Small Lake Problems

[steakNshake]

I've had my '18 G23 at my in-laws for the past 2 years on a lake that is about 230 acres. I don't surf in the morning, the giving the skiers and crew boats their time, i don't go at night so the pontoon boats can enjoy their wine and sunset, i have a few hours in the day when i can go. I stay in the middle of the lake, not to make any waves on the shoreline (600ft. on each side), and i don't blast my music. I still get people coming up to me saying YOU are destroying my shoreline and you're waves are too big for my pontoon boat, etc... we do about 180 hours a year, so i also get "you are constantly out here, you don't even technically live on this lake". There is a tige, LSV and Supra on the lake too, but they are only out occasionally and don't draw as much attention as i'm friends with all of those boat owners.

Is anyone here having similar problems, or is it just me?

[scottb7]

Yeah, although i am a lake home owner i got that somewhat with my g21 on our 280 acre lake. I had a jetski come up to me and tell me my boat was too big for the lake. I gave it right back to him and said, his "boat" was too small for the lake. And l have plenty of fishing boat and pontoons come chat with me.

But in all seriousness...yeah, it's true, if you watch your waves hit the shoreline, you are doing damage. One can make the argument that times change, and they can put up some kind of shoreline protection. (Heck, I am eroding my own shoreline.) Also, there is no denying that you are rocking everyone out there on the lake with your waves while they are NOT rocking you. And giving people "their time" doesn't make you messing up their shoreline any more acceptable.

So my advice is to do what you want, but recognize what you are doing and not live in denial about it. But that's just me. I am not going to stop wakeboarding with full ballast. But I am also not going lie to myself about it.

[steakNshake]

Agreed scottb7 , I try to go when no one else is out because of the "you are rocking us" commenters, and try to stay in the middle of the lake for the "you are ruining my shoreline" commenters. The waves do dissipate if you stay out in the middle of the lake, i never rock the shoreline by 100ft or anything crazy.

Im with you on the "times are changing" theory, you can always do thing to protect your shoreline better and you can approach me and say "Hi, i'm bob, i'd like to discuss your wave" vs. "Hey, you are destroying my property" ... hard to start a reasonable dialog when people open with that

Boat are more accessible now, more people are getting into lake life, letting their friends keep boats at their docks, etc... most lakes are just getting busier, but i think it's unfair to say 1 boat is going to ruin the whole lake. But i guess if i was 70 and retired and had my canoe for 20 years and these kids came onto the lake with a G, i'd be angry too.

[funkster]

If it’s not a private lake, what difference does it make if you’re not technically the home owner? Even if it is private, is there any written clause that say no guests? Or how can they prove your in-laws don’t hold a share in your boat? Seems like a moot point.

Also there are many studies showing that wakeboats do no more erosion damage than nature.

We ride on a small lake all the time, I’ve notice that using the middle of the lake destroys all the water since the wake/waves distributes to both shorelines. We’ve even went to length of taking single passes and letting the water go calm before another pull. Another way to keep the water as good as possible is no power turns and approach your rider as slow as possible.

Sounds like you’re being responsible and courteous, what else are you supposed to do?


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[steakNshake]

Yes, it is a public lake, but the access isn't easy, so we really don't get any other boats on the lake, however, the town is going to clear out the area and make a huge public ramp next year, so i'm sure people are going to be in for a shock there as well.

My dealer is on the council for the legislation in NH on wake boats, so i'm very familiar, and you are correct that a 10mph wind all day will do just as much damage as 20 passes from my wake boat. BUT, people see the big wave and think destruction, so it's an emotional response that most likely they won't compromise on.

I never do power turns, i stay to the side of the lake that is barely developed, I don't think i can be anymore responsible or courteous, but people get it made up in there head that I am solely responsible for the ruining the lake.

I think the big point is no one is interested in having discussions anymore ... it's A or B and lots of yelling

[Nautiquehunter]

Two things I am sure of electric cars are the future and Surfing small lakes and rivers will be banned. The fact is wile other boats get along with each other when you add one giant surf ship it will stop all other boats not to mention shoreline damage.There has to be limits set because most of the surf ship owners don't even see the problem. I am on Lake Lanier 700 miles of shoreline you would think there is room for everybody? No the surf ships want to go the the small quiet calm coves and tear it up . I don't get it if you are any good at all you don't need glass to surf.

[srock]

This is nothing new.

In the early 80's I was the first non-pontoon/aluminum fishing boat on a small lake in Northern Wisconsin. Mastercraft's were carrying the slogan, "What Wake" at the time. I skied after 10am and no later than 5pm and stayed away from others and even avoided skiing at times of heavy fishing and booze cruising but people still shook their fists at me even at idle.

Fast forward to today, those same people would be happy with a traditional inboard with no tower speakers that did not swamp and pitch their quiet enjoyment crafts and I understand it. Even sitting in my 230 while taking a break, it's not relaxing if there is a surf boat in the vicinity.

I guess we wait for the next big thing to take over surfing and see if it's more acceptable.

[bturner]

I'm hot and cold on this. I would agree that on small lakes these "surf ships" (love the new definition) are out of place and can be just too big for the lake. It sounds like you're doing all the right things but just like the 350 lb guy in the middle seat on the plane you're killing the two other people that have to sit next to you. To make matters worse many people with these surf ships insist on adding another 1000 lbs of ballast making the situation even worse. I've only encountered an angry home owner once as I'm on a larger lake, do the same program as you and am careful about when we go out. That time though one of the crew that day (not the owner) and against my advice and protest decided that he needed to extend the run to within 100 yards of the shore line while the water was high in the spring. Within minutes there's a guy running out of his house to his pontoon boat and over to us to give us all heck. I honestly couldn't blame him as his pontoon boat was nearly landing on his dock.

