New restrictions on wake boats in Wisconsin

Status
Not open for further replies.
I don't like to restrict access to public waters to anyone, but these boats pose far more than just a nuisance. They are a safety hazard to other boaters on the lake. Last fall I came across a wake boat cutting donuts in a narrow channel. It was throwing wake after wake that were nearly four feet high. If one of them had caught my boat broadside it would have flipped it. While I am reluctant to call for them to be banned on Lake Powell, I do believe they should not be allowed to take on water in their ballast tanks. I realize that would hamper wake surfing activities, but their owners would still be allowed to enjoy the lake - just not quite in the way they might have wanted. There would need to be severe penalties for those caught in violation. Signs explaining all this would have to be put up at all the park entrances, camp and picnic grounds and launch ramps so no one would be without excuse.

I know a lot of us in the past have complained about jet ski operators, however most of the time they are just a nuisance. These boats, when their tanks are filled, produce a grave hazard for other boat operators. That's the difference.

Ed Gerdemann
 
As much as I don't like wake boats, I dislike additional government restrictions even more. Wake boats should not be causing big wakes in narrow canyons or close to other boats. Enforcing the rules already in place would result in a ticket for all the the problem wake boat drivers. Regardless of your boat type, you are responsible for the damage caused by your wake.
 
gary miller said:
How are the wakeboats treated as far as invasive species? I don't know anything about them--except they can be a nuisance
Click to expand...
I've been stuck behind a couple wake boat's in the decontamination line at Pueblo reservoir. It can take over an hour to do the inspection. They have to fill all the ballast tanks with hot water and then let them sit for a while before draining them. We're talking 300 plus gallons through a garden hose. It literally flattens the trailer tires so no moving it until it's drained. Last time we dropped our boat and went in to town and ate lunch. He was still there when we got back.
 
As someone that has been involved in a lawsuit around damages caused by the sport. Get a gopro and use it. I wish I had a picture of the boat owners face when he saw the video after months of his punk kids denying they were surfing close to our raft up. I doubt they were punished or learned a lesson. The fathers only concern was to drag the whole process out instead of just paying for the repairs.
 
I was recently at lake pleasant and noticed that each arm on the north end of the lake was marked no wake for the entire thing. It did make it much or enjoyable to recreate and I felt alot safer as a diver. With that said there were still quite a few boats that broke the rules(all fishing boats by the way).

However imagine doing something like that in the escalante arm or moki. Would take a very long time to get in and out.

If people used a little common sense and courtesy or we had sufficient enforcement, we wouldn't need any of this.

In the same breath, lake powells remoteness can feel like the wild west where you can do anything you want. Not that it makes it right, these are just my thoughts out loud. I dont have any answers, but as a north laker I dont notice these problems near as much as the south end does it appears.
 
Rainbowbridge said:
Only If the legislation is enforced.....not too easy on a 200 mile lake....... 🙄
Click to expand...
I agree but it sure would make Waheap Bay a much more pleasant area.
Last year I had a wake boat do circles around me while I was spot locked over a school. I have a very tall walleye boat and I was taking green water over the bow. Just one guy in the boat and judging from the waves, his tanks were full. He just laughed at the danger he caused me and my boat.
My problem isn't the boats, it's the lack of- courtesy and the blatant disregard of other boats and the people in them. It's a common theme among wake boat drivers and passengers.
Not all of them of course but far to many.
 
Rainbowbridge said:
Only If the legislation is enforced.....not too easy on a 200 mile lake....... 🙄
Click to expand...
If the penalty for ballast violations was a $10,000 fine, loss of boat and 30 days in jail you wouldn't have to catch very many to enforce the rules. I know it seems draconian, but the fear of extreme punishment is the only thing that would keep the worst offenders in line. Humanity's morals have sunk so low that many people could care less about the consequences of their actions. It's all about what they want and let others those actions might negatively affect be damned. Only the fear of extreme punishment will keep these types in line.

Ed Gerdemann
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top