bass,
Good point! I guess that I'd feel better about slowing down if I felt
there was a real need to. Perhaps we need education and research to show
exactly how much harm is caused. On the other hand if I were to approach the
bridge and seen you anchored close to the channel I would slow down because
I am aware of what impact my waves would make on your boat and comfort.
Perhaps I need to apologize for my ignorance of the subject.
Paul

"basskisser" wrote in message
om...
"Paul Schilter" paulschilter@comcast,dot,net wrote in message
...
bass,
I see your point. If the boat displaced enough, the resultant wave
would
pack a lot more energy. But as a scuba diver I also know that a boat's
wake
doesn't travel far beneath the surface. I have dove in 4 foot waves and
it's
calm 6 feet below the surface. Now when diving in the keys there was a
noticeable tidal surge that would shift you back and forth for I guess 6
to
12 inches at even 40 feet down and in this instance that was the bottom.
I
haven't dove in the Sanibel area so I can't comment on the state of
tidal
surges in the area. Bottom line, it seems to me that nature puts a
whole
lot more stress on the bridge than the average boat wake creates. It's
like
how many millimeters does the boat wakes damage the bridge per year?
Can't
they make it a few feet thicker so it'll last? Bass, maybe I'm ignorant
of
some facts here, but if so, I wonder how many other boats feel similar.
As
I'm under the Sanibel bridge in a 23 footer at planning speed, it's hard
to
imagine I'm hurting this bridge. IMHO
Paul

Now, I'm not a wave expert, but I DO know, that when I'm fishing, and
a boat comes through where I am fishing, at speed, and around the same
distances that one would be from bridge piers and/or abutements, that
my boat takes quite a hit from these waves. Sometimes uncomfortable.
Now I've never been in wind that bobbed my boat around like that. But,
let's assume that it does happen, that wind blown wakes can have that
impact. How often does that occur, compared to how often does it occur
from boats? Also, there is more to the equation than simple erosion of
the concrete, as you say, in a few millemeters per year. There is
impact, there is erosion of the founding soils, there are wet/dry
cycles, etc., etc.