New Rules of the Road...

E

eddiezuskin

New Member
Oct 6, 2006
141
Chesapeake Bay
Boat Info
1987 250DA
Engines
5.7L Alpha 1
At least here on the Chesapeake Bay this weekend. Its called Get out of My Way Unless you want Me to Hit You With My Boat. In 2 days I had 2 different experiences with other boaters that crossed my bow from my port side in no wake zone and one even had his wife on the bow pointing their intended course across my bow in case I may have thought I had the right of way, which of course I had. When I yelled over if she'd read the book she had no idea what book I was referring to nor did the Captain when I suggested he read the book again. Maybe they thought I was referring to the Bible.

The third was a 35-40' cruiser that came up on my starboard side at 20knots and just started to steer towards me to cross in front before he had gotten ahead of me. I laid on my horn but backed off the throttle to avoid being "run off the road" so it seemed.

Geez. Holiday boaters. Hope they go back to the pool til Labor Day.

Eddie
 
I had a guy blow by me as we came out of a small lock single file (he was behind me in the lock) - in a clearly marked no wake / 5mph zone, and cut me off as he squeezed in front of a buoy. In the same lock there was a sailboat who screamed down the 5mph channel at well over 15 mph. I passed him 20 minutes later as he docked at a yacht club in Buffalo.

Unreal...
 
Clearly pointing your intended course trumps any other method! And the 35 footer, probably figured he'd already run over you and destroyed you with his props when he made the move! I refuse to go where it's busy on the holiday weekend! You also get the boats that won't start tying up the launch ramps and needing a tow back in about an hour later!
 
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Some people got a really good deal on their boat and its really easy to operate (there are no yellow lines to cross or curbs to hit) and you don't even need a drivers license (in most states) to operate one. PLUS they can't be that difficult to drive because they didn't even put brakes on them.... Yes there does seem to be an influx of "new" owners out there (don't even get me started on the personal watercraft operators!!) - Jeff
 
Same deal down on Tilghman Island. It's basically "single file" in and out of Knapps Narrows - it's a very narrow approach. "My Buddy" decided that two abreast was just fine with him. I nearly had to stop to prevent running aground.

Have you ever had one of these moments when you say to yourself, "where are the cops when you need them". It was my lucky day, a Sheriff boat was two boats back and pulled him over. :smt038
 
Ahhh... Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor Day - the 3 days of the year where people who use their boats 3 days out of the year are out and around. Gotta love it.

Nobody cut me off or anything, but Monday morning as I was standing at the head looking out the portlight I saw a runaway boat in the marina. It was in reverse, at idle speed, just zigzagging its way along backward with no one at the helm until it backed up perpendicular to the pier and came to rest against it with a pretty hard "thud". I'm standing there looking, and I see a lady from one of the houses near the marina standing on her pier looking over at the marina yelling, "Hey!.. Hey!... Hey! You in the water...". Right about then, I see a guy hoisting himself up onto the pier. He get out of the water looks around sheepishly to see if anybody was looking, and then hops in the boat and takes off. Fortunately, his boat hit the only 15 feet of open space on the whole pier, right between 2 boats.

An hour later, a fully loaded (at least 6 adults on board + a couple of kids) bow rider comes tooling by the marina on the wrong side of the seawall where the water is extremely skinny, and the bottom rocky. The happy idiot made it across, and then proceded to take a diagonal course across the channel and on his way. I have no idea why or how he didn't hit anything. Now that he's managed to do it once, I suspect that we will see him try the same stunt again later. I hope he comes through at high tide again.

Amateur hour - you gotta love it!
 
Some people are just jerks out there! Last weekend after i hit a dead head and destroyed my prop, i was getting a tow back into the marina by a another boater. On the way in i had a boat come across us from the port side at high speed, throwing a huge wake. Already not in the greatest mood, i had to deal with this idot. Needless to say my daughter got educated on some very choice words out of my mouth.:smt013
 
Great tip ... I'm going to start pointing which way I am going out my car window so I can get places faster and not worry about traffic.

:thumbsup:

We too experienced some selfish and dangerous boaters this past weekend.

The first was 3 cigarette boats who passed us (2 on one side and one on the other) at less than 50 feet doing 50+ MPH (the speed limit on the lake is 45 MPH). As they passed they were laughing. Their 3 foot wakes came at us from both side and nearly swamped our 23' BR (we were doing about 20 MPH) and they scared the crap out of my 5 and 7 year old daughters and my wife. There guys thought they were so cool, smart and funny, that they turned around and did it again. I wish I could have gotten at least one of the registration numbers. Hopefully when they wreck they will only take their own lives. I hate that there are people out there who try and wreck a good family time and have no common sense.

:smt013

The second was almost like you described in your first post. We were crossing between 2 islands and a larger, faster BR was coming across our bow. The driver actually held up his hand for us to stop and gunned his boat to make it across our bow. All I could do was stare at him with a blank expression.

