Common Courtesy

[Sixmark]

Ok after some rather horrendous outings lately I had to bring this up, when are people going to start being responsible for their boats and the equipment and materials they bring onboard.

The day started fine, just got done putting new impeller on my 1984 75hp Evinrude and was planning on going out for a relaxing day of fishing knowing that my motor was cooling properly. I launch the boat with no problems and get her warmed up back up and spin her around and head out for open water. I get about 100 yards away from shore and open it up.......5 seconds later the motor bucks hard and the motor stops dead. I tilt up the Rude and what do I find......a metal minnow bucket wrapped around what is left of my prop. So I call my friend who lives on the lake and he heads out in hs Bayliner, we put my boat in tow and bring it to his dock.

Deciding not to waste the rest of the day working on mine we decide to take out the Bayliner and hit the fishing hole......everything is fine now, right....WRONG!!!. We start heading out and all of a sudden she bogs down, we investigate only to find that we had sucked up the remnants of a beer case, of course it sucked up enough to wipe out the impeller.

So here we have a case of 2 boats put out of service in less than 1 hour because of people who didn't have the common courtesy to make sure that they left the lake with everything they came into it with.

If you are one of those people that throw your trash and cigarette butts overboard, or those that don't tie things off well and don't bother to try and locate what you lost, then do us all a favor and stay home and plant your boat in a kiddie pool in your backyard and make a mess there.

If you see one of these careless arrogant people on the water, let them know what you think of it and let them know it doesn't go unnoticed.

 

[mnewb1]

Re: Common Courtesy

sometimes I just shake my head in disbelief at how stupid and inconsiderate people can be.

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: Common Courtesy

Ice bags. Floating everywhere just under the surface. Waiting to wrap themselves around an outdrive. REALLY makes me angry. Both my old Larson and my Four Winns before that were victims of ice bags.

Now I have inboards and maintain a constant vigil on the temp gauges. Of course, by the time I react the impeller will be shot.

 

[Brewman61]

Re: Common Courtesy

Common courtesy isn't so common. On our lake, every year the sponsor a dive. Volunteer divers and boaters bring up crap from the bottom of the lake.
It amazes me how much crap gets discovered. Some stuff, like sunglasses and cell phones may have been accidentally dropped, but other stuff clearly was the result of inconsiderate slobs.

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Common Courtesy

Agree 100%. My wife and I stop and pick up trash floating all the time. If I have the time to carry a trash bag and pick it up, everyone should have the time to dispose of it properly the first time.

It's one of my biggest peeves. On the road too. Nothing sends me into a fit of road rage except when someone flicks a cigarette butt out in front of me when I'm on the motorcycle. I've caught two in the helmet over the years.

All we can do is try to set the example for others to follow, and call them out on it when they don't follow.

 

[MacPointMan]

Re: Common Courtesy

I have stopped the boat and when asked what I am doing or what is wrong I say grab that bottle or bag please. It irks me as well when I see trash in the lake.

You are right the only thing we can do is set the example. If you see someone do it, Stop pick it up and if you catch up to them let them know kindly that they dropped something.

I will give the benefit of the doubt many times. But if I see someone just blatantly throw something overboard I will pick it up. If I catch up to them it will go right back in their boat. No I wont kindly inform them that they lost something I will tell them that these are public waterways and they should be and can be fined for littering. Keep the lake clean not just for your own enjoyment but for that of others as well. I will hand them a trash bag with their trash in it. Telling them that this belongs to them and needs to be disposed of properly upon arrival at the ramp you put in at or in the proper receptical when you see one.

MacPointMan

Leave no trace, Take only pictures, come home with lifelong memories.

 

[tmcalavy]

Re: Common Courtesy

Or the people who drive with aggressive tires, speeding through areas with loose rock/gravel on the road, sending a hail of this crap on the vehicles behind them. Flaps should be mandatory.

 

[BuzzStPoint]

Re: Common Courtesy

Common courtesy isn't so common. On our lake, every year the sponsor a dive. Volunteer divers and boaters bring up crap from the bottom of the lake.
It amazes me how much crap gets discovered. Some stuff, like sunglasses and cell phones may have been accidentally dropped, but other stuff clearly was the result of inconsiderate slobs.

We have a river (Wisconsin River)
And they drained it a few years ago to repair the dam.
This river hasn't been down to a stream is many years.
2 very old cars, logging equipment, huge saw mill blades and other various junk people threw in.

Many of us had to go and walk on the river bottom, even though we were warned on heath concerns. But how many times can you say you walked on a river bottom?

 

[reap182]

Re: Common Courtesy

Anymore it's all about me, me, me.

 

[mnewb1]

Re: Common Courtesy

Anymore it's all about me, me, me.

Man, you got that right. There seems to be almost no sense of civic responsibility left.

 

[bonz_d]

Re: Common Courtesy

Anymore it's all about me, me, me.

Why is it all about you? What did ou do?

 

[keelhauled]

Re: Common Courtesy

Here is a list of items retrieved from Mirror Lake located on the campus of The Ohio State University during the last cleanout. While not a boating lake (it's a small pond, only about 4' deep), I can only imagine it's a cross-section of what can be found in a big lake! Common courtesy and responsibility are withering away with time.

