Surfboat responsibility

[NICKYPOO]

I just got back from a week at Shasta and it renewed my disgust for surf boats. We watched boat after boat being towed behind houseboats getting pounded by surfwakes. We had to battle surfwakes all week. One guy in a new Supreme took over one of the best spots to ride in our area for three days straight. Ruined it for everyone. I was towing a stranded boat back to the marina and some jerkoff surfed right past us. Another surfed a circle right around us while we were swimming just outside the marina. All week, surfwake after surfwake after surfwake. I’m ******* over it. It’s too much. The modern surfboat has replaced the jetski as the most hated craft on the lake. I know in Nevada you are liable for the damage your wake causes but how are you supposed to track down someone who just sank your boat and you’re just a little busy rescuing your family? For every 1 responsible surfboat owner, there’s 10 other jerks that don’t get it. The rest of the boating world has to suffer for someone else’s fun. It’s not fair. After being a proponent for wakesurfing for so long, I now find myself on the other side. Humans being humans just have to push the limits of everything. I get that. That’s how we evolve. Surfboats, IMO, have crossed the line. The industry isn’t going to do anything about it. They’re too busy raking in the profits from 100k+ towboats. Covid is pushing masses to the lakes in numbers never before seen. My local Nautique dealer said he wishes he would have ordered 50 more boats this year. They would all be sold. That means huge numbers of new boat owners with dangerous machines out there just throwing superwakes out wherever they want with no realization of what they’re doing and zero consequences. I’ve been boating all my life and it’s become unfun from having to survive the day. I would love to just go out and boat like I’ve done for the last 45+yrs and not be threatened by giant wakes being thrown by not that big of boats all god damn day. Those days seem to be gone. That’s my problem, I know. I’m not the only one though and a lot of those people aren’t exactly as rational as I might be. How long before someone starts shooting at random surfboats out of frustration? I know most surfboats don’t get that but, every waterskier, barefooter, parent of young kids trying to learn and love water sports, fisherman, and hot boater know that eventually that will become someone’s reality. I certainly don’t want that. I would assume no one here wants that either. If the surfboat community won’t police itself, somebody will though.

So what’s the solution? So far it’s mostly been ignore it. Get all pissy and say it’s bullsh!t. IDboating, you’re a smart guy on the other side. I’m hoping you’ll chime in.

[dougmi78]

Our local lake still has a mix of boat types. Surf boats haven't taken over as it seems in your case. We are weekday boaters. Boating of any kind on the weekends is dangerous. People are insanely untrained and inconsiderate. Even on a Friday things are manageable. I am a surf boater, but I do make an effort to stay away from other boats. I will say this, Jet Skis still hold special place of vitriol in my heart. My kid was surfing and a jet ski crosses my wake behind him at less than a 100' because of the size of the wave. Surfing session over. Can't risk my kids safety so some 14 year old can jump a wake. I think it's a tough subject, but ultimately it's on the people to be safe. I do it by going on days with as few boats as possible. Also going early in the day helps as well. Sorry for the frustration.

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[NICKYPOO]

I hear you. My local lake isn’t as bad as Shasta. That was crazy. And our whole trip was basically Mon-Fri so all midweek. I can’t imagine what the weekends are like.

A few weeks ago on my home lake, a 14ish kid on a jet ski was headed right for us, zig zagging back in forth as we were just idling past the beach. The wife and I immediately went battle stations and I was about light this kid up but before I could get one word out, his mother lit him up from her jet ski. That kid got busted big time. She straight parked him and came out to apologized to us. I had no choice but to thank her. Warmed my heart just a little bit toward a jet ski owner.

[freeheel4life]

I feel you Nicky. Was out working on a customer boat and watched another customer of ours with a new 25zx roll right by the marina/launch blasting tied up boats with his goofy side wave, with all 4 rev 10s cranking. Yes he was out of the no wake zone, but there was a whole lot of lake further away from the marina with no boats around. Just unfortunate that people can be that oblivious.

Valley County to the north of us is attempting to pass rules enforcing wake size and move no wake zones even further from shore, and ban wake boats from certain areas of the lake.. I also feel like it's going to need to be self regulated soon before the fun police shut it down...One thing is for sure, people are still buying boats like crazy right now. Your dealer could have ordered 50 more Nautiques but from what we've seen with Covid shutting everyone down he wouldn't get the last 25 in his order until the end of summer. Its not just boats either. The local powersports store has moved their entire inventory of side by sides in just two months.

