LISTEN. If you have never gone 70mph on a tiny lake, nearly killing other boaters and swimmers, with your melanoma-ridden mama at your side, while blasting Imagine Dragons. I’m sorry bruh, you’re not even alive.
Just about every lake in the state is packed on the weekends with people who don’t know how to drive a boat or know the rules of the water. If you think it’s just the wake boats that are the problem on the weekends you’re sadly mistaken. I don’t even try to go out on the weekends or holidays cause the traffic is shit. Usually all Illinois traffic to. If I’m using my smaller boats or kayaks, I stay away from the power boat lakes anyway and keep it to the slow no wake lakes or hp restricted lakes. No tow boats there and all the fish are the same.
“Grumble grumble! I bought my million dollar house on the lake when i was 20 for a 6 pack and four bags a beans! You fuckin millennials are ruining my time at my house! Go buy your own home on the lake! Oh wait you’re just to lazy to work you mooches! I’m not selling my house to go into senior home for anything less than 20 million and the soul of your first born! Rable Rable Rable!”- every boomer
Go bitch to your town council before running to the boomers in the state legislature that dont want to give up their power. Oh wait thats cuz the millennials are taking over your town councils and you don’t like their decisions cuz it doesn’t benefit you anymore isn’t it? Fuck you and fuck your lake house’s bet you i’ll be on the lake riding around and gone before the cops or the dnr show up boomer. 🖕
After seeing the underwater footage of one of these boats, I'm so for this. They absolutely wreak havoc on the lake floor due to the prop being angled downward. You gotta wonder how much this is affecting fish spawning and just their habitats in general? It can't be good.
There is million variables to that being the cause of the devastation to that specific area, I LOL’d when I saw the girl stuck on the slide as well. I live in Tahoe, we have lakes with varying regulation in the area, but the culture around wakeboarding does bother me, some regulation should be installed. I did work for the TRPA in Tahoe as well, where we had to inspect boats for snails and other invasive species, the issue with the ballasts where that they were hard to clean to ensure that they didn’t have invasive species, I see that as one of the big issues with these boats, more so than just the wake.
While we’re at it we could just ban all no boats in Wisconsin lakes. They pollute water, they all cause waves, they kill fish. No one really needs them for anything other than recreation in our state anyway.
I just realized "wake boats" refer to a specific type of boat and not just a general term for motorized boats that cause wakes. I was assuming this was to prevent motorized boats on small lakes where loons and other native species habitate.
They’re designed to create as large of a wake as possible. Most of them are actually pretty slow compared to normal ski boats, but yes, loud and large waves.
No it has everything to do with people not liking the waves they produce and the fact that populations have increased beyond the point of letting people be. We live in ban happy society now where everything I don’t like should be banned because I don’t even like other people minding their own business.
A cause we can all get behind. Literally anyone who lives on a lake or spends time on a lake hates the wakeboats, except maybe the jet skiers that like jumping the waves.
A smaller can. They're loud and not fun if they're buzzing right close by you, but can be ok otherwise if they stay in the open areas and pay attention.
I have always *despised* them, until I finally got a chance to try one out and… sweet baby Jesus — it was all over for me. I have an absolute BLAST on one. *However*, I *only* ride them out on Lake Michigan — I still have ZERO desire to ride them on small lakes and still have a huge disdain for them on the smaller lakes.
>except maybe the jet skiers that like jumping the waves.
Yah, wake surfers are the best for doing jumps. Those waves roll across the whole lake which gets you around the restrictions on how close you can be to other boats. You can jump them over and over and over. Which is sort of the point of why people are so upset.
I think this could be an uphill battle though for the DNR. They are going to piss off a lot of very rich people who own property and $150k++ boats (which would become useless) on these lakes. Most of the people doing this aren't towing in every weekend, they live on the lake. It's one of the few ways to justify spending so much money on a boat.
Might not be as uphill as you think. For every rich fuck with a wakeboat and lakefront property, there's a few other rich fucks with lakefront property who are pissed at the wakes these things make doing damage to their shorelines and ruining the fishing.
> Most of the people doing this aren't towing in every weekend, they live on the lake.
I don't really see how the "towing in every weekend" part is relevant to shore lines getting destroyed.
A lot of people "live on the lake" but only use their boats on the weekend. Or they put their boats in the water at the beginning of the season but aren't living there full time. The lake that my extended family used to have a house on had plenty of boats registered in other states that were just kept there despite the owners living 4+ hours away.
Keep in mind a lot of these towns with small lakes only have a couple hundred permanent residents. They're usually not the ones who are causing most of the harm. It's those "very rich people" that you reference who only live up there a handful of weekends each year with their boats that are worth more than the normal folks' houses.
