On Mon, 29 Sep 2003 21:10:05 -0400, Wayne.B
wrote:

Throwing a large wake is not necessarily rude, discourteous or
unprofessional. Wakes are a fact of power boating and anyone who
boats in an area frequented by large, fast moving power boats needs to
be prepared for them. I don't like getting rocked any more than
anyone else, but it happens and more often than not, the power boat
throwing the wake is within his rights and is just trying to get
somewhere. The NYS barge canal for example has a speed limit of 10
mph whis is at least 30 to 40% over hull speed for most power
cruisers. The result is a fair sized wake. I will try to slow down
for canoes or other small open boats if I see them in time but it
isn't always possible. Anyone else should be prepared to deal with
the occassional wake or stay off the water. That's just the way it
is. Have you ever seen the wake that a tug boat or lake freighter
leaves when it is trying to get somewhere in a hurry?

============================================

Wayne-

Perhaps a different angle on your post: You can throw as much wake as
you care to be responsible for...

I have no problem with large boats trying to "make way" in the NYS
barge canal. Most of them know their boats and try to throttle to an
efficient speed, without rocking the molars out of bystanders.

I get a kick out of the "5 mph" marina zones, as one of my boats makes
less wake at 20mph than it does at 5mph. ...but I comply. I also
encounter "more money than brains" boaters that push a wall of water
in a 100' wide channel. If you're fishing in a jon boat at the time,
it can be an experience to remember.

I'm not sure what you mean about the "30 to 40% over hull speed for
most power cruisers..". The one's that give me, and others, trouble
are the guys with the 30+ footers at half throttle, pushing
4-plus-feet of water and a rolling wake. In the Barge Canal, this can
flip a small boat, and do significant damage to docks and moored
boats. No law says that you have to be considerate, it just says that
you are responsible for your wake, and that's a *good* thing.

....carry on.
noah

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