Loud Speakers from Boat
 

Very annoying. What ever happened to common courtesy? A boat (which happened to be a wake boat but without surfer) just shot by along the shore in Tuftonboro playing (at what must have been full blast) rap music. Never mind that every other word was the f word. What are these people thinking?

No doubt a few will respond "it's summer, let them have their fun" or "move to Golden Pond". But everyone else has a right to their space without some self-centered fool inflicting their "rights" upon others in such an in your face manner. I felt sorry for the people on the boat nearby enjoying the lake with their family.

This boater, in essence, was screaming "Look at me, I am just so cool".

yup
 

Wait, you're suggesting that they were THINKING?

Sadly, many of the younger folks today could care less about anyone else except themselves.

Are there any ‘enforceable’ noise ordinances that would apply to situations like this? Maybe under some heading like ‘sadly needed laws for thoughtlessly inconsiderate jacka**** with low levels of intelligence’.

Sadly, many of the older folks today could care less about anyone else except themselves.

I was going to say the same thing. On the Broads, we get the pontoon boats and now JetSkis blasting music all weekend. Especially now that boats have speakers off the stern so that you can hear the music while swimming. People just turn everything on and loud.
Started with Motorcycles years ago too.

Yes lots of the people on jet skis blast their loud music for the rest of us too.

I am all for listening to music while boating. But the speakers should be directed into the boat, not outside the boat, to annoy everyone they pass.

The wake boats are one of the worst things to happen to the lake in recent years. Between the environmental damage they cause with the deep wakes stirring up the bottom sediment and washing up on shore, to the loud speakers designed to blast music that travels for miles, it would be great to see them banned.

Wake boat restrictions and bans across the country are increasingly common, with some areas prohibiting or limiting wake boat activity on certain waterways. These restrictions are often driven by concerns about shoreline erosion, safety, and the impact of large wakes on other boaters and lake ecosystems. Some areas have outright bans on wake boats, while others implement restrictions like limiting operation in shallow water or near shorelines.

I wonder when the point of no return will be reached? Between water quality, noise, captain boneheads, crowds, generational arguments, and prices, the appeal of Lake Winni is threatened. I sold both of my waterfront properties in Mboro (with some regret I might add), took a handsome profit, and built a house on a quiet waterbody in a nearby town where I can kayak, swim, fish, and enjoy the lake in peace without all the aforementioned annoyances. I was literally driven off Lake Winnipesaukee.. :( I hope wherever your lake life takes you that you enjoy it...

I Remember "On Golden Pond"...
 

People look to Switzerland as an idyllic country for nearly everything.

Swiss traffic laws proscribe noise levels. Air-cooled engines make too much noise. On any roadway, you wouldn't know motorcycles were nearby.

:look:

I've spent nearly every summer on Winter Harbor since 1952. :eek2:

...and can only take comfort in not spending any money on hearing aids...

:rolleye2:

Huh???????

"Live free or die" has different meanings to different people.
No one wants government to tell them what they can or can't do but when something is happening that they don't agree with they want government to step in and take control, you can't have it both ways.
I also moved on from the big lake to a smaller quieter lake. I can only control what I do.

Swiss Like It Quiet...
 

I see Austria has joined Switzerland in tamping down vehicle noise. (Not sure about boats and "rap"). :confused:

Rules include severely limiting motorcycle noise, wherein owners attempting to increase noise can result in fines up to SF10,000. (>$10,000) :eek2:

Those air-cooled passenger vehicles formerly allowed, must now be quieted beyond original specifications. (VW).

Diesel engines are limited in the number of minutes they remain at idle.

Police maintain "noise-radars" that direct police to noisy violators electronically.

Electric cars, on the other hand, must provide some noise suggestive of operation.

https://lenews.ch/2025/01/17/switzer...-rules-active/

Hmmm can't help but remind me of a few folks I've seen who sit on their dock in the middle of no wake zones so they can wave their arms like raving mad-men trying to get folks to slow down.
"honey wanna go to the lake this weekend and monitor the boat traffic on our piece of the lake?" :D

Winter Harbor...
 

