War Waters
 

I have a pond and was wanting to know what needs to be done to make it good for battling.
I am located in Western West Virginia. If there are anny clubs near we may be able to work it out so you can use it. Annyone in the area that wants to possibly start a club I am lloking to start a ship as soon as money comes.

RE: War Waters
 

Moss, fishing lines, etc. = bad things. Other than that, an easy way to get the ships into and out of the water (a firm shoreline/beach is a good thing, or a dock, not far above the water) If the pond is large, a sindbrake is good, to keep waves down, if you get wind and waves. 3 to 4 feet is a good depth, 1 foot is about minimum, over 6 feet deep and it gets to be more difficult to recover the ships without a reliable recovery float. You can get more comment from the BigGunsModelWarships Group or the IRCWCC Group (Small/Fast Guns) over on Yahoo. Several hundred battlers hang out there.

I wish you good luck in getting a battle pond - that is one of the key things in a battle club - a readily available, convenient, battle pond.

Wreno

RE: War Waters
 

Here are a few that I'd try to get, if I could:

[ul][*] About 1/2 acre surface is about right. In a perfect rectangle that would be about 100'x200'. 1/4 acre would be about the lower limit, I think.[*] Access all around is essential. Ships sometimes go dead in the water, & if there's so much as a foot of inacessible shoreline, 3 guesses where the wind blows them![*] Ample parking nearby, yet far enough that cars aren't likely to get damaged by stray shots.[*] Flat, level space to set up folding tables, etc. to prepare/repair ships. You'll want this to be close to a good launch point, & also to be able to drive cars up to unload/load.[*] A large, mostly-open area for unrestricted maneuvering is best. If you want islands, put them off to the side so as not to prevent the "open ocean" from being used, plus this can create narrow channels that can be used for various purposes.[*] Try to get a solid bottom, if possible. It can be tough to find & extricate sunken ships from deep silt sometimes.[*] Some sort of natural port areas would be desirable.[*] We had a pond once that had a concrete dam, about knee-high, with a concrete spillway below it. This was incredibly convenient for launch & retrieval, since all you had to do was set your ship down or pick it up from a convenient height - no reaching down over a bank or from a dock. It could have been a little higher - waist-height would be best, I think. If I were building a pond (which I hope to someday) I'd try to include 2 separate areas where people could stand on solid ground & have access to the water level at about waist height.[*] Indoors would be great, to be able to battle in all weather!
[/ul]

JM

RE: War Waters
 

My pond is rather deep 8-30 ft. Acess all around. Can possible build dock. Probibly 75x100. Pics soon. Rather large field nearby.

RE: War Waters
 

Would that be good to start a club ar an existing club?

RE: War Waters
 

Most times, you just have to take what you can get as far as a pond is concerned. While there may be "ideal" attributes, just being able to use it is the most important.

JM