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?

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


On Sat, 27 Sep 2003 10:35:38 -0700, "QLW" wrote:
We just returned to Texas yesterday after completing an entire summer of
boating, first on lake Summerville in W.Va. and then a 700+ mile circuit
starting at lock 6 of the Erie Canal then to Oswego, Thousand Islands,
Redeau Canal, Ottawa River, Lachine Canal, St. Lawrance to the Richlieu
Canal, Lake Champlain and finally the Champlain Canal back to lock 6 on the
Erie. Over eight wonderful weeks spend on the water. Over 100 locks and
while the exact milage is hard to nail down (due to many side trips) I'd
guess over 900. After a few "teething" problems were worked out, both boats
worked flawlessly. The weather was great , as were the vast majority of the
people, both boaters and landlubbers, that we met. What a great way to
spend a summer. The only thing that I would change is to take more time to
make the trip. We are allredy making plans to go back and do the Trent
Severn and Lake Champlain next summer.

BUT! (there's always a but/butt) there was a recurring problem with power
boaters that just sticks in my craw everytime I think about the trip. I got
absolutely feed up with the discourtesy and poor boating skills of a high
percentage of the power boaters, both American and Canadian. I can cite
instance after instance where power craft should have slowed to no wake or
given more space and often created potentially dangerous conflicts where
none should have existed. Common courtesy seems to be left on the shore by
many/most of these jerks. It got so bad in some of the narrow canals that I
started taking video and was tempted to turn them in to the CG. I don't
know how it could be done by law, but there should be some way to hold these
( mainly 30+ foot) planning hull boats to a set of rules that will stop
them. The damage to the shoreline and the discomfort caused to other
boaters has to be just as important as the right to run around creating 3 to
5 foot wakes.

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

To email me, please remove the "FISH" from the net.

On 29 Sep 2003 22:34:14 -0500, noah
wrote:

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

This is true but it's always a judgement call and it's not uncommon to
be surprised by boats that are hidden beyond a bend or along shore.


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.

Yes,


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.

Yes again, this is mindless law at it's best, but remember that if you
throttled back to hull speed of perhaps 3 or 4 knots, you would leave
no wake at all.

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.

This speaks to my point regarding appropriate boats for the
conditions. Would you take that same jon boat out onto Lake Ontario
with a summer thunderstorm pending? I hope not. Should you take your
jon boat to a body of water that may experience a large power boat
wake? That's your call. If I see you in time I'll slow down but
there's no guarantee.

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.

Hull speed for a 36 footer is about 7 knots (1.32 x SQRT LWL where
LWL is waterline length). Above that speed the boat digs in and tries
to climb its own bow wave until it reaches planing speed which is well
above the canal limit so it never happens. Virtually all power boats
running at the canal speed limit are well over hull speed, and by
definition, creating a wake. The heavier the boat, the bigger the
wake.

In the Barge Canal, this can
flip a small boat,

It can flip a small boat anywhere which goes back to my point about
suitability. Would you take an open canoe into NY harbor and expect
no issues?

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.

The only sure way to avoid damage in a high traffic area is to use a
boat lift or mooring whips. Too many people don't do that. I grew up
on the Oswego canal back in the 50s and 60s when there was still a
significant amount of commercial traffic. You should have seen the
wakes that the barges and tugs created. If you went out in a canoe or
small boat, that was your problem.