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Old 06-18-2007, 06:44 PM   #203
Silver Duck
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Billerica, MA
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Gavia Immer

You don't like fast boats. You don't ike big boats. I'd be curious to know what kind of boat you own, and presumable do like!

Ok, let me address your last response to me point by point.

As for endangering kayaks, I seriously doubt that a cruiser wake would be more than a nuisance to a real kayak (not some inflatable thing or bathtub toy). Kayaks are extremely nimble, capable, seaworthy vessels. Heck, experienced kayakers even use them to traverse whitewater rapids! (I honestly wish that my back didn't prevent my using one to explore parts of the lake that my cruiser can't go.)

I'll take "injury to the casual boater" and "falls within boat" together. First, the rules say that you are supposed to be seated (in a manufactuirer-intended seating location) while underway. Given that, hitting a large wake at speeds that would send a passenger flying and cause injury is, IMHO, reckless operation. (Captain Bonehead sometimes takes the holm on small boats, too!)

As for damage to docked boats, well, cruiser wakes are not the only source of large waves on our lake; Mother Nature sometimes produces some dandy waves with no help from the boating community.

Anybody who cares about their boat should be taking advantage of the many fine products (e.g., fenders, dock bumpers, mooring whips, decent dock lines with snubbers) designed to prevent wave damage at the dock. (I utilize all of the above, plus back into my slip so the boat's bow faces outward.)

The above statement about Mother Nature also pertains to shoreline erosion. When Mother Nature gets her dander up, she flings waves with no letup whatever, sometimes for days on end. That purely has to be harder on a shoreline than wake action. If your shoreline is vulnerable to erosion, you're polluting the lake. Please stop it by fixing your shoreline, ASAP!

As for injury to a swimmer, I've never heard of a single documented case of this on our lake; have you? By the way, my 89 year old father prefers ocean swimming because he enjoys the waves!

Likewise swampings; cases I've heard of were because of natural lake conditions (such as the recent one off Bear Island).

Canoes, I'll give you; they scare the heck out of me and I won't come anywhere near one (let alone within 150 feet) except at a dead slow crawl. I personally don't think that they belong out of the most sheltered coves on the calmest of days. Seems like they manage to get swamped with monotonous regularity even without assistance from boat wakes.

By the way, I personally enjoy "pootling along" at, if not headway speed, well below hull speed. It's relaxing and much easier on the fuel bills!

Silver Duck
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