Etiquette or????

(wakeme884) · (wakeme884) **Join Date: Jul 2004** 07-01-2005, 8:11 PM

Ok, so here's the dealio-Im pulling my friend on a skate around 15mph. I run out of area to ride (no ski zone ahead). Since I dont want to break any rules I make a left turn and follow the buoys going counterclockwise across the lake. I look off to my right (no ski area)and here comes one of those "go fast cause I have no penis but look how big my boat is" eliminators. He goes in front of me, raises his arm up like wtf?, slams the throttle and then hits his jetovater completely blinding me and of course soaking everything on my boat. My question is-was I wrong and should I have dropped my rider to let this go by (even though there was plenty of room further ahead of me for him to turn slightly). I dont want to be "that other guy" that doesnt know the rules. Ive always thought that if you had someone on a rope you should be given somewhat of a rightaway. thanks for the input/opinions....

wakepirate 07-01-2005, 8:51 PM

If I'm not mistaken, in North Carolina, someone with a rider has the right of way....unless it's a sailboat, or large vessel. But now ya got me curious to find out more. If it were me and my friends....we would have dropped our rider....and chased him for property damage(wet my cell phones etc).....we would call it "property damage control" or "self defense" and lit him up. That's just careless and wreckless of him.....unless you took this turn unexpectedly and were actually being careless yourself. A driver has to be very aware of what's going on in the water. Rules are rules...but the driver is responsible for watching others who aren't aware of the rules also. That's your friends life at stake....so regardless of the water laws...people are going to do dumb •••••••• always be on the lookout all around you.

tribal 07-02-2005, 8:06 AM

The rules usually [I know they do where I live] give the right of way to the boat towing[less maneuverable].That being said standard rules are the boat with the other vessel on it's port side has the right of way.It sounds like from your description he approached you from your starboard side.You should still have the right of way from towing but maybe the other guy didn't understand that.Uneducated boaters abound everywhere.

(ghostrider_2) · (ghostrider_2) **Join Date: Aug 2004** 07-02-2005, 10:12 AM

get your rider back in the boat, and begin the chase. catch the mo-fo and beat his ass then make him clean up your boat!

(jeff206) · (jeff206) **Join Date: May 2004** 07-02-2005, 10:57 AM

yeah, good luck catching him though...

(big_ed_x2) · (big_ed_x2) **Join Date: Jul 2004** 07-02-2005, 11:02 AM

You guys need to calm down and have more patience before you jump on a wrong persons boat and get beaten up yourself.You got your boat wet,you got a black eye and your ego is bruised as well,just because a stupid mofo doesn't know the rules and is not curtious to other boaters.

We need more understanding and love for other fellow boaters.Either tho they are jackasses,educate them,don't start fights!!

(Message edited by big_ed_x2 on July 02, 2005)

(twakess) · (twakess) **Join Date: Mar 2002** 07-02-2005, 1:03 PM

Like Ed said you need to respect the other boater no matter how uneducated he is. I prob would of droped my rider. You don't know who the other boater is or if they have a gun in the boat or are short fused. Look what happened on a few months ago and one of our fellow wakeworlders go jumped on his boat and beat him up.

(salmon_tacos) · (salmon_tacos) **Join Date: Jan 2003** 07-02-2005, 1:14 PM

As far as a boat with a skier/boarder/skater having the right-of-way, I am unaware of any jurisdictions that have that as a rule. People sometimes mistakenly apply a federal statute, which gives right-of-way to towing vessels, to a watersports tow boat. The Coast Guard does not even apply this rule to boats that are towing another boat alongside. The application depends on "severely impaired" maneuverability and is generally only applied to a tug pulling an ocean liner and stuff like that.

When you're pulling a skier, you are not restricted in your maneuverability. You can turn and stop just as easily.

The issues really distinguishing a towboat from another boat have to do with politeness. It's a lot more inconvenient for a towboat to slow down, turn, or stop than it is for another boat. It seems like most people would realize this and give them some room. Unfortunately, some people are just idiots/jerks. Just realize that you are responsible for avoiding a collision and towing a rider doesn't give you any special rights. Feel free to be angry though. There are plenty of perfectly legal ways to be a dick so just because it's legal doesn't mean you have to be happy about it.

(wakeme884) · (wakeme884) **Join Date: Jul 2004** 07-02-2005, 2:31 PM

Thanks for the great comments/info. Apparently I was in the right and the guy was just a DK. Even though I was in the right, I didnt push the issue, nor did I chase him down and beat his a$$. Boats are too expensive to be doing that kind of crap, so I blew it off, wiped down the boat, and continued to enjoy the rest of the afternoon. It takes more than one a$$ to ruin my day on the lake.

(mikeski) · (mikeski) **Join Date: Aug 2003** 07-02-2005, 2:47 PM

Take his numbers call the sheriff, they don't take these things mildy. If he was close enough to soak your boat he will get cited. It's probably a $1000 fine.

A few years ago a skier and a penis boat got into a scuffle just outside of Discovery Bay (in front of the first little beach about a half mile from the first left on the way to railroad sloughs). The penis boat ended up running over the ski boat and killing it's passenger. It's just better to avoid them or let the authorities handle it.

(thane_dogg) · (thane_dogg) **Join Date: Jun 2002** 07-02-2005, 3:38 PM

good post Ed. I agree with what Ed said.

I don't understand what Eliminator guy was so upset about.

mile_high_rider 07-03-2005, 10:22 AM

unless you are on the coast, he is catchable, the water has to end some where. let it go. his small penis should be enough to make you feel better. we all need a laugh. "its soooooo cute"

natxbrotha 07-03-2005, 2:10 PM

so you were driving the line along the shore then??? cuz if you were driving plenty far from the shore and he was driving closer to the shore and you turned and crossed his line, then its somewhat your fault even though they have to yield to boats towing people. its kind of like a car, you just cant cut in front of people. but if you have disputes, just call lake patrol. its easier and less painfull. but thats just my nickles worth of wisdom or opinion.

(pirate) · (pirate) **Join Date: Jun 2005** 07-04-2005, 11:53 AM

IF YOU were driving in counter clockwise circles or clockwise circles for that matter then yes you deserved it. lol (j/k)

o.k now that i got that out of the way, do you know the proper way to tow a wakeboarder. your line should look like this.

0--------------------O

please make the neccesary adjustments. thank you.

jws 07-05-2005, 10:52 AM

I think the real point here is that he hit you with the Jet. As this is like trim on a stern drive he does not have to have it up. In the up position it increases top speed but decrease the overall manuverability of the boat. So he did hit you on purpose!! Whether you were in the right or wrong you definety should have called the patrol. Basically he physically assaulted you. Not sure if that is how they would look at it legally but I am sure the Sheriff or Patrol would have given him some kind of ticket.

(jarrod) · (jarrod) **Join Date: May 2003** 07-05-2005, 11:05 AM

"I don't understand what Eliminator guy was so upset about."

He was trying to set a new speed record and you blew his pass. DAMN YOU!

(stephan) · (stephan) **Join Date: Nov 2002** 07-05-2005, 12:20 PM

Why didn't you just flip a 180 degree turn & go right back down your old pass? That's how you get the smoothest water available. IF EVERYONE RUNS THEIR COURSE CONSISTENTLY THEN YOU DON"T HAVE TO DEAL WITH YOUR ROLLERS ON THE OTHERSIDE OF THE LAKE!! Sorry it just makes me crazy!