mashmaster

Our chuck box is a plastic tote from home depot 🙂  Advantage is light weight and you can hose it out when someone spills oil in it.

2 hours ago, qwazse said:

We had an SM blow his F150 engine pulling our trailer off a mountain then punching it on the interstate. So wear and tear on a vehicle is no joke.

Agreed,  I am personally a fan of camping without trailers (other than our small 130# sailboats).  I find that it helps keep extra crap from coming that isn't needed.  All the scouts load everything into a backpack, a small cooler for the patrol and small dry food bag.  Out entire unit can share a single chuckbox.  I have seen chuckboxes for each patrol for some troops that are monstrous.  A small stove, pot, pan with a few utensils will cook food just fine.  If we are fancy we will bring a couple of dutch ovens.

And for scouts that can't afford a backpack, there are older or ex scouts that loan or give them away if asked, goodwill has them, and even got great deals at REI garage sales for backpacks and tents.  

3 hours ago, walk in the woods said:

I've sat on many.  In most cases my experience was the adults in the room were so focused on the minutia of the project workbook that they totally missed the kid sitting in front of them.  I've even seen an adult scouring the pictures in a project workbook looking for G2SS violations.  While I agree the project could be a good starting point for a discussion my experience is it is used as the only point for discussion.  I'm way more interested in hearing about the kid's entire scouting experience rather than the last two months of it.

The fault with that is the person on the board rather than the form.  The conversation should cover the entire career in scouting.   It sounds like the Advancement chair for your district needs to talk with the adults on the EBOR about what to focus on and what not to do.

6 hours ago, walk in the woods said:

Maybe.  Not every kid is going to fit into a waterfall project management scheme with equal ease.  What if the kid is more at home with an agile style of project work?  If that's the case then I would expect a "poor" project workbook.  Not because the kid did anything wrong, it just doesn't fit his way of thinking.  I'd also argue there are way better tools that might be more applicable to youth today.  Why fill out a PDF (how 90s) when there are online project management tools available?

Have you sat on an EBOR?  If not, I would suggest you do.  It is a great time to talk with the boy about what they were thinking, what went well, what didn't, and how they performed leadership on the project.  It is a discussion not an inquisition.

Turn around should be faster and more optimized.  I don't think the paperwork should go away for the reference letters and project workbook.  Those are the most insightfull pieces of information I get when going into an EBOR because I am not connected with the unit and don't know the scout.  You can tell a lot about a scout from his project book.

Recommend getting a trailer that can be towed by an F150 style pickup.  That is a problem to expect people to have bigger trucks to tow the trailer and if you don't have one you have a trailer that can't get towed.  It also is a strain on the vehicles.  

Also, we liked having a side door and two doors in the back vs. the single fold down door.  We found a used trailer from a troop in the area that didn't need it anymore.  Got a good deal.  It might be worthwhile checking around to see if any troops have an extra trailer.

Welcome from Austin, Texas

4 hours ago, Cburkhardt said:

As everyone can see there are many different and valid ways to do this, and many believe strongly in their views. This  is great because it confirms the importance of our chosen volunteer work. One circumstance I will note is that leaders of all-girl troops are particularly tasked to simultaneously start up a unit and provide concentrated attention to these older girls.  I think utilizing the advantages of top-notch summer camp staff and programs Can be a smart way for new girl troops to go.  But I recognize these other approaches as very good.

This is no different from many boy troops that have started over the past.  All this information is in the rank advancement portion of the scout manual.  I work with boys and girls in troops and tell them the same thing.  "Read your manual"  It really has everything they need for the ranks up to 1st class.  You seem very focused on getting the girls to Eagle rank, that is no different from just about every new scout parent I have worked with in the past.  Advancement is only one of the methods of scouting.  Nobody here is telling you that the girls shouldn't get Eagle or have a plan.  What everyone is saying is that your position is no different from what people have gone through in the past.  There has been great advice given here that it seems that you have dismissed. 

My advice:

I recommend you start attending your district round tables and networking with other leaders in your district. 

Do some activities with another troop or crew or ship to help  get through the initial obstacles.

Go camping every month not just seven.  

Read the BSA leader guides especially volume #1

Talk to your unit commissioner on a regular basis.

On 4/10/2019 at 10:57 AM, qwazse said:

Pot, not machine (https://primulaproducts.com/product/lifestyle/the-flash/aluminum-stovetop-espresso-coffee-maker-1-cup/). And no paper is harmed in expressing flavor from the grounds. There is a weight-trade-off -- especially because you have to jury-rig most burners to fit the smaller pots.

That said, I love a good pour-over. And of course, runnier coffee means more volume, for which standard mugs abound. My fave is REI's durable plastic mug. Others have discussed their favorite 8+ ouncer cups at length in other threads.

But, I'm really aiming for something that replaces the gold-rimmed porcelain cups, saucers, and spoons that I take to summer camp. It's all fine if I can transport it securely in my car. But I doubt they would be treated so gingerly in and out of the hold of a bus.

