The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

[Thajeffski]

Listen I don't know how I attract these people. I'm just a 19.5 foot bayliner who drives in straight lines and at 6mph where I'm supposed to.

On the way in Sunday, a guy actually came so close to me from the rear, that I could hear the water being parted by his hull!!

I knew he was there, but I refuse to break the law and speed. I was already as far as I could go to the right. He was trying to pass, but couldn't because of oncoming traffic.

So finally he gets within 10 feet of me and i turn around and give him the "whats up look" you know, both hands in the air WTF ARE YOU DOING type deal.

He waves and rides close to me for another 20 seconds and then shuts down.

Why the **** are there so many idiots around me?!?1

 

[CheapboatKev]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

Man...

I'd love to have you on the water the same time as me...You can run decoy and attract all the idddddiots & Sailboats! lol

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

The same thing happened to me one day, I looked back and the guy smiled and yelled sorry it's as slow as She'l go, he got up next to me and exchanged a little info on prop pitch, He was running a 23P to my 18P. This guy was no idiot by a longshot, things get ugly when people don't understand and automaticaly assume things.

 

[dodgeramsst2003]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

you should be glad its only in the harbor that you have to deal with it. I fish lake erie, trolling mainly for walleye and I get people who just have to pass by me 20 ft away running just off plane so they throw a huge wake. They have a whole stinking lake to run on and they have to pass that close? I've had this happen so many times this year I've lost count. My boat is 22 ft, I never feel in danger with the wake, but its just down right rude!

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

I fish Erie right off Cleveland 10-12 miles out, I hardly ever encounter another boat out that far, and when I do it's just another fisherman off in the distance.
The worst thing that's happened to me in all my years of boating with other boaters is this guy that I gave a tow who didn't even have a rope, towed him about three miles, this old grumpy man bitched because I went too fast, it was getting dark sunday night had my kids it's school night, that the worst time ever, I tied my boat up and headed for the truck and the guy was still bitching, we laugh about it now though. I guess I was the idiot that time, should have left him out there had I known better.

 

[ScottinAZ]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

I fish Erie right off Cleveland 10-12 miles out, I hardly ever encounter another boat out that far, and when I do it's just another fisherman off in the distance.
The worst thing that's happened to me in all my years of boating with other boaters is this guy that I gave a tow who didn't even have a rope, towed him about three miles, this old grumpy man bitched because I went too fast, it was getting dark sunday night had my kids it's school night, that the worst time ever, I tied my boat up and headed for the truck and the guy was still bitching, we laugh about it now though. I guess I was the idiot that time, should have left him out there had I known better.

Sounds like no good deed goes unpunished....

 

[grego]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

we had a scarab, about a 19 ft'er pass us from behind about 15 ft. to our starboard. we were in a friends boat, top speed with 1 person is "maybe 50", there were 4 of us onboard. The wake tossed us around pretty good. I,said "get him!!!" We all laughed! We decided, that if we matched driver with boat, on land ,we would all open a shaken beer as we passed him from our golf car. Sometimes, RUDE! turns into an hour or more of just laughs.

 

[Bluepike]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

Larger, heavier boats need to have a little more speed then smaller boats in order to maintain steerage and I know this but...

Twenty years ago we were coming out of East Harbor going in to Lake Erie in our 23 footer when some guy in his sixty footer pulls up behind us. He was so close that I was standing on the stern of our boat and whacking his bow pulpit with the net trying to get his attention while the other boaters around us were honking their horns.

He finally went to the starboard and then blew past everyone while still a 1/2 mile from the lake. He didn't make any friends that day. On the bright side, we got our limit of Walleyes.

 

[PolishPrince]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

Some people are natural born idiots, like the pair that showed up Friday night while we were fishing. A boat pulling a slalom skier weaved in and out of several of us fishing up in a large cove. The skier delighted in spraying water into every boat as he made his turns. They repeated the process several times until they nearly swamped a small jon boat with a man and his two small boys.
Oh.......and as I said "the pair" - a driver, a skier, and no observer.
Can't do anything with 'em......

