Wakesurf Specific Lobbyists

[GMLIII]

Does anyone know if the wake boat industry has hired any Wakesurf specific lobbyists? I would like to know the current situation in this regard and suggestions for the future with wakesurf lobbyists. Please for this discussion thread lets place, "More Education" comments on the shelf, that is the easy "Go To" answer for all that is wrong with wakesurfing in todays environment.

On my home lake in Virginia, a legislative bill was just defeated placing more restrictions on wakesurfing. As more proposed wakesurfing restrictions are popping up across the country on a more frequent basis, I was wondering if more Wakesurf lobbyists were getting placed around the country.

[mooneywa]

I'd be extremely surprised if there's anything as specific as "wake surf" lobbyists. I'd even be surprised if there's lobbyists whose sole purpose would be advocating for wake sports specifically. There probably are lobbyists who work for a watersports boat building industry group, but even that may be somewhat limited since there often aren't a TON of legislative issues that affect the industry directly such that they would hire a lobbyist ($$$) to work on their behalf. I'd call Nautique directly and see if they'll put you in touch with their PR people. That would be the first place to start to get a decent answer. And frankly if they aren't helpful I'd go down the list of wake boat manufacturers until you get someone who will.

I'd say the best traction on your own would likely be with a lake association hiring a lobbyist or PR firm, but within that association you're likely to have competing interests on the surfing front. The only place I've seen this be uniformly effective was with Georgia Power on Lake Burton and prior anecdotal evidence with the Brazos River Authority on Possum Kingdom (I'm sure there's others) but that was regarding water rights and likely was only effective because some very powerful people within the state that have property on the lakes pulled the right strings. Maybe you are those people...?

You can always start a PAC. In my industry we have two PACs that represent our pilots at a national level and at a local level. They'll often even separately fund opposing candidates but the message is consistently the same in furthering our interests. I have absolutely no idea what the legal requirements are to start a PAC and I'm sure the time required is immense, but money talks.

[GMLIII]

mooneywa thanks for your input. My thought was as more of these legislative issues directed at wakesurf keep popping up on a more frequent basis that the wake boat industry would sort of "Wake Up" and hire these lobbyists if nothing else to protect their own business interest in the manufacturing of wake boats before their sales could potentially tank from further legislative restrictions on wakesurfing in particular.

I know on my home lake, the lake assocation is anti-wakesurfing so we would get no traction there unfortunately; competing interest as you noted above.

Looks like too much work. I guess I will leave the problem to the next generation since I will probably retire from wakesurfing at my age before it becomes banned completely sooner then later.

[Nautiquehunter]

What argument would you make to support wakesurfing as a positive for anybody not on the surf boat?

[GMLIII]

What argument would you make to support wakesurfing as a positive for anybody not on the surf boat?

Helps generate the local economy around the lakes and/or bodies of water from fuel, boat sales , water sport accessories, restaurants, boat repairs ,vacation rentals, etc. In addition, a large majority of wake boat owners are in the top 1% of income earners thereby spending more in the local economy in and around lakes then the rest of us. I have no data to support my viewpoint, but if I had to guess, I'm not far off.

[XBIGPUN66]

I would have to think the manufacturers would have lobbyists working on this issue. The watersports associations also

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[Nautiquehunter]

Helps generate the local economy around the lakes and/or bodies of water from fuel, boat sales , water sport accessories, restaurants, boat repairs ,vacation rentals, etc. In addition, a large majority of wake boat owners are in the top 1% of income earners thereby spending more in the local economy in and around lakes then the rest of us. I have no data to support my viewpoint, but if I had to guess, I'm not far off.

All of that is true but the same can be said for all boating not just surfers. As far as dollar amounts the big cruisers, yachts and fishing boats support the local economy much more than wake surfers.

[GMLIII]

All of that is true but the same can be said for all boating not just surfers. As far as dollar amounts the big cruisers, yachts and fishing boats support the local economy much more than wake surfers.

