Proposed No Wakesurfing Zones Smith Mountain Lake, VA

[GMLIII]

Here was the results of the 1st tri-county proposed No Wakesurf zones on Smith Mountain Lake VA from the Tue meeting.

https://thefranklinnewspost.com/news...hfHVHdu62beFZc

[Nautiquehunter]

I used to think the tubers and jet ski's ruined the water but they are nothing compared to surf ships.

[bturner]

Let me start with "GET OFF MY LAWN". Yeah I'm getting old and a bit grouchy but who didn't see this coming? Expect to see more of this and worse as the boats get bigger and idiots and soccer mom's buy them. With just 2 outings so far for the season we've already witnessed some heated exchanges with surf ships cruising by boats rafted up. Let's just say no one was impressed with their surf skills and certainly not with their boating edicate.....

[DVskier]

I’m a skier, don’t wakeboard, don’t surf. I get out early with the other old farts and ski. As such the surfers don’t really bother me, however many of my neighbors who have invested hundreds of thousands of their hard earned money in lakefront homes do care. This is only going to get worsen and I forecast that there will come a time when stringent laws will be passed to alleviate large wakes in proximity to shorelines. Many of the lakefront homeowners have suffered damage to their docks due to large waves pounding on them continuously.

[GMLIII]

I will say the folks attending the meeting in favor of the proposed No Wake zone were very informed and had their crap together in regards to the wakesurf industry.. They knew the specifications of these boats and the amount of stock ballast each of them carries. In a nut shell, they were armed and ready to fight our industry.

[mooneywa]

It's hard to tell, based on the article, what exactly the specific desired outcome is from some of the land owners here. A No-WakeSurf Zone in a cove that is 400' wide? Yeah that makes complete sense - someone who is surfing in there is nothing other than an inconsiderate ________. Somewhere else, if they want a NWSZ and they had 75% of their neighbors agree and the lake association put bouy's 200' out from their place, again... I'd be ALL in favor of it - I even thought 300' was the expectation. But it wasn't clear what someone not on a channel, cove, etc. gets if they get a NWSZ approved.

What mystifies me is why lake associations/wildlife patrol/etc. aren't much more proactive about informing wake boaters. Put giant sings up at ramps, marinas, and on bouys "DON'T ROCK THE DOCK." I have sent multiple messages to the Brazos River Authority about it and it's ignored and instead we're bombarded with info on full-on No Wake Zones, which cover maybe 5% of our lake.

I wake surf a LOT and I know my way around boats. But the education wasn't there for me and it was only through my own desire to follow the rules of the road did I figure out safe distances from docks and other boats. It's still a work in progress withs some *other* family members and education is the only thing that will fix the problem.

How often was that topic brought up at this meeting? Were there discussions of a campaign for sensible wake management?

[GMLIII]

It's hard to tell, based on the article, what exactly the specific desired outcome is from some of the land owners here. A No-WakeSurf Zone in a cove that is 400' wide? Yeah that makes complete sense - someone who is surfing in there is nothing other than an inconsiderate ________. Somewhere else, if they want a NWSZ and they had 75% of their neighbors agree and the lake association put bouy's 200' out from their place, again... I'd be ALL in favor of it - I even thought 300' was the expectation. But it wasn't clear what someone not on a channel, cove, etc. gets if they get a NWSZ approved.

What mystifies me is why lake associations/wildlife patrol/etc. aren't much more proactive about informing wake boaters. Put giant sings up at ramps, marinas, and on bouys "DON'T ROCK THE DOCK." I have sent multiple messages to the Brazos River Authority about it and it's ignored and instead we're bombarded with info on full-on No Wake Zones, which cover maybe 5% of our lake.

I wake surf a LOT and I know my way around boats. But the education wasn't there for me and it was only through my own desire to follow the rules of the road did I figure out safe distances from docks and other boats. It's still a work in progress withs some *other* family members and education is the only thing that will fix the problem.

