Some people have nothing better to do.

[jamespl]

Just took my stiletto out for a run at my local pond which is situated within a stately home that is open to the public, I've used this place a number of times and they have full size sail boats so I figured I would be ok and I've never had a problem. Ran my first set of batteries and was waiting for everything to cool down and up walks a park warden saying they have had a complaint that I'm rounding up the birds, I couldn't believe it. One of the things I always do is make sure I'm well away from any water birds! He then went on to say I'm not allowed to run rc boats there. Unbelievable what some people are like, I'm just there minding my own business.

[driftah]

get used to it bud some folks are a$$h*les and have misery in their life to spread.Its a shame really I have people in my water area that bring their kids and family out to watch my boats and chat it up.You should just get a huge rc sailboat that says dolce and gabbana on it then you may be ok lol.You are also not alone,just imagine what the nitro guys go through hehe all those dix with noses in the air smelling burnt nitro over their starbucks lattes.Anyhow good luck on the search for h2o

[drwayne]

I once had the misfortune of unloading my boat at a newish public lake.. got spoken to by a ranger who claimed my previous visits had been reported as poorly behaved... and all model boats now discouraged. [ pointing finger to my chest gesticulating at peronsa mine..]
I have a well practiced dumbfounded look... I identified myself as a first timer, apologised for assuming 'water open for recreation' included me ..then tracked and contacted the area park manage.. introduced self and club as reasonable ppl who endangered no birds nor environment.... and now we have access 'within understood boundaries and rules' .
Most birds have learned to stay away from the boats .. the silly ones are disposed with dignity.
W
Au

[siberianhusky]

If you're trying to run on private property why not try approaching the owners with your boat and a nice little speech about how safe and quiet the electric boats are?
If it's their duck pond or something like that than I'd guess you're outta luck for that spot.
We have a problem with a family property, we don't mind people walking our property but don't want unknown hunters on it. Asking permission can go a long way! Especially if I get some venison scraps for the dogs.
LOL the biggest problem is people poaching our fish! Some of the best trout fishing in the world on the Miramichi River. Plain old great hunting and fishing in Northern New Brunswick!

[jamespl]

It's owned by the local council so it's not private, I would never trespass. It's a public park within the grounds of a stately home and it's all owned by the council. There are no signs saying no boating or anything. I did email my local council about where I can run my boat but heard nothing back.

[Flying Scotsman]

There was one public park that I frequented until one woman approached me and stated this is an unleashed dog park and your boats upset the dogs....well the next scene was not pretty....I stated it was a public park and not for the use of dogs only, if that was the case why are you standing here?.... then the fun began!

Douggie

[MR2NR]

I got yelled out for swimming in the duckpond (While retrieving my boat lol) but my boat was more than welcome.

[Flying Scotsman]

Well! you should have been admonished for that act...do not swim after a boat that has failed!

Douggie

[domwilson]

You could find out if RC boats really are banded on that pond. Some guys just have a bad day and decide to use their positions of authority to vent on someone else.

[Flying Scotsman]

Dom, the person that I had an interesting conversation with was a patron of the park and not an official.

Douggie

[jamespl]

Ive only had it again today. seriously is it just me or does everyone get greif? Went to a new pond i hadnt been to before and thought lets go ask the ranger if i can use my boat on the pond. So went to see him and he said no prob just keep away from the ducks which is a given really. so off i pop, run one set of packs and think that the pond is a bit too small really so i head home to be confronted by a woman who has a right go at me telling me how innapropriate it is to run my boat on the pond, right at this point im thinking im so glad i asked the ranger and just let rip on her, nothing really bad but i had some ammo this time as i had permission. Im not hurting anyone and i would certainly never hurt any wildlife. Im at the point where im thinking is it worth running a boat? I have one pond i know of where they have a club where i never get hassle but its like 30min or so drive so i dont get to run there too often.

[LarrysDrifter]

Yes, its worth it running boats. NEVER stop doing anything that brings you enjoyment because someone feels the need to bitch at you about how they feel. You got permission which was the right thing to do. Feel free to return anytime you please. F the woman.

[NativePaul]

After this story hit the papers last week I think its going to be pretty bad for us for quite a while, especially round here, Horsham where I live is the next town over from Crawley where this happened I think I will be traveling to privately owned boating lakes even though the nearest one is about 50 mins away for the rest of the year at least, so as not to inflame the situation while its fresh in peoples minds, just because i have the right to go to a public lake it doesn't mean that its right to do so and I think that me doing so at the moment is likely to result in complaints that will lose me the lake in the long term, by-laws are easy enough to change if the weight of public opinion is against them. Given the sensational nature of the story as it made some national papers you cant blame members of the public for being outraged, the local papers tells a slightly different story, of a man and his two young kids with no mention of hitting it multiple times, irresponsible driving for sure but possibly just a 5 year old kid that made a mistake not the premeditated act of cruelty that some papers would have people believe.

[Alexgar]

I usually try to be polite but theres exceptions one day i was boating in one of our rivers (lady bird lake) and a woman told me the they were setting up for rowwing races and i need to leave , i then told her it was a public lake and that it was not posted. Then she proceed to tell me she drove from Dallas (3.5hrs) I then told her i pay taxes here so go F*ck yourself. There was nothing she could do the cops know we run here its a matter of courtsy and if she would have approached me differantly i would have told her i only have enough batteries for 15 mins of runtime and i would be out of the way well before the racers showed up. Goes to show the entitlement issues some people think they have and how communication could have made the whole situation much smoother

[Steven Vaccaro]

My son hit a duck a few weeks ago. Not by intention, the duck surfaced and he hit it. He's no thug.

I cant stand these animal activists. Its not right until its bothers them. For example a local city banned leg traps back in the late 1990's, now that the coyote population is crazy and killing local pets, they want to bring leg traps back.