Outta touch II shame on you

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Most boats now at Powell are wake boats. So naturally with the higher numbers they are going to be proportionally the most offenders.

With the high (unsafe in my opinion) vantage point of the drivers, the inherited giant wake, unbearably loud music, the usual 10+ distracting people aboard, the pain in the A it probably is to stop with someone surfing (not as easy to just go down on throttle), and an average age of the drivers being much younger compared to most other boats (personal opinion again). The odds are stacked for encounters that could seem A hole ish.

But also by personal experience I’ve seen A holes drive bass boats, cruisers, rentals, wakeboard, ski, jet skis etc etc.. I can’t imagine selling my boat or not going anymore just because of other people though. Can’t let others dictate your feelings and hobbies that deeply.

Preston
 
Dungee said:
Most boats now at Powell are wake boats. So naturally with the higher numbers they are going to be proportionally the most offenders.

With the high (unsafe in my opinion) vantage point of the drivers, the inherited giant wake, unbearably loud music, the usual 10+ distracting people aboard, the pain in the A it probably is to stop with someone surfing (not as easy to just go down on throttle), and an average age of the drivers being much younger compared to most other boats (personal opinion again). The odds are stacked for encounters that could seem A hole ish.

But also by personal experience I’ve seen A holes drive bass boats, cruisers, rentals, wakeboard, ski, jet skis etc etc.. I can’t imagine selling my boat or not going anymore just because of other people though. Can’t let others dictate your feelings and hobbies that deeply.

Preston
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I agree with all of this, except that it is probably easier to stop while surfing because a) the speed is way lower than any other towed sport, and b) the boat really doesn't ever get on a plane. The problem is the inattentiveness of drivers who are towing surfers. There is a tendency to look over your shoulder when towing a surfer because of the low speeds rather than maintaining a proper lookout.

I think it is high time for the State of Utah to require a boater's license though. Driving cars and driving boats have nothing to do with one another and the density on the reservoirs has gotten to the point that craziness is happening everyday everywhere. At a minimum, the online course they use for the kids under 18 ought to be employed for everyone.
 
Each operator is responsible for the vessel's wake. When a boat's wake causes damage, you could face very serious consequences. Excessive boat wake may be enforced as Negligent Operation with a fine of $343. The operator also may be held responsible for the damage caused by a boat's wake and face a civil lawsuit.

In case doubt still remains about the seriousness of wake violations, let us cite 46 USC 2302(a), which states that “[a] person operating a vessel in a negligent manner or interfering with the safe operation of a vessel, so as to endanger life, limb, or a property of a person, is liable for a civil penalty.” As used in 46 USC 2302(a), negligence is a failure to use that care which a reasonable person would exercise under similar circumstances.

So, be sure to watch your boat’s wake.
 
The other baffling thing about the wakeboard crew is there is usually a young male operator driving the boat with long hair and flat bill hat cocked sideways. Some of these boats are 200k or more. Are these their parents boats and they just flick them the keys and say “have at it”?
 
I love our newish-to-us wake boat although we don't fill the ballasts and surf too much. One of the great advantages of surfing is that the rider is using the huge wave created close to the boat and thus you do not need smooth water like you do for enjoying skiing and wakeboarding. It's a main channel activity and there is no reason to be doing it in canyons.

I think we need signs posted at the launch ramps asking surfers to use the main channel instead of canyons so that houseboats aren't rocked by the massive wakes. With 2,000 miles of shoreline (well at least in the old full-pool days!), there is no reason all the users can't have a great experience.

Ramp signs.
 
Momma Bear 2000 said:
I love our newish-to-us wake boat although we don't fill the ballasts and surf too much. One of the great advantages of surfing is that the rider is using the huge wave created close to the boat and thus you do not need smooth water like you do for enjoying skiing and wakeboarding. It's a main channel activity and there is no reason to be doing it in canyons.

I think we need signs posted at the launch ramps asking surfers to use the main channel instead of canyons so that houseboats aren't rocked by the massive wakes. With 2,000 miles of shoreline (well at least in the old full-pool days!), there is no reason all the users can't have a great experience.

Ramp signs.
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So good and spot on! Same with tubers, go to the channel please! :)
 
I don't understand anyone running tow sports outside the channels anyway, except for waterski starts or teaching kids to waterski. There are some "canyons" that are very wide, like Last Chance that may accommodate activity in the canyon, but I think most would consider the middle of Last Chance to be a channel anyway. However, I think it is also good advice for everyone to follow the old praxis "Don't be an A**hole." Whether you drive a surf boat, PWC, cruiser, fishing boat, or houseboat, don't do something that you wouldn't want done to you. Think about where your wakes are going, whether you are causing someone to adjust course because of your actions, if you are going to wake someone up by running full throttle at 5 am past their boat, if you have to take repeated passes by the back end of a boat, or if you are potentially endangering a surfer by trying to jump off the sick waves the surf boat produces, you are failing to head the advice. I have had all of the above happen to us, in one case resulting in damage to our houseboat due to a cruiser wake hitting us while we traversed the channel. I have inadvertently broken 1 or 2 of these by getting a little too focused on what I wanted to do and too little attention to my surroundings, for which I apologized.

