Lake with "no ballast" rules

I was just checking my lake POA guidelines and it said no ballast on boats.... does anyone else live on lakes with these rules? I have ballast in my boat and there are other wake boats on the lake.... anyone ever gotten stopped for this?

A bunch of blue hairs run the POA btw... made a bunch of rules last year to protect the fisherman, whatever the eff that means...

Im in the same boat as you. No ballast or wake enhancing devices. You can run a deck boat full of fatties at 8 mph, but can't run 3 people in a boat with some ballast. We may or may not a little weight in the boat. It just depends on how strict and how smart they are. The most important thing is be careful how you carry yourselves while out on the lake. We have helped out in a couple situations on the water, and are on good terms with the patrol. We also try not to rock the skeeters too bad.

Nice: Note to self... stay away from the skeeters! On my lake they are everywhere!

Our lake has gone one better by stating no devices that can cause a "dangerous wake". They are looking specifically for fatsacks, ballast tanks, and "drag devices". The penalties range, but one is losing your lake privileges. It is a small (150 acre) lake with far too many boats if you ask me. But the pontooners are taking a stab at also making the lake no wake from 7pm on instead of the usual dusk time.

What do you do about it? Either you choose to break the rules, follow the rules and ride a smaller wake, or you go somewhere else. There are not many other places to go...or that number of places is also shrinking. I think you are right though, a lot more has to do with courtesy over complaining.

Get some big firend that don't ride! Then you are just hanging out and having fun!

I haven't checked around my area and I guess I should do that. Is this sort of information on the DNR sites or is this not common everywhere?

Mine was in the annual "Lake Rules" that the POA sends out to all home owners.

Greg, i hear ya on the deck boat with tons a people at 8mph, that stuff happens on my lake all the time. Bow way up in the air chompin out a huge wake....

Just hide lead, popbags, or something else compact. I have about 15 pop bags hide completly out of view under the floor and under hard mounted seat areas. I can open up my storage, you see nothing because it's all under the floor. It does require a little disassembly, but it may be worth it for you guys.

A couple fat friends would do the trick as well.

I've managed to hide right at 400 lbs of metal in a MC Sportstar (Same layout as MC X7). It is enough for me to have a good time and I can do inverts with it. Im for sure you guys with the bigger v-drives can get away with much more.

lots of batteries, big amps, and subwoofers

I wonder if this is a combination of too many uptight people and drivers who are idiots. I know we've all seen the power turners and the people who just have no regard for anyone else on the water. It makes us all look bad when you get a boat full of drunken morons swamping the smaller boats and the people at the ramp because they just don't have any regard for anyone else, including other wakeboats. All it takes is a couple of these people and you give the "blue hairs" and the "Skeeters" a way to nail us to the wall. Which is what they wanted to do anyway. Look at what has already happened with all of the lakes banning the jet skis because so many people are just stupid when they get on one and all of the accidents they have had. I hope our community keeps its head up so they don't have a reason to do that to us.

Yeah, the batteries has to be an easy way of adding useful ballast.

how do I go about getting jet skis banned on my lake?

cordless drill, dark outfit, lack of sleep

Yah, put out an add in your local paper: Free beer to watch me wakeboard, load em up in the boat!

I'm just wondering, what happens when you break the rules. Who enforces them and what do you get? In Florida, No One owns a waterway, unless it's man-made on private property and permitted. I'm wondering, because if it is a private lake with no access, what can they do? Send a letter, like my HO Association does when I leave the boat in the driveway too long? If thats it, dont worry about it...

I'M all about the beer,hell I could bring 2 or 3 more.

Art - thats what I do too. we had an old bluehair try to run over our rope as we slowed down and turned for our fallen rider. his boat didn't leave the house for 2 years.

Enforcement comes down to a few things:
What can they do anyway? In my case, it was a small ticket. Then an appearance before a board. which I have been their "guest of honor" before. not a big deal.

Will they know it when they board your vessel?
usually they're looking for sacs. (Imagine a younger cat explaining to the cottontops how/why we fill our boats with water...) So lead, batts, sand, whatever. has been fine. But, it took them several years to stop looking under the doghouse for vdrive sacs.

We still use sacs. and have added more lead and fixed weight. They only notice it when their's 3 in the boat and its kickin out a nice ramp.
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I will add this: Wreckless use of the boat brought on all the attention we ever got. You can't turn up the sub, fill the sacs, give the skeeters and pontoons hell, ride your board up on the beach and act like an idiot without talking to whatever authority is there. Then, its a matter of what they can find to ticket you for.

The beer idea sounds feasible but could get expensive.

Get a newer MC X-2 or X-Star, the ballast is under the floor, and maybe you can get the sacs empty by the time they catch up to you, lol....

Its not even about the ability to hide weight on our lake. If they think or someone calls in a complaint, then security will pull you over and tell you that you're getting a ticket unless you make your wake smaller. Its just a bs rule, but we're in the minority, so there's not much we can do.

