What Part of "NO WAKE" Do You Not Get?

Maine Sail

Maine Sail

.
Feb 6, 1998
11,709
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
So yesterday I am working on an alternator & regulator on a beautiful higher end sailboat. Despite it's rather costly build the builder had some blunders and some rather poor designs.

One blunder is that the engine lid is the companionway stairs and they are HEAVY. The builder provided NO SUPPORT for the stairs when open and needing to work on the engine. The owner has been using his favorite boat hook, which I did too.

So about 11:00 Am yesterday morning all was well. I was sitting on the cabin sole terminating some of the wires for the regulator when all of a sudden the boat begins rocking back and forth doing at least 30 degree rolls. This is right in the NO WAKE zone of Portland Harbor and right next to the USCG station South Portland.

All of a sudden, CRASH, the stairs, which weigh about 80 pounds are on top of me. When I tried to lift them off the top portion crashed down onto my foot. The wake and POOR DESIGN by the builder had caused 7 screws to literally rip right out of the step where it hinges for lifting.

So now I am really pissed, my head is bleeding, blood on a customers boat, I am already behind, and now I have to fix a set of companionway stairs and some A-HOLE just left a 2.5 - 3 foot wake which caused this whole mess.

By the time I got above deck to get a snap shot of the perp the boat was nowhere to be seen...

In talking with the club launch driver it appears, allegedly, that the USCG & Harbor Pilot are two of the biggest wake offenders, in this NO WAKE area.. She said that she'd seen a USCG boat go out about the time the stairs fell on my melon.........:doh:

Today I am working on the electronics, in the cockpit, and will have my video camera on the ready...... Arghh........:cussing:If I capture the USCG breaking the NO WAKE rules you can bet your sweet A$$ that it will go up on YouTube....:D
 
GorillaToast

GorillaToast

.
Sep 2, 2011
1,041
Hunter 27 Cherubini Alum Creek State Park
What part of "the bigger the motor, the bigger the jerk" didn't you understand?

In my limited experience, it seems the only people that know what "no wake" means are kayakers and sailboat skippers. A bicycle helmet might come in handy next time.
 
Don12364

Don12364

.
Dec 2, 2003
1,637
Hunter 376 Warsash, England --
Attempted Homicide

Same over here too.
Our Harbour Patrol Boats are 42 foot very bulky powerboats. They have AIS and do not normally enter the Hamble River.
From home with my AIS running I tracked one coming up the Hamble at 34 knots - speed and name clearly visible on my screen. It too is a "No Wake Area" and the channel is only 120 yards wide.
Mind you it was 2 am but then he might not have been able to see a small craft or its lights that was in his path.

If the US craft have AIS you might be able to see a record on line of the previous day's tracks and interrogate it for the actual time of day that he tried to murder you. Or the local Port Authority probably has one in case of incidents needing further examination.
Either way, if they do have AIS then make a public fuss so that all the likely culprits will realize they are 'On screen' to the general public - speed and name and all.
I don't buy this 'Emergency incident' trash they sometimes put out.
 
weinie

weinie

.
Sep 6, 2010
1,297
Jeanneau 349 port washington, ny
I grew up living on the water with a dock on a small channel on the south shore of long island. All my life, I can remember my father screaming to boaters to "SLOW DOWN!!!" from his bedroom window. Eventually, some schmuck (ok, it was me) opted to get him a bullhorn as a birthday present.

I don't know, but in 40 years that I've been alive, I don't think any wake has done any damage to the dock or bulkhead (or boats when there were ones) that mother nature wouldn't have done herself through countless storms, hurricaines, and excessive tides.
 
WayneH

WayneH

.
Jan 22, 2008
1,094
Tartan 37 287 Pensacola, FL
Last weekend I found my power cord dangling in the water. When I pulled it from the water, the black locking ring was missing from the cord. It was still attached to the boat, tho. Somebody had to have gone by at maximum wake.

Later on that day, I think I saw the jerk. He slowed down on a bow to bow meeting just outside the "No Wake" zone and right after he passed the other boat he gunned it. Yeah, right at the start of the no wake zone.

