Who is on this board?

[f_inscreenname]

The more and more I am on these boards (i am a I/O guy) I keep hearing the same line over and over. When the coast guard inspects this or that you will be getting a big fine or jail... I was just reading another post where the poster was going to rebuild his boat and beef up his H.P. from 120 to 175. The first response was" you better check with C.G. regs". Give me a break. I believe you should follow the law but you have to draw the line somewhere. Every time you do a upgrade to your car you don't take it the state<br />police to have it inspected, do you? I have had a couple spot checks and they have never looked at things people talk about being fined for.<br /> I have also noticed that speed boaters (not PWC's ,what some call water flees)don't seem to get whole lot of respect on the boards. I have spent the last two years rebuilding a classic 1972 19' John Allmand/Super Nova in my back yard. And I am pretty proud of it. Most people at the ramp will come over to look. Must have done something right. Its loud when I nail it and does 67 MPH and I fish! So you wont see me burning through your fishing hole. Still there is people that would rather you never set your boat in the water.<br /> I guess the question is..... Who is on this board (how old) and what do you drive (size and speed)? <br /> It tells a lot.<br /> P.S. Don't be afraid speed boaters to speak up! I am one of you and I am not going anywhere.

 

[DaleT]

Re: Who is on this board?

Where to start, I'm a 24 year old male, own a 16 ft al. fishing boat nothing fancy but it get's me to a from the fishing hole). As far as speed boats and pwc's go, as long as they stay away from me when I'm fishing and don't fly by me creating a huge wake, I'm all for the fun. <br />I think what you're seeing with the cg regs are mainly people tring to keep the focus on safe boating. It may seem, at times, like some folks are trying to keep others from enjoyig their crafts as they see fit. However, I would think that those who answering are assuming that the folks who are asking these questions are relatively new to boating and have little or no knowledge of the rules.

 

[lepper]

Re: Who is on this board?

let me see i'm a 27yr old Male, with a 19ft. Alumaweld stryker picture of my boat here. and wide open I do about 45mph.... I primarily fish and tube..<br /><br />As for true power boats, I have had more problems caused from people in there normal fishing boats then people in the power boats.<br /><br />And as for the reply's people give, All some people can do is look at the worse case scenario and in return they make you feel like you want to sell your boat. I guess they can't acccpet the fact that somepeople can follow the law and are not afraid for a random spot check. And most people will give you a chance to get things fixed right on your boat..

 

[jasonnb]

Re: Who is on this board?

Male, 26, boats: 1976 Glastron T-166 16' Tri-hull, 85hp Johnson, rigged for fishing, top speed-36 ; Boat 2: 1976 Glastron (see a pattern here?) V-195 19' deep V for cruising/skiing, top speed- unknown -just rebuilt engine.<br /><br />I get stopped every 3-4 times out and all they ever want to see here in TN is safety gear and to make sure you aren't drunk.

 

[JB]

Re: Who is on this board?

Some of us have been around long enough to learn that we, and you, are not immortal or immune to bad things.<br /><br />Too many look at USCG regulations and boat horsepower ratings as some sort of joke, until you kill someone and find yourself liable as well as guilty of willful negligence. You will go to the slammer and lose everything you own if you are in (notice I didn't say "cause") an accident.<br /><br />The worst of it is that when you stick your own neck out you put the rest of us who are on the water at risk.<br /><br />If you obey USCG regulations and use courtesy on the water I have no quarrel with you. If you behave like a drunken adolescent on the water I will go somewhere else.

 

[skier]

Re: Who is on this board?

I am a 37 (Almost 38) male and I have a 1996 Glastron GS 160 with a Mercury (Tower of Power) 140 (1979). Top speed ?? Speedo stops at 50.

 

[evin300]

Re: Who is on this board?

Im with you f_inscreen! I like to go 80 mph with my 300hp Evinrude, see my profile. I like to fish too! I respect the HUGE amount of space the fisherpeople command as they putter around.<br /><br />Around these parts, if you mention a Stainless Steel Propeller, you are most often classified as a racer type. A racer? whats that? I dunno, But I think it means you use a SS prop, with a jackplate or you have exceded the USCG maximum HP rating? Maybe you are a racer if you have thru-hull exhaust on your inboard? Maybe, if you exceed the maximum RPM rating, you are considered "wild and dangerous"<br /><br />Lets face it, performance boaters are well outnumbered here, yet to achieve maximum effiency for ANY set-up requires the knowledge that ONLY performance orientated boaters posses, go figure!<br /><br />All I can say to others is keep an open mind, and try not to follow the crowd, there are quite a few posters around here that follow the leader without question. If you really want the most out of your rig, try not to focus on one persons opinion, visit other boards also.<br /><br />Gee, has anyone read about a boater being locked-up for willful maximum HP rating negligence? I am sure most of us have driven the freeway lately? right? ANY piece of machinery, whether it be car, boat, whatever can be used negligently! I guess its time to build more prisons, c'mon people, lighten up! This is still the real world around here, I think?<br /><br />Just a side note: My brother was almost killed in a little 12' fishin rig with a 9.9 outboard, it was soley the negligence of the operator, who turned out to be my Dad, gee, to think I could have lost my brother, my dad would have been locked-up in prison somewhere, and the rest of the family, all 6 of us! would have lived on welfare. WOW! could that REALLY happen in this great country of ours?<br /><br />Male, 42, 21'SPEEDBOAT!! And very proud of it!

