who is in the wrong

Ok so out at the lake this weekend I'm jaming back after a awesome wakeboarding session. There are some jet ski'ers to my left but the are going left away from me. They then stop and crank hard right right in front of me out of no where. I seriously had to crank so hard to the right to swerve around them. Then they proceed to flip me off. So who was in the right. I was moving faster than them, and we were splitting in two different directions untill they decided to slow down and do a 90 degree right in front of me.

If you are behind them you are the give way boat. If they are approaching you from the port side they must give way.

the other day some friends and i had just finished our first set and were heading to the main channel to go to a beach and load up some people and then go ride some more and a like mid 40's guy was on his fancy sea doo bombardier or whatever and was jumping my wake and no big deal or anything and then out of nowhere he like bombs by us and we are doing like 35-40 and gets close enough to splash us with a nice little turn to the port side. everybody was like oh nice he soaked everything was that a friend of yours and i was like i have no idea who that guy was.

At our lake all of those dorks would recieve a major beating

I am not sure that is correct George. I understood that boats have the right of way over jetskis, like sailboats do over powerboats. I could be wrong.

George is right. You must give way to boats approaching from the starboard side (your right when facing forward). So if they were approaching from your port side (left side), they should give way to you regardless of speed. If you were directly behind them, you must give way to them.

Cody--I would have chased that guy down and let him have it. Who sprays a random boat let alone a friends boat?

yea they were approaching from my port side. it was funny when the guy flipped me off then he fell off hahaha.

james-sometimes its funny to do that to friends but never to strangers. i would have chased him but unfortunately his jet ski is a little faster than my boat and our lake is just over 11,000 acres. thats a lot of chasing.

we were out a couple weeks ago and had a similar incident with some jet skiers.. they thought it would be cute to soak my boat and every one in it. we thought it was funny when we pulled up next to them and opened fire with a paint ball gun.. im sure he learned his lesson.

NICE hahaha. I was thinking more like throwin water balloons hahaha.

I understand the rules of navigation, I am saying that PWCs operate under different rules, and I THINK they must give way to boats. I do know it varies from state to state as well. I tried to research it, but I don't have a lot of time today. This was all I found so far.

PWCs must operate in a careful and responsible manner. Specifically, it is
illegal for PWC operators to:
Weave the PWC through congested waterway traffic.
Jump the wake of another motorboat when visibility is obstructed.
Become airborne while crossing the wake of another motorboat and within 100 feet of that motorboat.
Operate at greater than slow - no wake speed within 50 feet of any other vessel, PWC or person in the water.
Operate in a manner that requires swerving at the last possible moment to avoid collision.

It Kind of indicates that they need to stay away from boats. It is for MO. I will see what else I can find later.

In Texas, PWCs are included in the category "power-driven vessel" and as such are treated by other vessels the same as a boat. However, there are additional requirements for PWC operators/owners along the lines of what Paul wrote. As such, George is correct regardless if it was a PWC or other vessel.

I found a little more. Keep in mind it varies state to state. This suggests that the boat would be the stand on vessel since it cannot maneuver as well but I can't seem to find anything that specifically states that PWCs give way. I guess I will continue to aim for them until I find something specific.

"If you approach a vessel that has less maneuverability than your vessel, the other vessel will usually be the stand-on vessel (see Encountering Vessels With Less Maneuverability)."

Direct quote from my United States Power Squadrons Boating Course book:

"A PWC is not a toy, but a full-fledged boat! anyone who operates a PWC is a skipper with the same responsibilities as the operator of a 40-foot yacht. Operators must adhere to many of the same rules and regulations as larger boats....

...Some states consider PWCs to be a special type of boat because of their different operating characteristics and have special regulations for them...

...Risk of Collision Situations: Since a PWC is a motorboat, almost all other boats have priority in movement over a PWC. Review the Vessel Priority Table in Chapter 12, Navigation rules

...Yield to any vessel approaching you from the right. Looking straight ahead, turn your head to the right as far as you can without moving your shoulders. You must stay out of the way of any boat that you can see."

Basically what it says is a PWC is considered a powerboat with the same rules as your wakeboard boat--yield to those approaching from your starboard (right) side.

In CA, there is no difference between PWCs and boats concerning the rules of the road. They are boats, and must follow the same rules as any other powerboat.

"Since a PWC is a motorboat, almost all other boats have priority in movement over a PWC"

This is what I can't figure out. It was pretty cut and dry until the above quote. So a PWC is a boat with low movement priority so they must give way? I think I have confused myself.

I will just say that I THINK since PWCs are so much more manuerable, and will loose the battle if caught in a collision, they should give way.

"almost all other boats" in the above quote is referring to sailing vessels, and barge/tug configurations. PWC's ARE boats, the same as your wake boat.They get no special treatment.

I always was under the impression that a smaller boat was generally more maneuverable. in a 20 ft wakeboard boat you would give way to a 30 ft cruiser. That cruiser is more maneuverable than a barge, but not as maneuverable as a 16 ft runabout or certainly a jet ski.

