Good wake w/o upsetting the neighbors ?

[DanielC]

There is a ban on wake producing devices on the Willamette river in Oregon. Goes into effect next year.
I have had riders throw inverts and spins behind my 1997 Ski, loaded legally.
I have also seen many people just riding in a straight line, without ever crossing the wake, behind many overloaded boats.
Do you really need 3000 pounds of ballast, to throw a single wake 180?
Reality is, the huge wake you make does destroy the water for other people, and yourself until the wakes dissipate.
Make no mistake about it, towers, ballast tanks, and under water wedge shaped devices were invented and developed to increase profits.
Remember when the closed bow Ski boat was the flagship of a tow boat companies line? Now, there is much more profit in wide beam wake board barges with every option, including a kitchen sink, and built in trash can.
I would suggest that wake bans are coming. Police yourselves now, and maintain the freedom to use then when needed, rather than be told that nobody can use them.
Sorry, I probably used up some of the good will I got telling others how to fix their boats.

[wake4life6]

bans thats so stupid they should ban tubers going all around the lake when there wakes start hitting each other just as big as are wakes. and they ruin the lake for everyone else!

[bkhallpass]

Supersquirt, if Air is his how you measure wakeboarding, then I see your point. To me, that's not the point. I have a nephew who is young, fearless and athletic. He can go huge, but he can't do anything. Can barely even ride switch. He goes about three times as high as I do, and much further out in the flats, but that's it. All there is. If the only thing I could do was jump high and far, over and over and over, then I'd get pretty bored, pretty fast. To me, doing the tricks and moves is the interesting part. Taking those moves big is the icing on the cake. Of course for the most advanced moves for which you need big air, the guys who can do those moves justify the huge wake to begin with. To each their own.

BKH

[SuperSquirt]

Sorry BK, you still haven't sold me.....limits and rules have always been designed to be broken. So you are telling me that a kid who can only do a wake jump would not enjoy his jump more if he got 10 feet higher in the air? Its similar to jumping on a small trampoline for an hour, and then getting onto a big trampoline for an hour. Do you really think the kid would want to go back to the little trampoline??

Just compare the differences 10 years have done in the Air Nautique wakes. Imagine what will be available in another 10 years????

I understand that some of you guys don't want big wakes or might be a little intimidated by them, but don't go around telling us (hardcore riders) what to do with our $50K boats. Would you flag down a dude driving down the road in a Corvette and ask him to slow it down? Thats what I thought.

[gride300]

i'm going to disagree here. towers were invented to allow a rider to get pulled straight rather than down. i would have to say that jet skis and tubers f up the water far more than a weighted boat. the only ballast you can see in my boat is the bow sac. and when i do wakeboard one of my favorite things to do is a huge melan nosebone 180 into the flats. riding short ropes and baby wakes are not fun for me(i can manage though) also, big yachts cruising between idle and planed off are also bad. it seems that you need to go to a city council meeting and spread some knowledge that you can't ban weight in a boat, but really just wakes, and if you do that its not enforceable because i don't think any marine police are going to get up behind u w/ a yard stick. fight the power.
p.s. you can always inform someone that your ballast bag is used as a poor man's trim tab or something, not for big wake.

[bkhallpass]

And I won't sell you on this. As I said to each his own.

I agree, if all you can do is jump a wake then going higher and farther will probably make it fun. To me, that would get old awful quickly and I would get bored with it. Apparently there are those who don't. From my perspective, if that's how you get your kicks, why screw around with a wakeboard wake. Why not get on a set of jump ski and really get some air.

I wouldn't flag down a Corvette, and I'm not flagging down any wakeboard boats either. If you are what I would deam a hardcore rider, you probably can take advantage of a big wake. I love watching guys and gals who know what they are doing go big. But, if you're like me, a lot of people that get on your boat have no need for such a wake. I don't get a lot of enjoyment watching 100s of boats do circles all day picking up riders who crash on wakes that were too big for them in the first place.