This is a copy of the traditional Bialetti moka coffee maker that has been around since 1933.  Personally, I use a french press attachment in my jet boil.  It works great.  

Coffee coming out of the moka pot is typically 2-3 times as concentrated as regular drip coffee. ... Espresso shots are often 5-8 times as concentrated as regular dripcoffee. These shots are very intense, full-bodied, and very flavorful. Similarly tomoka pots, they can easily become bitter if you're not careful.

And, you might want to mention that the skit isn't very original and funny......   Move on to the invisible bench.....

I have to agree on the variance of ticket items.   Most I hear from people, some from my course most from subsequent courses the tickets are easy and just part of the normal course of scouting.  They don't appear to be things that are pushing the scouters to go beyond their comfort zone and do something really impactful.

Examples of tickets I have seen from multiple scouters:

• recipe book created
• list of local campgrounds
• coordinating an ILST course for a troop
• being one of many instructors on an IOLS course

I scratch my head that any of those types of tickets really pushed the scouter.  I have the same complaint about Eagle projects.  How many Eagle projects are the scout going to the Scoutmaster and getting a project handed to them to do and they knock out the project in a day.

I have done Woodbadge, Seabadge, and Powder Horn.

IMHO, Woodbadge is good for newer leaders.  Experienced leaders are bored.  The networking is great and fun.  Woodbadge is promoted as the pinacle of training and it really isn't.  It is good yes.  People that are on the training crews for Woodbadge over sell it and also talk like they are better than others because they are woodbadge trained.  I don't think it made me a better or worse leader.  I learned very little from the course to be honest.  Sea Badge was better because it was focused and domain specific.

I do think it is worth while but for less experienced scouters.

I can't speak to all-girl troops getting equipment.  When we started a boy troop 3 years ago we had nothing.  We asked for equipment donations, fundraised through traditional methods, company time matching donations, and each scout bought his own stuff.  No trailer needed, you can scout via transportation in cars, after a year we purchased a well used small trailer from a troop that didn't need it anymore.

IMHO, The scouts need:

• tent which can be as cheap as $30.  
• sleeping bag
• bag or basic backpack
• day bag, can be a school backpack
• nalgene

Each patrol needs:

• stove
• propane
• a medium pot : goodwill or donation
• a skillet : goodwill or donation
• 3 sized knives : goodwill or donation
• cheap kitchen stuff from walmart: measuring cups, cutting board, wood spoon, ladle, serving spoon, tongs
• a plastic tote for the chuck box

Scouting can be fun on a shoestring, we did it.  When the scouts fundraised for the trailer they were very proud that they earned it.

16 hours ago, walk in the woods said:

I'm sure there are a million reasons this is true.  I'll just point out this one.  The Eagle project is a bureaucrats fantasy.  A project workbook with 47 pages, pictures, addenda, receipts, ledger sheets, sign-up sheets, board reviews, signatures, approvals, etc.  What 17 year old boy doesn't want to do that!  I don't know much about the bureaucracy of the Hornaday, Ranger, and QM awards but it seems like they are more related to a boy's passion than his inner project manager.

All of the top awards require a project to be lead by the scout, the eagle book is to document the project and help guide the scout through the leadership.  Leading and working with others is an invaluable life skill.

Our kids love sailing on our lakes 🙂  And a few times a year we make the long drive to the coast.

Our ship has a bunch of random sailboats that have been donated over the years.  mainly small dinghy's like sunfish.  We also have some kayaks and a pontoon boat that was donated.

Many Ships have only have paddlecraft.  It really depends on what makes sense for your area and what is donated.   Many are partnered with yacht clubs that have a bunch of boats nobody uses and  want them used.

12 hours ago, AlamanceScouter said:

We have a Sea Scout Ship in my district.  Really impressed with its commitment, the leaders, and its youth. 

You now have two I believe.  A new ship just started in Boerne 

I tried a Helinox cot and OMG it was amazing.  but it is like $400 so I didn't buy one.  I borrowed one and it was amazing.

It started as a napkin ring and I scaled it and embossed our troop number on it.   It was very sharp.   I ended up making them for the entire troop.

I 3d printed one 🙂  it was cool and in the shape of a woggle

5 hours ago, RichardB said:

@mashmaster was this a real image from the fire at Smilin V?  If so, I'd like permission to use it, would love an original of it.   Pictures of the Pam would be bonus points.   

RichardB

It is a real image from Smilin V.  PM me and we can talk.

I have been to two camporees this year and saw this same type of scoring biased towards the female troops.  At both those troops won and I personally saw unfair scoring in their favor and also their leaders overly helping the girls.

It saddened me because it cheapened the experience for all involved and the moms of the winning troops overly celebrated IMHO.  I think this is something that will level out over a couple of years.

All of these sound like great follow-ups, I was trying to think what would I do if it were one of my scouts that did this.