New law...Wakesurfers must use rope

I need help. I have already sent an email to the Indiana DNR and am in the process of contacting all of the local marinas that sell wakeboarding boats. What else can I do? This makes me sick to my stomach. Are there any other states like this?

Ind. watersports to be restricted 7/1
Updated: Thursday, 23 Jun 2011, 2:58 PM EDT
Published : Thursday, 23 Jun 2011, 2:24 PM EDT

Myra McCain
INDIANAPOLIS (WANE) - The Indiana Department of Natural Resources announced Thursday that starting July 1, a new law will go into effect that will restrict wake boarding/surfing and teak surfing behind certain motorboats.

Teak surfing, or holding onto the swim platform while the boat is underway at any speed including running idle, will become illegal behind all motorboats powered by an inboard, inboard/outboard or outboard engine.

The same law will apply with wake boarding/surfing.

According to DNR Commander, Lt. Gary Whitaker, the new law was proposed after the state saw an increased number of carbon monoxide poisoning cases from teak surfing and propeller injuries from wake surfing.

Whitaker said this new law applies to activities that take place directly behind the boat in the wake where the wake is the means of propulsion to the individual.

Whitaker said if a person is skiing or tubing and is not directly behind the boat and the rope is the means of propulsion, then the law does not apply.

Whitaker also said wake surfing has increased the amount of damage to other vessels due to the fact that the boats are producing huge wakes. Those wakes then crash into boats and piers and end up causing secondary damage.

Violation of the new law could include up to $500 in fines and court costs, which estimate to be around $130

WOW...... such a bummer. Even with a huge petition, good luck. Sad to see things like this happen to a great sport.
Hopefully they can alter the law to be limited and protect inboard boats and FAE setups.

Please send this info/issue attn: Larry Meddock at:

WSIA Headquarters

P.O. Box 568512

Orlando, FL 32856-8512

info@wsia.net

Phone 407-251-9039

Fax 407-251-9039

some one else posted this on CC forum and from what they said it is only illegal behind I/O and outboard boats.

here is what they posted
www.in.gov/le...B/SB0532.2.html

And look at Chapter 13. Motorboat Watersports you will see the actual new law as written and taking effect July 1.

for some reason my link is not working but this is a copy/past
Sec. 3. An individual may not do the following:
(1) Operate a motorboat inboard or have the inboard engine of a motorboat run idle while an individual is holding onto the swim platform, swim deck, swim step, swim ladder or any
part of the exterior of the transom of a motorboat while the motorboat is underway at any speed.
(2) Operate a motorboat powered by an outboard motor or equipped with an outdrive unit while an individual is:
(A) holding onto the swim platform, swim deck, swim step, swim ladder or any portion of the exterior of the transom of a motorboat while the motorboat is underway at any speed;
(B) swimming, or floating on or in the wake directly behind a motorboat that is underway; or
(C) floating on a board on or in the wake directly behind a motorboat that is underway using the wake itself as the means of propulsion.
(3) Operate a motorboat with the number of individual riders on a towed device that exceeds the listed capacity on the towed device or the owner's manual.
Sec. 4. An individual who violates this chapter commits a Class C infraction.

wow, this is not good at all.... I"m in ohio... so we could be next... There is no reason for surfing to be banned, its perfectly safe when done behind the right boats.

We had a few tickets passed out here in VA on Lake Gaston where people were sited for reckless endangerment of a "swimmer" or something of that nature. Havent heard much about it in about two years though. We haven't been heckled about it. They were only writing it when the rider threw the rope in, because at that point you were a "swimmer."

Alright, we have A LOT of wakesurfers on this forum. Who here has ever seen or heard of someone having CO2 poisoning or injured while surfing?

Where do they get these statistics that justify this law? I think the last part of your post gives the source. BIG WAKES. Those old farts that have their million dollar homes on the lake and/or with the 30' cabin cruiser don't like us to make big wakes on THEIR lake. There is a lot of political power ($$$) on the shores of lakes....at least it's that way in Idaho.

Wakes are no bigger then those cabin cruisers..

I would think that the boat manufacturers that our inboard wakeboats lobby against these kind of laws ever being passed. Unfortunately all the money they spend on lobbying will get passed right on to us... so if you dont get slapped with a $150 fine, your gonna get bent over for a few extra grand on your next boat.

And I bet that "DNR Commader" guy is probably one of those people with the million dollar lake houses and 40 foot cabin cruiser who has to rough a couple waves 2 a year when he takes it out.

Originally Posted by idaho_hillbilly

Alright, we have A LOT of wakesurfers on this forum. Who here has ever seen or heard of someone having CO2 poisoning or injured while surfing?

