riding on the bow (and what we saw today)

[randmhall]

We watched a boat with a rear facing seat with three teen girls sitting facing aft blast by us on plane. Is that safe? I also never let anyone on the bow underway at speed. For line handling, sometimes, but never during a transit.

Nice article...http://www.propellersafety.com/6893/legal-propeller/swim-platform-seats-attractive-nuisance/

 

[highslice]

Coming back into the marina and when a wake boat went zooming ahead of us in the narrow channel. Caught me a bit by surprise going that fast in such confined waters.... and then noticed he was pulling a tube with someone hanging on for dear life.

Do they realize that 34,000 lbs is not going to stop on a dime? Or that I am likely to hit or at the least scare-to-death anyone who falls into the water in front of me? Common sense doesn't appear to be common...

This happens on our lake all the time. People pull little kids on tubes in the main channel no matter the conditions and regardless of the traffic. Ours is not a small lake and can be very affected by wind. It is nothing to be running through 3+ footers with erratic frequency. It can be impossible to pick out a bobbing head in those conditions. Plus there are tons of 36+ foot boats that have no chance of stopping if a kid falls off the tube while the "captain" is pulling it into the course of a big bow rider or cruiser.

I hope it is just ignorance of the rules and lack of common sense rather than the complete lack of concern for their passengers' safety.