Are Power Boaters Clueless

[landsend]

Am i the only sucker who obeys no wake zones?

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by landsend

Am i the only sucker who obeys no wake zones?

Not at all.

[markpierce]

Originally Posted by crabcake

A marked law enforcement vehicle (car or boat) does more for compliance than anything else.

Then why are police forces purchasing stealthy Fords not looking like police vehicles until they turn on hidden lights?

[crabcake]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Then why are police forces purchasing stealthy Fords not looking like police vehicles until they turn on hidden lights?

For the same reason a town of 2,500 get an Armored Personnel Carrier with a 50 cal on it - because they can, and they tax you to do so.

Who doesn't like to drive sexy cars - ?????

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by markpierce

Then why are police forces purchasing stealthy Fords not looking like police vehicles until they turn on hidden lights?

Kind of like asking why so much of our police force is enforcing traffic rules? I don't know the number,but I bet it's way more than 50%. (US)
My belief is because traffic enforcement generates revenue, not much other policing does.


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum

[crabcake]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Kind of like asking why so much of our police force is enforcing traffic rules? I don't know the number,but I bet it's way more than 50%. (US)
My belief is because traffic enforcement generates revenue, not much other policing does.


Sent from my iPad Pro using Cruisers Sailing Forum

You are correct, at least from the perspective of a States Attorney that I once posed that question to. He said, "Just pay attention to when the officers are out on the street writing tickets, the beginning of the month, and the end of the month. That's when the vast majority of tickets are written."

However, it also catches idiots

like this

.

[sailorboy1]

I'm currently anchored in Delaware City DE in a charted anchorage. It is just a ways from the oil refinery, but we haven't gotten any wakes from the freighters etc as they are going pretty slow.

But yesterday we experienced the biggest wake of our lives. It was so bad it threw pans off of the storage box behind the stove, even seas have never done this. When it was over I when out and looked to see what had caused this and in the distance there was a pilot tug going back to the pier and that must have who did. Since I didn't see any fire going on I figure this ahole did the wake on purpose! Even the crab boat that was working the area I'm in was pointing and talking.

[JPA Cate]

Sailorboy1, Can't exactly assume the pilot boat skipper is doing it intentionally. Pilot boats usually have huge wakes. We've noticed this in many far flung places. I rather think there's nothing they can do to diminish them, they're on account of the hull design.

I hope it didn't scar your cabin sole when the stuff came down, it's very frustrating. We once lost a French press coffee pot to a pilot boat wake. *It* happens.

Illegitimae non carborundum. (Don't let the b------s wear you down.)

Ann

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by Ann T. Cate

Sailorboy1, Can't exactly assume the pilot boat skipper is doing it intentionally.

I was at that anchorage for 2 days. None of the other boats cut way out of the channel close to the anchor field during their trips back and forth.

So I'm assuming nothing, but .............

[sailorboy1]

More and more I have to come to the conclusion that a lot of power boaters aren't clueless about their wakes. A large portion do it on purpose, which makes their something a lot different than clueless.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

More and more I have to come to the conclusion that a lot of power boaters aren't clueless about their wakes. A large portion do it on purpose, which makes their something a lot different than clueless.

I've noticed this too, and I don't think they are doing it to wake you.
I believe as silly as this sounds that they get a sense of power from putting their big ole boat just short of being on plane and rolling a BIG wake, Diesels growling, I know a lot of work is done making that exhaust note as deep and powerful sounding as possible on the Sportfishing boats.

Same as most sporty cars, people want a powerful sounding boat, car, whatever.


I ran into a a nice couple in a 65' Viking Sportfisherman in the Dry Tortugas.
Near as I could tell, they didn't fish, so what was the boat for? I think if I remember correctly it had twin 2,000 HP MTU Diesels.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by crabcake

You are correct, at least from the perspective of a States Attorney that I once posed that question to. He said, "Just pay attention to when the officers are out on the street writing tickets, the beginning of the month, and the end of the month. That's when the vast majority of tickets are written."

However, it also catches idiots

.

I watched part of the video, did you notice the intermittent ding, ding, ding?
Cop wasn't wearing his seat belt

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I ran into a a nice couple in a 65' Viking Sportfisherman in the Dry Tortugas.
Near as I could tell, they didn't fish, so what was the boat for? I think if I remember correctly it had twin 2,000 HP MTU Diesels.

Could be any number of reasons for their choice:
- Compared to trawlers of comparable size, a sportfish interior is often wider than many, less constrictive
- Compared to "sedan bridge" models, a sportfish has great visibility aft for reversing into a slip
- Compared to aft cabin models, a sportfish often has easier access from water level, and even from many docks (and that was especially important for us in the "big dog" days of Great Pyr and Golden Receiver)
- If necessary, most sportfish boats can run before weather, at least maybe to a certain extent, and some slower boats can't do that
- The flying bridge above a full saloon adds a boatload of light, airy space compared to almost any express/picnic/Down East "single-story" (rancher?) boat...
- Or maybe they just liked the boat

And so forth.

We didn't buy our boat for fishing, wouldn't miss it if we didn't fish... and we only fish a little, an early trolling season that I use for Spring commissioning (systems check) more than for the actual fish thing.

-Chris

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

............Reality is most people do what is reasonable. If you have 90% of the people violating the rule, it's the rule that's wrong not the people. ...........

Most people do what they think is reasonable. They might not have all the information to decide what is reasonable or they may disagree with what some other people is reasonable.

We have a speeding problem in our residential neighborhood. The speed limit is posted at 25MPH just as it is in all residential neighborhoods in our city.

Obviously, the people exceeding 25MPH think their speed is reasonable, but they are not considering that children might run into the street chasing a ball or just be playing in the street. They are not considering that pets may be in the street.

They are in their own little world worrying about being late somewhere and talking or texting on a phone.

BTW: They don't stop at stop signs either. Does that mean the stop signs should be removed?

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by rwidman

Most people do what they think is reasonable. They might not have all the information to decide what is reasonable or they may disagree with what some other people is reasonable.

If you do a speed study, it almost always matches the design speed. Most drivers are local and have a very good feel for what is reasonable.

We have a speeding problem in our residential neighborhood. The speed limit is posted at 25MPH just as it is in all residential neighborhoods in our city.

Blanket speed limits are generally a problem. My bet is the city council set it not a traffic engineer.

Obviously, the people exceeding 25MPH think their speed is reasonable, but they are not considering that children might run into the street chasing a ball or just be playing in the street. They are not considering that pets may be in the street.

They are in their own little world worrying about being late somewhere and talking or texting on a phone.

Funny had to go to a neighborhood meeting one time to discuss speeds. We knew they were out for blood. We set the speeds together with the state police. At the beginning the trouper started reading off license plate numbers and asking the owner to stand on one side of the room. He had got there early and clocked fully 3/4 of the people coming to complain speeding on that very stretch of road.

BTW: They don't stop at stop signs either. Does that mean the stop signs should be removed?

Actually, YES!!!!!! Huge pet peeve of mine. Probably 95% of stop signs should be yield sign. The problem we have is so many stop signs have been installed in the wrong places that people treat them as yield.

As much as you would like to believe drivers don't know what is a safe speed, crash rates are lower on roads with properly set speed limits.