 

[FlyBoyMark]

Re: Who is on this board?

You're rite Evin300.... Here in Florida you can go as fast as you want unless otherwise posted on just about any water way. NEVER have known or heard of anybody being hasseled about HP with my 20 years experince in the industry. 80 MPH is legal in neighborhoods with canals that have speed limits in the streets of 25 MPH. Over powering is way of life pretty much here in Florida long as you don't make the boat "appear" to be unsafe(excessivly low transom to water line, gross overpowering for type of boat; 60 hp on 12' aluminum V-hull) Most boaters in Florida are very curtious, only real problem is the water flea drivers lack of respect at boat ramps (doing donuts and other stunts while you're loading or unloading...usually some loud cussing and gestures gets them to move...) My present boat is a new 13'10" custom aluminum micro bass boat that does 38 MPH with a 3 cylinder Merc 40 HP with plans to soup it up to a 50 HP and 43-45 MPH(wish I could bolt a 60 HP power head on lower unit and hit 50 MPH+ and is my 6th boat)I'm 49 and in the direct market computer business and 20 years in the marine , aircraft and specialty welding and fabricating business.

 

[495v]

Re: Who is on this board?

I drive a 21' Ranger bassboat with a 350 Magnum I/O. Top speed is about 73mph and everytime I have the opportunity to hammer-down I do. It's great when you look over at your passenger and see his cheeks and neck flapping in the wind. It's like that movie, "Spy's Like Us" with Chevy Chase, when they come out of that test with the faces pealed back talking about getting some coffee. However, speed does kill and I almost learned first hand when I was on my way back to dock at night, doing about 60mph because I thought I knew exactly where I was, all of a sudden I was in 3ft of water surrounded by weeds and grass. I misjudged by about 50ft. Thank god my rig responds like a corvette! If you want to go fast, get a boat that can go fast. Don't jerk around and rig a ridiculous size motor on some tin can. By the way, in my last 10 years of boating, I've only been stopped once and that was in an aluminum rental boat.

 

[epresutti]

Re: Who is on this board?

f_inscreenname,<br /><br />41 yrs young! Been boating since I was a teenager, 18' with 140hp, gets up and goes (if I ever finish the rebuild), lived in Florida past seven years on the gulf coast, had my boat outside the back door to the condo on the channel, no speed limits, just no wake once you get to the marina. Now live in Ohio (miss the gulf).<br /><br />Most of the problems I have seen are from the nuts that can't handle their own boat and don't take the danger seriously.<br /><br />I frequent the coast guard site for rules, regs and especially recommendations. I am less concerned with how everyone else wants their vessel to be and more concerned with how I want mine.<br /><br />I am also not bothered by being boarded (although it has never happened, maybe their eyes told them my story ahead of time). I have spent a lot of time on the water with friends and with my boat and have had no serious incidences.<br /><br />Personally, I want to know how to read the charts and some of the other recommendations made by the CG. My most recent event was during my rebuild I wanted to close one of the compartments and use an access hatch for PFD's, one of the CG requirements was PFD's must be "readily accessible and not in a closed compartment). I thought, Jeeeesshh! Then again it occurred to me (I have been in panic situations), when the hull is filling with water, fast!, I want to get that PFD pronto! So it made sense. I modified my design accordingly.<br /><br />Sorry for the long drawn out response, my point is for myself and my boat I want to be as safe as I can with as much contingency as is practical. The CG gives me a lot of that, the rest I get from here.<br /><br />Safe boating to all.<br /><br />Cheers.<br /><br />emp.

 

[PaulHolcomb]

Re: Who is on this board?

I am a 26 yr old male that is just getting into boating with my first home built 12' 6" plywood runabout that is from around the very early 60s. I too am a speedboat kind of guy that likes to fish. Give me a speedboat, and I'll beat you to the fishing hole. Personally, I don't think "fishing" boats are worth the money!!!

 

[Down South]

Re: Who is on this board?

I'm 49 years old. I don't care about speed myself but if others want to run 80 mph that's fine with me. Anything over 45 mph is more than what I would ever need. I fish the rivers and many of the lakes in Louisiana. We have a lot of semi-submerged logs and other debris that drifts in the rivers and is hard to see sometimes. I turned down a darn good deal last year on a 19 ft Basscat boat with a 200 hp motor on it because the dang thing just ran too fast. The day I tried it out and opened it up, I knew there was no way I would have time to shut it down or miss some of the logs I've seen in the past. It was just too dangerous for the places I go. I know someone will think, well you don't have to run it wide open. Sure I don't, and most of the time I wouldn't but who has a boat that they don't open up most of the time on the water. Plus my kids borrow my boats from time to time. I always want to make sure what I loan them is safe.<br /><br />Just my 2c

 

[PaulHolcomb]

Re: Who is on this board?

