Noise Ordinance's

So yesterday when I was out on the boat I raged the music for a few seconds for some people on the boat that wanted to hear how loud it was. Some old get's on his jetski and comes flying offshore out to my boat just quivering with anger. "If you turn that crap up again I'm calling the cops" and then blows off. I've never been busted by the cops and they are rarely out there so I'm not sure what the law is on this (haters: no I don't want to piss people of legally) I figure it's like any noise ordinance but then again we can boat while we drink so who knows. Has anyone else had this happen to them and/or does anyone know the laws in Washington?

can't say for sure but sounds like a classic case of someone angry and is suddenly a lawyer judge and jury, they know all the rules and you better pay attention or they're going to show you a thing or two!!! haha I'd like the police come to the beach and enforce that particular law, things would get very interesting

I'm from Washington (east side of the state) and the City noise ordinances don't apply because the river belongs to the county. There are no noise ordinances in the county and the river is patrolled by county Sheriffs.

Further, I've had friends who've had a city cop try to get them to dock their boat for noise violation. They pulled up to the dock and calmly explained to the officer that they would not dock the boat because that would give the officer jurisdiction over them. They offered to wait while the officer called the Sheriff to have the Sheriff escort them to the dock. As the story goes, the city cop was quite pissed, yelling and shouting at them. Ultimately, they told the cop if he doesn't call the sheriff they were going to leave. He didn't make the call, so they slowly pulled away from the dock. nothing came of it. So they proved the point that, at least in this area, the city cop can't do anything until you're on city property, or at least docked to a city dock.

For what it's worth....

I would have told him to F off, If there is no signs or it isnt a private lake they have no reason to fly out on a jet ski and freak out. you should have squirted him with a squirt gun

I hate to sound lame, but you might check out what's been going on on the upper Willamette in Oregon. There is a big push to ban all wake enhancing devices. The noise and disrespect are a significant part of this push. So while the noise may not be illegal, it also may not be the best approach to preservation of our sport as we know it.

Just a note Guys last month we got a new system 5000 watts!! Crazy loud we were rockin out for about a week and then the boat started running funny and stalled. One of our neighbors had dumped about a gallon of water into the gas tank, thus costing about $300 in parts and a couple of hours to drain the tank and replace the fuel pump.. We found the water jug in the boat with Respect written on it. Sucks that everyone doesn't like loud music

david, i would have found the neighbor that did it and turned them in for vandalizum

we got pulled over once and the cops checked life jackets, battery, etc etc and then asked if you could turn up the speakers all the way so they could hear them.... once we found out we would be safe if we did they just told us that was awesome and to have a great day

same happened to us on the trinity last year. a game warden actually checked us out and i had ministry in, he asked if i could jam it, he smiled and drove off slow looking back and giving a thumbs up. pretty weird but it was cool

AHH ministry, N.W.O is a cool jam

^^^ that's really cool.

David, wow that is unbelievable I get that they might not like it ok but come up and say something and show some respect themselves.

Yesterday I was out with some less fortunate kids towing them around again and they love it loud so I did my best to stay pretty much in the middle of the lake to mitigate the noise as best I could. It seem to work no one was pissed off and all the other boats out partying seemed to like it everytime we came around.

Hate- I'm glad you are enjoying yourself with the Bullet 770s. We have those things going all over the rivers and lakes around here and have yet to hear of a customer getting even a warning.

We are working on getting a few systems done with the Hollow Points inside the rear bags of Harleys.

I can understand the frustration the guy displayed perhaps he could have been more respectful but respect goes both ways. I don't get the blasting of one's music while near an otherwise quiet area or when launching your boat for example. I'm guessing you were not the first boat going by doing the same thing.

Not everyone on the lake wants to hear your music. Instead of blaming or telling someone to f-off, as has been suggested by other posts, you should look at your own behavior and ask yourself if there is something you did to contribute to the situation. Use some common sense and try actually thinking about the other person instead of yourself once in awhile.

