how resposible are ya for yer wake?

[ziggy]

well, finally got my buddy with three kids out today. been tryin to get him out for a month or better. only one kid came along though, 7 years old so not to bad, anyways...

so i'm just floatin there. enjoyin some tunes and this creaton comes along in the largest boat on the lake. way bigger than anyone elses. maybe 25' crusier with a radar arch. sweet dream or dreams was her name. so he's pullin a tube and just above plowing, puttin off a nice big wake. creaton goes right next to me whilest i'm floating not under power. 100' off maybe. man, i had my stern to her and knew i was hosered that way. no 4 min. blower, blower on, engine on, turn into the wake and took it. musta put my bow a foot + underwater. soaked me down good to say the least. well, anyways. now for the question. he blew my fuse to my cigg. lighter. no big deal, my radio, granted a auto radio, but still the display is hosed. i thought it fried as it didn't work to good after injestin some water. though it did end up workin. lastly, my remote control for my alarm in my van is sol. gonna let it dry out. maybe it'll work. maybe not..... so how lieable is he? i was just sitting there. he's responsible for his wake aint he? if i hadn't powered up and did a 180 into the wake, i'd surely have takein a big one over the stern and perhaps caused me some real grief.........should i be mad? i feel mad.....no respectin mother*^@*&er is the way i feel. + if my stuff don't work and he costs me money......well then i'll be real bummered out.............

 

[TriadSteeler]

Re: how resposible are ya for yer wake?

I'm almost positive that you are responsible for any damage your wake does. Go after this moron. What have you got to lose.

A few years back some dude with a '36 Houseboat thought he would be cool and do a blow by a boat club on the Ohio river(which had a posted no wake zone) with twin Crusaders a blazin. He was about 40' from the outer docks and when it was all said and done, he ended up owing about 5K in damages.

The minute he went by, about 10 different boats immediately went and chased him down. I'm surprised they didn't drag him off his boat and drown him in the middle of the river.

 

[ziggy]

Re: how resposible are ya for yer wake?

i wanted to chase him down. but didn't. i didn't know what i'd say to him. of corse the water patrol was on the other side of the lake and i have no idea who else was bothered by him. i was too busy pickin up the pieces and energizein the bilge pump. if he'd have not been so close, i coulda took his wake fine, but it was a freash one and real close spaced. also i have no idea how ya go about goin after him.......

 

[dabalone]

Re: how resposible are ya for yer wake?

Recently my son and I were fishing the San Juaqin delta here in CA which has miles of large and small channels and sloughs. A large boat, probably 30' came up the small channel where we were plugging for bass. I noticed as he came around the bend he was not slowing down and since we were fishing the edge of a rock bank I kept an eye on him, sure enough he just barreled right on by us. I quickly started the motor and began to back away from the rocks, his wake still picked us up and nearly beached us on the rocks. This could have resulted in some major damage to my boat.

I had to restrain my son from going after him. Talk about a moron this guy and his girlfriend were waving at us as they went by. So, yes I am sure you are liable for any damage your wake causes, how do you prove it? Without witnesses, or maybe some video of the asshat I guess it would be your word against his. You could catch up with the guy and get his cf numbers and file a complaint, not sure how much good that would do. I am thinking about putting my little camcorder in the boat, these days videos are hanging a lot of idiots.

 

[tommays]

Re: how resposible are ya for yer wake?

It is hard to say

I camp on lake georege every summer and there are 4 large tour boats (over 100 feet)

They put out a displacement wake that rolls for miles ,is very hard to see and very big 2 plus feet


They pound every house and boat on the lake for 35 miles every day without a problem



Tommays

 

[gcboat]

Re: how resposible are ya for yer wake?

Hope this clarifies it some - but different states have adopted different rules for their respective waterways, lakes, etc. http://www.navcen.uscg.gov/mwv/navrules/navrules_faq.htm

 

[ziggy]

Re: how resposible are ya for yer wake?

thanks guys for the comments. i understand i'm not the only one that has had an issue like this. the storys ya've told are hair raisein to say the least. at least i wasn't by some rocks. yikes.
i plan to do nothing about this. it's water over the bridge i guess(pun intended). a fuse fixed the lighter, the faceplate, this morning has amazingly lost the fog and i can see the display(was totaly moister after the hit and couldn't see display at all). it still wouldn't surprise me if the stereo fails in the end. just can't think that it liked a bath. but for now it's servicable. after disassembelin the alarm remote for my van. lettin it dry overnight. it now works again too. amazing.....i came out unscathed. the boats now empty and has had a wet dry vac over all of it. fan is now runnin on it.

i understand what yer sayin tommays. i have no issure with dealin with large wakes. but this yardbird that cruised by me had room to be further away. waves that've rolled on out a bit ain't the issue. it's the ones that hit ya seconds after the facts. i really think i'd have been in trouble if i'd have takein that wake over the stern........next time he comes that close, i'll know better and get powerd up prior too him goin by and get the helk out of his way i guess.

gcboat, thanks for the link. yep, that's about what i was guessin. it's a question of law and is for lawenforcement to decide. i ain't going that far for a stereo, lighter and remote. it just made me mad and i wondered how little damage was too little to do anything about. this is to little to do anything about.....
ah the fun of boating. i wonder what the next incedent will be? happy boatin folks...............

 

[rndn]

Re: how resposible are ya for yer wake?

I was out yesterday with so many idiots out there!! I saw someone at the launch try to launch their boat without disconnecting the bow eye.
h tried pulling manually and then tried to power launch it twice until his winch broke and the boat went shooting off the trailer with the strap still attached. My point is these idiots buy a boat and start driving around a lake with no traing schooling or experience. Unfortunately in New York, the only requirement to driving a boat is a check to pay for it.

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: how resposible are ya for yer wake?

I wish boating was illegal for everyone but me!