A friend of mine said it’s just a matter of time before wakesurfing is banned. Anybody have any solid information on this matter?

A while back, a model law was proposed and put in front of NASBLA (National Association of Boating Law Administrators) that if passed would mandate all water sports use a tow rope of no shorter than 20ft. This mostly had to do with deaths associated with TEAK Surfing (now called platform dragging). Wake surfing was by similar name, often times confused with TEAK surfing. A lot of people (including me) did a lot of work to fight this and educate the boating lawmakers about wake surfing, and its safety. To the best of my knowledge the 20 ft rope rule was removed from consideration and in its place, they made platform dragging and standing/sitting on the swim step while the boat is running the core issue.

I forgot to mention that my friend said he almost passed out surfing behind his friends Nautique. How bad is the carbon monoxide back there anyways? I have also seen some aftermarket exhaust systems. Do those side pipes and/or down pipes really help?

For the record, it wasn't a Nautique. It was a mid 90's Mastercraft Tristar, and yes, the exhaust was bad enough that I started to choke on it and get dizzy from it. Light headed enough that I felt I could have passed out. <BR> <BR>Also for the record, that's the only boat and only time I've had an experience like that so it could have been just that particular boat.

It's my understanding that during the "battle" to get the 20ft rope rule eliminated, they did multiple tests with the Coast Guard and people wearing CO detectors and surfing behind various boats. Again, this is just how I remember hearing it, but the results were you get less CO wake surfing than sitting in the back of the boat when it's idling. Clearly if a particular boat makes you feel sick when being behind it, probably best to surf behind a different boat. I have a Centurion Enzo with the SideSwipe exhaust. I highly recommend it. It really works well (when it's cold out and you can see the exhaust you can really tell it's far away from the rider it is). I think Centurion will sell SideSwipe to other boat manufactures so it can be retro-fitted.

Here's a good paper on CO exposure: <BR><a href="http://safetynet.smis.doi.gov/fae.pdf" target="_blank">http://safetynet.smis.doi.gov/fae.pdf</a> <BR> <BR>In summary, boating through a 5 mph/no wake zone will expose people sitting at the back of the boat to 1,137 ppm CO (nearly 7 times the reccommeded levels). Wakesurfing, on the other hand, exposes the surfer to only 17 ppm CO, well within the safe limits. <BR> <BR>MAYBE THEY SHOULD BAN 5 MPH/NO WAKE ZONES!!!:-)

I've surfed behind a nautique and not once have I felt the effects of CO exposure. Now the Coronas with limes, had some impact on my gross motor skills.<img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/rofl.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>And yes Eh Brah...they should BAN 5MPH/NO WAKE ZONES...good butter is to be had in some of these areas!