Yes and no . What I’m trying to say is a wake boat owner is going to spend more on the local economy then most boaters ( the sheer cost of these boats and everything that goes along with them including more repairs then most boats, good chance the owner is in the 1% of income earners as well) . Maybe on same level as big cruisers and yachts but not all boaters . Bottom line these owners will spend more in the local economy then most boaters GENERALLY

[Nautiquehunter]

Yes and no . What I’m trying to say is a wakeboard owner is going to spend more on the local economy then most boaters ( the sheer cost of these boats and everything that goes along with them including more repairs then most boats, good chance the owner is in the 1% of income earners as well) . Maybe on same level as big cruisers and yachts but not all boaters . Bottom line these owners will spend more in the local economy then most boaters GENERALLY

Go look at a 30' Searay

[GMLIII]

Go look at a 30' Searay

Yeah once wake-surfing gets banned for good that boat would be a good option for me. LOL

[Nautiquehunter]

I'm not trying to sell you one. I'm just saying if you think you need to be at the top 1% of earnings to own a wakesurf boat you should check out 30' plus boats where a fuel fill up can be in the thousands and the mechanic has to come to your slip for service on top of 500k plus just to buy it .Did I mention the dock fees ? I always said if you gave me a new 40' Fountain I couldn't afford to feed, insure or maintain it.

[jtryon]

What argument would you make to support wakesurfing as a positive for anybody not on the surf boat?

what argument would you make to support ANY boat as a positive for the people not on it? it's no different for wakeboard/surf boats.

[Wornwater]

mooneywa thanks for your input. My thought was as more of these legislative issues directed at wakesurf keep popping up on a more frequent basis that the wake boat industry would sort of "Wake Up" and hire these lobbyists if nothing else to protect their own business interest in the manufacturing of wake boats before their sales could potentially tank from further legislative restrictions on wakesurfing in particular.

I know on my home lake, the lake assocation is anti-wakesurfing so we would get no traction there unfortunately; competing interest as you noted above.

Looks like too much work. I guess I will leave the problem to the next generation since I will probably retire from wakesurfing at my age before it becomes banned completely sooner then later.

Wow. What's wrong with wakesurfing? I think it's rad. I didn't realize people were against wakesurfing until I read this thread. Heck, not to many people even know what wakesurfing is in the first place, so I'm surprised that there is anyone against the sport. Why do people not like wakesurfing? Why is anyone anti-wakesurfing? I guess I haven't been paying attention and have missed something. On your home lake, do they allow water skiing and wakeboarding and just don't like wakesurfing? This is all very surprising to me.

[Nautiquehunter]

Wow. What's wrong with wakesurfing? I think it's rad. I didn't realize people were against wakesurfing until I read this thread. Heck, not to many people even know what wakesurfing is in the first place, so I'm surprised that there is anyone against the sport. Why do people not like wakesurfing? Why is anyone anti-wakesurfing? I guess I haven't been paying attention and have missed something. On your home lake, do they allow water skiing and wakeboarding and just don't like wakesurfing? This is all very surprising to me.

Next time you are out look at what the wake does to the docks,shore line and other smaller boats. I am not anti surf but it needs to be done in a place that is not disruptive to others.

[bturner]

I'm not trying to sell you one. I'm just saying if you think you need to be at the top 1% of earnings to own a wakesurf boat you should check out 30' plus boats where a fuel fill up can be in the thousands and the mechanic has to come to your slip for service on top of 500k plus just to buy it .Did I mention the dock fees ? I always said if you gave me a new 40' Fountain I couldn't afford to feed, insure or maintain it.

Got this lesson years and years ago (it sucks getting old). Back in the cocaine cowboy days in south Florida I came close to buying a 28' Pantera offshore for a song off the DEA auction lot. They were pretty much giving these confiscation boats away and this one actually looked pretty good except for the 10 quarts of oil in the bilge and the hole in the side of the block of one of the motors. Called my dad who was a master mechanic to see if we could rebuild them cheap enough to make the deal work and he said sure, but how are you going to feed and care for that boat after it's fixed?

That's when it hit me. Even if I got the boat for free, putting 100+ gallons of gas at a time in that monster with 2 - 454s was going to cost a ton and not last that long. Then I'd need a well for the boat for another grand a year and I'd need to insure a monster power boat. After doing some quick math I walked away from the deal and never looked at another offshore boat again. Did the same thing with a couple very attractive deals I came across on a couple cruisers along the way but ended up with the same math each time.

Heck, I couldn't have afforded any of the boats I've owned if I wouldn't have been able to restore and do all the work on the boats myself. The first 4 boats I owned were all a mess when I bought them but I knew I could fix them then flip them to get to the next level. Some 12 boats later I finally got to buying the last 2 that were actually less than 3 years old and in pretty good condition (comparatively speaking) but even those were bought at a discount due to needing work. It always amazes me how poorly some people will treat a new and very expensive boat or car.

Anyway, truth of the matter is that while boating is cool, it is expensive.