Rick, I'm no coast guard official or local sheriff, but the right thing to do is to give way (I also would be pissed). I don't think that you were attempting to overtake the jet skis on the right, you simply were maintaining your course, they changed course heading away from shore to more open waters, then back agein towards shore. But if you had to give way to avoid a collision with a vessel operating in an erratic manner, the jet ski operator should be cited.

I am a former USCG officer.

The vessel being overtaken has the obligation to be the stand-on vessel and maintain speed and course.

The overtaking vessel has the responsibility to overtake to starboard and leaving the stand-on vessel to port. You are the burdened vessel.

Both vessels have the obligation to maintain an effective lookout at all times. This includes a lookout to the rear in the event of a change in course or speed.

Under inland naviagation rules, this would be a one whistle pass. Most people on small, recreational vessels do not signal or know what the proper sound signals are. I use them and get flipped off frequently.

It is my tongue-in-cheek opinion that most people loose 20 points on the IQ scale when they pilot a PWC. Yes, you are a pilot in charge of a powered watercraft. You are the captain of a vessel. Act like it!

Rick,

In the situation you describe the boat you were in has the right of way (also called the STAND ON boat). The PWC was the GIVE WAY boat.

Right of way is based on maneuverability if there are vessels of different types (ie: barge, sailboat, other restricted maneuverability vessels). But in similar type vessels (powered for instance)then the right of way is determined by relative position and course of the vessels. The vessel in the starboard (right) front quarter of the boat has the right of way if both vessels are under power(the exception is if one has some restricted maneuverability then it is required to be flying the correct signal flag).

Anytime a vessel is in your port front quarter he is the GIVE WAY (yield) boat and you would be the STAND ON boat.

Even though these rules apply regardless of the state you are in (they are based on Maritime Law) most boaters do not know them so do not assume they will perform the correct maneuver. When in doubt YIELD to the other boat and discuss it in the bar after the day is over. Dont chase just call the local USCG or sheriff and make a report.

Also do not assume the Sheriff knows these rules either. Most that I have run across dont know the basic navigation rules including this one.

yea wasnt worth my time to chase. No one is worth my time chasing, I would rather spend my time enjoying the water and relaxing then to waste it on someone who will just darwinize themselves LOL

Coast Guard Karl,

Question for you. What is the exact inland maritime law regarding the use of semi-automatic paint ball guns to mark and to ward off water roaches? More specifically, if a water roach were to approach a legitimate wakeboarding vessel in a dangerous manner, from the port side, and the passenger riding "shotgun" in the legitimate wakeboarding vessel were to open fire in a manner such as to leave the water roach vessel marked with hot pink and green paint, to aide other legitimate boaters in identifying this as a particularly offensive water roach, while causing no physical harm to the actual operator of said roach craft, would it be a violation of any maritime law? Could it result in the issuing of a citation?

Question for clarification:

When someone say "On your port quarter" - does that mean someone is crossing your bow or does that someone is ahead of you and heading in the same direction as you but on your port side? Same question regarding "on your starboard quarter".

Please excuse me for choosing my words poorly. I should have clarified.

I am referring to forward of the boat for 90 degrees either side of the nose of the boat. I should have said forward port quarter meaning ahead and to the left of the boat not behind. Boats behind the abeam position (directly right or left) are another rule. I was not referring to course of the vessels just relative position in space. So in a nutshell what I was trying to say was in the quadrant 90 degrees either side of the nose (ie port front quarter and starboard front quarter). Sorry again for the confusion.

Maritime law aside, PWC's, or rather, PWC Drivers do not operate like any other water vessel. If you were driving your boat in open water, would you make a hard right turn without looking over your shoulder to see if anybody was coming from behind?

That's what Rick described. The problem with PWC's is that they are not going anywhere..., IOW they have no destination. They are just bouncing around like a pinball. Never assume they will stay on a certain course, and never assume they know you are there. They don't. As satisfying as it might be to mow over one, the paperwork alone would be a nightmare.

yea I dont want to mow anyone over but man they came so close and then to flip me off after that was not cool.

This should be posted on all rivers and Lakes

Tim Monk - In the words of Billy Madison, "that's assault brotha"

Citation? How about a trip to jail.....

As much as we all may want to do this from time to time (don't admit it if you do), you will go to jail if someone witnesses you doing this.

Best course of action is to get their reg numbers and report them. Most of the time nothing will happen, so just try not to let it ruin your day.

I'm not so sure that shooting a water roach mobile with a biodegradable paintball would really qualify as assult. The paint just washes off. It wouldn't be a whole lot different than squirting someone with a water cannon, except that you're aiming at the jetski, not the person.

Kids, don't try this at home.

it'd be fun to play paintball on jetskis against each other

but anyways, the flipping off thing was just rude...

I had a similiar situation happen last year. I followed the guy down. He got pissy until I simply explained the mass difference between his ski & my boat. In a collision, he wouldn't "win". I don't care who is technically in the right or wrong when dealing with a vessel that can turn on a dime. You simply do not have the maneuverability in a boat to "stand down" compared to a jetski...........

so my question is should I just have gotten his Cf and use my radio to hail the lake patrol?