GL-Thought you’d heard it all?

Hollywood wrote: So Barney plans on following all of us around next year and writing tickets one by one? He's going to have a hard time chasing 30 boats going in different directions!

He's got nothing else to do so why not. It's not just the ticket, he wanted the boat off the lake or he'd issue another one. Reid had just enough beers in him for he and I to brave a run later after Barney hung his boat up for the night though.

I'm not sure what the outcome of this is really going to be but it will get addressed.

Since Alan or Moj haven't enlightened everyone yet, and since it happened with my boat, I'll share this load of this CRAP with the gang.

Deep breath: Well, Marshall and myself headed back up to GL this past weekend to get the truck and camper and do some last minute terrorizing (more relevance later) with my blue Mustang. Had a great ride up with Alan and Dana in the Bounder after staying at their place Friday nite by the way. Anyhow, I pick up the camper and head to Hattie Sherwood while Marshall gets the boat launched by the super folks from the Shoreline Boat Center. Marshall drops the boat in, idles out of harbor, runs out in the lake a 1/2 mile to charge up the week battery and then idles back in only to be greated by Barney Fife and a siren (the same old codger cruising around last month)and is informed, and get this, that the boat is TOO LOUD for GL. Seems WI has a boat noise Ord. Marshall called me as I was required to be present as the boat's owner, and was subjected at the dock to a sound test with a "2000 dollar" handheld piece of equipment, held facing the transom just 5' away as I was required to start the engine at the dock. First crack of the engine at idle sent it to 87db which was over the limit of 86. Then it settled to 82-83 as it idled. "But you know this will be way over the limit as it runs at full speed," he tells us. So we were forced to pull it from the lake or at least not run it or get hit with a $175 ticket. We told him about last months event and all the older boats we had there. "Oh yeah, sure I remember you guys," he says. "Bunch of nice boats, but if I'd had my meter at that time, I'm sure we'd have written some people up." Then after we informed him that we've got even bigger plans for next year, he proceeds to concur that "...you won't be able to come back here next year", and "anyplace else in Wisconsin for that matter." What a jackass.

Our take at this point is that back in July he knew he'd have an issue on his hands if he attacked us during the reunion, but saw the opportunity to make a statement with us/me this time. Unfortunately the deputy is missing the boat on who this regulation was actually set up to regulate. I asked him about all the old rumbling wooden runabouts living on the lake there, and he quickly said they'll be targeted as well. My butt. BoatDr called the state DNR who basically said they don't care how much $$$ we bring to an area, the law is the law in that the property owners spoke and didn't want loud boats. Another over-zealous shortsighted idiot. He also said enforcement was typically up to the discretion of the officer.     

So I called Bill (Chamber head) from the Bayview, and he was quite surprised and said he would talk to the powers that be. And basically said to not cancel reservations just yet as he thought smarter heads would prevail and promised to speak back with me or to Dave in the coming week, after he's had a chance to speak with others.

Oh, one final point of ignorance on Deputy Dog's behalf; he actually asked Marshall and then myself if we were familiar with a Captain's Choice type exhaust system. He wasn't even familiar enough with an inboard drive system to realize that wasn't an option. With the way he described that they could measure the exhaust db, all the mufflers in the world wouldn't make some of our boats quite enough at full throttle.           

All you Wisconsin residents need to get a hold of your congressman, and request that a grandfather clause be put in place or something else that would help more accurately define the actual intentions of the rule, as well as the means for measuring the sound. Or maybe Bayview Bill can just convince Super Trooper to ease up for at least 4 days a year.

I thought I'd heard it all............