouse. These are for sale to members for a small donation. A collection tin is provided for such donations. Many members choose to give the books back to the Club after they have read them. A reference section is also available, including back-copies of ‘Handspike’ – Club history and photo album, these books are not to be removed from the clubhouse.
6.7 In the Clubhouse foyer, for members’ perusal are several documents and forms. These include: copies of Committee minutes, a copy of the register of members and member applications, mooring allocations and waiting list, dry dock bookings and application forms, general membership information and notices.
Bus-timetables, take-away menus etc can be found in the drawers (please replace after use). The First Aid box, Defibrillator and accident book are also located in the foyer 6.8 Everyone helps keep the Clubhouse clean so, there is a dustpan, broom & vacuum cleaner in the utility room should it be required.
At working weekends the Clubhouse gets a good clean, there is generally a list of what needs doing on the notice board, which you can tick if you do that particular job. In the interest of hygiene there is a colour coding and or labelling system, which designates where cloths, brushes and mops etc should be used.
6.9 Anyone can use the club telephone and photocopier - please give donations for personal use.
6.10 Other user groups – At times, affiliated groups are allowed to use the Clubhouse for meetings etc. At such times the toilets and general kitchen are usually available for Club members use, but all or part of the Clubroom may not be available. Please respect these times.
6.11 Committee meetings are held once a month, with the exception of some months in the summer. (Details available on the website and in the club magazine. Any club member is welcome to attend as an observer and contribute to the meeting when invited to do so by the Chairperson. Only the Committee are allowed to vote on any issue. If there is a particular issue you would like to be discussed, either speak to the Chairperson or a Committee member a week prior to the meeting so it can be put on the agenda.
The AGM is held in March each year in which every club member has a vote.
6.12 Other facilities such as workshops, tools etc are available for use by members. Please do not abuse these and leave them in a clean and tidy manner. Tools should not be removed from the Club site, without the agreement of the Site Officer, and should be returned after use to the place they were found.
6.13 Sanitary Station – is located beyond the Dry Dock next to the entrance to Battyeford Lock, please leave this clean. NO FORMALDEHYDE PRODUCTS! Only for the disposal of the “3 P’s”!
7. Site Maintenance
In order to keep membership costs down, members are encouraged to assist in the maintenance and development of the club facilities.
7.1 Working Parties are normally organised by the Site Officer on the first weekend of the month. In the absence of the Site Officer, there is usually a list of jobs to be done, posted on the clubhouse notice board. Unscheduled work should not normally be undertaken without prior authorisation. Minor maintenance or general ‘housekeeping’ duties such as gardening, cleaning or painting can be undertaken at any time. All members are encouraged to help in whatever way they can. Any personal protection equipment required, (such as gloves, goggles, hard hats and boots), shall be utilised as appropriate. Anyone working in a hazardous situation adjacent to water should not do so alone.
7.2 Materials required for site maintenance must be ordered by the Site Officer/Quartermaster, (and as approved by the committee), unless prior arrangements have been made.
7.3 Personal items should not normally be left or stored on the Club site. (See Guideline 5)
7.4 Saturday evening on working party weekends there is often a social function organised. If not, then there is normally a social gathering when we order a take-away or just sit and chat etc. All welcome.
8. Security
8.1 Please remember always to lock the gates when entering or leaving the Club site.
8.2 The gate to the linear moorings on the far side of the bridge and the gate near to Battyeford Lock both use a standard gate-key lock and should be locked after entry/exit.
8.3 If you leave the site unattended, please make sure that the clubhouse is locked up, with lights and heaters off and windows closed. (NB The gents toilet light is on a time switch but the others have to be physically switched off - the disabled toilet light pull -switch is inside the door. Do not turn off heaters in toilets, kitchen as these are on a frost-stat. Also there is a heater in the clubhouse (near where the bar is usually situated) on a timer, which should not be adjusted.) This is particularly important if you are last to leave the site at night. (Note: If light over stone-built store door is on then light inside is still on!)
8.4 Please report any likely security problems to any committee member.
9. Car Parking
The club car park is provided for the free use of members who are attending functions at the club or visiting or cruising on their boats.
9.1 For the protection of the club and other members all vehicles parked on club premises must be covered by third party insurance throughout the length of time they are left at the club in accordance with the club byelaws.
9.2 The club lease prevents the storage of any vehicle, camper van or caravan.
9.3 The club accepts no responsibility for damage to or theft of or from vehicles whilst they are left on club premises.
Vehicles must be parked so that they do not cause any obstruction to other members or their vehicles or obstruct access to any club facilities.
9.4 If you are planning to leave your vehicle for a long period please consult the site officers to ensure that it is not going to obstruct any planned works while you are away. It is advisable if leaving your vehicle when you are away from the club to leave contact details in case your vehicle should need to be moved in an emergency.
9.5 No hazardous materials should be left in vehicles parked on club premises (unless an integral part of the vehicle) in accordance with club byelaws. Any LPG tanks or cylinders must be isolated or turned off if leaving a vehicle while away cruising.
9.6 Cars should be parked in the car park area in a suitable manner without causing any obstruction. Cars must not be left parked on the grass at any time. The patio at the end of the clubhouse is not designed for cars as flags are loose-laid. Please try to avoid driving on the grass, particularly when wet.