Unfortunately there has to be limits and as stated above I believe it won't be long before size or weight limitation will be enforced on smaller if not all lakes. That's if we're lucky. I've already heard of lake associations moving to ban all boats will ballast systems and tower speakers for noise issues. A common sense approach needs to be taken when buying a boat for both intended use and the environment it will be used.

Oh and pontoon boats operators are not all angels either. Between the idiots that cruise blindly as if they have an auto pilot or the new ones with twin 250HP engines that recklessly streak across the lake there are plenty of bad actors in their ranks as well.

[Kmayotte]

I've had my '18 G23 at my in-laws for the past 2 years on a lake that is about 230 acres. I don't surf in the morning, the giving the skiers and crew boats their time, i don't go at night so the pontoon boats can enjoy their wine and sunset, i have a few hours in the day when i can go. I stay in the middle of the lake, not to make any waves on the shoreline (600ft. on each side), and i don't blast my music. I still get people coming up to me saying YOU are destroying my shoreline and you're waves are too big for my pontoon boat, etc... we do about 180 hours a year, so i also get "you are constantly out here, you don't even technically live on this lake". There is a tige, LSV and Supra on the lake too, but they are only out occasionally and don't draw as much attention as i'm friends with all of those boat owners.

Is anyone here having similar problems, or is it just me?

Which lake?

I've been to every meeting of the HB137 commission fyi. Have you seen our group for updates? https://www.facebook.com/groups/382958022406673/

We're looking for people to get involved....

[scottb7]

I think another challenge with the surfing is how long you can surf. We wakeboard and we take a couple of maybe 15 minute sets each. So total time blowing up the lake = 15 x 2 sets x 3 riders = 90 minutes, which when I do the math seems like a lot.

But think about if 3 guys or a family is surfing, how many hours they are messing up the lake for others. Probably all day...

Few years ago, I had a friend, whose kid was in gymnastics. Although wakeboarders, we got into surfing for that one summer.. Anyway, point was, she was so good with such good balance that we thought it was awesome that she could go around the whole lake two times without holding the rope. Thinking back on it. I probably messed up the lake for an hour just with her.

[Quinner]

Two things I am sure of electric cars are the future and Surfing small lakes and rivers will be banned.

You may be right Mike, time will only tell.

The who cares it's a public lake attitude is brutal and selfish and your kidding yourself if you think there is any responsible way to throw these massive wakes intentionally on almost any lake, particularly a smaller one. I have been on the same "smaller" lake for 22 years and have never seen mother nature create waves that are as big and destructive as these ballast ships are throwing, in fact when mother nature is creating big waves nobody is out there because it's uncomfortable and potentially dangerous.

It really boils down to people embracing what requires the least amount of effort or skill, precisely why every pro shop you go into has nothing but tubes and surf boards, lol

The unfortunate part is in many cases the surfing issues are being lumped in with skiing and giving it a black eye as well.

Definitely a proponent of all water sports but when it becomes that disruptive to everyone else on the lake, probably should try something else.

[Cadesun]

I am on a ~200 acre lake in southern WI and honestly have far more problems with tubers and jet skis than other surf boats. The surf boats go in straight lines, stay in the middle of the lake, and generally behave as expected. On the other hand, tubers and jetskis crisscross the lake constantly creating waves in ALL directions. Just a couple of these will turn the lake into an unusable and UNSAFE mess.

The shoreline erosion argument is a good one on a small river but the riparian area damaged caused by surf boats is nothing compared to a high wind day (as stated earlier) or ice being driven into the shoreline in the spring.

We have surfed and boarded our lake now for 15 years without a complaint. However, there are pretty strict wake rules (10-2) on weekends so people who don't want to get rocked generally just stay off the water during those four hours. Don't get me wrong, they wake restriction can be an absolute PITA, but it has kept complaints to a minimum and there has been no talk of restricting wake boats on our lake even though several others in our area are considering it.

[funkster]

Nautiquehunter, your “surf ship” description is rather comical. For any boarder to complain about tearing up water is hilarious. I’’m sure you’’ve pissed off many fisherman, leisure boaters, kayakers and skiers with your wake ship. Back in my younger days I used to fume over tubers and jet skiers tearing up “my water”, man that was such a waste of energy. I try as hard as I can not to surf on the small lake that is 1 mile from my house, however, sometimes it’s either go to that lake or not go at all. The other very large lake I frequent in roughly an hour away and sometimes it’s not even an option. I say be mindful of your wake and show curtesy to the other people using OUR lakes. Besides that, there is nothing more you can really do.

BTW, the small like I frequent has speed limit. You can only go over 8MPH from 8AM-6PM. I feel this gives everyone ample opportunity to use the public lake.


Sent from my iPhone using PLT Nautique

[steakNshake]

However, there are pretty strict wake rules (10-2) on weekends so people who don't want to get rocked generally just stay off the water during those four hours. Don't get me wrong, they wake restriction can be an absolute PITA, but it has kept complaints to a minimum and there has been no talk of restricting wake boats on our lake even though several others in our area are considering it.

If it comes to it, I like this idea to extend as the olive branch. It's better than full restriction, and then complaints shouldn't be as bad as people know that's the "wake window". I'm basically already doing it now

[Phil8uga]

It’s not just shoreline damage it is dock damage and personal property damage. I would love to be in the service side of the dock business right now. Good economy and boat mfg.’s keep making boats with bigger wakes. One wave/wake typically does not cause the damage..... it is the constant wake that pounds on the shoreline and boat docks.