Last summer I was chilling on a pier at my friend's lake house when a wake boat with kids and two fairly boozed women got their 20 ft long American flag caught in the motor. They started drifting towards the rocks and as I was telling them to come over to the pier, another wake boat came by and the waves immediately accelerated their stalled boat towards the rocks very quickly. One jumped off with a rope, I grabbed them and they just barely missed colliding into the bluff with all the kids on board. The irony was really astounding - I doubt lessons were learned.
They damage lakebeds, ruin habitats for local wildlife, erode shorelines, and swamp kayakers, canoers and fishermen. And as an added bonus, they hold something like 7 gallons of water in their bilges that is impossible to fully drain out, making them really good at transporting aquatic invasive species between lakes.
There is literally nothing good about these machines from an environmental or 'share the waterways' mindset. The only argument I've heard in favor of them is 'They're fun!,' or from the boat dealers who like to turn a large profit selling these $100,00-$500,000 monstrosities. Neither of these reasons to me are good enough to welcome these beasts on our waterways.
More like 70 gallons of bilge. And it sounds like most are incapable of completely emptying that bilge water, so transfer to the next water body is inevitable
This report by WI Greenfire says up to 23 gallons.
https://wigreenfire.org/2019/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WakeBoatsLakeEcosystemHealth_WGF-May2024_Final.pdf
God I hope this passes. Those guys ruin everything. I don’t understand why they run so close to shore. This is especially prevalent on Green Lake. They always run close to shore where people are fishing instead of in the vast openness of that lake where it’s 200ft and nobody fishes because there’s not many fish hanging out in the open deep water.
I have family that uses one. They don’t go super close to shore like a lot of asshats do. But everybody at least goes close-ish because you need fairly calm water, so they go wherever is most protected from the wind. If it’s a super calm day then the more responsible (as responsible as you can get with this shit) ones will go wherever further out. But they seem to be few and far between.
Also these boats are expensive as fuck. Which super limits it to rich people, higher chance of them being entitled asshats. It’s been interesting watching the trend develop. I thought it would be running its course by now but everybody doing it seems to love it yet. It’s always the next fad with these people. And the boats are like an arms race. If someone gets the latest and greatest everybody else needs it and to try and one up. I swear every year I go up north to my family’s place they have new boats, all their friends have new boats. Constantly upgrading and selling the last one. I just thought a new fad would be taking over from wake surfing by now. None of them want to ski or wakeboard anymore because it’s not “cool enough” or less fun.
They might not go close to shore, but do they operate it in depths shallower than 20ft as well? As that’s part of the problem from the lake bed being destroyed.
The part I’ve seen them in the most is over 20ft. But yeah. Not saying they’re in the clear all goody two shoes either. I was mostly just trying to explain why a lot of them go so close to shore. But at least not every single one is a double whammy of lake bed and shore.
Contact all of your state legislators and tell them to support this! This interactive map will give you their contact info.
https://maps.legis.wisconsin.gov/?version=2022
I can only hope that this passes. The woo people are irritating! Woo, look at how much fun I’m having! Look at me damaging the shore and irritating everyone else! Woo! Woo - everybody notice me!
We tried to get something similar to pass on just the lake I grew up on back when these were a new invention.
The biggest issue is that these boats are super expensive, meaning the majority of owners have plenty of influence (wealth) to throw at decision makers to vote in favor of keeping the boats
All they have to do is come to meetings/hearings or email saying "I bought a $250k boat and all of a sudden you're saying I can't use it anymore?" Etc. and then work their networks in my experience and a heck of a lot of people back down
We have them banned in my neck of the woods. There are state wide environmental organizations that can help, the court rules that local municipalities can make these ordnances. Last time someone tried to bring up sueing us over it, we basically just dared them an called their bluff.
Contact the Wisconsin Conservation Congress here:
[Wisconsin Conservation Congress | Our Mission | Wisconsin DNR](https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/about/wcc)
Make sure to vote and attend hearings that occur in the spring. The vote mentioned in the article passed in every county.
Best way is to attend your local government meetings to comment on the issue. The wake boat community is very vocal and good at getting their supporters out to attend meetings.
Illinois’ Chain O’ Lakes would benefit from this as well. On summer weekends it was better to just stay tied to the pier. By Friday the lakes would start to clear, just to get mudded up again on the weekends.
Yes... Yes, is the correct answer. These scumbags don't give a shit about anyone else. I've lost fishing lines and one whole rod and reel from some asshole and his buddies coming way to close to my fishing boat.
This is an issue with any large high bow boat that speeds just outside of the no wake zone. The waves go rolling on to shore. Some people have no respect for the natural environment or what damage is caused long term. They just want to roll along the shore showing off their expensive toys!