The good news is:

1) Our harbormaster is a bitch. She's been called that because she blows an air horn at the speeders to get them to look at her while she takes their picture.
2) Our marina belongs to the city and their tax base is seriously depleted.
3) You can look up the registered owner of any titled boat in our state. "This inquiry provides the current owner/lienholder name(s), address(es), vessel/boat, and/or outboard motor description. This data is updated daily."

Now if the city police would just get out of the donut shop and onto their boat and give out a few "performance awards", maybe the jerks will get the message about NO WAKE.
 
monkeybars

monkeybars

.
Dec 8, 2007
303
-mac 26M -26M tucson-san carlos mx
unfortuately the police are doing 70mph in a 35 zone with their lights flashing just to get to the donut shop in time for fresh free donuts.coast guard is no different,they will have a reason they were speeding and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.you might as well just laugh at what happened to you an avoid the stress of anger.
 
B

Benny17441

.
May 24, 2004
7,173
CC 30 South Florida
Yes, it is true the local group will pull an excuse out of their hat to justify that speeding incident but a U-Tube posting will get much more publicity than their rebuke. The top brass will not like any adverse publicity and will warn the boys to mind their manners. It will do nothing for this incident but it is likely that it will limit unnecessary events in the future.
 
onecoolair

onecoolair

.
Jun 25, 2012
942
hunter 356 Kemah,the Republic of Texas
Maine Sail said:
So yesterday I am working on an alternator & regulator on a beautiful higher end sailboat. Despite it's rather costly build the builder had some blunders and some rather poor designs.

One blunder is that the engine lid is the companionway stairs and they are HEAVY. The builder provided NO SUPPORT for the stairs when open and needing to work on the engine. The owner has been using his favorite boat hook, which I did too.

So about 11:00 Am yesterday morning all was well. I was sitting on the cabin sole terminating some of the wires for the regulator when all of a sudden the boat begins rocking back and forth doing at least 30 degree rolls. This is right in the NO WAKE zone of Portland Harbor and right next to the USCG station South Portland.

All of a sudden, CRASH, the stairs, which weigh about 80 pounds are on top of me. When I tried to lift them off the top portion crashed down onto my foot. The wake and POOR DESIGN by the builder had caused 7 screws to literally rip right out of the step where it hinges for lifting.

So now I am really pissed, my head is bleeding, blood on a customers boat, I am already behind, and now I have to fix a set of companionway stairs and some A-HOLE just left a 2.5 - 3 foot wake which caused this whole mess.

By the time I got above deck to get a snap shot of the perp the boat was nowhere to be seen...

In talking with the club launch driver it appears, allegedly, that the USCG & Harbor Pilot are two of the biggest wake offenders, in this NO WAKE area.. She said that she'd seen a USCG boat go out about the time the stairs fell on my melon.........:doh:

Today I am working on the electronics, in the cockpit, and will have my video camera on the ready...... Arghh........:cussing:If I capture the USCG breaking the NO WAKE rules you can bet your sweet A$$ that it will go up on YouTube....:D
Click to expand
If you are going to sue the USCG/Government, better do it soon before they run out of other peoples money.:deadhorse:
 
Andy1237

Andy1237

.
Jun 30, 2004
446
Hunter 340 St Andrews Bay
Worse than fast is half-fast! I see Bass boats buzz through fast and leave a small wake. Then some idiot in something as small as a Jet Ski comes through and slows down, but only enough to create a BIGGER wake. And while I used to hate Jet Skis, the wake boarders do whatever they can to make a wave for surfing. Arrrg.
 
finding41

finding41

.
Nov 23, 2011
2,023
MacGregor 26D London Ontario Canada
I used to own a open 12' aluminum boat with a 3 hp outboard. We named it "Slow No Wake". You can guess why. Even painted it on the bow and transom! One night the whole thing disappeared. No trace of a wake either.
 
