I have a blown jet boat that shoots a rooster tail that is unbelievable and the jet ski fools come in real close trying to get wet in the tail. They buzz us from behind and many times I have almost run them over. The funny thing is when they do get in the jet of water coming out the supercharged pump, it would knock them off their ski. They get so absorbed doing donuts and tricks, they cut right in front of a boat without ever knowing it was there. I didn't understand how they could be so into riding and not paying attention until I rented a couple of ski's on vacation and I became so involved in horsing around riding them, I almost ran in front of a pontoon boat. They are dangerous from a standpoint of taking your attention away from scanning the water, watching what is going on like you do when boating.

I used to have a blown jetboat also- and boy was it fun running
with the diverter at a level setting, and getting some dumbass to
start jumping your wake too close, then popping the nozzle and
mashing the gas! would blow em' right off the ski! too much fun!!

I have boating friends who hate them as well. I don't give a rat's arse what they think. I ride mine and love it. If you're really bored riding one, you're probably on the wrong one.

I think requiring a license and/or training to ride one is a good idea. I'm all for that.

I ride my ski like I drive my boat... with respect for others. I also give boats the right of way, but we all make mistakes out there. When I do, and it's rare, I gesture an apology. Never had any close calls, though. Although lots of riders on skis need educating, there are still exceptions.

Yeah, what he said. They are a hell of a lot of fun especially on a really hot day because you get wet! You can do 180s and get soaked, all kinds of fun. There are quite a few boaters who also ride PWCs and they ride them responsibly. Just one question: How do you gesture an apology?

i have to agree with most of this post, i've had jetskis since 96 until this past sept and over 90% are totally clueless which does make the other 10% look bad, in pa they passed a law in 2000 that you have to have a boaters safety course licence to operate a jet ski which i am all for, so i went to the two 4 hour classes and took the test and was all good, then about a month after passing the law, you can take the test online in about 20 min with the book in front of you, whats the point of that?

lol Good question! On a rare occasion, I've had a boat mildly alter its course due to my presence. Not a big deal, but I try to avoid that situation 100%. I just wave to them as I'm moving further out of the way. Kinda hard to describe, but I think it gets the point across.

Btw, a ski's mobility can be a good thing. I've rushed over to a downed water-skier in our cove at LOTO (busy ski cove) to make sure other boats saw them. I thought the boat pulling them took too long to get back to them, making for a potentially dangerous situation. They were very appreciative.

If everyone pulls their head out and focuses on sharing the lake, it's not too difficult to get along.

Yeah, if I pull a bonehead move on the road or water I try to wave or just hold up an open hand. It's funny how we have gestures to say bad things but no clear gesture to say "I'm sorry"!

I ride street bikes and dirt bikes and as hard as I try to watch out for bikes on the road, I seem to be programmed to look for cars and trucks. When I cut a bike off or move over into their lane, I have a open handed wave and sheepish stupid look that is supposed to relay to the bike that I am an idiot and a fool for not being more careful and respectful of a fellow biker. I am not putting jet ski's down, they just remind me of riding my dirt bike where I do anything at anytime just for fun, sometimes not looking around due to the fact there are miles of wide open space where we ride.

On the other side of that coin... if someone on the water on a jet-ski or in a boat is pulling a head-up-the-azz maneuver and doesn't seem to understand the rules, I'll point to my temple and suggest they "think".
I'm thinking that one works about 10% of the time, but what can ya do?

Good point about looking for bikes, I find [up here] that I have to actually "remind" myself to look for bikes, its not bad in the summer, but, in early Spring or late Fall you dont "expect" to see a bike, so, thats when I have to make a conscious effort to look for them when changing lanes. I have seen guys riding bikes here when it was snowing, not the smartest thing, and I doubt most other drivers are expecting [or looking for] a bike on the road.

Michael