No Wake Zones

[boatingny]

Re: No Wake Zones

I guess the bottom line on this is common sense, which seems to be some what lacking in society and boating is no difference. If you are going by a series of docks and you are rocking the boats you are creating a wake. I had a large cruiser from Florida go by us while they were traveling in NY. we dock on a section of river where there are boats and docks of all shapes and sizes. They were just running at about 9 knots with no concern for what was going on behind them. I got on the radio and asked them to please slow down, The women on the boat got on the radio and let out a torent of 4 letter words as a response. It just amazed me.

 

[agallant80]

Re: No Wake Zones

What amazes me even more is the amount of people who once they are out of the docks, just gun it as soon as they pass the no wake marker, because you know that marker has a magic ability to keep your wake away from boats docking up. Drives me crazy, there is one ramp where some people love doing water sports right next to the no wake markers, they will pull a tuber 100 yards from the dock at 30mph.

 

[25thmustang]

Re: No Wake Zones

What amazes me is some of the responses you guys get when you ask someone to slow down. It's one thing to be at fault for aid take or something, it's another to then start screaming obscenities if/when someone points it out or asks you to slow down.

 

[greenbush future]

Re: No Wake Zones

With today's "me" world the only way most ignorant users of boats will understand the damage and safety issues they create is to be written a ticket. I love how some think it's OK to cause damage to waterfront docks and docked boats and property, all it takes is a little respect for others but that is really missing with many. And just because you own a boat, it doesn't mean you are a boater, learn and obey the rules before you get a ticket. Others will respect you on the water too, lead by example not because you think you know it all. Regardless of how your boat handles, jet, I/O, or sail, it's your job to obey the law, not anyone else's. It get's really old when folks make excuses for the way they chose to operate on the water and driving down the road.

 

[LippCJ7]

Re: No Wake Zones

after a few attempts and he begrudgingly dragged his kid (yes dragged while holding on to the ski rope, didn't pick him up) out of the no wake zone. He was shaking his head the whole time, acting like I did something wrong.

I agree with you almost entirely, but this part you are wrong, when teaching kids to ski the hardest part is not their balance but their leg strength and the ability to keep the skis so far apart, dragging them is at times the only way to help them develop both, it sounds bad but I have done this many many times, especially when kids go from trainer skis with the rope between the skis to non trainer skis.

I agree with you though that teaching the child in the area you described is careless and inconsiderate and I would be mad as well.

 

[chimmike]

Re: No Wake Zones

If I ever run across a boater who chooses to use foul language in front of my child, they will be politely asked to join me on shore to discuss. No place on the water for inconsiderate a-holes. Get 'em on shore, grab their boat keys and chuck 'em in the water, then take off.

 

[rfdfirecaptain]

Re: No Wake Zones

I think it depends on what a no wake zone really is. If there is a USCG marker or a NCWR marker stating so I adhere to it. If its some rich dude putting a sign on his dock stating anything around his property is a no wake zone then no I don;'t pay much attention to it. If its a business then I tend to slow down.

Amen! You see that a lot where the ICW narrows... Speaking of the ICW only... If you obey every one of those private signs it's a huge fuel mileage killer. As far as I am concerned... If those folks can afforded the waterfront property, a dock and a boat, then they can afford a boat lift. I think it takes a lot of nerve to carve out a place on a navigable waterway, put your valuables in the water, at risk of damage, and then demande that the "motoring public" have the responsibility to prevent damage to something you put in harms way know that damage was possible. Of course I agree that if it is a business I check my wake. Now all that said.... According to the law a boater is responsible for his wake even if no sign is present.... but, it sure made me feel good to rant!

 

[agallant80]

Re: No Wake Zones

I agree with you almost entirely, but this part you are wrong, when teaching kids to ski the hardest part is not their balance but their leg strength and the ability to keep the skis so far apart, dragging them is at times the only way to help them develop both, it sounds bad but I have done this many many times, especially when kids go from trainer skis with the rope between the skis to non trainer skis.

I agree with you though that teaching the child in the area you described is careless and inconsiderate and I would be mad as well.

You guys just reminded me of a story. Last year I was on the lake when this guy in a red Malibu went about 50 yards away from my boat with a skier behind him. He stopped (like right next to me) I asked if he had to ski so close to my boat, he told me to go f myself then started yelling at his kid in the water about how he is not trying hard enough and how he is not going to waist his money on a ski boat if his kid was not going to try.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: No Wake Zones

No place on the water for inconsiderate a-holes. Get 'em on shore, grab their boat keys and chuck 'em in the water, then take off.

There is some irony in there somewhere

 

[chimmike]

Re: No Wake Zones

There is some irony in there somewhere

That's most certainly the point I can be one too, but without being inconsiderate to other people on the water. I can be the a-hole that prevents 1 a-hole from ruining other boaters' day!

 

[southkogs]

Re: No Wake Zones

I think it depends on what a no wake zone really is. If there is a USCG marker or a NCWR marker stating so I adhere to it. If its some rich dude putting a sign on his dock stating anything around his property is a no wake zone then no I don;'t pay much attention to it. If its a business then I tend to slow down.

Sorta ... Make sure you know your state laws. It's changed here in TN, but used to be within a certain distance from a pier you had to be at no wake.