Sail123

Sail123

.
Oct 6, 2011
678
CM 32 USA
The other day, I was cruising at min speed to keep rudder control, checking out the other boats on the docks. I was about thirty feet from them. As I was admiring the boats, it suddenly dawned on me, I was causing a wake. I was going so slow, a gps would not register it, but my displacement was still causing quite a bit of excitement for the slipped boats. I did the rest of my gawking from further away.
 
cb32863

cb32863

.
Jun 29, 2010
1,287
Beneteau First 235 Lake Minnetonka, MN
In the bay that I just launched in there is marked no wake zone, I am right inside it. The power boaters though come up to the zone at full speed anyway and then slow down real fast...... lots of big waves made when they slow down like that. Not sure what they are thinking, going to be interesting being on this mooring.....
 
C

CharlieCobra

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May 5, 2006
1,140
Knutson K-35 Yawl Bellingham
I would rather have a powerboat blow by on plane then drop off, dig a big hole and wake my boat....
 
R

RonRelyea

.
Sep 2, 2009
339
Hunter Vision-32 New Hamburg, NY
how 'bout THIS???

On what was to be a peaceful Sunday motor through NY Harbor on my way to Long Island Sound, "The Beast" heeled me over so much I sucked air and killed the diesel .... left part of my rub rail at the pier in Tribeca
 

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Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

.
Feb 26, 2004
23,041
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
We have one of those monstrosities here on SF Bay, too. It's orange. They'd look absolutely awful together, color-wise. Individually, they s*uck, too. I enjoy watching the tourists with shorts & T shirts sitting in the front row when the wind's howling, the water and air temperature are 57 degrees, but they still think it's summer.

Kinda compensates for the wakes. :)
 
Stu Jackson

Stu Jackson

.
Feb 26, 2004
23,041
Catalina 34 224 Maple Bay, BC, Canada
cb32863 said:
In the bay that I just launched in there is marked no wake zone, I am right inside it. The power boaters though come up to the zone at full speed anyway and then slow down real fast...... lots of big waves made when they slow down like that. Not sure what they are thinking, .....
Click to expand
They're NOT thinking. They never look back. Most of the ones I see never look sideways, either. Dangerous.
 
Sail123

Sail123

.
Oct 6, 2011
678
CM 32 USA
When I am sailing and a monster boat blows by, I enjoy that. The change in waves is refreshing and it does me good to see people enjoying their boats. I always wave and sometimes I get one in return. I own a powerboat so the idea of what goes into that type of boating and what they get out of it, is not oblivious to me.

My favorite power boating is looking for birds that bed on the lake towards evening. Too hard to follow them around in a sailboat. In a powerboat you can get more places quick, then get a smaller footprint around the birds to not frighten them off. Camera, big lens. Great fun. Better than fishing or hunting. No license required No worms and no feathers to pull
 
SEMIJim

SEMIJim

.
Nov 26, 2010
129
Pearson 30 S.E. Michigan
WayneH said:
Last weekend I found my power cord dangling in the water. When I pulled it from the water, the black locking ring was missing from the cord. It was still attached to the boat, tho.
Click to expand
That's why I built my own. 50' was too short to allow for any slack between boat and shore. 100' would've left me with about 40' coiled-up somewhere. So I made a 60' shore power cord. Perfect!

cb32863 said:
In the bay that I just launched in there is marked no wake zone, I am right inside it. The power boaters though come up to the zone at full speed anyway and then slow down real fast...... lots of big waves made when they slow down like that. Not sure what they are thinking, going to be interesting being on this mooring.....
Click to expand
I've seen them do that at the mouth to the creek that leads to our usual slip. Near as I could tell, not much of their wake spreads out in front of their boats.

I've done that with our little powerboat. Same place. Near as I could tell, little more than a ripple, about the size of what we'd throw at "no wake" speed went into the no wake zone. (It's impossible to have absolutely no wake--unless you're not moving at all.)

Mind you: I put on the breaks outside the no wake zone, such that the boat was out of the hole she dug and we were proceeding at no wake speed as we passed the no wake buoys. I didn't slam on the break just at the buoys. That would be stupid.

Jim
 
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