^^^^^^^^^^
(you should look at your own behavior)
HMM......

We have a loud system too, but in al reality, the big penis boats(for lack of a better term) are so much louder at idle and when at throttle then my music could ever be.

I know, at least from what I read here, that loud music is respected by many. That said.....

Fortunately, on the lakes that I frequent, cranking the music is not respected and it is not done. It has nothing to do with cops or what you can or can't get away with, it has to do with respecting other people - your neighbors. They don't crank their stereos and I don't crank mine, either. The community on the lake is happier for this. I am thankful that I live in an area where people think about their neighbors before themselves.

I have never been yelled at with my 17.5 crestliner with 90hp for 8 years


.....now with our supra 21v I have been yelled at twice.....once by a guy on the river for apparently swamping him out....and another by my wife for playing the stereo so everyone in the park could hear it.

Our boats throw big wakes and big music......and we should be considerate of others.

While I didn't like that the guy rained on our parade....we moved up river where there were less homes or people to bother. The sport and boats is just starting to pick up in our neck of the woods......and the last thing we want is to start giving people ammunition to have us banned.

I realize it is deep within a man's inner need to freely share their musical tastes, I too had this compulsion from time to time, but one mans music is another mans noise. Now if you know first hand that EVERYONE in ear shot likes the music, no foul, but unless you know that, then your cranked music infringes on the rights of others who would rather not hear your sample of music.

BTW - The H20 in the gas is not right at all.

I think the H20 in the gas is actually pretty funny. I guess you are lucky it wasn't sugar!

I can't stand being subjected to other people's music. I love my music loud, but I won't turn it loud at home because I know my neighbors wouldn't enjoy it. If I can hear your music inside my house, rest assured I will be knocking on your door asking you to turn it down. If you ignore my request I will contact the local authorities that will persuade you to turn it down. If you dont' respect me, don't expect me to respect you.

Many people like to live on lakes and rivers and don't have any boating interest because they are generally peaceful places. I can totally understand and relate to how annoyed they get. I have been the guy on shore relaxing with family or friends thinking the guy in the boat cranking his tunes is being a total jerk to everyone on the lake. I have a reasonable system in my boat but I will usually make a comment to the effect of "That is why I don't have tower speakers"

I do think the huge systems are really cool, and I love audio, but there is a time and place for everything. Big lake with no houses in the middle of nowhere...go for it! Smaller lake surrounded by residences, use some common sense.

If you don't live on the lake...think of it this way: Would you like the guy with the 15's in his car to park outside of your house and crank it up for a few hours while you are trying to get some work done, sleep, relax, watch a movie, etc? People DO sleep during the day BTW. My next door neighbor is a police officer and works the night shift....

If someone is cranking Diana Ross on their boat and it starts to get irritating cause it’s something I don’t like, doesn’t give me the right to go and trip on them or cause problems. The thing is the song will be over in a few or the boat drives further away to where I can’t hear it or Ill just turn my music up a little to justify it, It’s just not a big deal to me. NOW if I had to hear loud music all night long, that might get a comment from me, other than that, I am not going to ask every boat out there if I can turn my music up or turn it down when I pass them.
When we ride we listen to the music loud and when where done riding it’s not even turned up more than half way, hell half the boats out there they have louder engines than most stereos, So when the drag boat goes flying by, does this mean I should go tell him to turn it down or give him a S…ty grin.

So you are OK if someone parks in front of your house and cranks their music so you can hear it all day long?

Motorcycles are louder, so it shouldn't matter right?

first of all most boats can only last 2 hours with there music playing and thats with a dual battery set up and for a boat to sit offshore playing music loud and facing a house all day would be interesting to see.

One day I will pull the Tony Soprano move and park my boat on point and just rock the lake with some classical music just to prove a point granted it won't be a 54 sport fisher with a full concert system on it but it will get the point across!!!!

