Members Survey of FOA Communications
Published 05:28 on 14 Mar 2025
By Alan Ward F30NE North Star
Webmaster and Joint Rear Commodore East
FROM around the world members of the Fisher family have responded to our first survey and the responses are extremely valuable for the future development of the FOA website and our social media.
A big thankyou to all 247 of you who replied. From New Zealand to Norway from Ireland to Italy as well as the UK at least 17 countries as far as we can tell, because providing your boat name was optional, so there may be even more.
Statistically the response is excellent - emails went to all 437 members and partners owners and would-be owners too - who had valid subscriptions to FOA at the beginning of February. And every type of Fisher class is included in the responses, except the rare Catfisher 32. Not quite a full house.
In simple terms the FOA website is used by 96% of members at some time, showing a
clear membership benefit. Over a hundred members also belong to the FOA Facebook group (link below.)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1592994580918450
And we have learned that Facebook can be equally important when it comes to photos and videos, because a lot of members want to see more about our voyages, or as one member nicely put it: our sailings. And given the age of our boats, you want to know how we are taking care of them: from refurbishment to repairs; from upgrades to spares and where to find them.
Fisher LIte, the digital newsletter is very well received and we will be looking at ways of using its content to develop the website.
Fig 1 Responses came from new and long-term members
Joining an owners association like FOA is a collaborative relationship and it needs members to share their experience and knowledge in order to help those facing similar problems. Some Fishers are about to clock up a half century of wear and tear as well as log-books full of fascinating passages and places they have discovered.
Fig 2 tells a story - members need information. Almost a third (31.9%) use the website for technical information on a regular basis while four-out-of-five will go to the website and Forum for technical information bumping Google (even!) into second place. That reverses for general sailing topics with Google, then FOA followed by YouTube but separated by only eight points.
The technical pages are a unique source of drawings, specification and brochures compiled over the years which exist nowhere else on the web. This is also reflected in the Forum where Boat Technical Issues tops the poll as most useful with owners contributing answers and opinions and sources of supply.
When we asked you if we could Do One Thing your ideas again reinforced the need for information and also pictures. Few respondents seem aware that there is already a suppliers page, perhaps because it sits on a secondary menu in the Library. Something else to be improved and promoted.
So heres a plea share your tips and trips and send them to Fisher Lite. (by emailing them to steve@wightmistress.com)
However, it seems a fairly common experience that finding what you want on the FOA website is not always easy, so here too is work to be done. And we need to remove the separate log-in for the Forum. Its definitely not popular!
No surprises though that the Fisher sales pages are popular, especially among the Associate members who generally join to find a boat. Then of course there are the existing owners checking the value of their pride-and-joy.
Across social media, Fisher interests could be stronger. The UK Facebook group has 109 members and we could improve our links with other overseas Fisher friends. Only the UK East Coast group has a WhatsApp group. If you know different, please tell us.
Your YouTube choices make for a great night in! Clearly lots are watching the rebuilding of Tally Ho heres the top ten are listed for your enjoyment.
YouTube top 10
Finally, please dont expect transformative change overnight. The scope and programme for the work needs to be scheduled and budgeted, but without your participation and ideas we wouldnt know where to start.
Alan Ward
Last updated 06:16 on 14 March 2025