No question. :(

While not ideal, boaters used to anchor off our shore to take a lunch break, listen quietly to music, and maybe go skiing.

Years pass, and boats started growing in size. You could simply tie-up to your dock to secure your boat. Today, you need to invest in a hydraulic elevator to lift your boat above the fray.

Tubing became popular, and anchoring near shore became uncomfortably rough. They've all moved on.

Wake boats could have been heroes if they had restricted themselves to "fake-surf"--starting in August. (When the lake level is much lower and erosion lessened).

Just yesterday afternoon, some folks bobbing harmlessly in a large I/O got tossed around by wakes--then moved on. While swimming, their own boat had became a weapon!

Why do people spend so much money on an oversized boat designed to sink, when they can go to nearby professional surfing parks for much less, get mentored on HUGE REAL SURF and not dabble in fake-surfing on Lake Winnipesaukee?

(While annoying others with their over-amplified "music").
:rolleye1:

For $95, individuals could buy "noise-canceling" headphones to erase the bedlam in front of us; however, radically increasing the cost of registration for the worst of today's worst threats to erosion and near-shore safety of life and property makes more sense.

...... http://www.wral.com/news/local/boate...lake-aug-2025/ ..... Saturday, August 2, 2025, 4:30-pm, Harris Lake, North Carolina

"On Saturday, three people were swimming about 100 feet off shore around 4:30 p.m. when Mr. Kight steered the Tige wake boat into them, said the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commision, the agency overseeing the crash investigation.

At the time, several other people were in the boat with him, and he was towing two people in a tube."

While extremely unfortunate, this has nothing to do with wake surfing, the type ("wake boat") or the brand of boat (Tige). It was an extremely drunk guy driving a boat, pulling a tube and not paying attention. He was also a previous offender. You spin things almost as well as APS....

Off Topic
 

What does this have to do with loud speakers on a boat?...or the Lakes Region for that matter??:confused::confused::offtopic::offtopic:

Recreational motor boating and drinking go together for some unknown reason. It's always been that way, and a lot of motor boaters like to hold an adult beverage in their hand while steering their boat.

In N.H. the open container law applies to cars, but not to boats so it's legal to drink and drive a motor boat which is a totally wack-a-doozie N.H. rule. Drinking and driving a N.H. car is not legal. Drinking and driving a N.H. boat is legal. Is this wack-a-doozie or what!

Wednesday, July 30, 2025 ..... http://www.nhsp.dos.nh.gov/news-and-...ted-squam-lake ..... Squam Lake, Holderness NH

Towing a wake-boarder in N.H. requires a second observer to be on board while the driver is legally ok to steer the wake boat while holding an adult beverage. This is totally N.H. wack-a-doozie!

Off Topic!!
 

Off topic again! This thread is about speakers and loud music from boats! :offtopic::offtopic::offtopic:

If 1991 Wave Runners had speakers and I could have played music, I might have played some loud music because I was 16 and dumb. But it would have been Van Halen or Bon Jovi. And I would have kept 150 feet from shore.

The pop and rap and gangsta stuff with curse words every other word is ridiculous, in my opinion. I wish there were answers beyond just more laws for people to break...

No one should be upset about loud Van Halen. Ever!

The lake has long been a place of recreation and tradition, enjoyed by generations through boating, water skiing, tubing, and leisurely cruising. Today, that legacy continues with families who value both the enjoyment and the responsibility that come with sharing a natural resource.
Over the years, responsible boating practices—such as adhering to established safety and navigation rules—have helped maintain a sense of order and respect on the water. Unfortunately, there has been an increasing trend of disregard for these principles, with some behaviors posing serious safety risks and environmental concerns. Loud speakers and music also play into this disrespect for others.
The ongoing wakeboat controversy reflects a growing tension among lake users. While the enjoyment of any sport is valid, activities that generate large, repeated wakes can have significant negative impacts. These include erosion of the shoreline, damage to docks and watercraft, and harm to the lakebed ecosystem. Such consequences affect not only immediate areas but also carry financial and environmental implications for the wider lake community.
It is reasonable to ask why common-sense restrictions have not been implemented to confine high-impact activities to areas where they cause minimal disruption. Fair use of the lake should balance the interests of all users, not disproportionately favor those whose activities impose costly and potentially lasting damage on others. This includes loud speakers blasting music that is not enjoyed by all that have to listen to it.