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

Some people are natural born idiots, like the pair that showed up Friday night while we were fishing. A boat pulling a slalom skier weaved in and out of several of us fishing up in a large cove. The skier delighted in spraying water into every boat as he made his turns. They repeated the process several times until they nearly swamped a small jon boat with a man and his two small boys.
Oh.......and as I said "the pair" - a driver, a skier, and no observer.
Can't do anything with 'em......

Yes, you can. Get his registration number and make sure the marine patrol is informed of his antics. They may not get him that time, but they'll be on the lookout for him.

 

[eastont]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

Or if you're close enough, cast a nice dual treble hook Rapella around his legs and see if he still enjoys slalom skiing amongst fishing boats.

 

[Thad]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

Or if you're close enough, cast a nice dual treble hook Rapella around his legs and see if he still enjoys slalom skiing amongst fishing boats.

My buddies father-in-law actually does something similar. He is an ol' river catfisherman and keeps a large Flathead pole loaded up with the biggest dip worm I've ever seen. (He removed the hook, btw) Sits right on the side of the boat, worm in stinky cheese bait. If a boat is coming to close, yep, he grabs the pole and launches it. He has got a few hits with it. He tells them, "if I can hit your boat while I'm casting, you're too close" (I cleaned it up a bit, but you get the jist)

It REALLY does get the message across.

 

[Floatsum]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

Living in the heart of one of the biggest tourist / fishing areas in the Atlantic northeast,,, I could tell you tons of stories.
From Kyaks, rubber boaties, PWC to Cruisers, ferries, and commercial fishing boats.

However,
The scariest thing on the water to me is a shiny new Bayliner! I run like he!! when I see one!
And if he happens to be wearing a raised martini? I think of the wife and life insurance payments.

 

[sv fisherman]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

As a fisherman more than a boater I can think of something to do with a slalom skiier between fishing boats. It involves treble hook lures and nothing more than "oops Im sorry"

 

[raquettelaker2]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

I'd raise my prop and give it some gas, hehe.

My car has rear fog lights (they're like red high beams on the back) that really make people back off on the road when they're too close.

 

[ShaneCarroll]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

It seems like no matter where you are in life, idiots are bound to come a' gatherin'. I try to give fishermen in boats the biggest cushion possible at the time I'm passing, and after learning all the useful information on this site, I don't slow down from being on plane in fear of creating the "BIG WAKE." I just can't believe how in the last decade or so, decency, along with morals and discipline have gone right out the window. I can hardly remember what they were. My grandfather was an avid fisherman, I'm talking every single day, no matter the weather. He had at least 30 homemade rod holders going all around his deck boat. Any time a speed boat or a jet ski would pass, he just got this "look." I'm sure many old-timers on here know the look I'm describing, I was only a small child at the time, but his look was one of the not-so-friendly "get off my water" look. I think the biggest problem nowadays is that half these idiots think that what they're doing is the norm, and that it should be widely accepted. I do not condone beating the sense into someone, although the treble hook is a great plan, but maybe a stern conversation regarding ethics on the water would be a help.

 

[RickJ6956]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

You can't educate the masses. It's not unlike driving to work -- there are always people on the road who simply don't care about rules.

The marinas are at big fault IMO. They get a signature on a contract and hand over the keys. No training, no followup ...

One of the best stories I ever heard was about the local Bayliner dealer. They sold a small boat/motor/trailer package to a customer, handed over the keys, connected the trailer to his car, and pointed him in the direction of the public launch.

A couple hours later the guy pulls up in his boat to the dock at the marina to lodge a complaint about the sluggish response of his new boat. The trailer was still strapped to the boat.

 

[Fl_Richard]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

In Florida it's illegal to interfere with a fisherman. The skier could have been arrested.

 

[shorts&chanclas]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

In Florida it's illegal to interfere with a fisherman. The skier could have been arrested.

Finally a law out of a legislative body that makes sense. Let's make it applicable off the water too.

 

[Wee Hooker]

Re: The guy that rides within 10 feet of you in the harbor....

I always carry a few old spark plugs for repelling dipsh#ts. They bounce nice of fiberglass