poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

[JeffSmith]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

So you are wanting to openly invite the government into your life more so than it is already involved. Not to mention raise the cost of boating, so fewer people can enjoy it.

I agree there are some idiots out there. You will find them everywhere, no matter how regulated their actions are. Wouldn't it be more efficient to find a way of showing these people the error in their ways? 'Big Brother' isn't the answer. He has his hands in nearly every aspect of life...you can't even go catch a fish for dinner without paying big brother for a license, and following by his rules when and where you can catch that fish, and the size of the fish you can remove from the lake.

There has to be a better solution than to have police crawling all over your actions on the lake...

 

[KeyWestBoater]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

I think a mandatory safety course would at least make the responsible but unaware and new folks safer boaters. For those that don't care and boat recklessly the best we can do is report them and keep them out of the water.

 

[109jb]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

In response to the poll question: "should there be a basic set of laws for lake boating?"

Fact of the matter is that there are laws governing boating. From local to state to federal. That's why I voted "Leave it alone", because the laws are already there. The problem is that most of the laws are pretty much unenforced. As for requiring training, or a license, which was not the poll question, I am in favor of safety education. Here in my state (Illinois), you can take an online safety course which I have taken and think is pretty good. Problem is that not many know about it. I've asked some of my boating friends if they new about it and not one of them did. Once I told them about it they took the course. One think I think would go a long way would be for states to send a pamphlet of at least the most commonly needed boating regulations out to all new registered boats owners. When I titled my first boat all I got back was the new title, and new registration. Nothing else. I just sent in the application for a boat I recently bought and we'll see if they include anything when I get it back. If states were to include something like that then new boat owners would at least have something to help them out.

 

[marquette]

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i think if we look a another sucessful safety program we can see that education makes the differance but it takes time. i'm going to use minnesota as an example but i'm sure most if not all other states have the same program and sucess. firearms safety. the program started 40 plus years ago with a few volunteer instructors teaching kids that responsible parents sent them to the 1 day class. as time went on the program grew the state got behind it. the NRA developed better training materials and better classes for the instructors. because of education even before the state mandated the class for young hunters we already started to see the number of firearm accidents and fatalities go down. now with at least half the hunters in the state having taken fireams safety or adult hunter education we are seeing record years of minimum accidents. but all of this took time. educating boaters and reducing boating accidents will not happen with a pen stroke from the legislature. it will take time to build an infastructure of volunteer instructors and starting with kids and concerned parents and boaters we can make boating the safe and curteous sport is should be. with out that we are going to see ridiculous laws and skyrocketing boat licence fees to pay for additional on water enforcement because a boating accident never misses the 10 o'clock news.

 

[jaywiz]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

i agree completely,that easy to obtain edication would help! New to the owning and operating a boat secne, and went looking for all the info that i could find so i would know what i needed to know so my family would be safe,and i am sad to say that in ohio (on Lake Erie no less) there are plenty of harbor patrol and CG enforcement but very little requirements and hard to find information on what the min KNOW HOWS are! I found this alarming considering there is a launch ramp every hundred yards and the out of state plates are everywhere in the parking lots!!! I actually pulled the boat out to the local CG station to ask for a safty check and was told by one of the officers(that was playing cards) they were too busy!He told me that i should know!!!HOW SHOULD I KNOW???thats what i was there for. Did end up taking the safty course and wouldn't ya know who was teaching it but mister busy card player!I say make the safty course manidatory before registration,and issue a card or edoursement that you must have on you to operate a boat,get caught without and a stiff fine that goes right back into the safty program!

 

[beilwing]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

I haven't been on this forum very long and I have learned a lot, not only about my boat , but boats and boating in general. The one thing I've noticed is there are quite a few post about putting more laws and goverment on the water. The goverment screws up everything they put their hands in, I don't want them screwing with my time on the water. I know it's painful to watch some of the people that share our water ways, I cringe sometimes myself, but wanting more laws and more goverment and more leo's on the water will end up a bigger problem to us that enjoy it responsibly then the morons that are on the water now.

I almost quit reading this thread because I know most of the board doesn't share my view of the subject, but then I thought that if I could help convince just one person that less goverment is better than more , an angel will get it's wings.

Off topic sort of: There is one, only one, govorment project that fullfills it's needs as it was created without hemorriging money, can anyone guess what it is?

 

[QC]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

In response to the poll question: "should there be a basic set of laws for lake boating?"

Fact of the matter is that there are laws governing boating. From local to state to federal. That's why I voted "Leave it alone", because the laws are already there.

