"FRANKWBELL" wrote ...
It does here, too.

It was that way when I grew up in Louisiana also... I would suspect that it
is that way in a lot of the country...

And over the past three years we have had several fatal
boating collisions in Delaware and New Jersey as a result.
And those are just the ones that made the news.

I would also hazard to guess that there is a greater percentage of boaters
who drink while operating than there are car drivers who do the same thing
because it is basically part of the boating culture... In most cases, being
slightly inebriated on the water is going to have a less serious effect than
doing it on the pavement... Speeds tend to be slower, plus it's difficult to
drink while travelling over rough water without spilling your drink... I've
tried using a straw for my beer, but it just doesn't work / taste right --
too much foam... For the most part, you tend not to be operating your boat
in the immediate vicinity of other boats, so the penalty for being not
perfectly straight in your track is less severe (unlike not staying in your
lane on the highway)... There are always those who operate their boat (or
any other type of vehicle) beyond their abilities... As long as you are
careful and don't go to extremes, a few beers while boating is no big
deal...

I like my whiskey.

To each his own... I've never really developed a taste for the whiskey /
bourbon / scotch type of drinks... I hear that wine drinking and sailing are
somewhat linked... I guess they go slow enough that they can put drinks in
glasses that would spill in smaller / faster boats...

I would also hazard to guess that there is a greater percentage of boaters
who drink while operating than there are car drivers who do the same thing
because it is basically part of the boating culture... In most cases, being
slightly inebriated on the water is going to have a less serious effect than
doing it on the pavement...

"In most cases" is the problem. "In most cases" a drunk driver doesn't kill
anyone, but there are still plenty of cases where they do. While boats are
slower and there is more space between them, boats operate in an environments
that are far less forgiving once trouble shows up.

Just say no.

On topic: I think a Sea Doo sport boat is a great first boat. They're simple,
safe in reasonable conditions, and not hard to operate. A single engine model
is probably easiest, but even dual engine models aren't hard to handle. Don't
rule out the other brands like Sugar Sand and Yamaha. The one caution: The
earlier and current smaller jet powered boats have very shallow, slap-happy
hulls that are punishing in anything but smooth water.


-- Rich Stern
www.nitroowners.com - The Nitro and Tracker Owners Web Site
www.mypontoon.com - The Pontoon Boat Web Site
www.fishingreportdatabase.com - The Fishing Report Database
www.mysporttrac.com - The Sport Trac Web Site

"Rich Stern" wrote ...
While boats are slower and there is more space between
them, boats operate in an environments that are far less
forgiving once trouble shows up.

I'm not saying that people should drink to the point of being totally
****-faced... I'm just saying that a 6-pack of beer or two spread over an
entire day on the lake fishing does not make you an unsafe boater... Of
course, this depends upon your tolerance for alchohol... At least with
boating, we can keep our speed down and it doesn't necessarily back up the
people coming up behind us...

On topic: I think a Sea Doo sport boat is a great first boat. They're
simple,
safe in reasonable conditions, and not hard to operate. A single engine
model
is probably easiest, but even dual engine models aren't hard to handle.
Don't
rule out the other brands like Sugar Sand and Yamaha. The one caution:
The
earlier and current smaller jet powered boats have very shallow,
slap-happy
hulls that are punishing in anything but smooth water.

I've found that my 1998 Sugar Sand Mirage is quite punishing in 3-4 ft
seas... If you can get the speed right, you can skim across the tops of the
waves, but every once in awhile, you'll find that rogue wave / trough that
lets you drop 6-8 ft... They call it a 16 ft boat in their adds, but they
get that figure by adding in the length of the swim platform that overhangs
the jet drive... Without that, I believe it is more like 14 ft...

One thing that makes jet boats a little more interesting is that once your
engine is no longer producing thrust, your stearing capabilities have
virtually disappeared... It's not like an outboard where you still have the
outboard acting as a rudder even when the engine has quit running... What
this means is that throttling back significantly and trying to turn might
very well keep you going straight...

In article , "Grumman-581"
writes:

It's not like an outboard where you still have the
outboard acting as a rudder even when the engine has quit running..

Speaking as an outboarder, it's not much of rudder once you throttle down. A
little bit, but not much.

Frank Bell

On 09 Jul 2003 19:31:00 GMT, (Rich Stern) wrote:

"In most cases" is the problem. "In most cases" a drunk driver doesn't kill
anyone, but there are still plenty of cases where they do. While boats are
slower and there is more space between them, boats operate in an environments
that are far less forgiving once trouble shows up.

I can recall two fatal collisions in recent years here in Iowa. One
was, in fact, caused by a drunk, who simply ran down a guy, and kept
going. Hit the man in the head with the sterndrive. The other case the
cops were running at high speed close to shore which is against the
law. They ran flat out into a designated anchorage and killed a guy in
his bunk, and tried to blame him for it. Said he wasn't showing
lights, but they are not required in an designated anchorage.

Casady

On Jun 16, 9:14*am, Richard Casady

The other case the
cops were running at high speed close to shore which is against the
law. They ran flat out into a designated anchorage and killed a guy in
his bunk, and tried to blame him for it. Said he wasn't showing
lights, but they are not required in an designated anchorage.

Casady


didn't that happen just last year?

In article , "Grumman-581"
writes:

There are always those who operate their boat (or
any other type of vehicle) beyond their abilities... As long as you are
careful and don't go to extremes, a few beers while boating is no big
deal...

The same applies to driving. The danger is those who don't know when to stop.
And that's too many of us.


I like my whiskey.

To each his own... I've never really developed a taste for the whiskey /
bourbon / scotch type of drinks

(grin) Your loss.

... I hear that wine drinking and sailing are
somewhat linked... I guess they go slow enough that they can put drinks in
glasses that would spill in smaller / faster boats...


ROFL!

Frank Bell