"P Fritz" not only made a boating post, but it actually makes some sense!


15 feet might be a little close but...

Oh really? Do you think that passing another boat only 15 feet away is
perfectly safe & normal? Especially when you have hundreds of yards, if
not miles, of open water to pass much further away?

...the wake that a power boat on plane produces is smaller and faster, the
sailboat gets a quick nudge when the wake hits the hull.
...the wake of a power boat pushes running a what most people assume to be
no-wake speed will bounce the sail boat around much harsher.

Which wake do you want to encounter?


That depends very much on the boat, the boater, and the surrounding
conditions. On open water I don't see any reason at all for a motorboat
to come with 15 feet of me. It's rude.


P Fritz wrote:
It also depends on the size and displacement of the boat. A small ski type
boat is going to throw up little wake on plane compared to a 35 ft cruiser.


You got that right. It doesn't even have to be 35 feet... many planing
cuddy boats, especially deep-vee hulls, leave a steep & ugly wake at
full throttle. Yet the drivers are convinced that they are doing you a
favor by passing close at full speed instead of slowing down.

ALL boaters should remember that they are responsible... and for a
motorboat, the wake is part of that responsibility. You are as much
responsible for the wake made by your boat as you would be for a bullet
you fired from a gun.

Fair Skies
Doug King