The Future of Performance Boating - Are We Our Own Worst Enemy?
 

Let face it. Performance boating doesn't have the greatest image with the public. I have to wonder if we aren't doing it to ourselves.

Are we the ones waving to other boats on the water, or is that beneath us to participate in this almost universal activity?

Are we friendly and courteous when a stranger starts asking about our boats, or do we blow them off?

Are we the first ones to help others, or the first ones back to the launch ramp?

I think everyone on the board should pose as someone from the public, interface with one of our own, and see what the response is. It might be an eye opener.

We have to be our own ambassadors if we want to stave off the flood of speed limit, noise limit, size limit, horsepower limit, emissions limit, and just about every limit law. Something as simple as drawing people into our sport, either as participants or fans, rather than pushing them away, can save the future of it.

Michael

I think that you said it well. With all the legislation and loss of freedom, we need to be aware of our public perception. I know it's painful to spit out how fast it will go and aknowledge, "Yes, it uses lots of gas." A group at Lake Cumberland helped purchase a fireboat as well as doing a lot of public work. There on it!

I don't disagree with the way you worded it , but in our defense, there are the people that will look at boats like ours and deem it excessive and not concern themselves with legislation. I have never been rude to anyone that isn't rude first, and I try to wave to everyone but at times both hands are busy.

I see your point. I've been to lots of Poker Runs and when obvious non boaters have walked along the dock admiring the hardware; they have in many instances been treated rudely or completely ignored.
Less than 1% of the population can afford to participate in this hobby and or have gone over 100 mph in a boat; so when they stand there and dream of doing so;they should be given the time of day and the courtesy of answering a couple of their questions.

I have been at poker runs that we are on and have been "blown off" just by admiring the equipment or asking a question... but there are dicks at the golf club too!!

Remember MONEY is only a multiplier.. If you are a nice person you only become nicer and more giving when you have money, and the azz's are just bigger azz's with the money..especially in our sport.

Bingo! We have a winner!

If the people you hang with/boat with are how you discribe, find new people to hang with. The boaters that are my best friends waved at me when all I had was a small boat.

Now all we have to do is clean up the Azz holes...... Hmm Not sure I worded that right.:D

Definately right about this. I can name onna those dicks! Anyone know a boat named 3000 HP? Was at the Lake Lanier Pokerrun years back. Tryin to get a boat on the trailer that had died. This dick roars up as were getting the boat on the trailer. Just about knocks us off our feet, Guy jumps outta the boat, Runs up and backs his damn trailer right next to us. If the ass had been patient we'd a had the boat outta the water in 2-3 minutes. Cost us 30 minutes and a somewhat dangerous situation.

I agree with you. However, here on Long Islands south shore, unlees you are in the ocean, there are many waterways that are very narrow. When you get to learn them, you will know that they are even more narrow than they appear, due to the depth or lack of depth of the water, especially at low tide. Point I am getting to is this, at any given time, there are armadas of fisherman, drifting across ( most times perpendicular to ) the channels. So, now your choice is simple, pass by them as far away as possible without running aground and busting up your $1500 prop or your $10k drive, or even worse. Even though I give them as much room as possible, I have still seen many a finger raised in thanks for my efforts.
PS.. I thought that you are not supposed to be adrift in a bouyed off channel? The local law enforcement doesnt seem to bother them, they are more concerned with our loud exhaust.

I agree, There are a lot of these annoying fishermen that clog up the narrow channels in Lake St.Claire, Where you can run on plane with your boat. Then they look at you like your in the wrong.

Vinny ,, thats because they can fine you for your noise,, they cant fine a fisherman or kids, for not knowing where they are at!! or where they are going !!:D

RHC

I guess thats true. The only good thing is that I see the fisherman having their catch checked for short fish often.

true but they can pull along side and tell them to stay out of the channel. enforcing the laws doesn't always mean ticketing.

You got that right !!.......had this very conversation with some friends awhile back......over the last 30 years Ive been involved with lots of motorsport related hobbies......street bikes, stock car racing, musclecars/hot rods, motocross, offshore powerboating even slot car racing......our consensus was at least 10 - 15% in any of these sports are just idiots and another 5% are complete effin' A Holes.......wanna see some pompus d wadds??......try Superbike racing.......and musclecars arnt far behind.......our sport doesnt have a lock on A Holes.

I've just come to the conclusion that most people are Dik's.
Rarely, you find exceptions to the rule - Those you call acquaintances, possibly even friends.