BKH

[gride300]

if i have someone who is not used to riding behind a wake boat or a 210 for that matter i won't do anything but stock ballast. i remember my first cut into the wake on a 210 fully weighted on lake mitchell, al and i can still feel the boot off that wake.

[saceone]

RE: Re: RE: Re: Good wake w/o upsetting the neighbors ?

flame suit on*
I ride my 02 210TE with the tanks EMPTY
flame suit off*

[MyWakeIsBigger]

RE: Re: RE: Re: Good wake w/o upsetting the neighbors ?

I think if you wanted to do it kinda legit instead of filling the ballast just get a boat load full of people?

[krs0394]

RE: Re: RE: Re: Good wake w/o upsetting the neighbors ?

Very interesting thread. My thought, the water is for everyone, not just the wakeboarders, skiers, tubers, jet skiers, etc. Once you start putting limits on wake size----- Man whats next???? Very SCARY Yellow_Flash_Colorz:

[SkiTundra]

RE: Re: RE: Re: Good wake w/o upsetting the neighbors ?

Yes, the water is for everyone. However, I know many of the people on my lake and don't really care to tick them all off. I really try to be extremely considerate about wakes and noise. Only fill the ballasts as much as necessary for the rider, try to stay away from slalom course or fisherfolk or docks or swim areas, etc.

A second thought, and one of my primary thoughts in starting this thread, is if there is a way to create a wake that is good for riding but dissipates faster or is otherwise less offensive to others. EG, is it possible to have a great wake for those who want/need it AND one that doesn't anger half the people on the lake?

[DanielC]

RE: Re: RE: Re: Good wake w/o upsetting the neighbors ?

I do not think there is a way to create a wake that dissipates away from the boat. I am a show ski boat driver, and part of the training is how to aim the boat to keep wakes out of the show course. Once a wake is created, it goes on until it hits something, and then the energy is dissipated.
Think about it, in the ocean, people surf waves made by storms hundreds, or thousands of miles away.
Once the wake is a smooth top roller, with no white water, I think it is the size and shape that it will have for a long time, and distance.

[TravisFling]

RE: Re: RE: Re: Good wake w/o upsetting the neighbors ?

Just a point here, but I think the majority of the issues with large wakes have to do with erosion, not disrupting other boaters... I think you'll find in most places with bans (usually lakes with homes on the shore???) it's about someone's property disappearing into the water... A lot of people here on my lake have been putting in seawalls, which makes it rougher on the water, unfortunately..

[DanielC]

In Oregon, this is old news. Like I posted previously, there will be a ban on wake producing devices on parts of the Willamette river.
I believe a significant part of this is coming from "environmental" types, I think this organization is a large part of that:
http://www.willamette-riverkeeper.org/WRK/newsroom.html
Another factor is our state governor is very pro environmental movement.
There are people within these types of organizations that "want to see the river returned to the state it was 150 years ago"
That means no power boats. That means no dams. That means no flood control.
There were several public forums before the Oregon State Marine Board made this rule about the Willamette river, and bank erosion was brought up a lot. Never mind that the banks some people see eroding in the summertime from their canoe, are under water 5 to 15 feet in the winter, with a lot higher stream flow that washes everything down river. The ban was also proposed to be only by docks, that dissipate the energy of wakes before the wake hits the shore, protecting the bank.
During the meetings I went to, there were some riverfront home owners, that complained about damage to their docks caused by wake board boats, and boats being used for wake surfing.
There were also complaints about loud music disturbing the quiet along the river, and some complaints about "unsavory"actions by people in wake board boats. Some people get upset when you stand up on the platform and pee in the river. Some people get upset when somebody else flashes their breasts.

You need to start paying attention to what is going on in your state. If you do not, you may lose your favorite waterway to enjoy with your friends, and family.
This issue is way bigger than just keeping your neighbors happy.

Boat dealers, this does impact you. Pay attention to it.

[SkiTundra]

Daniel raises a very important issue. If WE don't deal with this now, someone else will.