 

[frantically relaxing]

Re: No Wake Zones

While I've told many a zoomer to slow down, if there's one thing that pizzis me off, is being yelled at "NO WAKE!! NO WAKE!!" -- when I'm not MAKING a wake. Our 26' Chap doesn't make anything resembling an actual wake until 7 mph. I routinely fast-idle at about 800 rpm which is about 5-1/2 mph, with nothing but flat water behind me. Over the 4th I had a guy on a dock yell NO WAKE!! at me, and I just stood up and yelled back, "WHAT wake??" The admiral actually confronted him about it, and he conceded there was no wake, but that I was going faster than most boats, THAT'S what he noticed. We all parted on good terms...

Speaking of bigger boats making less wake-- This is our SkipperLiner at WOT, 9.8 mph (just a big fat lily pad!)

 

[agallant80]

Re: No Wake Zones

Sorta ... Make sure you know your state laws. It's changed here in TN, but used to be within a certain distance from a pier you had to be at no wake.

I think there is common sence and decency. Im not going to make a huge wake near someones dock but posting a sign saying no wake and your dock is 300 yards from the ICW then, no im not going to pay much attention to your no wake sign.

 

[slag]

Re: No Wake Zones

What amazes me even more is the amount of people who once they are out of the docks, just gun it as soon as they pass the no wake marker, because you know that marker has a magic ability to keep your wake away from boats docking up. Drives me crazy, there is one ramp where some people love doing water sports right next to the no wake markers, they will pull a tuber 100 yards from the dock at 30mph.

Perfectly legal and I don't see a problem with it. The markers are placed far enough out so that people running full tilt around them shouldn't cause wakes back at the docks. I don't personally do it, but that's why they are so far out there.

 

[agallant80]

Re: No Wake Zones

Perfectly legal and I don't see a problem with it. The markers are placed far enough out so that people running full tilt around them shouldn't cause wakes back at the docks. I don't personally do it, but that's why they are so far out there.

Not even close to some of the lakes in NC. The markers are less than 100 yards away from some of the prime ramps. Boats get knocked in to the dock when someone goes blasting by. I try to give markers near docks as much extra space as I can. There is a difference between legal and just being inconsiodrate. Im not sure if there are any laws against my 25 foot boat crating a huge wake to the guy in the 10 foot fishing boat but that does not mean that I will be doing 30mph past him only 50 yards away.

 

[slag]

Re: No Wake Zones

Not even close to some of the lakes in NC. The markers are less than 100 yards away from some of the prime ramps. Boats get knocked in to the dock when someone goes blasting by. I try to give markers near docks as much extra space as I can. There is a difference between legal and just being inconsiodrate. Im not sure if there are any laws against my 25 foot boat crating a huge wake to the guy in the 10 foot fishing boat but that does not mean that I will be doing 30mph past him only 50 yards away.

100 yards is more than enough distance for a wake to dissipate.

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: No Wake Zones

I take wake zones seriously. About ten years ago after some test runs on a river I was on the dock with my dads 18' jet drag race boat waiting on him with the trailer. The channel the ramp/docks are in is maybe 60-75 yards across from the furthest dock point to the opposite shore. A guy with a fairly large, maybe 25ft or so, ski-tow type boat comes FLYING through past the docks down the channel. Now going that direction it's maybe a 1/4 mile to shallow water and a bridge, so clearly he had NO clue about the area. The waves off the boat as he came through bounced the dock so hard I fell in and got my face smashed between the dock and the boat and with my eyes closed I swear I could see red. I almost went out and for a split second I thought it was all over.

A group of boaters blocked off the channel forcing the guy to stop on the way back and I really thought my dad was going to kill him. My dads a now retired cop and unlucky for the boat operator he wasn't retired at the time. The driver ended up being arrested for operating while intoxicated and we prosecuted him to the fullest extent of our ability.

The way I see it doing the right thing has just vanished in many places on the water because boating used to be a thing a specific group did. It was a brother hood. I grew up on the Delaware Bay on a 25' Grady White (spelling) with my grandfather. Never once did we ever pass a boat in need without helping them. Never once did a boat pass us by when we needed help.

Then the sport took a turn and like all fun things the masses jumped right in. Most of whom act on the water as they do in their lives. My grand father now has Alzheimer's. Last year my uncle took him out on his boat one last time before selling it. They broke down with a storm coming in heavy. They had to wave down FOUR boats before someone finally stopped. FOUR BOATS.

Thats insane, and it makes me so damn sad.

 

[boatingny]

Re: No Wake Zones

I think you summed it up perfectly,

 

[she won]

Re: No Wake Zones

Is it just me or is there some confusion about no wake zones, Are we all in to much of a rush to just slow down once in a while and show a little courtesy to our fellow boaters?

You have to remember, here in NY all you need to go boating is...... a boat, and a way to put it in the water. No classes, no learning, no rules, just pay for your registration and have at it. Most boaters we encounter on the canal have no clue what the rules are. Some we try to teach, some we have to yell at. Many do not realize(some don't care) that you are responsible for any damage you cause with your wake. Get the reg #'s and call seneca county. They will help.

 

[ThrottleBack]

Re: No Wake Zones

NY of all people has rules like that? What insanity