How to combat boat ban?

The manager at our lake has brought up the idea of banning wakeboard boats due to shore erosion. (The lake is a small 300 acre private lake). This is really a political manuever, aimed at one of the board members, who is president of the ski club.

There are only 4 or 5 true wake boats on the lake.

Has anyone fought this before? What defines a wakeboat?
Is an I/O with a tower a wakeboat?
The guy in his 23foot sea ray dragging his kids in circles is the tube is making big wakes.
I'm worried about the slippery slope this is going to create, they are going to go after the stereos on the wake boats next, that will lead to a DB level that neither of my boats will pass.

It is an older community with lots of retirees, most of whom never use the lake, if this comes to any sort of vote, the pontoon boat crowd will outlaw all the fun. There will be HP limits, size limits, DB limits, etc.

I've googled this problem, and the lakes that address this problem ban any "wake enhancing" device, whether or not it is in use. If your boat is equipped with ballast tanks, or a wedge, then it is not allowed on the lake.

I think the best defense is boater education and courtesy. Also the bylaws require waterfront property owners to install and maintain shoreline erosion control. Most lots have no such protection, even on the main channel.

Any advice would be helpful.

Gary

Gary, your's is a classic ski boat...doesn't that help?

Make a petition saying that it's a classic and shouldn't be altered; I'll sign it!

What kind of state do you live in that has 300 acre private lakes?

You and your friends have to get involved and go to all the meetings and get on the board.

There are no waverunners on our lake either. In the couple of years I have been boating there, I've had a handful of "close" calls, (closer than I would have liked) The lake is small, we have a counterclockwise rule, and every time someone has made a left turn right in front of me it was a clueless retiree in a pontoon.

I'm not saying there are not issues here, but I am a courteous boater who expects the same of others. We need to positively influence the board and other boaters to keep our boats on the lake.

The ski club should sponsor an awareness effort to communicate courteous behavior on the water.

Any other ideas?

Suggest that the wakeboats pay a higher fee for being on the lake and causing shore erosion. If you are wakeboarding behind a boat then you pay the fee. Regardless of what kind of boat you are behind . Even if it is a fishing boat with 15 horse. This would make them think twice about wanting to board and pay the fee . The bad part is your kids cant board without you paying the fee .

the only good thing over here is the President of the association owns an Air and his kids love to WB,
tubers usually stay near the middle where it is rough and on the straights they will go by and not create too much of a wake, the only thing i could think of is dedicating a Saturday to WB boats and not on Sundays, some of the wakes that roll into the shore are really surfable lol

Gary,

We are facing the same issues on our lake, which is very small..probably comparable to your 300 acres. We also have a counterclockwise system in place with a ski course in the middle which acts as a barrier for the two sides.

I got involved because they were threatening to take out the ski course and ban all "skiing" boats!! I guess our 2001 with a skylon is a wake boat?! Whatever.

I visited all the board members houses on a typical saturday, sat on their lots and pointed out all the sea rays, fourwinns, and cobalts running at 5 mph creating rollers twice the size of my 2001 or any wake boat.

I would show the board some comparable lakes with Hp restrictions and show them how much the value of their houses drops if the lake isn't skiable!

Then, I talked to all the guys with wake boats and gave them some pointers on how to drive without destroying ALL the water on the lake. They were all ears when they heard they might ban wake boats. (I just love how they buy these 40k boats and load them with weight and they cant jump the wakes! )

Be sure to go to ALL the meetings and get on the board if you can! If you don't attend there is a chance of someone slipping in a bill which can be manipulated to kill all the fun! Throw out Ideas like having designated skiing times (2-3 hours) or no use of ballast (they probably don't need it anyway).

Good luck, of you need any information on our policies shoot me an email! chris.mars@simpson.edu

Ban Steel Sea Walls instead of skiing!! Create a size (length) limit for all motor boats, say 21', allow larger boats only if they are under 100hp.

Some good thoughts and ideas Storm (Chris).

Our lake is also small, has a CC rotation and a bunch of cranky old fisherman trying to squeeze out the skiers. We have a no skiing before 10am rule which really ticks me off, fortunately our lake is private and generally pretty quite, also rules are just that, we have no patrol so it's more of a courtesy to follow the rules. I do make it a point to get out and rip it up a couple times a year bright and early just to remind the old farts we ain't goin down without a fight!

Riley wrote: They don't like boaters or water sports enthusiasts.

Every time we go out this time of year we get looks like we 'aren't allowed yet'?!!?

HW, we provoked a look or two, how loud is mine compared to others you've been around?

What they don't get is, sooner or later someone is going to want to ban them.

but again.....when you buy a place on the lake in a boating community, a place that you take boats on, a place for watersports need more be said?

4.26 Speed Limit.
No boat may exceed a speed of 35 mph on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays between the hours of 10:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. At all other
times the maximum speed limit shall not exceed 45 mph. Violations up to 15 mph over the posted limit is a Class C Violation, 15 mph over
the posted limit or more is a CLASS B VIOLATION.
4.27 Damaging/Hazardous Wakes
1. As the speed of a boat is increased, the bow rises, causing the stern to plow through the water. Maintaining this state without
transitioning to plane creates the largest wake and has the potential for the most damage. Therefore, plowing for an excessive time is
prohibited. Plowing for more than one minute will be considered excessive although a lesser period may qualify under certain
circumstances. No boat shall be operated in such a manner as to obstruct the vision of the operator or create an unusually high or
hazardous wake.
2. The use off all wake enhancing devices is prohibited. This includes devices that add weight to a boat including, but not limited to,
water or sand filled bags, bladders, pods, sofas, launch pads, fat bladders, locker saks, etc and the use of wedges, power fins or home made
devices.

LIMITS ON MOTOR SIZES:
250 hp for inboard/outboard motors
290 for inboard motors
225 for outboard motors
1100cc and 120 hp maximum for Personal Watercraft (JET SKI)
9
All boats are limited to 20 feet with the exception of pontoon boats, which must be 28 feet or less. Limit of two hulled motor craft, no
more than one of which shall be a personal watercraft (Jet Ski), (limited number of registrations allowed per year) one pontoon boat and
one sailboat over 12 feet allowed to register per lot.

Amen MI-nick,
   We have a buch of old guys trying to keep the lake their pet project! Truth is, people are moving out there who have money and the fishing hole they started is now becoming a very nice lake and the old guys cant afford it! its really sad to see actually. Sounds like Gary knows what I'm talking about, all these guys think we live on their property!

Hollywood wrote: There's only a handful of what I consider "loud" boats on this site. Reid's orange Mustang Reid's Classic Tim's 90 Gary's orange promo Karen's boat The rest of the boats are "normal" to me LOL. I just go do my thing, it's not worth arguing over on the water. You definitely need to be at the board meetings. My general attitude towards all the lamers trying to create rules and all that crap is F them, try to stop me. Fight the Power! [IMG]http://www02.unibg.it/~karascio/IMG/jpg/03.jpg">

that's awesome. Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing.

I would be so hosed with any restrictions anyone would ever impose.

I live on a 60 acre lake, and have a 438HP boat. I run 2000# of ballast when we surf. I completely wreck the lake when we go out riding. Luckily, most of the time it is just us out there. If someone else is out, I always, always use kindness and consideration with them. I either shut down or alternate when someone else wants to ski, tube or whatever.
If anyone tried they could probably impose rules to try to run me out. Like HW said tho, try and stop me. I have lived there 12 seasons and have no intention of stopping what I do for fun.
I keep my music down at night, too. Run at idle after sunset, etc. I do whatever I can to keep my neighbors happy.