Just remember. Boats that are stopped cannot yield to boats in transit, so don't do anything to disrupt them from not moving when you are coming by them. If you insist on not emptying ballast tanks on a surf boat as you come into a canyon to your houseboat, you need to drop your speed to waveless, so decide if it will take you longer to pump out and refill or run wakeless into the canyon and choose accordingly, but don't shortcut and just throw the wake.

I think the people on this site are largely on the same page. Educating the others is something that should be part of boat licensing.
 
Phillbo said:
They spend big money on a boat that only has one purpose and that is to make a HUGE wake..... And the pea brain can not see past that wake.......
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It was one thing when the occasional tour boat would throw a wake over your bow or in one end and out the other of your houseboat (we quickly learned to close the sliding doors). But now it's everywhere, all the time. It's not really compatible with already established, long term, recreational use of our waterways. At a very minimum there use should be restricted to (for example) the area west of Stateline Ramp. But then they can't even enforce wakeless zones, so I guess we're screwed.
 
the surf boat thing is tough. Really no great place for them but they deserve to use the lake also. With the lower levels its for sure worse. Surf boats make smaller wakes than cruisers. So if you outlaw surf boats you outlaw cruisers and all larger boats. Not going to happen.

Last trip we parked in Gunsight towards the back and two surf boats did laps right in front of our houseboat the entire trip. sucked pretty bad but I know the open part of the bay was really busy.

I don't think most Surf boats even think about their wave. Education helps.

I often feel bad when driving in bays and around houseboats scouting for a spot. I try to stay on plane and create the smallest wave. But then get bad looks as people think I am going too fast. Last trip got yelled at and was 200 yards away. Just can't win unless you go wakeless speed everywhere which is not possible.

And tubes in the channel is not a great idea. Easy to have one kid fall off and just be floating before the boat driver sees one is gone. Last place I want to see a kid get left is in the middle of the channel on a rough day.

Like many issues there are lots of sides and its a give and take. I dealt with the surf boats and just added more bumpers on my boat tied to the houseboat. I also try and talk to the people in our group driving surf boats about the waves impact and how to minimize the problem.

We try and be more easy going down there and live the island life, No Worries Mon.

Thankfully we sold our surf boat so I no longer get stuck in the slave seat. I hated that. LOL

Mike
 
Michael Pyle said:
Surf boats make smaller wakes than cruisers. So if you outlaw surf boats you outlaw cruisers and all larger boats. Not going to happen.
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While it is true that big cruisers can throw big wakes, I can't ever remember seeing a cruiser turning laps all day behind camped houseboats.

That being said, the most egregious behavior that I can ever recall was a group of thirty year olds and their families out of SLC teaching their kids to ski. They were actually roaring past the back of 7 houseboats on Padre Bay, close enough that when they turned the kids would aim their spray at the open doors and windows. The parents actually cheered for the kids when they managed to send water inside.

Jerks abound.
 
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The west side of stateline ramp has become so congested with surf boats that you cannot even relax on shore anymore. They run as close to the bouy as possible or as close to shore as possible.
 
Some people think of nothing but themselves. I have had jet ski's way to close and either they don't care or completely oblivious too rules let alone being courteous. Has a lot to do with how they were brought up and even their work ethic. I notice people who have to work for everything they have are much more respectful and nice to other people than some spoiled brats in this world !! Just my thought, sorry that happened to your family it just makes your trip a bit harder for no good reason.
 
Surf Boats = Attorney's (wet, pardon the pun) Dream

Purposefully created wakes mean environmental damage, property damage, injury and possible death.

Big lawsuits Already starting in many other states, as are legislative crackdowns.

www.minnpost.com

The battle over ‘wakesurfing’ has made its way to the Minnesota Legislature | MinnPost

A contingent of homeowners and environmental advocates say a proposal to keep wakesurfing 200 feet from shore, docks, and swimmers in Minnesota won't be effective.
www.minnpost.com www.minnpost.com

and now environmentalists are suing wake boats:

www.tradeonlytoday.com

Oregon environmental group to file lawsuit against wakesurf boats

The nonprofit Willamette Riverkeeper says wakes generated by the boats threaten native fish.
www.tradeonlytoday.com www.tradeonlytoday.com


Don't shoot the messenger.....I'm just your humble reporter....

;)
 
I've been involved in a law suit due to damage from a wake boat. Cracking it back to idle when passing a camp site with multiple cruisers rafted up would have save his *** a lot of money.
 
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