Loud boats, car and especially motorcyles are my pet peeve. I'm sure there are lots of people who modify thier exhausts to gain performance but most just do it because it sounds nice and it attracts attention. That's why I put sidepipes on my Firebird in high school.
What I didn't realize or at least didn't care about, was that although it sounded nice to me, it was really annoying to most other people. Eventually the police department convinced me, that being loud and annoying was expensive and unwise.
For the life of me I can't understand why today's police put up with almost complete disregard for the law by some motorcycle riders. During bike week, I bet 1/3 of the Harleys on the road are in violation. Sure they give out a few tickets but that's not enough. When I got defective equipment tickets in the old days, I could not drive the vehicle until it was fixed. Once they made me tow the car.
The same rule should apply to boats. If your boat fails the sound measurement they should impound it until you fix it. I don't have a point of reference for the current sound law, are compliant boats still too loud or are rules too strict the other way. All I know is that there are a few boats on the lake that are a lot louder than I think they should be. One time in the channel behind one my ears literally hurt.
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