unintended compliments from the park ranger

So i was out pulling some family behind my 247 yesterday at Sterling Res. in No/East CO when I was chased down by the park ranger. He looked furious, and I honestly had no idea why. I dropped my daughter in the middle of her set. So he pulls up to me and tells me I have violated at least 4 laws of the lake. I told him I'd been boating for 10 years and that i didn't know of any that I had violated. So here's what I did wrong- 1st violation- the fishermen on the shore complained about the waves that I sent crashing into their little fishing area, #2- an older lady on the launching dock almost got knocked over from my wake when we went by, #3- some vacationers on the beach said the waves on the beach were too big, and #4- a pontoon boat with fishermen on it said I came too close.
I was perplexed at 3 of the 4 allegations. I agreed to stay farther away from the offended, held my tongue, and got out of allegedly $700 of fines. The only violation I could agree with was with the frickin' pontoon boat, he trolled over from across the lake right into our path, where we had been going back and forth on for quite some time, and plunked down right in the middle of the glassy spot. I didn't get anywhere near dangerously close to him, but just enough to let him know he was in the way. So he went and narked. The Park ranger said he had the right of way because he was in front of me. BS.
So later in the day I was thinking why I had never been stopped before for these gross crimes I had committed. Bingo, the 247. I started watching how my wake was affecting the fishermen dingies and other boats as I went by. Even at 200ft or more, the wake was very disruptive. My previous boat was a little more benign, and I guess I need to be more thoughtful with whom I share the new wake with. I just wanted to thank the park ranger for basically telling me my wake was annoyingly big to fisherman (info I will store for a future useful event) and wanted to thank Malibu for creating, even with only the front ballast filled, a sweet wake. Good thing we only surf at 10-11 mph.Ride on!

hahahahahaha
nice
props to malibu!

hmm,
funny in WI sailboats and other non-powered vessels have the right-of-way first, then followed by people towing watersports, and then pontoons and other craft. Sounds like he was "fishing" for a reason to bother you

I hate that! You're riding the exact same line for hours and some fisherman or pontoon boat pulls up--even though you know they saw you riding a mile off--and expects you to change your course. A few weeks ago, we woke up at dawn to ride the dam before the fisherman got there and, a few hours later, a pontoon boat anchors right on the rocks; within minutes, the entire boat (including their kids who couldn't have been any older than 5) was flicking us off and yelling f bombs. Restraint got the better of me and we just waved and smiled, but I REALLY wanted to pull up to them and say, "Hey redneck, next time take it easy on the brewskies and you'll be able to wake up early enough to beat me out here. And be a good parent, jackass."

recently moving to Missouri has taught me something. Damn fishermen think the lake is for their use only. They are the biggest bunch of panty wastes on the lake. Such cry babies. Even on a big lake like Table Rock they complain.

Gotta give you props Festivus on holding your tongue. Dont know if I could of. I woulda askes the ranger to point out the code that supported his violations....and then I prob. got the $700 fine.

yeah, my blood was boiling, but my brother, sister and kids were on the boat so i was really really trying to be an example. The ranger told me that even though I was out of the no-wake zone, my wake was causing wake to be in the no-wake zone. Which seems pretty obvious, you can do that in a canoe from across the lake. Another ranger on the lake stopped us the day before because it looked like we had too many people on the boat, when we were actually all on the port side for a nice surf wake. He was pretty cool though, and very surprised that the plate was 16 pass. or 2400 lbs. He left us alone.

I almost made a stop to that pontoon boat with the fishermen, but again, I don't think anything positive would have come from it, and I didn't think my kids needed to hear some frikin hangover suffering redneck swearing at me. I should have given him a full wake experience with a quick turn near the side of his boat as I was leaving the lake. I guarantee that'd induce rage and some #1 signals from him. Hope he caught nothing but a floating brown trout from one of my kids.

I was out on the river yesterday and experienced a bit of boat rage....
We have a fairly large river that isnt normally calm near downtown except in one pass covered by a series of islands. It's called skiers pass (soon to be renamed wakeboarders pass) Nothing bothers me more than the pontoon boats who cruise in and anchor. The pass is only 400 feet wide...and when we fall, we always get asked to slow down because the wake is disrupting their card games or whatever.
Another big problem, these rednecks (see my profile pic) on their ancient cuddy cabin I/O's cruise through as fast as their rustbuckets can go. ACDC screeching out of their 3 speakers (the other one is blown) while the fat wife is slurping down her natty lights..

anyways - last complaint. There is this guy who always cruises through (another beautiful I/O) with three tubes attached to the back and his mullet headed kids holding on. Of course he doesnt speed straight through but swerves violently back and forth trying to dump his kids. By the time the waves are gone, he is flying back again.... then, if one of the kids fall, he doenst stop to pick him up, just keeps going. I think there must be a family contest to see who can hold on the longest. Of course this gives the pontoon boaters something else to bitch at.

