Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

antique fisherman

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Feb 10, 2010
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:eek::eek: My Grandson and went fishing early one morning in my 15ft boat with a 50hp outboard. When we left home the weather was great, but, when we arrived at the lake, a thick fog had developed over the water. I should have waited for it to clear ,but, I didn't. I hugged the shoreline en-route from the inlet that we launched from to the one that we intended to fish in. I know the lake well.
Shortly after we turned into the inlet that we intended to fish in, we heard a boat coming our way (head on) at WOT. I slowed own and started giving blasts with my air horn . He couldn't hear it over the sound of his bass boat with his 225hp engine screaming . He was using his GPS , but, they don't show other boats . He was so close to us that his wake hit us in about 10 seconds . We never saw his lights ( if he had them on ).
The following week I installed RADAR on my boat. It looks funny with radar on such a small boat .
A couple of weeks later we decided to go fishing again . We arrived just before dawn . We started to our honey hole and the fog dropped on us again.
I had the radar on and we heard the other boat coming again . I had throttled back and started blasting with the air horn again, but he did nothing. I saw on the radar that it was going to be a near miss again.
I waited for him to get close and gunned my 50hp, which threw up about a 4' wake. When he hit our wake he started skipping across the water like when you throw a stone. We heard him slow down and keep going.
Later that day we decided to go to the marina for lunch. When we pulled up to the dock, he was crawling around under his boat ( which was on his trailer).
My Grandson and I sat down at a table with some other fishermen, talking and eating with one another. My friend came in, placed his order and sat at our table. I had already told the others about what had happened. Someone asked what he was looking at on his boat hull. He told us that he had hit something that sent him skipping across the water. He thought that he had hit a log, but, since there was no damage he had no idea what it was. Everyone started laughing and we told him what he hit and I told him about the previous incident. He admitted that he was going too fast and had earbuds in his ears listening to music and saw or heard nothing.He said that he was in a hurry to get 10 miles up-river to set up and start fishing by first light.
He apologized profusely and said that he was going to get a smaller boat and engine. He said that it was stupid to put a boat in and fly to where he fished when he could launch two miles from his fishing spot and get there quicker and burn much less gas.
 

H20Rat

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

cool story, but... it doesn't take much of a wake to upset a fast moving bassboat. You could have been responsible (both morally and legally) for killing a guy... That would have ruined more than a day of fishing!
 

sturdavj

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

Did I miss your point? the same thing holds true for a boater who runs over the top of another boater at WOT traveling through a fog bank
 

dingbat

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Nov 20, 2001
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16,078
Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

Have any pictures of your radar installation? I'd like to see what you came up with to keep your passengers out of harms way on a boat that size.
 

antique fisherman

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

cool story, but... it doesn't take much of a wake to upset a fast moving bassboat. You could have been responsible (both morally and legally) for killing a guy... That would have ruined more than a day of fishing!

It doesn't make sense to try to run over others just because you have more speed and money than brains. S L O W D O W N D U R I N G B A D
V I S I B I L I T Y ! ! !
 

antique fisherman

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

Did I miss your point? the same thing holds true for a boater who runs over the top of another boater at WOT traveling through a fog bank

The main point is SLOW DOWN AND LIVE. I have been boating for 50 years and the only close calls to collision I have had involved people that thought they had to fly from one point to another when they were there for the day.
 

'96 Charger

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

Less time runnin=more time fishin. On bigger lakes being able to get across at interstate speeds (when conditions are safe) becomes a necessity.
 

rndn

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May 20, 2007
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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

The wake you created, although I'm sure made you feel better, could have seriously hurt the other boater. 2 wrongs never make a right. I am glad nobody was hurt.
 

tx1961whaler

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

Less time runnin=more time fishin. On bigger lakes being able to get across at interstate speeds (when conditions are safe) becomes a necessity.
Sounds like a different definition of "necessity" than is in the dictionary....
 

'96 Charger

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

Sounds like a different definition of "necessity" than is in the dictionary....

Let me put it a different way. We do it because we can;)I'll admit a lot of people with big sparkle boats can be a little arrogant. Sometimes I'm one of them and it shows when I lose patience to the people taking forever to take their rig on and off the trailer. Only takes me a couple minutes each way and that's with a cold natured outboard. My fishing buddy is the same. I also fish without a seat in the front of the boat:eek:
 

kenmyfam

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

Let me put it a different way. We do it because we can;)I'll admit a lot of people with big sparkle boats can be a little arrogant.

Amazing how humble they get when you tow one of them in ;)

On the Op's post. Fog and speed do not mix. Just look at what happens on the highways !!:eek:
 

sturdavj

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Jun 10, 2006
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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

The conditions As stated in the first post>

I don't know about you fellows, but thick fog up here in these parts is about twenty to thirty feet visibility at the best.

And WOT is WOT wherever you are.

Some lessons come at a price and are better taught by example, thankfully in this case know one was hurt.

And if you like flying across rivers in these conditions your more than welcome to ours, we read about you an the forum?.
 

'96 Charger

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

Amazing how humble they get when you tow one of them in ;)

On the Op's post. Fog and speed do not mix. Just look at what happens on the highways !!:eek:

When someone's in need even your worst enemy will give you a free tow back to the ramp. All about sticking together no matter what.
 

sturdavj

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

Ya have to be floating first, if the boats on the bottom your on your own.......
 

kenmyfam

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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

When someone's in need even your worst enemy will give you a free tow back to the ramp. All about sticking together no matter what.

You got that right !!!:)
 

Home Cookin'

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May 26, 2009
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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

this is the part that gets me:
"He admitted that he was going too fast and had earbuds in his ears listening to music and saw or heard nothing."
That guy has no business operating a boat.
 

boltonranger

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May 2, 2004
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Re: Too much money & hp, Too little brain. (long)

'Teek can you post some pics of your radar?
-would be interesting to see.
-br
 
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