I agree with Mr. Down South on his 2c worth. If I was fishing a river like that, I wouldn't want to be going fast either. But then again, If I was in a river that didn't have the unexposed dangers and logs floating by, I would much rather have a boat that could fly upstream to get me where I'm goin.

 

[f_inscreenname]

Re: Who is on this board?

I am not saying "screw the C.G. regs". Hell I could pass a boarding and there is a reason (they would have to stay in there own boat, mines to small to be boarded). I have been on the water for ever (34 yrs). I have never lived more then 5 miles from the bay or ocean. My grandmother was the first woman to get her pilots licence (charter boat capt) in New England. I have also watched a lot of fisherman (do it for a living) have the baddest boats on the bay. <br />It is called respect! If you are stupid,you are going to do something stupid but you dont see it to often on the water. It seems to scare away most of them. The rest of us speed boaters are just hot rodders that do it in a safer place also its leagle. When I fish in front of my local C.G. station with my "speed boat" some times they come out to see if you have to many rockfish. Then somehow they end up checking out my boat,not for regs thats only happened once but my motor (the exchangable auto parts and all) and the restore job. "Where did you find it". "Nice job,see ya, be safe". I am.

 

[JB]

Re: Who is on this board?

FSN.<br /><br />Sorry if I came down on you too hard. Overpowering and disregard of safe boating practice are a very sore spot with me.<br /><br />A dear friend lost his 17 year old only son to that stupidity many years ago. 40hp on a jon rated for 20, loaded down with shotshells (duck hunting trip) no PFD ("they are for wusses").<br />He tried to jump a wake at WOT, flipped the boat end over end and drowned before he could be dragged from the water. <br /><br />My friend barely escaped a willful negligence indictment for letting his son act so dangerously.<br />His boat insurance refused to pay for the boat or engine and cancelled his policy. <br /><br />A lot of young people, including Dave, Jr, feel that nothing bad can happen to them and dare fate.<br />Too many lose that dare.

 

[Walter]

Re: Who is on this board?

Hey folks...<br /><br />45 year old male...been boating my entire life. My first boat was a 1980 18 ft. Beachcraft w/305 MerCruiser...bought it new (long before I had a wife, kids, dog, property, etc). Just finished a complete restoration (new 350 engine, stringers, transom, interior etc...) Top speed in the mid to upper 50's. I get jazzed running full trim @ WOT, but that's only when conditions allow. Her original exterior still brings me compliments (22 year old boat resides in the garage while the new pickup sits in the driveway...go figure!) The new interior is simply beautiful! <br /><br />I know FSN's pet peeve are those who say you shouldn't put any part on a marine engine that isn't enscribed with the word "marine" on it. To a point I agree...however, as was stated above and in other threads...there are some components that must be of "marine" grade...and to substitute them for anything else is simply dangerous, illegal, stupid, whatever you want to call it. The trick is knowing what can and can't be substituted... <br /><br />Boating is the most enjoyable activity I've ever known... and most boater's I know feel the same way. Everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is better in a boat!<br /><br />Enjoy the summer! It's gettin' hot!<br /><br />Walt

 

[evin300]

Re: Who is on this board?

Sounds like a great ride Walter! As usuual, common sense rules. Maybe you can post a pic?

 

[DP]

Re: Who is on this board?

I am 65 and have done more than my share of stupid and wild things.<br />I have no problem with overpowering and speed as long as it does not endanger others.<br />I still enjoy a boat ride at 70+ once in a while or chine walking allmost out of control, keeps the old heart pumping.<br />The only thing I will stress is the liability factor, if an accident happens you probably will have no insurance.<br />Have fun & boat safe.

 

[myotherjob2]

Re: Who is on this board?

I'm 43 and captain a 26 foot SCARAB center console.Our day time speed limit is 35mph in the channel(outside it is no wake)and drops to 25mph at night.Only in the OCEAN can you go over 35.I see boats ,usually on Sunday,going all out over 35mph.Unless they are reckless,the sheriff,coast guard,local police,fish and game cops,all on boats too, do not stop them. However I get boarded at night alot in the channel saying"Maintain course and speed we are doing a courtesy inspection"Of course I must comply.They look in my fish wells,check for a whistle and life vests etc.I feel they are really looking to see if I'm drunk or drugged.I've never been cited though but do resent the intrusion.My rig will do 55mph with a single Mercury 225hp outboard.I rarely go that fast but cruise at 35mph as the speed limit requests regularly.We have multiple Manatee Zones.What's it likein your area.I'm by the inlet to the Atlantic and live on the intra-coastal waterway.

 

[doman]

Re: Who is on this board?

hey<br />Im 24 i got 1985 21" Sea Ray Seville which im restoring at the moment ...Not sure how fast it goes yet i only got 140 mercruiser in its my secend boat and im very proud of it ..its not the slowest one around ...i have greatly reduced the weight switching from ply to plascore ...it used to go around 40mph and im hoping to get it close to 50 but safety comes first <br /><br />Laterz <br /><br />Dom