Right now everyone who makes a wake hides behind the 150 foot rule and this is a complete joke and is an example of where a dated but needed safety related law has not caught up with changing trends and technology. A 150 foot rule works with low wake boats like 60's era flat bottom Mastercraft ski boats, jet skis and and high speed bass boats, but does not come close to safely managing the impact zone of a late model 12 passenger wake boat with 5000 pounds of ballast bags and wake maker drag wings. In just a few years there will be 8-10 foot wakes on the lake and this packs a lot of energy that rolls a great distance and impacts anything in its path with great shock and great silent force.
Lake Powell needs a better law to manage wake rage than the outdated 150 foot rule. A better wake distance law for wake generating boats could be very simple, determined by boat weight or by wake height. IE, for every thousand pounds of boat loaded weight, the wake zone liability would increase by 100 feet, a 6000 pound wake boat would see a Powell amended wake law of 600 feet in all directions, staying at least 600 feet away of camps and pother boats. Or if using wake height, use one hundred fifty feet per foot of wake, so a wake boat when producing a 5 foot wake would stay 750 feet away from camps and other boats. Anyone at the current distance of 150 feet of a modern wake generating boat when that boat is trimmed to full plow at full ballast and loaded with people and making 6 or 7 foot rollers, is in a very very dangerous place, especially if not prepared or expecting the impact. Those big waves don't magically flatten out at 150 feet, they just keep on rolling until they hit a cliff then they bounce back and forth for a long time. A single wake boat in a narrow canyon with a single pass every 30 - 45 minutes will prevent the water from ever calming. Wake generating surf boats have no business plowing in narrow canyons or near camps and this is coming from a surf boat owner.
The park service should be applauded by finally getting out in front of this big and growing problem before someone gets shot or rammed from wake rage. It is clear the NPS has listened to and responded to a large segment of Powell visitors who want to be away from modern wake boat waves and associated dangers, and want to just enjoy safe and calm waters to relax, recreate and camp, and they deserve this, and I am part of this group too. What right do wake boat owners have to create big wakes in narrow canyons and force other boats there and campers there to put up with their dangerous and unpleasant waves all day. As this calm safe haven wakeless canyon demand increases for campers and kayakers, and it will, the places to surf directly decreases. The writing is on the wall and the park service is going to be pressured to increase the calm canyons count. It is going to be a lot easier going from three canyons to ten then it was zero canyons to three. I would like to suggest adding Moki, Iceburg and Hansen to the list.
I encourage the NPS to study the benefit of this new initiative and to consider expanding the safety net to most canyons in high traffic areas at the 1000 foot wide choke point and to also move toward limiting wake generating boats to just the open channel or very large bays when the boat is trimmed in surf configuration or when surfers are on wave. I know this is an unpopular position but something has to be done to regain public safety. The reality is the modern day wake generating boats are a game changer, they are in a league of their own and should be legally viewed and classified separately as a threat to public safety. Bass boat when under full power make a ripple wake like a jet ski or a landing duck with zero wake danger to others, but the slow moving wake generating boat at full ballast with wake wing set for max plow and at rated load or even over rated load with max passengers creates a huge real safety liability issue for anyone nearby, and nearby is a lot farther away than 150 feet.
I am the last one who wants more rules, but this one is for the better. I will camp inside the wakeless canyons, enjoying calm conditions for my family and then take my surf rollers out to the open channel. For me nothing changes, but this forces those with wake generating boats to now respect common courtesy by putting a barrier between their wake and designated calm camp areas.
As a surf boat owner, the NPS has my attention and my full support. But in order for this to be successful the NPs must educate those equipped to do most harm, every wake boat needs a handout on how to be a good neighbor and how and where to enjoy a big wake. This handout should be on the launch Ramps with a verbal reference to the 150 foot rule not really being a solution.
I will look forward to relaxing in one of the new wakeless canyons.