9.7 Any member leaving their car on site for an extended period is requested to include car registration number and contact telephone number on the cruising schedule list posted in the Clubhouse. If leaving a vehicle for a long period of time do not obstruct the access for diesel deliveries or for mowing the lawn or for access to borders for weeding etc.
9.8 Care should be taken for pedestrian safety when using the roadway in front of the clubhouse for access for loading/unloading.
10. Electricity and Water
Electricity and water points are provided throughout the site for the benefit of members.
10.1 Members may use the 240-volt supply on their boats by connecting to their allocated electricity points with an approved landline. Each mooring has a prepayment card operated meter. It is the responsibility of each moorer to ensure that there is sufficient credit availableto service his/her boat. Please ensure cables are not a trip hazard! Cable covers available from quartermaster on request.
10.2 The water supply is metered. It is intended that use of water is for the purpose of filling boat tanks and other containers rather than for washing boats or cars. Donations to the Club for use of water are appreciated.
11. Waste & Rubbish Disposal
There is no council collection of rubbish from the site. All waste materials have to be removed from the site by members. Please take away your rubbish, waste oil, tins, bottles and scrap metal, etc. Recycling bins for clubhouse waste only.
The incinerator can be used for all combustible materials only (which is near the entrance to the river pontoon). Please do not put material into the incinerator without igniting it. Bags of ‘household’ rubbish containing tins or bottles should not be placed in the incinerator. You can assist by taking home a bag of kitchen or recycling waste.
12. Mooring and Working on Boats
Members working on the maintenance of their boats or during Club working parties should take care that their work does not become a nuisance to others. In general, noisy work such as grinding, machine sanding or hammering should not be undertaken before 8.30 am or after 6pm on weekdays or after 5pm on Saturdays. before 10am or after 4pm on Sundays.
12.1 Unavoidable noise should, in any case, always be kept to a minimum. Quiet activities such as painting can be undertaken at most times.
12.2 Dirty work such as grinding and machine sanding should not be done on the moorings; the river pontoon is provided for such activities.
12.3 Care should be taken -
12.4 Remember to take all your used engine oil and rubbish off the site for disposal. (see Bylaw 9).
12.5 Mooring. Please use ‘rise and fall’ poles and sliding rings: We advocate tying each boat separately, (not outside boat to inside boat) with one loop through the ring and tied back to your own boat, with some slack left in the rope to allow for changes in water level. Boats moored at the front of the basin are advised to moor bow to the fore in times of expected floods.
12.6 Any washing done aboard should be kept within the confines of the boat where possible. We are not a residential mooring and do not wish to give our neighbours the impression that any members live on site.
13. Use of the Dry Dock
The dry dock is for the use of Club members and its use must be booked with the Dry Dock Officer. A charge is made for use. Booking forms are available in the Clubhouse.
13.1 Use of the dry dock is governed by a set of Conditions and Code of Practice, which all users must sign-up to and obey.
13.2 A steam cleaner is provided for use with the dry-dock booking only. Please follow the instructions provided and seek training and advice from one of the named contacts if not used before or problems arise. Paint-warming ‘kettles’ are also available in the dry-dock and a 20-Tonne Jack (available on-loan, but not club property). Please ask for advice if you are not sure how to use any of the equipment.
14. Diesel Sales & Refueling
Diesel is available to Club members only (i.e not to the general public or non-SPBC boats except in an emergency, when 20 litres may be dispensed[amended 13-12-16]). Only approved key holders can dispense Diesel. A list of these key-holders is in each edition of Handspike and is displayed on the Club’s noticeboard.
14.1 The most important thing is to avoid diesel spillages. Don’t be tempted to overfill your tank. If a spillage occurs report it immediately to the issuing officer.
14.2 No craft should be moored on the diesel point except whilst taking on diesel or water or loading/unloading.
14.3 Boats using petrol should be refueled with great care and owners should ensure that engines are stopped and ALL naked flames are extinguished (including pilot lights).
14.4 A diesel polisher is available on request – please see the Quartermaster for filters and operating procedures.
15. Simple Ways you can help the Club
There are many ways that members can help the Club to be a better place. Note that not all jobs for the Club require physical activities e.g. helping with minutes, auditing, Handspike or the website (also see below). Some preliminary thoughts are set out in Guidelines 3.2 and 3.3. In general, it’s simply a matter of taking small initiatives and actions to help everyone.
For example, you could:
15.1 Donations from those making personal and substantial use of electricity and water are generally expected. The Club’s water and electricity supplies are metered and charges for personal use should not become a burden upon all members. Other donations or gifts (e.g. of raffle prizes) are always welcome. (Gift-aid forms are available from the Treasurer)
15.2 Get involved in Club activities. The more you put in, the more you’ll get out. Volunteer to represent the Club in outside activities. Share your ideas. Write to Handspike. Share your skills and knowledge.
15.3 Boat Licences. Members are encouraged to renew their licence via SPBC as the club receives a commission for this service. Contact the licences officer – details in Handspike and on website.
15.6 Website: southpennineboatclub.co.uk gives details of all events, members and contacts etc You can also register your BSS date and check if other members are due for a retest at the same time as you. Contact the webmaster.
South Pennine Boat Club
Wood Lane,
Mirfield,
West Yorkshire
WF14 0ED
Tel: 01924 491320
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