BOAT SHOW

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Stuart Hepworth said:
You guys act like this hasn't been happening since Lake Powell first floated houseboats...Those houseboat jerks have been around a heck of a lot longer than the wake surf guys. Just sayin'...

...If I had the dollars, that 38 footer would be mine!
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Please note that my thought on this post about a new boat included the words "inconsiderate Crew" and contained no specific insults or slurs of any kind. It's all about the operators and how they use the boat! Surf boat wave machines are the only boat on the water intentionally designed to throw the biggest wake/wave possible and used responsibly in open water to me it's not a problem. A lot of people really love to recreate that way and I get that. However, intentionally throwing the biggest wake is a distinction with a difference and requires extra care from its operators; It's not just a wake it's a large wave and getting more so as evidenced by this new Surfboat design.

At issue is when operators plow through small coves and campsites dragging the largest wave possible and tossing everyone else around just for their own enjoyment or their social media shots. There are plenty areas of open water to get beautiful pictures in without disturbing the quiet enjoyment of others. Kayaks, small fishing boats, and paddle boards in the back of coves don't fare well against two foot waves which is why they are back in the coves in the first place.

For now it's legal to surf anywhere you want including back alleys and coves but it's just poor etiquette in my opinion. That could change if wave machine crews continue to behave badly and in inconsiderate ways but even rules and laws won't be very effective. It would be far better if we all just shared the lake and had respect for one another.

I was coming out of the back end of Labyrinth last fall where it gets down to one lane with blind corners in spots and came around one corner and found myself near a head on with a Surfboat with a surfer in tow. Legal? I guess but very reckless just like the new trend of surfing at night. In my view all of this type of mayhem will go on until someone or a group of people die and then Park Service might try a crack down to save face but it would be better if people policed themselves and no one has to loose their life
 
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There's a lot to like about that Regal boat. One thing that stands out to me is the fact that underneath it all, it's just a twin drive i/o cruiser. There's no ballast. The wake is created by de-tuning the outdrives - toeing one in/out from the other - and the use of trim tabs. This means it instantly changes modes at the push of a button.

I don't own a surf/wake boat. I don't have anything against them. My family owns them and I recreate with them. However, the time it takes to fill/drain ballast often leads to driving around while filling/draining. Or, just leaving it full or partially full because you're going back out later. Understandable behavior, but you're throwing wakes while you're not even towing anyone. Not to mention the huge increase in fuel burn.

I'll probably never be able to afford that Regal (or the rig to tow it around). So it's a non-issue. But I like to dream of having something like that.
 
Marina Bum said:
Please note that my thought on this post about a new boat included the words "inconsiderate Crew" and contained no specific insults or slurs of any kind. It's all about the operators and how they use the boat! Surf boat wave machines are the only boat on the water intentionally designed to throw the biggest wake/wave possible and used responsibly in open water to me it's not a problem. A lot of people really love to recreate that way and I get that. However, intentionally throwing the biggest wake is a distinction with a difference and requires extra care from its operators; It's not just a wake it's a large wave and getting more so as evidenced by this new Surfboat design.

At issue is when operators plow through small coves and campsites dragging the largest wave possible and tossing everyone else around just for their own enjoyment or their social media shots. There are plenty areas of open water to get beautiful pictures in without disturbing the quiet enjoyment of others. Kayaks, small fishing boats, and paddle boards in the back of coves don't fare well against two foot waves which is why they are back in the coves in the first place.

For now it's legal to surf anywhere you want including back alleys and coves but it's just poor etiquette in my opinion. That could change if wave machine crews continue to behave badly and in inconsiderate ways but even rules and laws won't be very effective. It would be far better if we all just shared the lake and had respect for one another.

I was coming out of the back end of Labyrinth this fall where it gets down to one lane with blind corners in spots and came around one corner and found myself near a head on with a Surfboat with a surfer in tow. Legal? I guess but very reckless just like the new trend of surfing at night. In my view all of this type of mayhem will go on until someone or a group of people die and then Park Service might try a crack down to save face but it would be better if people policed themselves and no one has to loose their life
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Very Well stated. A couple of years ago I said something similar, but my post was removed.. 😼

Bottom line: More surf boats + bigger waves = BIG trouble. After enough documented property damage and a death or two, NPS will have no choice to regulate them. My attorney friends who do boat are salivating......sadly....😞
 
Rainbowbridge said:
Hehehe...Great Post, Todd.... (y) (y)

Perhaps one of the things we can all agree on here at WW......is that 'jerks' can arrive in any number of......vessels/hulls/uniforms/etc......;)

I'd also suggest that another thing we Wordlings agree upon is: It ain't the vessel/hull/gun/ fishing pole/ranger....whatever.....it's the person behind it that counts.

Like my (Homelite) Dad said; Treat everyone as you'd like to be treated.....(I miss him....;))

Disclaimer:

Nothing in this post is political in any way. Just an old man pontificating, and perhaps occasionally drooling....well..............depends......;)
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Kinda beating a dead horse…but the difference between wake boats is that their purpose is to go up and down, back and forth ad nauseum…other craft might also create a big wake and have a jerk as a captain, but they generally only go past once!
 
Ryan said:
PLEASE don't give the manufacturers any ideas.:) Prices of new boats (any any flavor) are already out of control.


I'm also surprised diesel power hasn't become more prominent in these types of boats. I know that Pavati offered a Duramax option for a while, but I don't think that Nautique/MC/Malibu have ever done that. I wonder why? Concern of the ability to re-fuel on the water (I can't think of a lake we frequent outside of Powell that offers on-water diesel sales). Or maybe the same emissions struggles that have challenged the rest of the industry?
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You don't get the same load exhaust noise with diesel as you would gas!!!!!! 😄
 
So a little follow up on the boat show/Dad/Homelite post, here's a long lost shot of those ahead of their time 4 cycle darlings at our lake mid to late 60's:

This looks like a private boat, but years ago getting gas at Wahweap, old-timers would look at Dads Homelites and say: 'The houseboat rental fleet used them, as they only consumed 1/4 of the gas of smoking two strokes, but supposedly getting parts was difficult'

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I think comparing houseboats to wakeboats is not accurate. I have yet to see a houseboat pass behind me at anchor fast enough or close enough to throw a destructive wake.....

But people can justify anything these days.
 
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