What he said . . .

 

[JMRuth72]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

Had to vote no!! I think that are enough laws that the authorities can't enforce now. I think that education is the key, but it is also hard to do. I just don't think that the government needs any more ways of getting money from us. Especially on something that won't really do any good. Look at the quality of most drivers today, they have a license and they still can't drive. Shucks, the cars now only really need us for steering and that could change in the not to distant future. All a license would change is how much it costs for us to go play, nothing more.

 

[JMRuth72]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

Beilwing,

Please don't say the post office!!!

JM

 

[Kev144]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

hi guys.....

so far this season we have allmost lost a few people on our local lakes due to stupid boating......every time i go out, i see a few near misses.

im considering talking to my local member of the fedral government..(canadian) to hear his thoughts.

im thinking of writing a study on lake boating. and making new laws, (vountary, possibly inforcable at a later date). including speed limits, wake limits near shore and so on......

all your input is highly valued

cheers
oops

If they put in speed limits in Canada I will be out of boating 100%. I know your a good guy oops and offer good advice but I'd hate to blame ya for that one!! I agree with wake limits near shore, but speed limit (when not in a no wake zone) is not good. IT will hurt all those who purchase speed/offshore boats. No sense in purchasing a boat that can do 100+ mph and only going say 30!

 

[beilwing]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

Beilwing,

Please don't say the post office!!!

JM

Am I wrong. Did I miss an agency? Or is the post office loseing money at a greater rate then I thought? Now I'm going to have to google it just to be sure I didn't post nonsense.

 

[Tacklewasher]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

If they put in speed limits in Canada I will be out of boating 100%. I know your a good guy oops and offer good advice but I'd hate to blame ya for that one!! I agree with wake limits near shore, but speed limit (when not in a no wake zone) is not good. IT will hurt all those who purchase speed/offshore boats. No sense in purchasing a boat that can do 100+ mph and only going say 30!

I think there is a place for both.

On Okanagan (the lake oops! is talking about) I could see a 50km/h limit within a certain distance from the bridge (say 1 km either way), and at either end (Vernon, Penticton). No wake rules already exist within 30m of shore. The area around our bridge is loaded with boats coming in and going out. No reason the rules can't keep the speed down until you're well away from there. Still close to 100km of lake to speed on.

 

[oops!]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

If they put in speed limits in Canada I will be out of boating 100%. I know your a good guy oops and offer good advice but I'd hate to blame ya for that one!! I agree with wake limits near shore, but speed limit (when not in a no wake zone) is not good. IT will hurt all those who purchase speed/offshore boats. No sense in purchasing a boat that can do 100+ mph and only going say 30!

sorry kev...i missed this one......i was thinking of more like.....the center area of the lake to be like "shipping lanes".... with unlimited speed, or at least 80 mph...in the early hours or latter hours unlimited speed....that way on a busy saturday after noon when ma and pa kettel are out...there isnt a vector bat boat, or scarab doin 125 mph within 100 feet of their fishing boat.

our lake has its share of rich folk with really fast boats on it.....(twins....triples.....even a couple of vector "bat boats" capable of over 120 mph).....dont wanna take away thier fun.....just make sure all are safe

 

[The-Machinist]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

ya know I think that you should have to take a test and have a GED before you are allowed to purchase a boat. I think it would be somewhat more helpful.

I personally resent this statement. I dropped out of 11th grade when my parents were killed by a drunken boater in a twin big block scarab. I was forced to take over raising my 5 brothers, and we did as well as could have been done. I have never had a boating accident, I have saved 2 people from drowning on local waters, and stayed and dove untill I located the third victim, who I pulled from the bottom myself, and I have towed over a dozen boats back to the ramp in the last couple of years. I am as responsible a boater as you are going to find, and I do not have a high school education. Your statement just goes to show that your views of the world are clouded at best. If you ask any of my poor uneducated friends They will happily give you thier last dollar, or the shirt off thier back.

Sorry for the rant, but I feel I need to stick up for those of us who were not able to live out our lifes dream of becoming highly educated and wealthy, But we are still some of the happiest people on earth.

 

[oops!]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

I personally resent this statement. I dropped out of 11th grade when my parents were killed by a drunken boater in a twin big block scarab. I was forced to take over raising my 5 brothers, and we did as well as could have been done. I have never had a boating accident, I have saved 2 people from drowning on local waters, and stayed and dove untill I located the third victim, who I pulled from the bottom myself, and I have towed over a dozen boats back to the ramp in the last couple of years. I am as responsible a boater as you are going to find, and I do not have a high school education. Your statement just goes to show that your views of the world are clouded at best. If you ask any of my poor uneducated friends They will happily give you thier last dollar, or the shirt off thier back.