1 ? Microwave
1 ? broom
1 ? orthopedic foot brace
7 ? shirts, various colors and types
12 ? cell phones
11 ? shoes (individual)
7 ? sets of keys
8 ? pairs of sunglasses
15 ? hats, various colors
1 ? dining hall tray
4 ? rings
9 ? pairs of pants
3 ? dog toys, various types
6 ? beach balls, deflated
1 ? mattress
1 ? portable walkie talkie, non-OSU
5 ? pairs of glasses, some are prescription
2 ? necklace
3 ? student ID
1 ? credit card
1 ? homemade robot car
1 ? physical stimulation tool
3 ? golf balls
1 ? bicycle seat
2 ? pieces of pipe
3 ? slippers (individual)
1 ? briefcase, empty
1 ? headband
1 ? black, steel, university trash receptacle
2 ? swim goggles
1 ? bike pedal with crank attached
1 ? swim fin
1 ? water jug
1 ? dog tags
1 ? wine glass
1 ? nursing information DVD
1 ? fence post
1 ? shower caddy
1 ? Frisbee
3 ? socks (individual)
1 ? stopwatch
1 ? camera, disposable
1 ? drivers license
1 ? Marvin the Martian toy
3 ? traffic cones
1 ? digital camera
1 ? umbrella
1 ? I-Phone
Misc coins

 

[204 Escape]

Re: Common Courtesy

We watched a guy pull in a tube that his kid had been riding in, that run over a beer can that was just below the surface of the water. Ripped the tube to pieces !!!! Cost of the tube $150 +/-.

Floating cigarette butts when we are swimming in a cove, floating plastic bottles, beer cans, pop cans, etc. aggrevate me to pieces. We pick them up, and dispose of them. The water patrol said to me me the other day that people are slobs, and he has ticketed the "slobs before, and will continue to do so". EDIT

 

[NelsonQ]

Re: Common Courtesy

I know your frustration. I drove a 2.5 mile stretch from the swimming hole to my dock a few weeks back.

Upon arrival, my livewell (which acts as a collection bin for discarded trash from other boats) contained 1 plastic bag, 4 soda cans, and 1 large piece of cardboard.

Some people use the water as a dumping ground.

 

[H20Rat]

Re: Common Courtesy

I know your frustration. I drove a 2.5 mile stretch from the swimming hole to my dock a few weeks back.

Upon arrival, my livewell (which acts as a collection bin for discarded trash from other boats) contained 1 plastic bag, 4 soda cans, and 1 large piece of cardboard.

Ok, so I have to ask... What kind of livewell is that!? most livewells that I've seen have a 1 inch max water inlet.

 

[ziggy]

Re: Common Courtesy

Common Courtesy

isn't very common anymore. i don't know why?

as for the trash i see my fair share of it too. while i don't always pick it up, i sure don't contribute to it. it's very easy to have a trash container on board... easy to drop it off at the dumpster too.

 

[seabob4]

Re: Common Courtesy

NOTHING gets thrown in the water! I ALWAYS have a trash bag on board, I smoke but have a deep beanbag ashtray velcroed to the dash. Everyone who comes aboard is shown the location of the trash bag and instructed to USE it, and we pick up everything we can reach that other morons thought would add to the "ambience" of the gulf...

 

[Loco-Coco]

Re: Common Courtesy

Ok, so I have to ask... What kind of livewell is that!? most livewells that I've seen have a 1 inch max water inlet.

I assumed he meant he picks the garbage out of the water by hand and stick it in his livewell. Or... he just has one seriously-mean livewell.


One of my biggest pet peves on the water are the boaters that think it's fine to toss their peanut shells overboard. They argue that they dissolve and cause no environmental harm. True that it does no environmental damage, but on the same note neither do cigarette butts, glass bottles or even plastic bottles. What they are is litter. Ever follow a peanut-tossing boat for a few miles? Ever see a beach littered with washed-up peanut shells?

On my boat, NOTHING goes overboard. Captain's orders or get the hell off.



LC.

 

[Loco-Coco]

Re: Common Courtesy

This thread also reminds me of a story I heard from some friends of the family. They were cruising out of the Killarney Channel (Georgian Bay) in a bowrider, following far behind some mega-yacht when they watched someone on board toss a black garbage bag over the side. The little boat stopped to pick up the bag then hit the throttle and caught up with the ship. Our friends made some sarcastic comments to the people on the big boat about how they "accidentally" dropped some garbage and not to worry because they picked it up for them. The response they received were no words, but only a blank stare like they were in no position to feel obligated to stash their trash and certainly in no position to be raked over the coals by people on a boat worth less than their silverware.



LC.

 

[Tig]

Re: Common Courtesy

Golfers!
I have a grain sack I am filling with golf balls collected from in front of my place. Why do some golfers think a body of water is their garbage hole?
I did call the cops once when I coincidentally heard a crime stopper report for a driving range whose name was on a ball I collected from some tourist goof across the river. Cops came and addressed the issue of being a nuisance but did not grab the bucket of balls I watched get placed in the back seat of the car. Pretty sure no charges or fines were assessed. I have not seen that particular goof back in the past 9 years.