Who gives the tickets? If it is the police, they have to have some sort of evidence dont they? What happens if you dont pay the ticket?

for us it's the association, so if you don't pay your ticket, you don't get registration the next year to put your boat in. Hell, at my lake they'd probably try to put a lien on your house too.

OnlyInboards, I'll help you solve your problem. I can provide about 200# of mobile ballast weight(in the form of my person) in exchange for pulls. Judging by your profile, the lake in question is Spoon Lake. I just moved to Peoria and am looking for a crew to hook me up with some pulls. Obviously I'd be willing to help out with whatever I could, from gas $ to food to POA regulation friendly ballast. But seriously, those rules are ridiculous if none of the wake boats on the lake are irresponsible about their wakes and general boating etiquette. I feel for you.

Make something that looks like the floor, that can go in all the compartments. Put lead down and put the "Floor" over the lead!! They will never look.

Hey Keith, sounds like a plan. You can definitley come out this summer for some runs. Check my email address from the profile and shoot me an email when it get warm. I do boat at Spoon Lake btw.... hopefully you could do some week day runs.. weekends suck out there.

You can buy compressed "mass loaded vinyl" that weighs a pound a square foot for 1/4' thickness. It's used for soundproofing and would make a great, if very heavy, underlay for your carpet while reducing sound transmission into the boat.

'm just wondering, what happens when you break the rules. Who enforces them and what do you get? In Florida, No One owns a waterway, unless it's man-made on private property and permitted. I'm wondering, because if it is a private lake with no access, what can they do? Send a letter, like my HO Association does when I leave the boat in the driveway too long? If thats it, dont worry about it...
BYRD


Let me tell you what they do in Texas and some states. Fines, Liens, and foreclosures on your house is what they can do. After constantly fight with my HOA over BS, threatened lawsuits, harassment, and other crap I moved to city/neighborhood with no HOA.

Tripled Property tax, tripled home price, but I now live in a neighborhood w.o a bunch of wannabe rich people who have better things to do than worry about their neighbors.

Onlyinboards, sahweet, thanks. I'll get in touch with you when it gets warmer. As far as the weekday runs, I'd say it's pretty likely, but I'm not for sure. I'm currently looking for employment, so we'll see. I'll be emailing you soon.

Enforcement...

On our lake they have a retired cop sometimes and deputies at others. You do get a ticket, usually you are just asked to remove yourself from the lake. They ultimately could ban you altogether. They had a movement to not register boats with ballast or drag devices built in. If that passes...I am out of there.

The main problem seems to be property damage in the main lake...boats and sea walls. Those houses are also mroe expensive, because they are closer to the water and right on the ski zone. Mine is up in a nice tranquil no wake cove.

I also live on a lake that applied the no wake enhancement devices.. Our lake assoc. pays a local cop to patrol the lake. Hes usually only down on the weekends unless the fisherman are out and somehow he always seeems to show up when certain boats are out. the city council came up with the ordinances and applied them 2 yrs ago. As far as I know, no one has ever got a ticket. Most of these people dont even know if the boats have ballast or not. My buddy has a x-star and he told the patrol guy it was a family boat. And the patrol ask what all the holes were for on the side of his boat. He told him it was for his bilge. patrol has never stopped him since. we just load up with about 8-9 people when patrol is there or we just stay away from everyone and fill up.

Having rules like these make me sick to my stomach. Thank god for the delta, the only rules there are don't drive drunk, please don't crash into anybody, and don't throw dead people in the water.

We had a similar rule on our lake also, we ran ballast the whole time because the patrol men are too stupid to actually realize what ballast was. In fact it got pulled from the rules because they thought only cabin cruisers had ballast because of toilets. But I think my point is that if you hide it correctly, especially if you have hard ballast tanks, I don't think your lake association will even know

just tell the officer" sorry i just got off work from my tire shop and had nowhere else to put this lead at, My truck is to small to store all of this"

turn off the autobilge and pull the plug for a few minutes at the start of each session.

either that, or fill your boat full of bait live wells. Tell them that you like to fish too... LOL!!!

That's good Evan!

Thank God for Rivers. The game wardens or whatever only will pull over the morons in jetboats and i/o for reckless endangerment when they're pullin tubes at 85 feet and s turning up and down near the bulkheads. They pull over the occasional wakeboat and check for CGA vests for everyone on board and that the driver has his saftey permit thing. My friends got busted with a 500$ fine for not having enough vests. but thats about it.

i know that my last post has absolutley nothing to dow ith riding on a lake but the lead and false floors are great ideas. just match up the carpet and clamp it to the floor to make it look "legit" no renta cop or deputy dan is going to ask you to dismantle the floor or any other part of your boat for that matter. Just don't give em any lip and make us all look like a bunch of pricks.

remember your not breakin the law until you get caught