The heart of the matter is that acting together we make the money go further, and create a much bigger zone of influence than we would separately.
This gives a quick and easy means of putting Members' details on the internet and a convenient way for prospective customers to find a boatbuilder . The links to the website which appear in the yachting press at times such as the Southampton Boat Show give you, in effect, free advertising. We intend to expand this linkage, as money becomes available, to a more regular advertisement in probably three magazines Watercraft (always an advert currently), Classic Boat and Yachting World.
We update the website on a monthly basis so any news etc that you might wish to put forward can be easily included with only an e-mail from you to the Website Editor.
The website is also the place where we try to put forward the benefits of wood as the material of choice for custom built traditional and modern construction so that you can easily point to a reference when discussing why your customer should have the next boat built in wood.
Acting together creates more impact!
Together we can negotiate better - for example at the Southampton Boat Show, where we negotiate as the WBTA, we have been able to get a superb position in the front entrance and are left to lay out the whole area to the best advantage of the members. We also take care of all the paperwork, such as build up plans, Health & Safety and all the other paperwork required by modern legislation.
We are currently talking to the magazines about the potential benefits of acting together to get a full page advert – it looks likely that we could negotiate a rate per square cm - almost half of what you would pay for the normal insert.
Three times a year you get a journal which is aimed at being interesting and useful to you. We try to pass on new techniques, for example, that can be applied both now and in the future and to keep an eye out in the other press areas, such as WoodenBoat magazine, for articles that will be useful to a professional builder.
Affiliate Members supplying services to builders can advertise in Soundings at half price: for 3 issues: Half page £50 Quarter page £30.
Using the "Members Area Q&A" facility on the website you can reach out to all members easily, and get the combined brains of the membership to help you solve problems, whether on legal issues, or more commonly, build problems such as why did the tung oil varnish dry with nobbles on – the supplier was unable to help but a member put his finger on the problem straight away!
This is re-printed once a year in time for the Southampton Boat Show. It puts all your contact details in the hands of potential customers – it is certainly in demand with the public at Southampton where on a number of occasions we have had to get a re-print done locally.
This is a subtle but growing area of influence - we are members of the Heritage Craft Association and the Maritime Heritage Trust. The Heritage Craft Association (HCA) certainly has pull with Prince Charles as their President.
The HCA is the advocacy body for traditional heritage crafts. Working in partnership with Government and key agencies, it provides a focus for craftspeople, groups, societies and guilds, as well as individuals who care about the loss of traditional crafts skills, and works towards a healthy and sustainable framework for the future.
As a result of our association with the HCA, Alan Staley recently won a Heritage Craft Award for Apprentice Training. His certificate and a cheque for £2,500 was presented to him by Prince Charles.
If we are to help to put forward a renaissance of wood as a material for boats, we need to influence such bodies much more than we have in the past.
Just £80.00 per annum, payable on 1st June.