The most popular craft among our members were listed in 1985 and 1992. A survey of the craft declared by our 423 members in the February 1997 list shows a wide variety, from popular standards to various own-designs and builds. There are about 170 sorts. This year I have included canoes as a class, though they are various, because of the greater facility with which they allow access to the water for a day-trip, avoiding the increasing difficulty of trailing a dinghy through choked suburban streets.

Class Number of Craft

Mirror 10 30 GP14 25 Wayfarer 25 West Wight Potter 17 Wanderer 16 Canoes 13 Drascombe Lugger 10 Drascombe Dabber 9 Tideway 9 Cornish Cormorant 8 Gull 7 Lune Pilot 7 Roamer 7 Enterprise 6

As ever, the Mirror 10, the Wayfarer and the GP14 stand high in the rankings. In relative terms the Drascombe Lugger has receded among the dinghies as No. 1 in 1985, No.3 in 1992 and now No.7. The West Wight Potter has moved up as No.8, then No.7 and now No.4.

The term ‘Cornish’ that has helped to sell ice-cream is now finding increasing favour in giving wholesome image to boats, and it appears in the Top Ten.

Membership

In the current listings, the members are among 1960 assigned numbers from 201 up to 2160. Most of the 423 actual members are naturally to be found in the later numbers and, working backwards, there is a fall-off that can be simulated by a curve dropping by 25% or so on passing from one band of 100 to the next lower. This holds down to about No. 1000, then it levels off as we come to the few veterans in each band who are likely to stay with the DCA until they slip their moorings for that cruise from which there is to be no return. As found in 1992, there is an even chance that a new member will leave by the time another three hundred have enrolled. The DCA is a niche group of like-minded boaters. It is growing steadily, if slowly, and it does not seek a mass membership. Nonetheless some enquiry into reasons for non-renewal might reveal a simple way to improve what we at present do.