[BrentP]

We had a boat dock repair guy here ram a dude that was surfing past a dock he was working on. Obvious note: don't do this, it's wrong. But apparently the guy did the obvious hand waving shouting and the surfer ignored him. Net result is they both put a 14 year old girl who was surfing behind the boat at risk - one for the obvious and jailable offense of assault, the other for being ignorant of his surroundings and inconsiderate. Again - The dock repair guy was totally totally wrong.

I think your point is fair above, but the core issue here is responsibility. Freeheel is spot on - we all have a responsibility to control our environment and watch out for others. Don't surf a marina, don't surf a narrow cove. I tell my wife as I've been teaching her to drive the boat - assume no one else knows the rules (or cares). Driving a boat today is exhausting because its 360 degrees of worry, and on our lake, many many many boats, many of which are not captained well.

Everyone be safe, and be kind. I think Nickypoo the law is going to rapidly catch up with the size of the wake. Look at the issues IDBoating had on his river, and we see constant expansion of "restricted wake augmentation" here as well...

[rcwso]

As a fairly new boat owner that primarily surfs, what are the "rules of the road (lake)" for curtesy and kindness? (of note, I do have off and on experience boating and surfing)

I feel that I try and stay away from others by a fairly wide margin. I try to surf on one side/area of the lake and go straight as long as possible. Then I will turn a full 180 back across my own wake and go back down my previously surfed line. I do understand when people fall and having to turn around etc can cause more wake.

What are the suggestions to not be "that guy"? Rules of thumb? Curtesy "rules"?

Jet skis...I won't even go there. I will say they have their place but it isn't 100' off the back of my boat.

[D&P Powell]

Ok, I might get crucified for saying this in here, but in my opinion we need to start requiring boater safety courses as they are starting to do in some states. I believe many boaters don’t know the “rules of the road”. Boat US offers a good Boaters Safety course that many insurance companies recognize. I don’t believe many people are doing these things because they are a-holes. I think it’s mostly ignorance. Just my 2 cents.

[NICKYPOO]

Ok, I might get crucified for saying this in here, but in my opinion we need to start requiring boater safety courses as they are starting to do in some states. I believe many boaters don’t know the “rules of the road”. Boat US offers a good Boaters Safety course that many insurance companies recognize. I don’t believe many people are doing these things because they are a-holes. I think it’s mostly ignorance. Just my 2 cents.

100% agree. I honestly think there’s going to have to be some revisions to the Boater Safety program just because surfing has become a dominant activity. You should absolutely have have a license to drive a boat.

[bsreid]

I feel that I try and stay away from others by a fairly wide margin. I try to surf on one side/area of the lake and go straight as long as possible. Then I will turn a full 180 back across my own wake and go back down my previously surfed line. I do understand when people fall and having to turn around etc can cause more wake.

What are the suggestions to not be "that guy"? Rules of thumb? Curtesy "rules"?

That sounds like a power turn. Don’t do that, it just sends waves in every direction and ruins the water for everyone else.
Cut the throttle, turn the wheel to the opposite side of the surfer, and after the wave has passed idle back towards the surfer. This method is not only safer it is much more efficient when you get good at it.

Another thing that I always say is pick a line and stick up it, change directions and go back and forth if you’re limited on space. Surfing in circles has no benefit, ruins the water for everyone else and washes out the wave. If you need to turn, tell the rider to try a trick and when they fall stop and pick then up.

[NICKYPOO]

As a fairly new boat owner that primarily surfs, what are the "rules of the road (lake)" for curtesy and kindness? (of note, I do have off and on experience boating and surfing)

I feel that I try and stay away from others by a fairly wide margin. I try to surf on one side/area of the lake and go straight as long as possible. Then I will turn a full 180 back across my own wake and go back down my previously surfed line. I do understand when people fall and having to turn around etc can cause more wake.

What are the suggestions to not be "that guy"? Rules of thumb? Curtesy "rules"?

Jet skis...I won't even go there. I will say they have their place but it isn't 100' off the back of my boat.

Thank you for asking. That’s step one.

From BrentP’s post-

“ Don't surf a marina, don't surf a narrow cove. I tell my wife as I've been teaching her to drive the boat - assume no one else knows the rules (or cares). Driving a boat today is exhausting because its 360 degrees of worry, and on our lake, many many many boats, many of which are not captained well.“

Great advice.