New study finds wake boats should stay in deeper waters while wake surfing - WPR https://share.google/IR2dMN26hUtjvAzZP

That is true but because people don't use common sense we need to keep making new laws. The problem is new laws are almost useless because they are not enforced. I wonder if the MP officers even KNOW what NO WAKE means. I think they, like the boaters, think it means slow down. And some days the loud music and yelling and screaming from people anchored is so intolerable we and our neighbors cannot sit outside. I have to say most of the time they aren't bad but sometimes they are just awful!

Fight Back
 

A little Mozart of similar at High Sound Pressure levels would probably drive them away. A lot of high power speaker systems are up to the task.

WE have thought of that. But not that inconsiderate.

Unfortunately, the lake in essence is a State Park, and not everybody recreates the same. No different than being the unfortunate guy stuck in traffic next to the 2010 Honda Civic with a fart can, blasting the same offensive rap music. I don't know what was worse, the fart can or the rap music?

Woodsy

Sunday Afternoon
 

It's always the wake boat with young whippersnappers playing rap music's fault...

Sunday late afternoon I was swimming/floating by Round Island at the top of the lake with my wife and kids. A 20-ish foot four winns bowrider with an older crew on board was BLASTING loud and quite terrible music while heading into Greens Basin. Some horrendous stuff honestly, I don't even know what it was it was so old. They were gone within a minute or so...it definitely did NOT ruin our afternoon.

FWIW, I'm in my 30s and listen to everything from rap to country and one of my favorite stations in Van Morrison radio. I don't drive a wakeboard boat. It takes more time to come on here and gripe...knowing that those young kids driving a wake boat enjoying themselves and having fun in the heart of the summer are not paying attention to comments here. If anything, I find the younger generation uses complaints as fuel to continue bothering people (I don't know why).

Behavior Matters...
 

In New Hampshire State Parks, "behavior" can result in being escorted out of the park.

https://www.dncr.nh.gov/news-and-med...-state-forests ...

Thanks God for hearing aids! LOL!

Has anyone else noticed the correlation between boat speakers, excessive volume, and truly crappy music? (And, note, "music" should've been in quotes.)

I must be getting old. ;)

Not So Much "Driving" as "Operating""...
 

I don't know if you've noticed, but where surf-boats (wake-boats) operate, other boating activities--especially skiing--have been made more difficult.

I have a huge view of Winter Harbor. When wake-boats come out, most other boating activities will disappear within a few minutes. There's something very wrong about operating a boat designed to be inefficient.

:rolleye1:

As for youth "paying attention", the lessons that went with boating license awareness has also disappeared.

:rolleye1:

I'm sure the skiers don't like to ski over the huge waves.

My motto in the past was “if it’s too loud your too old” Well…it’s getting to be a bit much out there!
I chalk it up to a complete lack of common sense. And do not blame the young at all!
On the 4th the Tige blasting the hardcore rap…a load of 40-50’s year olds with Wavy Gravy on the back smoking a J. And absolutely stupid/useless the Midnight Express with 3-chime air horns always blasting them.

It’s not a lack of common sense, it’s lack of respect for others. Can we witnessed everywhere


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

I was out kayaking over by Dow Island this past weekend, and a guy in a whitehall-type rowing skiff I passed asked if I could hear his music. I said I could not, and he said good because he didn't want to bother anyone.

15 minutes later, and a half mile away, a wake boat commenced to blasting music that I (and everyone else in the area) could hear loud and clear.

There are all types out there, good and bad...

Welcome to the "old" club.:D