- April 26, 2024
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A lot of time, effort and hard work had been put into the remote control model boats that were skimming the water at Reed Canal Park.
On Thursday, March 21, members of the Port Orange Ship Modelers Club had come together for a remote control regatta show to test the tugboats, Navy warships and steam boats they had constructed.
However, while the boats being maneuvered by the club’s members were part hobby, they were also part instructional tool.
The club, which was formed about 20 years ago in the garage of one of the member’s who lived in Spruce Creek as a way for people with similar interests to meet once a month and build model boats.
Soon the group moved to the library, the boats became remote controlled, and now, the club has a hangar outfitted with machinery and blueprints to continue making the boats.
However, while the club meets at the hangar once a week, three times out of the month, they spend the last month at a library when members bring in boat kits, complete with glue and paint, for local children to take home and build. Once the boats are completed, the children are encouraged to bring the boats back to show the club members who then give each child a trophy for their work.
“When we were growing up, model making was a pastime. All the kids were into it,” club member Edward Defossey said. “We keep trying to get the younger generation involved in it.”
Unfortunately, the number of club members that teach local youth about the boats has dwindled. According to Gordon Millar, since he joined the club about 10 years ago, six members have died.
“The problem is the club doesn't have very young members,” Millar said. “As a result we lose them from time to time.”
Still, the current members are continuing to do their best to get out in the community and share their knowledge about model boat building.
Defossey’s interest in model building started at a young age when he would go boating and fishing. Defossey first became involved in the club about four years ago when he had to have several surgeries. Wanting to stay active, he took up an activity he had enjoyed when he was younger — making model boats. Since then he has made 10 boats and notes that the club has been “good therapy.”
Frank Leisey, the club’s skipper, became involved in the club after he retired. He said the club has been focusing on a new Boy Scout program they started last year where members go to different Troops and speak with scouts regarding how the boats are made while providing instructions on how the blueprints are read and the importance of math when constructing a new model.
Leisey said he wants troops to feel like they have the ability to construct a boat and hopefully find enjoyment from making a model on their own.
“The younger generation is into either drones or telephones, they no longer work with their hands, they work with their fingers,” Leisey said. “This is good for them … it gives them the feeling that they can do it.”