Interesting thread. I am like several others, I wave at people constantly if I am not running real fast(safety first with a lanyard and life jacket), I ALWAYS stop to help other boaters whenever I see one in trouble and most of the time I keep the exhaust muffled around the docks. It only takes a few with a grudge to start some idiotic legislation and that is where the problem is. Yes there are problem performance boaters just like there is also problem blow boaters, house boaters and cruiser boaters.

couldn't agree more Todd, there are a few on this site alone that if I see them at a run I would walk the other way.

As someone pointed out, there are rude jerks everywhere, but ...

Our stuff stands out. It's big. It's loud. It's flashy. To a lot of folks, those qualities are obnoxious. Because of that, there is a general assumption that we are obnoxious, too.

Unfair as that assumption may be, we need to be BETTER than the average boater. Nicer. More polite. Better drivers. More willing to talk about our hardware on the dock when all we really want to do is have lunch.

Look, I don't think there's some great liberal conspiracy to ban our stuff, but we are low on the fossil-fueled toy food chain. Some of that is just public ignorance, some of it we've brought on ourselves. If we behave poorly ... no, if we're not on our best behavior at all times ... we're done. It might not be right, but that's the way it is.

The good news is you, as an individual, can help change perception every time you're on the water.

My father in law uses the term misanthrope for himself. He is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. Wants to be friendly to everyone, but is just over dealing with all the d'heads of the world. I feel his pain. But I still wave to every boater I pass no matter whether it is shooting a stream of water in the air our using the air for propulsion. It's just second nature to me having grown up on the water.

Great thread BTW.

I know I wave at everybody, but then most people wouldn't consider my boat a performance model. :D

I'll probably take some heat for this, and it's not directed at anyone personally, but in the 8 years I have been going to LOTO I would have to say that 90% of the people in Cig's look through me like I'm not even there when I wave at them. :(

I have been a performance boater for 25 years, but I have found over the years that the type of boat is not a direct correlation of the type of person you are... There are Azzholes in all types of boats and more of them are on jet skis...

and your boat with 625s would probably spank 3/4s of the Cigs on the water.......

I learned a long time ago . When I was around 10 years old to get along . When me and my friends rode our dirtbikes around the cottage . We would always wave and smile .
We called it " Good PR " . WE would just idle along the cottage road and made sure to wave to all the neighbors .
Then when were out of sight we would just letter rip .
Then come back after our ride all covered in mud and again smiled and waved to everyone . Did that for years and no one ever complained . I know they could hear our loud 2 stroke bikes . We weren't fooling anyone . But they didn't get upset .
Now my boat is loud and to some can be annoying in a Marina setting .
I make sure to take the other boaters for a ride including their children . Kids love it . The parents offer to give me gas money but I never take it . I have even taken neighbors over 68 years old for a ride . These guys have all got great stories of when they were young and the fast boats they had when they were younger . I love listening to them . I figure it's better to make friends than not . And waving , I ride Harleys too so I wave to everyone Harley Jap bike doesn't matter .
Same with boats Go Fast or Cruiser even almost every Blowboater will wave back then scratch their balding heads wondering who the hell was that ? The how fast does it go and bet it uses a lot of gas questions do get tiresome but big deal . Just give them vague answers . Just be nice .
Paul

I always take the time to answer any questions any body asks me about the boat and always through a wave. evreybody has to start some where i am sure most of the people on OSO did not start boating in a 40 ft. ride my first boat was a 19 bayliner that i shared with my brother. I believe what comes around goes around so every azzhole has his day.

i can say that this thread does not apply to me in the least bit.. i always go out of my way to help others and have no problem answering any questions somoen may have for me... i remember when i was a kid at the shore and i ask a million questions when someon came to the fuel dock...


the rudest people i have ever come accross on the water are the sail boaters... they are rude, and think they own the water.. yes they always have rights over me while under way, but are just rude in general....


this thread goes with life itself.. most of the guys i know are great and would do anything for ya people... if your a dic k your a dic k.... money, boats, planes, nothing is gonna change that.... be treated how you want to be treated....