OK Ken, then to prove my point, would you mind a car driving back and forth in front of your house all day cranking the tunes so you can hear them indside? I know I can crank my boat system all day if I want if the engine is running....

Tim, I can understand your point but you guy in front of the house is not analogous. I wasn't sitting in front of the guys house and I had it up for a very short period 15-20 seconds.

"I think the water in the gas tank is pretty funny" that's BS man. I guess next time someone see's you going over the speed limit and they dont like it their free to vandalize your car to which you'll just laugh.

Use some common sense and try actually thinking about the other person instead of yourself once in awhile.


Ian, you may have snapped to some pretty quick judgment there seeing as you don't know me at all. Not to mention I was polite to the guy even though he was not to me and infact did keep the music turned down. As a point in fact whenever I was any where near his house last night I made sure it was down lower.

Listen, it's not as if I sit and rage the music. It's only when I'm running at which time you only need to tolerate it for a few seconds just as they do the power boats and loud ass planes that take off and land on the lake.

having fun on the water with family and friends is the best, sure it gets loud and people have fun, that’s what it is all about, sure you get the irresponsible boater sometimes but If I am looking to buy a house for just peace and quiet on the lake I am choosing a place where not boats are allowed.
It’s like buying a house by the airport and bitching that the planes are too loud.

It’s all about having fun

living on a lake and wakeboarding, it's just a matter of respect. Our lake is very densely populated and when people with tower speakers cranked are riding, it's pretty annoying to everyone on shore. I can totally understand wanting to hear music when you ride, but you have to respect the people around you and out there with you. Not everyone wants to hear your music, and everything carries farther and clearer over the water than it does on land. It's not the same as your car, plus your car probably doesn't have a tower full of directional speakers pointed out the back of it.

"I think the water in the gas tank is pretty funny"


What a dick statement.

Turn it down when you get close to the docks or when people are around that might not care for the music.

By Tim Krutz (timmy) on Thursday, August 07, 2008 - I think the H20 in the gas is actually pretty funny. I guess you are lucky it wasn't sugar!

Kharma is a bitch. Better watch your back after making cracks like that.

"Having fun on the water with family and friends is the best, sure it gets loud and people have fun, that’s what it is all about, sure you get the irresponsible boater sometimes but If I am looking to buy a house for just peace and quiet on the lake I am choosing a place where not boats are allowed.
It’s like buying a house by the airport and bitching that the planes are too loud."

Not exactly. Your fun at someone else's expense (peace and quiet) isn't what it is all about. Most people on the lake that I live on have owned their homes before their were wakeboats, let alone tower speakers. The lake was a more peaceful place when they bought. The better analogy would be something like buying a house and THEN someone building a rock concert hall across the street. Personally when I hear a thumping boat I look back to see if the crew is throwing down so the music doesn't bother me, but I know it pisses some of the neighbors to no end.

Cranking the stereo is not going to bring about any good Karma if you think in those terms.

^^^It will if it brings a smile to someone's face of course if it piss' someone else off it will cancel it out.

If you buy a house on a big lake known to be busy during the summer and expect to have peace and quite at 3 in the afternoon when it's 85 out you're and idiot (not talking to you ATL). I live in the 7 lakes area all the rest of the lakes save for one are electric only and would have been a great place to get you retirement on. Hell even the other lake that allows power boats is slow goin'.

So I can expect bad karma for laughing at retribution? I'd never do something to harm someone else's property, let alone a prized posession like a wakeboat, I'm not a freaking idiot. You have to admit he had it coming though, and that is what makes it funny. To those that think it is of no consequence to be inconsiderate to others, it is a dick statement I made, but I am sure the other people that "get it" probably agree.

Also, I have serious doubts that the guy on the jetski in the first post is going completely out of his way to complain on the first incident of loud music.

It never ceases to amaze me that some people think they have some "right" to be freaking annoying to others. This doesn't even really matter to me, I guess I am just venting due to dealing with some inconsiderate noisy neighbors lately.