Sorry for the rant, but I feel I need to stick up for those of us who were not able to live out our lifes dream of becoming highly educated and wealthy, But we are still some of the happiest people on earth.

uh........i dont know what to say about this post

in verry sorry to hear this.......

my local mp....(member of parliment) is a good buddy of mine.....he wrot an artical in the paper about boat noise and safety this weekend..... i called him...we will meet soon.......

dont worry guys.... ill talk to him and see if i can get some laws relaxed and some requirments increased without increased enforcement......

education is the key......before they get a licence......if boaters were trained...they would follow thier training....and enforcement would not be as nessary

 

[MikDee]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

I see no reason to start a licensing program, what with all the expense, & headaches, once big guvmnt gets involved! We all know that most people who get a boat, whether they have experience, or not, are going to take the easy way out, and not bother. Alot, if not all, of the state programs are right online, and reasonable right now. There's no reason not to get educated, take the test, and get your certificate. Mandatory Boater Education is what needs to be done. We don't want, or need, more general enforcement, & restrictions, simply because of a few pompous uneducated jackasses.

 

[jaywiz]

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I have to say I'M with "master of machines" I only have a 11th grade education due to a points system error over several moves from city to city(divorced parents) and I now run an electronics shop(mobile audio& computer It) and I meet several people every day (with degrees) that are complete idiots.

 

[Kev144]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

sorry kev...i missed this one......i was thinking of more like.....the center area of the lake to be like "shipping lanes".... with unlimited speed, or at least 80 mph...in the early hours or latter hours unlimited speed....that way on a busy saturday after noon when ma and pa kettel are out...there isnt a vector bat boat, or scarab doin 125 mph within 100 feet of their fishing boat.

our lake has its share of rich folk with really fast boats on it.....(twins....triples.....even a couple of vector "bat boats" capable of over 120 mph).....dont wanna take away thier fun.....just make sure all are safe

Yep for sure! I know what you mean, i was just razzin ya!

There really is a time and place for speed. Small and busy lakes just arnt the place to be going very quickly. Leave that kinda stuff for the big open lakes or during the week on smaller lakes when the cottages/vacationers have gone home for the week.

 

[Yar.]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

I say education is the key here as well. I agree that our current Pleasure Craft Operators Card is not enough (although it is better than nothing) and it should be way harder to obtain.
For those comparing auto licencing, should we go to the boating style where any 16 yo can get behind the wheel of a Viper and go? Not the kind of roads I want to be on!

A note on the above Bat Boats, we were on Shuswap Lake a couple of weeks ago and one came by the shore within 30m doing some amazing speed and missed my autistic nephew by under 10m.... Lucky for us, the dolt did a couple of more passes and a property owner on the beach got his # and called the RCMP. I don't know what happened but we didn't see that boat on the lake again.

A little local rant for us Okanaganites, I think that a large part of our problem is the number of Albertans that come to play on our lakes. A lot of these are young men that work in the oilfields and have cash (credit) to buy big power boats, but not the education to run them. I am all for having a resident lakes permit (permanent) and a visitor lakes permit (temporary) that has a mandatory interior lake specific online course that must be completed to obtain the permit. I know this is more to do, but unless you are afraid of having to learn something new this shouldn't be a problem!

Sorry about the rant length, this is a hot topic for me!

 

[oops!]

Re: poll ....all regular i boaters please check in !

I say education is the key here as well. I agree that our current Pleasure Craft Operators Card is not enough (although it is better than nothing) and it should be way harder to obtain.
For those comparing auto licencing, should we go to the boating style where any 16 yo can get behind the wheel of a Viper and go? Not the kind of roads I want to be on!

A note on the above Bat Boats, we were on Shuswap Lake a couple of weeks ago and one came by the shore within 30m doing some amazing speed and missed my autistic nephew by under 10m.... Lucky for us, the dolt did a couple of more passes and a property owner on the beach got his # and called the RCMP. I don't know what happened but we didn't see that boat on the lake again.

see what i mean?????? i see this all the time

Sorry about the rant length, this is a hot topic for me!

thats cause we boat on the same lakes.......the big lake is crazy....kal is a lot better on the weekdays....but i gotta drive from kel to kekuli to drop.....the weekends are just a zoo....anywhere