Trying to Ban Wakeboard Boats

[bwana50]

The city's proposed restriction sounds ridiculous to me, but - why the "if I have to go, so do they" attitude? While working against the ban, I'd be thankful they weren't enacting a ban on ALL watersports.

[SkiTower]

but - why the "if I have to go, so do they" attitude?

I agree. If you can't stop it all together, I would be working on minimizing the restrictions to give you as many loopholes as possible. Don't try to drag everybody else down with you.

[DanielC]

They are also talking about wakeboard boats in Oregon, on the Willamette river. The two main issues, dock damage, and loud music.
My opinion, do you really need 3000 pounds of ballast to do a single wake 180? Learn to cut, and load the line. I am also not a big fan of wakesurfing. Most boats to wakesurf are loaded above the USCG capacity. Wakesurfing also puts our boats at and the plowing speed that we point to wallys, and fishermen, we use for an example to justify our large wakes.
You are responsible for the damage your wake causes.
You are operating your boat unlawfully if it is overloaded.
Most of the people who can afford to have a nice dock and live on the Willamette river are not a demographic that enjoys loud and sometimes profane music that has a limited chord structure. No real damage is caused by loud music, but it does cause attention to be drawn to us, and the potential damage that might be done. I believe it would help if we police ourselves.
Oregon's response:
http://www.boatoregon.com/OSMB/WakePage/WakePage.shtml

[waketime]

okay, you guys are missing my point. All I'm trying to do is make it clear to the city council members that some of the newer "wake" boats with the towers and ballast are the same as some of the other older boats on the lake. They just dont have all the bells and whistles. so if my boat is to be banned so should the others with the same hulls. I would never try to spoil the fun for everyone. I just want them to know that this is a bigger than just all the boats out ther with towers and ballast. thats all.... Anyways we found the source of the new ordinance. It is one guy(fisherman) who sits on city council and proposed it. He states we create an unsafe wake for fishermen fishing and that we are causing erosion.

[gride300]

well why not ban all non wakeboarders/boats. god owns the water and air. i had a fisherman run over my rope, almost take my friends' old lady's arm off, and speed away. if big wakes are the problem then any boat that can throw a wake the same size as an unweighted board boat should be banned. pleasure cruisers make huge wakes cruising around. cant we all just get along

[Hollywood]

I would think any boat pulling a wakeboarder is instantly a "wakeboat" regardless of what it says on the side, tower, or ballast.

[SkiTower]

If the issue is wake size, then the fisherman should be glad he doesn't live on Lake Norman (NC). There are tons of 'cigar' boats, pleasure yachts, etc...It's everything a wakeboard boat can do to ride down the main channel on a holiday (and last Memorial Day these guys actually raced all the way up the lake). Wakeboard boats are the least of their worries...

waketime, what I think you are doing is right: trying to explain to a bunch of narrow-minded rule makers how difficult it would be to control something like 'wakeboarders', which is actually a sport you can do behind virtually any boat.

[DanielC]

I have seen flips thrown behin my 1997 ski nautique, with a legal (not overweight) load. I also know a friend of mine who learned to wakeboard behind a mid 1970 16 foot Fiberform with a 70 HP Johnson outboard motor. He could do a tantrum behind that boat.