My response above wasn't so much directed at your first post HateNPain. Mainly a general comment about this type of situation. Your right I don't know how you reacted etc.

Hate N Pain, I am also not saying it was you, but if it is a busy lake there are probably other wakeboats cranking the tunes on a regular basis...but then again I am not the one buying the house on the lake expecting peace and quiet, just stating that many people do...

My philosophy is have the loudest stereo
No seriously a guy unloaded his boat playing vulgar music last week and my three year old was sucking up every word.I didn't say anything to him but it wasn't cool.Respect for another is hard to find nowadays

There is a time and place for loud music thats a given, but JESUS F'NNNNNNN CHRIST quit cryin about it, Lol this thread turned into a pissing match.........

First off, the water in the gas tank is just wrong. Man up and talk face to face if the music is a problem.

Second, respect on our lake is important. Sure I like the music loud and was thinking of adding a couple pairs of pro 80's to the tower. Then I realized how pissed our neighbors would be after hearing music cranked everyday during the summer. So as I point of keeping my neighbors as friends, I'm going with no tower speakers, saving myself some cash and the pain of raising and lowering the tower with those speakers on it every time I go into the Shore Station.

That's just how it worked out it my situation and I have no problem with it. The respect of my neighbors is much more important than jamming out while I'm out on the wakeboard for a few minutes.

I see both sides of the equation. I have a couple guys I roll with, some are more respectful than others. One of my friends is rather disrespectful, I actually cringe often as we pass families with children and his music is dropping F-bombs. Sometimes I reach over and turn it down, other times I just ignore it. If I was on the other boat with kids and he drove by me I would want to fill his gas tank with sugar water, he deserves it.

When I am at the controls behind my boat I turn the music up when the rider is up, I feel my tower speakers are there to pump music to the rider, not to the rest of the lake. I try to be aware of my surroundings and play music that you are likely to hear on the local hip-hop station. Sometimes the clean versions are so lame I go ahead and grab the dirty versions, but I know those songs and don't play them in congested areas.

I hate jet skis... I probably would have told the guy that my music is no more irritating than his jet ski, definately a lot safer. If I were playing something foul within earshot of his family, that's different, I probably would have apologized.

Like the water jug said... RESPECT, some of us I see on the water could use a little adjustment.

By the way, disturbing the peace is illegal, it's a judgement call with the officer. If the guy on the jet ski is his buddy, he will cite you.

I'm the same I don't play music with profanity in it for the simple reason that I typically have my 3 kids (10,7,6) on the boat with me and I don't want them to heat it. Last season I mentioned to another wake boat that was playing profanity laced music near the launch and beach that he needed to turn it down around the kids and he respectfully did. These days I play house/techno more frequently so that I don't have to worry about it.

Your right Mike it is a judgment call and defining peace in the middle of a madhouse lake can be pretty tough.

The funny thing about him and his Seadoo is that he damn near hit my boat in fact I had to ask to not slam into the side of it.

Tim & Ian thanks for the clarification.

This was actually the song I was playing at the time not really a big deal. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Veqz8W98iA

I live on a lake, and could care less what kind of musics and how loud you listen to it. If you wanna jam some kelly clarkson while pullin s-turns behind my house, go for it.

Unfortunately my experience has been that the people who want to show off their 2000+ Watt Systems with no consideration for others often turn into belligerent a**holes when you ask them to show some consideration for others.

Hence the water in the tank.

The people that did that probably have tried on numerous occasions to respectfully ask others to tone it down, and most of the time they were told to f*** off, threatened, etc.

If most people who blast their music are a**holes, and you blast your music, it is assumed you are an a**hole. Who wants to start something with an a**hole? It usually is just not worth it.

I am not saying it was right....but the reason you got water in your tank was that others who were behaving like you probably DID deserve what you got...and you got lumped in with them.

(Message edited by kitewake on August 23, 2008)