I am a member of a gated community with a 20 something acres lake. I have a couple nitro boats. I have asked to not run my boats due to possible damage to the lake. I would like opinions of others and would anyone have arguments for me to use about this issue.

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The home owners association is shutting you down because of noise. Their ''environmental'' concerns are simply an excuse to discourage you from running your boats.

Considering the Oil used is usually castor oil - I would say the lawn mower/weedwacker used around the pond poses a greater environmental risk. As said above - it is just their way to get you off the pond. To be honest - even if you had a good muffler - the fact that you are doing something for fun will usually be sufficient to get complaints. I would bet if you were running an electric (which can be as loud as some nitro/gassers) they would find a reason to complain (scaring birds/fish, yada yada yada).

I would also be willing to bet that all the runoff from the parking lot from the community also runs into the pond - again - more harm there than you could ever get from a model boat.

I would find another option local to you and at the very least have a backup place to run - if you halve the amount of time at one location you are also going to reduce the exposure to complaints.

I bet someone the area has a huge truck on massive tires that gets 9 miles to the gallon....yet they will rag on you for running a nitro boat there.

They dont like the noise.

I got yelled at one day for running a nitro buggy down the road....it was 1pm on a sunday! Hardly a time that people would be likely to sleep. And any weedwacker or lawnmower would be just as loud.

If I were you, Id get an electric. If someone complains, Id ignore them. There are plenty of things they might use that would be just as loud, and you have already been considerate by switching from the gas to electric to pasify their concerns.

Does anyone drive a real boat on the lake?

Thats the problem, You will always have issues.

I've seen a lot of stories online about gated communities and HOA's. If they can't enjoy something then they want to make sure that nobody does.
Exactly what environmental issues do they have a problem with? Is it noise pollution (a common gripe anywhere) or the fuel ruining the water? If they're running weed-eaters, lawnmowers and leaf-blowers there, those can be much louder than your boat(s). If they worry about the fuel then they're doing more damage than you ever could if you ran 24/7/365 with lawn fertilizers or run-off from any drainage to the pond. The HOA doesn't like to lose so you've got a battle to try to win as you're one against them.

With noise, we've got a big issue in a small town just northwest of me. On their agenda is a noise ordinance which would require that there be no noise above 82 dB during the day and after 11:00 PM, a 55 dB limit. most of this burg is farming so any farm equipment will easily go over 82 dB not to mention most vehicles of any kind. The initial aim was to quiet down a local oval track, Kalamazoo Speedway yet the residents don't fully realize how this ordinance could affect them as if enacted could come back to bite them in the butt. with we as RC boaters operating nitro or gas powered boats, most of us have a grasp on how quiet 82 or 55 dB's are.

You are more than likely going to experience resistance on just about any public pond using nitro or any fuel engine.. This is not a new thing and it's not going away..Save the frustration and go electric and call it a day.

I run scale electrfic boats but have one fast electric..There are times when I see people checking me out when I run the FE and when they ask what i'm runing I say "electric" and it immediately takes the wind out of their sails so to speak and they just walk away..If I was to say gas/nitro or whatever I could guarantee that there would be problems..

-Rich.

Papaw14, I have three questions for you
1) Have you seen anyone operating any sort of gas powered full sized boat on the lake?
2) Is it posted that no power boats are allowed?
3) Is there anything in the WRITTEN COMMUNITTEE RULES(which you should have received when you moved in) barring operation of a power boat on the lake?

If you have to answer:
1) no
2) yes
3) yes
to these questions, it's time to find another place to run. The same people complaining now will find some reason to ban electric boats from the pond as well

I told the crazy Professor/Hippy guy near our lake that I was using an environmentally friendly Alcohol/Methanol blend that did no environmental damage. He got in his Prius, drove off. When the police showed up a short time later, they thought it was cool.

Reminds me about 30 years ago I lived in town here in Arkansas that had a small lake in the park. I took my nitro boat out and was running it when all of a sudden, here comes a local law enforcement official to tell me I couldn't run the boat and was to leave. I did, but as soon as he left I went back. Here he comes back, only this time he has his blue lights flashing. He proceeded to tell me that if I came back again he would arrest me and to leave. Well, the Mayor's assistant was a good friend of mine, so I called him and asked him to ask the Mayor if It was alright to run the boat since I wasn't bothering anyone. He called me back a few minutes later and said the Mayor told him it was alright. With a smile on my face I head back to the lake with boat in hand. I'm running my boat, having a good time when I notice that not one, but two police cars are coming at me with the lights on. They screech to a halt and here they come. The one that had told me to leave said " I guess you just didn't understand what I said, your going to jail!". I told him (with the same smile on my face) I guess you didn't talk to the Mayor about this have you? You might want to see what he has to say about this.) He goes back to his car, gets on his radio, talks for a minute and throws the radio in the floor. After giving me on mean look and muttering something I didn't understand he and the other officer leaves, slinging gravel and dirt. He did however, get me back about a week later after stopping me on my motorcycle...... It was so worth it!

Carl

I ran my boat last week in Florida, at the pond in the gated community that my Uncles lives in. There were people along the pond banks watching, and others came over to ask questions about it. No one seemed to mind.