I wish everyone would just learn from eachother. IE the pontooners find another cove to play their games, the tubers stick to the rough water (I imagine that would be more fun anyway...) the rednecks boats would finally all break down or sink, and we would have our pass to wakeboard in...

well- sorry for thelong thread..... gasp*

Man is way to funny. I hear what you guys are saying. I love people is 2 doller boats

I just love I/Os with multiple inflatables in tow. I think it is some redneck sport. I agree, the rough water would be more challenging, but I think half of the objective is to irritate others.

You would have thunk that with gas near $3.00/gal it would drive some of these cheap arse boaters to stay home.

Chris
Get the Grip you Deserve
www.wakejunky.com

fisherman are "FAIR GAME"

They have lakes they are for non motorized boats just for them, they get in the way then they suffer. Last time I checked there are no painted solid yellow lines on the lakes!!!

I think this whole thread just made me realize why I loved watersports in Kansas so much. Unless you are on a major lake on one of the three big weekends, the chance of running into a water patrol boat on the lake is next to nothing. I hate feeling like I'm being watched over by big brother out on the lake.

I totally agree with the fishing comments. We have a slalom course on a small 500 acre public lake outside my hometown where I used to always ski. We were have fisheman troll into the course while we were sitting shortening the rope at the end of the course, then just stay there to piss us off. It is very hard not to confront them, but I also agree that nothing good ever comes from that, though sometimes if you are not out with kids it can be a good sort of entertainment!

you can believe it would have been handled differently with a different crew. Especially when I saw the pontoon boat floating around in my glassy area later that day. Different indeed.

Do you guys know that it's the law that you are responsible for your wake? If your wake damages something, you are responsible! A guy here on the Parker Strip in Arizona had to pay over $13,000 in damages which included damaged docks, damaged boats and a damaged lift. I think it was Anderson V. The State of Arizona; 2005 originally and when the state won everyone else sued.

Just as long as you remember that you are responsible for you own wake, no matter where, happy boating. This is why there are at least six different laws being written and lobbied for against wakeboarding or ballast systems. Don't be the guy that gets us banned from the lake!

I had a bunch of fisherman blockade the smooth water in one of our coves. We were able to make it in - but they blocked our exit. I actually had to stop and drop my rider. So, we waited momentarily for them to move - and then did a nice big start which undoubtably sent rollers their way no doubt rocking their world. They shouldn't of stopped us in the first place...

Bo- believe me dude, it was very mildly affecting anyone, it just gave some grumpy old farts something to complain about. And if they are going to lobby against wake enhanced boats, they need to be able to id an enhanced wake from natural rollers. I only had my bow ballast filled. No wedge, no mid or rear ballast. At our home lake, Chatfield, about 1/2 the lake is bouyed off as no wake, and those areas are void of fishermen. They all go to the areas right in the middle of the designated ski pattern. It's all about trying to aggravate and annoy. And Kilo, I have had the same type of blockade, whether intentional or not, many times. If they stay out of the ski patterns, I leave them alone. i leave them alone anyways, regardless of where they are. Just be prepared for a nice trailing wake if you come into the ski/board pattern.

Over the 4th weekend we had a hick take a running start at us and cast a lure at us. Went over the bow of the boat, and hit my brother in the head. Had 10 people in the boat, 1/2 were small children. It took everything I had to keep from going back. Instead we went back to the lake house and called the sheriff on them. They were cited with a Misdeamenor Assault Charge. We were at least 75 to 100 ft from their pier, and its a tall, steel peer that doesn't move when wakes hit it.

we had a fisherman buzz the boat once at 50mph one while we were changing riders, i.e. one was in the water. we proceeded to chase the old guy down to the (only) boat launch, with another boat full of additional friends following closely behind. We let him know we were not pleased with his actions, pretended like we were calling the police on the cell phones as he ran to his truck to get outta there. When he got out of his truck after backing his trailer in, he had a handgun visibly sticking out of the back of his pants. I proceeded to take photos of his license plates, and him getting in and out of the truck, with the gun in plain sight. In florida, displaying a gun in such fashion is equivalent to pointing it at someone. We could have gotten this guy put away for 10 years, but we were content in letting him know our displeasure.

To make matters more interesting, his hat blew off as he raced to the launch. It was a hat for the local voulenteer fire dept. Meaning he very likely knew the firearm laws.

We never saw him again at that lake.

another time i was riding with a new boat driver pulling me. he went much, much too close to a fisherman, and the wake actually got his boat wet on the inside. I threw the handle, and proceeded to go make sure the guy was all right, and see if anything (electronics, etc) was damaged in his boat, made an apology, and offered to pay for any damages. fortunately, everything was ok, and the fisherman appreciated my concern.

I am an avid fisherman myself, so I can respect the fishermen that are out there. I do find from experience that most species of freshwater fish are actually more active with increased boat traffic, likely due to the additional oxygen in the water and additional food that is stirred up by wave action

tim- interesting. Maybe that is why they like to get so close to our sweet spots. I was thinking of ways to repel the fishermen, some Britny Spears on the stereo, smoke bombs, or maybe a fat hooker pole dancing. Actually that last thought may reel them in...