Where do they get these statistics that justify this law? I think the last part of your post gives the source. BIG WAKES. Those old farts that have their million dollar homes on the lake and/or with the 30' cabin cruiser don't like us to make big wakes on THEIR lake. There is a lot of political power ($$$) on the shores of lakes....at least it's that way in Idaho.

The "Teak surfing" is where the CO2 deaths come into play. And yes there have been a number of these occur in the last years. In this case, combining the two drastically different activities has allowed them to further enforce the law on wakesurfing.

As to the Big Wakes comment, that is a very reasonable and sound concern. Large wakes in general can cause major erosional and structural issues. However without the proper proof that it is in fact the sport of wakesurfing that is resulting in these large wakes there is a very strong argument against laws like this.

It is not the million dollar homes that are the concern of water authorities, it is there billion dollar dams and flow regulation equipment as well as zoning laws and code that were written not taking into affect the size and frequency of the large waves created by boats that are designed to displace large volumes of water. Erosion being the other major concern wich can result in the silting in and shallowing of lakes, rock slides, and overall unsafe conditions. All of these things bring bad press and costly repairs and preventave measures into play.

As said above, large cabin cruisers displace more water than most wakesurf settups ever could. However some lakes that are not used to these type of waves are ill prepared to deal with the reprocusions. This does not give them any write to simply outlaw the activity in order to cover their ass.

I hope this doesn't spread to other DNR people, in-essence creating a ban all over... We need to head this off quickly, as wake surfing and teak surfing are completely different... I would be extremely pissed and disappointed if I could no longer wake surf... Especially when it is completely safe.

Good news. I just spoke with Lary Meddock at WSIA and he confirmed that this law only pertains to outboards and I/O's. Unfortunately there are a lot of misinformed CO's out there that think this law pertains to all boats, as evident by the news paper.

The WSIA was all over this about 2 weeks ago when they originally heard the news of this law being passed. They are in the process of working with the Indiana Boating Law Administrator to get a bulletin psted that let's people know inboards are exempt. He said the whole reason behind this law is to prevent platform dragging (he is trying to get rid of the term "teak surfing" because it sounds fun) which can lead to CO2 poisoning.

What is teak surfing anyways?

I'm just amazed that agencies are passing laws for unproven issues?!?! Are these boat really causing erosion? You know erosion has been happening for thousands of years....that how we get rivers and mountains. Maybe we should cancel winter because the spring runoff causes too much erosion.

The wake from a sacked out wakeboard boat running 22mph causes more damage then a surf boat going 11mph. Surf wake hits the shore at a slower roll. And Surfing with a rope is way more dangerous then surfing with out one.

I asume the problem is with the shore taking damage. Boats do not get damaged from rockin back and forth while being tied up. Unless their not properly moored.

good to hear its just for I\O's and out boards! Sounds like there needs to be some clarification!!!

Never heard of anyone having serious issues with CO2 while surfing. Sometimes riding with the wind on a breezy day I can smell it a little ( I know co2 has no smell, but you can smell the rest of the exhaust) but never could have gotten to the point of falling asleep.

Ban it for I/O's, that makes sense, its just stupid and dangerous to surf behind one. Its easy to enforce...LOOK at the boat, I know any one of us could tell an inboard vs. I/O or O from across the lake.

Anyone else think a unified national Wakesurf Association with dues paying members might be a good idea? So we can protect our sport and prove (if done properly) is safe, environmentally friendly, and by the way, really fun.

hell yes... something to keep an eye out

Great point on how holding on to the rope makes wakesurfing safer?

If they are worried about injuries, and shoreline erosion then lets ban pulling a tube! They cause more total wakes and issues than surfers.

I would be all for join/creating a wakesurfing association. We need to come together before the morons we elect into office put a stop to our sport. If we don't, we all will have really expensive tube pulling boats.

i guess no one read my post 4th one. it says only I/O and out board. i also posted in another thread recently that they just clarified that wakesurfing is fully legal in PA.

I read your post Rusty. It's the direct language from the bill. Thanks for posting. It seems quite clear. You can surf behind an inboard. Maybe that will even help used inboard prices.

Knowing the Indiana DNR like I do, they will probably try to enforce this on ANY boat. I understand they are trying to protect people from themselves, unfortunetly Govt thinks they need to legislate everything and make rules that limit our freedoms. ( Yea,and these type of things really makes us Govt. socialized medicine, they seem to run so many things well) I hope this does not spiral out of control and limit our choices of how we use our boats, equipment ect.... It only takes a few rules like this to wipe out a great sport and recreation all over the country. Anyone with any common sense should realize you don't wakesurf behind any boat that the prop is exposed behind the boat. You can't legislate common sense and intelligence, some just learn the hard way.

This is how they are interpreting the law in Virginia, even though it says nothing to that effect. Such bull****. We have to sneak around to surf now, harshing my gnar.