Unfortunatly you are right, that is why there are very few members of COTAD :D:

This a fantastic thread and with boating season (for most of us) just around the corner very appropriate. This subject came up a few years ago when someone started a thread about "how awful it is when people ask questions about our boats" or words to that effect. First, offshordrillin' is 100% correct that we're never gonna make all the folks happy and that's not our job anyway. Tanner is also right on the money about money being a multiplier - it happens in every arena and activity- gotta be a spiritual law. Its just that we're highly visible and audible so that performance boating d**kheads do a lot of damage to the sport in general; hopefully they're not the same ones complaining about adverse legislation. Having said that, what a great opportunity it is to be able to share our enthusiasm and knowledge with folks who show up at the docks. Sure some of the questions are silly and even have an edge to them at times - but that comes with the territory. What a great opportunity for positive impressions on someone who may move in other larger circles not to mention that its good just to get to know people. If some of us are truly that put out and annoyed that someone would ask them a question (or several) or stop to admire our boats, perhaps taking up a more private hobby is in order.- Jeff

Where I boat there are a ton of nice people, but there isn't a ton of big performance boats either. I have towed people in, helped people load their boat on a trailer, given away some drain plugs and even climbed in quite a few bilges. There's nothing worse than being broke down on the water so if I can fix something I will at least try. And I wave at everyone I pass, no matter what kind of boat they are in.

You can usually spot an azz hole within the first minute of conversation and I usually won't waste more than two minutes total trying to talk with them.

I gotta agree with what everyone else has been saying. Yes, we can and sometimes are our own worst enemies. But we can also control that through a little PR. I try to always be courteous to other boaters, kayakers, jetskiers, etc.. I think it goes along way to promote our sport. And I do like to talk about my boat, what it has for power and what it does performancewise. If you dont want people to care about your hobby, start collecting stamps or something mundane. We run big flashy boats, they get attention. It is up to us to make sure its good attention.

We always try to wave to everyone on the water....it trips me out though how many will not wave back or look irritated as hell and throw up a reluctant hand....have to agree that blowboaters are the worst...the guys in the small fishing boats in the channels are a close second

Fishing boats are the worst. Here in Wisconsin, fishing boats far outnumber performance boats. They always park in the channels or right under the high span of a bridge. What do you do? I try to be the good boater and give as much room as I can, but I always seem to get the evil eye. Oh well.

You guys are right about the blow boaters. They think they rule the waters just because the are on a tack... Damn annoying. How the hell can they take going that slow in the heat of the summer? I know for myself, that I feel like I am melting just idling through the "No Wake" zones. Their whole life is a " No Wake" zone. I dont get it. Ever say to yourself, now heres a good time to slap a torpedo into the belly of that P.O.S. :angry-smiley-038:

I dare say the problem most of you have with fishermen is the same that you have with sailboaters: You don't much understand what they are doing, so you don't appreciate what you are doing to annoy them. Rest assured that many of them find you just as rude and insensitive as you find them.

I know exactly what they are doing, blocking a navigable waterway with their boats and fishing lines. I get nervous snaking between them thinking I'll snag a line and trash the seal on my drive, but they couldn't care less. I...MUST...CATCH...FISHY!!!

You are so right. :D

Don't get me wrong.
I'm also the guy that waves at every boat as I pass.
And I would never leave a fellow boater (no matter what type of boat) stranded.
That is just a law on the water.
But, there are alot of guys with the "big" "fast" offshore boats that have an arrogance that I'd rather not associate with - I've met several hear just this winter.
I'd still tow them in if their chit breaks though.

njawb,
I have several friends who are avid fishermen and two of them have brought me out to drop a line a few times. These are otherwise really likeable people; there is something very unlikeable however about some of the attitudes that circulate in those circles. One buddy says unapologetically that fishing is the only right use of both the water and boats in general. His rationale is that they are doing something productive regarding bringing home food and being self-reliant. OK, I take his point; but if they are so self-satisfied and at peace with themselves and nature why give other boaters who are being respectful, slowing down to an idle and giving them wide berth and a big smile such animosity? Like I mentioned in my previous post, some folks are just d***kheads, I'm just gonna let'em live in their own miserable (sometimes envious) skins and enjoy the day. - jeff

When I pass fishermen I back down to what I consider is my mildest wake(40+/-) and givem as much room as I can. Bout 50/50 on those that wave back.

LOL! After thinking! The most people I meet itchin ta give my boat a try are the bass boats with the 225's or 250's hangin off em! :D

If they're sitting in the middle of the channel they should expect to be rocked. That's what coves are for. If one throws a lead sinker at me they can expect to get their ass kicked! I wave at everyone. The fishermen never wave back. I also like to spank a bass boat every chance I get. You get an even meaner look when you walk on by their Their 300 merc!

Funny how this has become a fishermans fault thread.
ed