:wow:

I find it unbelievable that it's easier to get a license and drive a boat than it is a car.

Stay safe!
 
Ah, yes. Some of the many reasons I no longer take the boat out on holiday weekends.
 
We enjoy sitting atop my brother-in-law's houseboat sipping our Margaritas & what not in the late afternoons awaiting the next illiterate dummy headed back to his or her dock who decides it's faster to cross the area marked with "Hazardous" buoys than to go around them. The bouys are there for boater safety, of course, and located maybe 100 yards out and to the right of his slip. They mark a big sand bar just under the water's surface. It's unbelievable how many folks will ignore the bouys and end up learning the hard way why they are there. I can't count the number of boats we've sat there and watched, waiting for the moment their boat hits the sand bar, then applauding when they do. Saw a houseboat try it and ended up marooned for a week; saw a nice cigar boat ruin its outdrive & engine cause he kept trying to plow his way out; and many many more, mostly smaller boats and jet skis. Of course, if we are down on the dock and see one heading that way we'll wave and yell a warning and most think we're waving at them. But when we're settled in up top with our toddies, it's "on with the show." I think I'll record some of these idiots this summer and put the best ones on this site.
 
Geez, we haven't even started talking about the polite and courteous behavior we all see at the ramp.
 
On our river it is the pontoon boats that come out three times a year from the lake to watch the fireworks.. can't operate their "boat".. always overloaded and do not understand the meaning of "no wake" posted all over our marina !!!
 
I'm convinced that when noobs see "NO WAKE" the are scratching their heads and wondering why can't you have a funeral there??
 
Funny incident 2 weeks ago.

I'm launching my Jet Ski out at West End. Husband and wife pull up in suv with p.o.s. boat. They back down the slip to launch and the boat's battery is dead. So hubbie pulls boat and trailer back up on the ramp. Hubbie unhitches the trailer and turns the suv around to the stern of the boat to give it a jump. He then goes to the back of the suv to get his jumper cables, and then he opens the driver door to pop the hood. As he opens the driver's door, I hear a big "SWOOSH".

Yep, the boat and the trailer are in the drink with NO tow vehicle attached.

The wife was trying to save the trailer (which was just sitting), I told her forget the trailer, you need to be trying to get your boat (floating away).:lol:

After all of that, the wife is begging me to give them a "jump" from my jet ski. She didn't understand english too well (oriental couple) but I think she finally understood when I showed her my battery.

She then started to rant and rave at me cause I couldn't jump their dead battery, in whatever language she spoke, so I simply said, Lady, I NO PUNK B!TCH. Then I pulled off and almost pissed my trunks LMFAO:smt043:smt043:smt043!!!
 
I was followed for probably 5 miles by an annoying gnat - ie: some doosh on a PWC going back and forth across my wake, doing breathtaking jumps. Amused my wife and daughter. I had to watch where I was going so I couldn't wait for the imminent disaster that never occurred.
 
I like to turn around and jump THEIR wake! Their eyes get kind of big! It looks like aerial combat from WWII in 2D! :grin:
 
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One July 4th I saw a heavily loaded, low riding pontoon going about 15mph. A few people moved toward the front at the same time and it went submarine. This caused more people to tumble to the front. A third the deck was under water and the rear raised lifting the outboard out of the water roaring away. No one fell off, the boat settled back down and all was fine. I could hear a few WTFs as they continued on.
 
jamesgang said:
We enjoy sitting atop my brother-in-law's houseboat sipping our Margaritas & what not in the late afternoons awaiting the next illiterate dummy headed back to his or her dock who decides it's faster to cross the area marked with "Hazardous" buoys than to go around them.
Click to expand...

You need to print and hold up large score cards after they get themselves in trouble...10.0!! :smt001

I had my own share of incidents recently. This past Sunday while going under a small bridge to get to the Potomac River (St. George's Island), I slowed to no wake speed as posted and had a smaller center console with 3 adults come up on me fast from behind. My wife commented if they were going to stop or not, but they slowed. As soon as we got under and past the bridge, they proceeded to push the throttle and pass me in on my starboard side...all the while I'm pretty much hugging the fixed pilings marked green on my starboard side! They went through numerous crab pot buoys and on their way...

Last fall, a non-holiday, the water was very choppy and my little boat was smashing up and down, I was a minimum planing speed. This 40+ foot boat is having an easy time with it, coming up on me. Passes me on my port side...and then turns to starboard, cuts in front of me to head up another river. So now I had to not only manage the natural waves, but now this guys huge wake. Was not fun...and that guy was a complete idiot.

I could go on... :smt101
 
We were delivering a jetski the other day and i noticed an arab couple at the launch putting their boat in. They rolled into the tie down lanes with the full travel cover on the boat. Looking like they hadn't done their pre-prep at the house. the guy launches his boat then suddenly realizes that the battery is dead. I lost it after i heard "the battery worked last year".
 
Anyone else see a dozen or so boats out there last weekend with a small militia of passengers riding on the bow? UGH!
 
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