Sonstraal Dam is the only water body in the City of Cape Town that has been demarcated for Radio Controlled Model Boating. This demarcation was made in terms of the Recreational Water Use by-law after a two year process by the Cape Town Scale Model Boat Club to open the dam for the hobby.
Visitors are welcome to bring their battery operated RC models to the dam during opening hours and there is no need to join any of the clubs to obtain permission.
As result of a recent dispute between two clubs, resulting in a slanderous newsletter being published by the one against the other, we can no longer support any model boat club. We have therefore removed all links to these clubs.
Sonstraal Dam is a public water body. The City has made it accessible through a legally constituted by-law and nobody should have the ability to exploit the public for money. If you want to join a club, it’s your choice, but remember, you don’t have to pay to use the dam.
You do however have to obey the rules.
RULES:
All RC boat owners are required to adhere to the Conditions of use and the demarcation of Sonstraal Dam.
The dam is demarcated into two areas, and an imaginary line can be drawn between the two signs depicting the rules. One sign is on the Vygeboom side and one on the Bokmakierie side of the dam. The line runs across almost halfway between the little island and the first tree stump.
The area on the island side is for conservation and that is where the geese can swim without being intimidated by RC Boats.
The area on the other side of the line is where the RC boats can operate and it’s ideally not safe for geese, so please keep that area free from geese by not feeding them there. (or at all).
Please observe the rules posted on the sign boards.
You can also apply for a digital model boating permit if you want to have some form of evidence that you ar allowed to use the dam.
Sonstraal Dam Model Boat IDCards
Get an ID card to prove you are a legitimate user of the dam.
FREE IN 3 Easy Steps
Step 1
To obtain the permit free of charge SMS “JOIN 1618” to 32013 (std rates apply)
You will receive an SMS requesting your email address. This will allow you to activate the card on your mobile device.
Wait 24 hours! (The system administrators need to create your login)
Step 2.
Install the free ID123 app from the App / Play store.
Step 3.
Once you have installed the ID123 app, open the app and search for Institutions> Membership Organisation and the enter “South African Scale Model Boat Association“.
Select South Africa and 7530 as Zip Code.
You can install the Sonstraal Dam RC Boating Permit from there by completing a short registration process using your email address.
Make sure you have the verification SMS as you will need to confirm your email address.
Please be advised that this ID Card is not officially endorsed by the City of Cape Town, but we are in the process of making it a compulsory requirement.
You can scan this QR Code to install the app on your mobile device.
Why do I need a permit?
The issuing of ID Cards helps us to keep statistics of the number of people who wants to use the dam for RC Boating purposes. It will also assist us in dealing with complaints against users of the dam for RC boating purposes.
The added benefit is we can send you invitations to special events for RC boating.
Model Boat Clubs
As mentioned above, we do not support model boat clubs at Sonstraal Dam. Each club has to promote themselves outside this platform.
No Permits will be issued for 27Mhz Transmitters due to the conflict it causes with multiple receivers.
This is a public dam and the public does not have to wait for a club to finish its day’s regatta just because they are on the same frequency. Clubs are advised to join the 21st century and migrate to 2.4GHz Transmitters.
See our RC Boating Best Practice Guide
Updated Policy
The “Friends of Sonstraal Dam” have partnered with the Model Boating Association of South Africa, an advocacy group for RC Model boating for the protection of Water Resources, the Code of Conduct & Ethics of Club Leadership and the consumer protection of club members in South Africa.
Once established, the Friends of Sonstraal Dam will be the official issuer of Model Boating Permits to ensure the fair and equitable use of the dam by all model boat clubs.
This has become necessary since we received complaints of a club trying to dominate the use of the dam on Sundays.
In future we hope to re-introduce the permission-based use of the dam by Model Boat Clubs, where clubs charge a membership fee but only use Sonstraal Dam as its sole location of operation.
Members of the public are advised that there is no lawful obligation to join a club in order to use the dam. Clubs may under no circumstances create the impression that a person must join them in order to use the dam. Any club or club member, using the dam as a means to entice or intimidate the public in order to gain a subscriber or member, should be reported to the Model Boating Association of South Africa. Complaints may be directed to Mr. Deon van Zyl, National Compliance Officer of the MBA SA at compliance@mbasa.org.za.