People who DO NOT need to own a boat

[wikelam]

I have been to the lake three different times to see a group of people with a boat. <br />1. I waited 15 minutes while they tried to back their boat in the water. jacknifed it 5 times, each doing more and more damage to trailer and bumber. jumped a curb nearby and backed into garbage can, broke lights off that side. once they got the boat in the water 8 of them proceeded to go out on the lake. in aboat designed for 4. later that day i talked to my mechanic and they had brought that boat in because in only goes 10MPH!! wonder why.<br />2. Next time the backed the trailer in to the water in about 3 minutes. in doing this the backed it off the ramp. this caused the motor to hit the edge of the ramp. no more prop, no more lower unit. they figured this out when the boat would not go an where. pulled boat out of water and presto, lower unit was gone. some how they broke the whole lower unit off about 6 inches below where it bolts on.<br />3. Just this weekend the same group -4 people were out at a different lake. i was backing my boat in the water and noticed that they were reving there engine extremely high. i watched for a second before i realized what he was doing. giving it throttle and expecting it to move. older boats have a seperate shift lever. about this time he realized this, slams it into gear, WOT, wheel turned all the way to the left. needless to say he did not get far, boat dock in his way.<br /><br />anyone else know of people who should not own a boat.

 

[denniz]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

Hello Wikelam, Ive been a boat mechanic since 1982. Been certified for 15+ years. I used to feel like boat owners should have to pass a intellegence test BEFORE buying a boat. Well Im older know and realize if that were the case 90% of the boats wouldnt be sold. SO Id be out of a job... My Advise, stay out of there way and refer them to your favorite mechanic. Alot of people in STILLWATER wouldnt have jobs if boats didnt break.Big merc place up there, im sure your aware of

 

[wikelam]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

at least a boat driving test. this could be a written test. just to get people aware. there are just as dangerous as automobiles. but you are right they keep people employed here. so i can not complain to much. just hope they stay away from me.

 

[gump]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

i know what yall mean about non-boating people. i waited almost a hour one time for a couple guys loading a bass boat. any way i'm glad to see that here in tennesseee that there is a new law that everyone born after 1989 must take a boater educational course [and pass it] before they can operate any type watercraft. it covers basic junk ...backing a trailor, no wake zones, what those red and green floaty things mean junk like that. maybe that'll help.

 

[wikelam]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

It just takes a drivers license here in OK

 

[wswaneyw]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

I really like the ones with the new Bow-riders who take them to the lake and put her to WOT. Did I forget to mention it was a NO Wake Lake?

 

[wayne h]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

wow and i felt bad for taking 10 min to unload and load my boat the first few times out i guess i am a pro compaired to them

 

[Blindo the Frog]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

If all they do is damage their own gear, I can live with it. When it comes to killing a kid with a prop in a swim-only zone, like has just happened in my home town this weekend..its different! Bring on the drivers licence and BIG fines!

 

[SoulWinner]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

Greetings,<br /><br />You know, boating can a lot tougher than driving a car. I used to get bent out shape to the point of road rage because of the stupid behavior of other motorists. On the water the ratio of azz clowns to courtious boaters is MUCH worse. I just let it go, even when they take forever at the ramp. As long as my boat and passengers are not endangered I just let it go. It helps keep the blood down. Don't let dorks steal your joy, it is way more fun to laugh about it later with your pals Iboats

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

I'm rowing my single scull in Long Beach, California. <br /><br />The tide is high and still coming in. I am approaching the Pacific Coast Highway Bridge which you must pass under to enter Alamitos Bay.<br /><br />Generally this bridge is passable to most boats. But at high and rising tides particular care must be considered for boat height and current.<br /><br />I hear all this commotion as I approach the bridge: People yelling, from the shore and on a boat. There is an engine reving and slowing down. The water is being churned like a washing machine, which makes it very difficult for me to just row by.<br /><br />I see a large motoryacht attempting to pass under the bridge. There is no way he is going to make it. I tell him that.<br /><br />He give me a nice healty F-U. And refuses to give me right of way to pass under the bridge.<br /><br />I then yelled back "Go ahead Arsehole, I need a good laugh" <br /><br />He then throttled his boat, attempted to pass under the bridge. The next thing I hear is the sound of fiberglass being shredded and people on the shore laughing at this jerk as he tore the bridge off his boat. Then he becomes stuck under the bridge, and pretty much blocking all large boat traffic for quite some time.<br /><br />I was able to pass him through a small gap and then yelled up: "I hope you enjoy the power of arrogance and stupidity."

 

[wikelam]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

Like i thought, there are stupid people everywhere. You just have to stay out of their way.

 

[magster65]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

In Canada the feds. have mandated that this year all persons under the age of 16 have to have a certificate of competency to operate a boat or pwc and by 2006 every boater will have to have it. There is a few other stipulations but that's it in a nutshell.

 

[boating brad]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

i just talked to my brother who lives in havasu, he was fishing in his 17ft basstracker 4th july weekend, and some bone heads on jet ski's were doing there bone head stuff, he said they kept coming so close to his boat he could have slapped them with an oar, well he didnt.<br />that ever happens to me and i can reach em with an oar, i will!

 

[n0ukf]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

wikelam, on #3, I didn't think most boat throttles would let you shift at WOT. Of course, maybe they broke the mechanism that prevents it while they were cramming it in gear.

 

[ForceHeadache]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

wikelam,<br /><br />what lake(s) are you talking about here? i usually go to Arcadia, Shawnee Twin's or Murray and want to stay FAR away from these people - they probably won't stop until they kill someone.

 

[wikelam]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

Sooner Lake, Lake Carl Blackwell, Boomer Lake (Stillwater City lake), Lake McMurtry (also City Lake).<br /><br />Mainly on the City owned lakes

 

[NOSLEEP]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

Asides from my power boat, I have a zodiac that I<br />use frequently. As of Sept 2002 I require a <br />pleasure craft operator card which was issued to<br />me after successfully completion of a Canadian<br />Coast Guard accredited test. Required because the<br />zodiac was under 12ft. All pleasure craft operators<br />will be required to pass the coast guard test by<br />2009 here in Canada.

 

[wikelam]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

i would not mind OK adopting a system where you would have to take at least a written test and get a boating license or at least put the distinction on regular license that shows you have passed the tests.

 

[Kilgore Trout]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

A license isn't going to do any good. You license automobile drivers and there are still a lot of really bad drivers out there.<br /><br />Besides there are not enough resources to police all our waterways.<br /><br />Boating is one of the last Bastions of individual freedom. Its the responsibilty of boat operators to try to keep it that way. <br /><br />I row or sail daily. Every day there is some fart-nozzle on the water that does not CARE what a no wake/ speed limit sign means. He is there only for his own personal pleasure, the rest be damned. Then you have people that are so incompetant, you just wonder how they get through life.<br /><br />Fortuantely most of the people on the water ways do have a clue. They know that they have lives and investments to protect.

 

[denniz]

Re: People who DO NOT need to own a boat

Not trying to bust your bubble there KT but they have the same rights as you. If there breaking the law thats one thing but if your pissed cause there going faster than you then lets HOP up that canoe!!!!!