Jet Skis? Problem or Not?

I really don't like jet skis. They follow my boarders so close that i have to stop the boat. Any suggestions other than scarring the hell out of them by going back and forth there wake right up close to them (did and the person never came back).if there are no other suggestions at least state whether or not you like jet skis in the area. i need fuel for the fire, summers getting close.

stopping the boat and yelling at them does the trick... but it is an inconvience if your pulling a boarder... I hate when boats do that too... We stop and tell them to stay away... any other suggestions please tell

I can not stand PWC. Last year on the delta my buddy almost got taken out by one. Then had a few more incidents. They are ignorant and follow to close(not saying they all do). Yes there are some ignorant boaters as well, but they aren't jumping my wake over and over again.
Remeber don't boat with an offensive moto, boat with a defensive one. It can save your life or your Boarders life too.

Also just turn the CF# in to the sheriff.

(Message edited by ridn9high on March 03, 2004)

I'm a fan of PWC's, but I only really wakeboard on the cable so they are not a prob for me. If I were driving and one was jumping dangerously close I guess I would just stop they boat.
I could imagine how annoying and dangerous that would be though

the problem is you can't stop most of the time cause the are so close if you stop they are going to hit your boarder

You can take an old ski rope and cut it up into about 6" to 1' long sections, then dump a bunch of em into your wake. Hopefully one or two will get picked up by the pwc intake

Oh yeah if you think pwcs are bad how about cabin cruisers

The problem isn't the jet skis it's the people that own them. There are idiots in the water, even in wakeboard boats.

Stop the boat and if they keep going chase them down. We always have "tourist" PWCs on the weekends and I have no problem reaming them out if they are being A-Holes. Most of the time they just don't realize what they are doing. I say paintball guns should be factory mounted onto the tower to take out PWCs.

I was pulling my girlfriend and there was a jet skier pulling a skier with no spotter. My girlfriend fell and the jet skier was looking back at his rider and came about 5 feetfrom hitting her. I turned the boat around really fast and started to yell at the other drive. The think that really pissed me off was the fact that he acted like he didn't even hear he, picked his rider up and went in. We don't live on a very big lake (about 70 acres) and there is not that much traffic on it. I don't mind the pwc's when I am not out there, but once I am on the water rider or having a friend ride, stay away from me.

Here is what I do, I tell the driver to keep driving and I (the rider) do all the cussing and hand signals to the PWC rider. That way the boat does not have to suddenly stop and I keep riding. Works every time. Noneya, did you ever find that guy? I know you made a post about it a while back.

That guy in noneya's Pic has got to be a lunatic. I have had close calls, but never something that huge or that close.

I was on Travis coming out of a cove where we launch sometimes, and a PWC almost hit me by crossing 10 feet in front of me from the wrong direction. I chased him down and gave him a good rear end chewing explaining how what he did would get him killed, and my boat damaged, and he needs to get some boater education because if you see red on a bow light you are wrong, and need to yeild.

I agree that there are idiots on all kinds of watercraft, it just seems that the types that buy PWC are the biggest majority of idiots. I might be that a lot of people satrt out with pwc's since they are so cheap, and by the time they sink some real coin into a real boat they learn to be a little bit more respectful.

On the other hand I am know to throw my SAN around like a jet ski when the wife is either parking the trailer or getting it.

PWC i cant stand em, and Mark A. like the paintball gun idea, nice.

OK this is my soluition.....
One time a PWC came so close to my firend wakeskatin that he fell. Seriously he was really close. So I dropped by my house, realy quick picked up my paintball gun and headed back out
I decided that I wouldnt do anything unless he did it again. So wouldnt you know that he did it again. I just quietely and calmly stoped the boat shut the engine off and grabbed my paintball gun. The guy came over I guess to appologise but as soon as he started staring down the barrel he decided to split. Well that didnt work too well for him because I light his A** up. Fully automatic gun = no chance for PWC and rider. He was gettin hit sooo bad he jumped off the waverunner and stayed in the water behind his waverunner where we couldnt hit him but...... its his waveruner that took the brunt of it in the end. Dont recomend doing this unless it gets this bad. THINK SMART NOT LIKE ME..LOL

thats classic man, i love it.

If you want to ride a " Jet-Ski" take it to the Ocean where all you PWC fans can hang out there and do something cool like trying to jump the jetty rocks...good luck!

I would say PWC's have the biggest percentage of uneducated boaters piloting them, but I don't think they should be banned off lakes or other places. I'm obviously biased as I grew up riding them.
Keep in mind that there are plenty of bad boat drivers and I'm sure there is a good amount of people that would love to get wakeboarders and there boats off the water for a reason or another.