How often was that topic brought up at this meeting? Were there discussions of a campaign for sensible wake management?

There were some wake surfing driving classes in an around the lake along with a big marketing campaign but still here we are. No saying education is not needed but education is not the "go to answer" for everything wrong with wake surfing unfortunately.

[mooneywa]

Pardon the ignorance, but I'm not sure really what else can be done that all stakeholders would be onboard with besides education? Mfgrs, property owners, and boat owners don't exactly make a Venn diagram on this.

I wish there was a magic solution, but I think it just comes down to people are low Situational Awareness idiots. As I type this, I just watched some folks renting the place next door to us smack the dock with their rented outboard and only tie it off with a bow rope. So maybe you're right, education won't do a dang thing.

[GMLIII]

Pardon the ignorance, but I'm not sure really what else can be done that all stakeholders would be onboard with besides education? Mfgrs, property owners, and boat owners don't exactly make a Venn diagram on this.

I wish there was a magic solution, but I think it just comes down to people are low Situational Awareness idiots. As I type this, I just watched some folks renting the place next door to us smack the dock with their rented outboard and only tie it off with a bow rope. So maybe you're right, education won't do a dang thing.

No easy answer for sure. As it has been said thousands of times, "Get Off My Lawn" is the only explanation I can understand. I think about it daily and wake surfing and their boats are the target right now unfortunately. I love to wake surfing as well but I think our time is limited with this sport based on what is occurring around us

[scottb7]

Putting up the buoys 200 feet out from homeowners land and banning in narrow channels and small lakes may at least get the homeowners complaints taken care of.

That might effectly end surfing on certain lakes, but that may be the right solution.

[Nautiquehunter]

200 even 300 feet is nothing for a G or other surf ship . Here on Lanier it gets rough in the main channel so the surfers go the the smaller coves . That is where the wakes do the most damage . When you get 3 or more surfing it multiples the problem before long the smaller coves are as bad as the main channel. My fear is they will just make the smaller coves NO SKI coves and ruin it for everybody?

[GMLIII]

I would quit surfing for good if my only option was to surf in the main channel. I don’t want to die

[tdc_worm]

Go sniff around the Nautique Boat Owners FB group. Every third post is about adding more weight to G boats to make them "surfable." The way the question is asked, more often than not, implies that the new G owner is also new to the lake surf experience. Unlike wakeboarding, skateboarding, motocross, etc, the bigger the "ramp," the easier it makes it riding for wallies.... the number of slammed G's on Lake Austin with riders that can't cant the umbilical cord but insist on getting the beer selfie tells you a lot about what is going on...it's comical

[bturner]

There are people here asking about and making the same statements about adding lead and lord knows what else to their surf ships. I understand this is Nautique's golden goose but for some whatever is stock is never going to be enough. I've seen this with HP in cars, guys buying Hellcats only to do something crazy because 700HP isn't enough. There are threads here that somehow make the case that their 6000lb boat doesn't throw the perfect surf wake without adding another thousand pounds of ballast. Sorry boys but at some time it isn't the bow, it's the Indian behind it. I mean if your 14 YO, 70lb girl can't surf behind a Paragon with stock ballast without investing in more ballast it might be time to invest in some skills.

My Ah Ha moment was back in the wakeboard days when I was adding a ballast system and tower to my vDrive. The moment occurred when I saw a guy doing inverts and Rallies behind a MasterCraft ProStar 190. That teaching moment for me was that talent and skilled played a lot more into the equation than the boat or equipment did.

[SilentSeven]

This is like Festivus and the Airing of Grievances!

Educational programs might nip at the edges but it will never fix a**hats and just plain stupid. Industry will sell them as the 'responsibility fix' but I ain't buying. I'm at the point where I think all the surfers should be smooshed into one corner of the lake so they can all have a mutual big wave-o-matic party. Let's see who comes out alive!

For once I want to see some surf ship captain have to stress about getting his bow stuffed or taking water over the transom...like I do in my little 206 when I'm out on the lake