Please, no more regulations, licenses.......And for God sakes don't blame the manufacturers. I've had various manufacturers building me ( by my design) deathtraps for years. If they are burdened with training me to operate the thing "safely" and I still screw up then they "failed" ! Hotrod boats (at least most of the best) are built by tiny companies, especially the ones who are pushing the envelope. You add additional legal burdens and they're gone.

Most of the really successful guys i've met tend to take more chances in all aspects of their life, they don't live in fear and worry about all of the "what if's" THIS MUCH MALIGNED GROUP IS WHAT DRIVES THIS GREAT COUNTRY OF OURS so that the majority can sit around READING ALL THE FRICK'N WARNING TAGS !

Speaking of crazy, when you're driving down a narrow 55mph two lane at night, you are trusting your life to the total stranger coming at ya, that they won't screw up by 3' So pick what ya want to be scared of.

With that in mind I can't wait to get back in one of my boats and go faster than some of you think I should


BTW for those of you who don't know me, i've spent alot of time in ICU's... lost a lung , full of screws, plates, rods, one legs shorter than the other ect.... I know well the dangers so save it.

JD

I'm sure next time Alweiss gets in a boat, he'll keep it around 60 I find his comments alarming and irresponsible. So much for being an advocate of the very industy that supported his APBA endeavour.

Ladies....please ...stop it.

1,. Newspapers frequently take things out of context to fit an article into a prescribed space.

2. Neither Mike, nor Terry meant any harm..... and in fact, had much less impact than the actual accident did to harm performance boating.

3. Safety equipment is not used enough in high speed powerboats....of this there is no doubt.

May the poor soul rest in peace..... he got in the wrong gunfight with the wrong gun.

T2x

I personally just think today's HP boats are so good that a false sense of security exists. A ride in a 30'+ cat on calm water at 100+ MPH is a cake walk and it isn't even necessary to hold on!!!! This gives boaters a cavalier attitude about the use of the proper safety equipment. Bottom line in most of these crashes and mishaps a $20.00 ski jacket probably would have saved lives. If I can afford $250 Lifelines I am sure it is no problem for someone who has the means to own a twin engine cat!! Hell the jackets even look pretty cool and after a while you will feel naked to be running in your boat without it, kinda like not wearing a seatbelt in your car. The accident in Florida is very sad, just like the others I have read about on this board. Bottom line from where I sit is WEAR A LIFEJACKET before we all loose our beloved sport!!!

I'm pro gun....I own several... but I gave up hunting years ago because of the "idiot" factor involved with a lot of unsafe hunters. BTW... thanks for the compliment!

Poodles..............cool off and go for a boat ride! Geeez!

This is my big worry.... I worry for the boat manufacturers... how many of you guys remember general aviation being destroyed in the courts back in the 70's? At that time a single engine airplane cost $300,000.00.......... $50,000.00 for the plane..... $250,000.oo for the product liability insurance the manufacturer had to pay... think how expensive your new boat will cost if the lawyers start in on boating like they did airplanes.

well said.

I am sorry to say, as we all no, we play in one of the last unregulated speed (arena's) available to the common man.
It's availability is for a very limited time. Every non-racing accident bring's us closer to it's demise. Not trying to be Mr. Gloom and Doom, just seem's a matter of time until the government rears it's ugly head in such matters.

Speaking of manufactorers, Jay Pilini (owner of Spectre) is a member of our boat club. He gave a very emotional talk about what happened. Jay was friends with Chris and his family long before Chris was a customer. He is being hounded by reporters all the time. I was surprised that he made the meeting last night. He also stressed the importance of proper safety gear. He's going to look for a deal on quality safety gear for members of our club. Our club is VERY lax on requiring life jackets on runs. I think that is about to change. They pointed out on our last poker run, my boat was the only one with everyone wearing life jackets. I know that Frank, Speed to Lead, was also wearing his. I for one, hope the club makes it mandatory to wear the life jackets, so I don't have to be the bad guy requiring EVERYONE in my boat to wear them. I couldn't live with myself if someone got killed on my boat because I didn't have the balls to tell them to put on a life jacket or stay on the dock. A couple of our members I was talking to were boohooing about not being able to get a tan with the jackets on. That to me is so frivolous and silly. Who wants to be buried with a good tan?

Let us hope that this tragic accident may prevent a fatality in the future by making us more aware of how badly things can turn so quickly at these speeds.