Surfwakes are huge and take much longer to dissipate. You need to look out for fellow boaters much more. The direction of your wakes, where they are going to end up and how that area is used officially and unofficially. As an example, there’s an area at my lake known as the Bathtub. Its been the hot spot for open water slalom all my life. It’s very shallow, fairly long, and fairly wide. The depth makes it useless for surfing. However, every weekend, some surfboat is in there going in circles in 6’ of water. So, they getting nothing done surfing wise and ruining it for everyone else in the process. I know everyone loves to go out and get after it right away but take some time to study the area and don’t be afraid to ask someone out there who obviously knows what they’re doing. 9 times out of 10, if you ask some slalom skiers how the unspoken rules work around there, they are happy to talk to you, they will appreciate your willingness not to step on their toes, and they will show you respect. Already you’ve gained a ton of respect by not wanting to be “that guy”. Most folks who to contribute to this site are decidedly not “that guy”.

Perhaps we should make a list of “do’s and do nots” and put it on a sticky in the General Topics?

[NICKYPOO]

If you need to turn, tell the rider to try a trick and when they fall stop and pick then up.

We use this method. It eliminates a long turn while surfing and pushes everyone to try something besides stand there while keeping your riding line clear of your own wake.

[cbath]

Couple things I try to do that I wish more would start to follow...

If you’re surfing anywhere close to campgrounds or lakefront property, you don’t need to exercise your tower speakers... not everyone wants club tunes pounding, besides, a surfer is only 15-20’ back at most, should be able to hear their tunes without the whole subdivision hearing them. And no, I’m not against loud music, every tow boat I’ve owned has been the loudest on the lake, just common courtesy to not blast everyone around.

Like mentioned before, find an area, pick a line and try to stick to it. I tend to run more in the middle of the lake as we have fisherman closer in towards shore that I don’t want to rock and roll all day.

Don’t tow a tube 20 mph in circles and figure 8’s watching the tube the whole time, god I hate tubers.

Empty your ballast before hitting the no wake zone, if you’re dropping someone to get the truck, drop them and get the hell away from the god damn dock! No need to have junior running around on the dock while your putting down the Bimini and getting things ready for travel, do that past the break water or at least not in the way of getting to the docks.

If you can’t back a trailer down a ramp in 1 lane, time to sell the boat and take up knitting or something. Practice at a parking lot, not on the ramp. Also, if you’re not comfortable putting the boat on the trailer, find someplace out of the way, throw a life jacket out and practice hitting that with your bow until it’s second nature.

I’ve been boating my whole life, started putting the boat on the trailer when I was 12. Between my friend and I, we can be launched in 2 minutes and retrieved in about the same amount of time. Practice..

Jet skiers piss me off, but the last few years, it’s become paddle boarders and kayakers... sons of bitches think they have to back there Prius down the ramp to unload there paddle board and then they have to paddle in the wakeless zone, without life jackets always in the damn way. Down at Powell, the sons of bitches think they need to ride side by side with 60 of them and no need to move over for a boat that’s idling faster than they care to paddle.

I agree that anyone that is going to use ANY type of water craft should have to take a course and obtain a license.


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[chpthril]

The only boaters worse then surfers and jet skies, are those mono-blankers that think they deserve flat water

just kidding

[boatwakes]

The law is coming for wakes. Idiots with too much money buying boats to keep up with the Jones's and then parading their waves and sound systems, buying the newest and biggest thinking they're the best... a continuous process of douchebaggery across all toys. If you're going to share your music and wake with everyone, I will be the first to share myself onto your boat imposing on you for food, a ride and some Rage Against the Machine. Done it once already last week.

[sandm]

this thread brings up some great points BUT I think it's all the self-centered all-about-me entitlement that is rampant in parts of the country....

ask yourself this, or if you are honest with yourself, ask if this is you as I bet there's a few reading this that fit.....

• driving along a 4lane or wider road. light ahead turns yellow/red. someone cuts you off to be the first in line at the light. and odds of them using a signal as they switch lanes are 30% at best.
• you walk up to the self checkout with a sign that clearly states 15 or less as half of them are filled with people scanning full carts and no clue how to use a self checkout.
• 2 lanes merge. car next to you has plenty of time to merge behind you. instead they put their front bumper 2ft in front of yours now solidifying the "right" that you need to slow down to allow them to merge in front.
• long light. going to be sitting for a minute. guy pulls up in a harley with straightpipes and has his all treble, no bass 70's rock blaring right next to your window.

society has become all about ME. I didn't notice it quite as bad when living in Green Bay but out west, it's horrid.
I've posted this before but there is quite a bit of truth to this and have found it carries over outside of cars.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/26/world...ntl/index.html

sitting at the ramp a month ago swapping out bunks, the fishing boats and a couple of the pleasure boaters were great to chat with. not a single one of the wakeboats gave me the time of day.
as we talk about etiquette on the water, it should carry over into the rest of our day to day lives as well. a jerk on the water usually means a jerk on land....

ok. off soapbox.