Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

[usernamekane]

Re: Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

I'm with tashasdaddy...I want my passengers to know exactly what to do and how to do it if I get knocked overboard.

 

[cbavier]

Re: Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

My two best friends have a couple times but they usually decline. One has a boat and the other did have one. I've tried to get my better half to drive but so far she has declined. I keep telling her she needs to learn in case of an emergency but she keeps saying NO! It's my boat and she is just satisfied to ride. I think she is just afraid to try it. I try to tell her it's no different than driving a car except the parking. But I haven't convinced her yet and after 43years of boating I don't suspect it's going to happen any time soon.

 

[Rogue427]

Re: Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

My MOM! She drives better than most people I know. If she comes with I have someone to drive so I can ski.

 

[LadyFish]

Re: Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

I let Mr. Ladyfish captain every once in awhile.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

I once let my brother in law bring the boat in to the dock on a busy day while I pulled the truck around to minimize the time spent retrieving. Well he didn't put the trim up and I ruined the prop. His face was as white as a ghost.
I told him that it is my boat and I was responsible for making sure the trim was up (which is true). While I don't mind letting people operate my boat with me watching, I have a lot of trouble putting someone else "in charge".

If there were ever an emergency, anyone who I boat with could competently bring in my boat as I make sure to always point out operational rules and hazards as I encounter them. As I said in the original post, I think with me it's more of a trust issue.

 

[Navy Jr.]

Re: Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

I want my fiancee to take the required boaters safety course but for what it is for $40 its stupid. they raised it again.

From someone who was new to boating last year and took the course, for what it is, it's a bargain.

 

[salty87]

Re: Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

i've been taken to the hospital instead of taking my boat back to the trailer. messed up my leg wakeboarding, my buddies who were riding with me had to take it back. none of them owned boats, they could get around. more like a rental car kinda thing though. rode hard and put up wet...had the mildew to show for it once i was able to get back aboard several weeks later. i try not to imagine them putting it on the trailer...yikes

that was many years ago, now the mrs. is also hesitant to take the helm more. maybe she's seen me watch other people drive our boat, i'm still watching even if someone else is behind the wheel. i'll keep watch on anyone else's boat too though. i trust my friends...it's the other boats.

 

[Tabes117]

Re: Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

The only person I really trust is the wife. My buddy and I trade off taking our boats to the beach. Sometimes he drives when I am tubing with the kids. The one day I took his family on my boat to the beach and he drove his 67 mph jet ski. Well a mutual friend had some coworkers there. The unknown coworker asked to borrow the ski, and the mutual friend vouched for him. I would have politely declined.

The coworker pushed off from the beach and hit full throttle. He did not realize how fast this ski is. The acceleration pushed his body back, so he grabbed the handle bar for dear life. He did not release the throttle, and curved back to the beach. Well he put the ski up onto the beach, luckily no boats were at the spot.

 

[timdan94]

Re: Who else do you allow to drive your boat??

$40 isn't bad but I feel that everyone should have to take the course not just people born after a certain date. I had a run in with a lady on the river the one day when I was fishing out in front of her dock she had about 4 times the room she would have ever needed to put her boat at the dock. she comes full throttle about 25 ft away does a doughnut then goes back out to the main channel then comes back by me very close by and bitches because I"m out in front of HER "dock"... She had a boat full of teenage kids all standing. the boat was even overloaded... I ignored her because my gf was with me but if she wasn't with me the lady wouldn't have liked the response. next time she does that it'll be a call to the warden.