I'm not defending the PWC riders..there is no excuse for jumping the wake of a boat pulling someone, but there must be some solution other than kicking them out.
I do like the paintball gun idea.

If it is pissin me off when i am ridin i let go with some speed while i am lookin at them and then say something to em. Nothin mean, at first, just asking em to back off and stuff because they are too close. And it usually goes pretty good because durin these conversations there is a boat load of my friends getting closer and closer so they usually dont want to keep the conversation going to long

Just remember the paintballing thing will put you in jail. 3 years ago a few buddy and i got hauled to the station for shooting(signs, cows, cats, cars, buildings, birds, buses, and many other objects we could find). Well the police officer said if we had shot a person we would probably go to jail for a few years(no good).
Just to let you know they consider a paintball gun as a firearm.
Like i said previously turn in their state # on the watercraft and the sheriff will write them up. I have done that twice now.

I turned in the numbers but dont know if anything happened after that.

I was a USCG investigator and have the unfortunate duty to investigate deaths on PWC's when they tangled with commercial traffic. Here is the common threads: Under 30, most under 18 YOA; never have taken a Power Squadron or Coast Guard Auxiliary course; did not understand the Navigation Rules and the duties to the pilot of a vessel; alcohol in 50% of the cases.

Most of the jerks out there do not realize that they are piloting a vessel under the Navigation Rules, typically the Inland Rules. They have no idea who has right of way, sound signals, passing, overtaking, and general civil behaviour. I have yelled, chased people down, turned people in, and thrown the phamphlet at them. Some are suprised and try to do right. Some remain jerks.

The worst offender was an 8 year old boy who rammed another boat. The boy's dad, who was drunk, rented a PWC for the day and thought of it as a motorized scooter for the water. The kid survived. I was so angry, the dad almost did not.

Try education first. Report second - most state agencies will only prosecute with a video tape, though. You have to make your own decision after that.

When wer you in the CG. My brother was based in Savannah and is still there. Retired now though.

1992-2003
MSO Wilmington, NC
MSO Port Arthur, TX
MSO Detroit, MI
Group Grand Haven, MI
D9 (m)

well i am going to have to make sure i always have the camera on the boat from now on, I don't like jet skis on my wake especialy when i am pulling someone. I say prosecute them, and teach them a lesson.

If you are not pulling someone and they are not dangerously close and not like on your tail for half an hour. I would say to try to talk to them before turning them in.

If I was out on the water and a boat with a nice wake was coming by (around me was mostly yaght type boats...no wakeboard boats around) I would probably take a couple passes at it from a ways back and then be on my way.

I'm just curious if you all are against all wave jumping or just when you are pulling someone or if they are just being extremely dangerous about it.

If i am pulling someone don't come within 100 yards. If someone puts another boarder in danger, whether its in my boat or someone elses I will say something. We all hate tailgaters and this is more dangerous and pisses me off more. And if i am on the move without a boarder my wake isnt that big so you would want to jump it.

I mounted a potatoe cannon on my ski pylon. I like to load it up with road flares and launch them at people following too close. Kind of hard to actually hit them but one day.......

.........well it's a good idea at least.

pretty much when i am pulling or if they are coming to close to my boat, mostly when i am pulling though, they are idiots and like to drive close to riders. i will cut a jet ski off if they are riding behind a rider from another boat

When they endaner my riders or my boat, they gotta go. I want no boats or jet skis in my wake while pulling riders. If they are just jumping the wake from a decent distance, then I will sometimes enhance the wake for them.

Smart and safe, good.

Dumb and reckless, bad.

As I live in Norway jetskis are actually forbidden, but have had a boat run over the line just before a friend was about to jump in. Luckily it didnt get caught in the propeller. The guy was doing about 30 knots and didnt pay any attention to us.

Here's one you'll all love, how about when the stupid PWC goes zipping between your rider, your boat and the shore! Yeah, had it happen. Was pulling my little bro who was just learning, we were way back on a secluded cove, close to the shore to be out of the way (not to close to endanger the boat or rider) when this jack ass on a PWC comes flying up on my leftside, sees the wake from boat and that I'm pulling a rider. He then proceeds to turn in a big arc to the left away from me, cut in right behind my bro, jump the wake (about 5ft away from my bro), so he is now inbetween my boat and the shore. He guns it, runs by me and get ready..... the stupid S.O.B. cuts accross my bow about 20ft right in front of me! As goes by looking at us and grinning like were supposed to be impressed, my buddy straight throws one of those little mini igloo ice chests at him, while everyone else is screaming at the idiot, and I show him how I think he's #1.

Talk about scary and really pissing you off!