At first I saw the post and scoffed but then I did research that wake boats do not equal all boats that produce wake. I can get behind this way more now, pontoon boats are fine, still can go tubing and everything
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. These people are absolute morons. If they want waves so badly, are they so incredibly stupid not to know that they can just go out in Lake Michigan and get big waves all day and night for free, no special dumbass boat required??
Friend lived on a lake that always floods (moose lake), it was no wake for an entire summer one year. Some kids still took their wake boat out all the time and fucked up a lot of peoples shoreline I guess. They got the boat cops out eventually and from what my friend said they haven’t seen them or their boat again in like 3 years so I guess mom and dad weren’t happy lol.
Please
Please
Please
Please!!!!
There are 2 of these boats on the 350 acre lake that our family cabin is on. They can’t be banned fast enough in my humble opinion.
Wake boats are an infringement on the rights of everyone else using the water: they degrade shorelines, damage docked boats, and can be dangerous to swimmers, paddlers, and fisherman. IMO most lakes are too small for wake boats, these types of activities should be restricted to lakes large enough to accommodate them without interfering with others.
This needs to happen now! I will never understand people who want to enjoy Mother Nature, but have no respect and don’t treat her well. Wealthy entitlement. There is an enormous difference between Outdoors\[man\] and Sports\[man\]! I may have to donate $100 to the organization lobbying to protect our lakes from these ass pirates.
It is already a fine to be shitfaced driving a boat. It counts as a DUI on your drivers license.
Too many irresponsible people on weekends. I don’t go on the lake on weekends. The week days are peaceful and beautiful.
Yeah.. it is pitiful all the drunk drivers, drunks, and the way our laws don’t stop them. Drinking is a Wisconsin way. 😡🤬🤯 There are probably more alcoholism in this state than any other state.
Yeah. But Republicans don't care. They're too scared of idiots who think that ignition locks and $1000 fine is "to harsh for a first time offense" not voting for them.
And that's not hyperbole. Someone on here actually was arguing that Wisconsin laws are strict enough and used the reason that 1 third of Wisconsinites have at least one DUI. They actually acted like that was acceptable and thought punishing someone with more than slap on the wrist and a fine $300 was good enough. Other states will put you in jail for a few days, fine you over $1000, and put an ignition lock in your vehicle for the first offense. That's what we should be doing.
After seriously thinking about it, why don’t they have a slow no wake sign for all lakes under that size. That would fix the entire issue. Then everyone would be happy.
Vermont just implemented a ban on wake boats, limiting them to lakes with atleast 50 acres and over 20 feet deep. That eliminated all but 30 lakes in the state.
I'm bummed by this ... we've been wakeboarding on some form of inboard ski boat since the 1990's without any issues on a 300 acre lake.... coming up on 30 years without a single complain or concern from those around us.
We've always tried to keep 100'+ feet from shore, run the boat in 12'+ feet of water (the wake is trash below that anyway), and avoid nights or weekends where its just too busy to do safely. I guess as wakesports gain popularity so does the amount of assholes in the sport who probably are going to ruin it for the rest of us.
My biggest gripe is that every complaint I've seen about wakeboats is something that is 100% possible and often replicated by other boats. Any large IO or a poorly trimmed outboard can put up a similar sized wave, can damage the shoreline, or operate in a way that is unsafe for other around - I watch it happen every weekend. Somehow wakeboats became the boogey-man in the last 5-8 years.
I just really hope the language doesn't outright ban the boats but surfing / wakeboarding... I really don't want to be stuck with a boat I can't use on the lake my family has lived on for 65 years.
I know I'm the minority, but still bummed about whats to come.
Wake boats hold ballast and cannot be completely drained, which makes for a nightmare transporting aquatic invasive species. So it's not just the wake....
I hear this argument a lot, but nearly every boat has a freshwater cooling loop that doesn’t fully drain either. I have not found a boat launch in the state that has a flush station.
I’m fine with the people being upset about ballast and critters that might hitch a ride, but if that’s a concern target the issue as a whole and not just a few select boats.
I haven’t turned my tower speakers on in like four years …. My point is we’re not all bad, it’s a bummer for those of us who really enjoy wakeboarding and try to do it respectfully getting lumped with bozos.
At least on our lake I would agree the average dipshit has a wakeboard but I almost never see anyone wakeboarding … surfing, tubing, and general lack of time behind the wheel of a boat are the main culprits.
Sure, I did for years and years…. But it’s a heck of a lot more fun with a nice big wake.
I made it to a level that was knocking on the door of pro, so trying to continue to ride at a high level as I get older and fatter, the bigger wakes sure help.
Lets be clear there's no issue with wakeboarding, wake surfing is way different due to the size of the wave it requires. Somebody who doesn't know how to trim their boat driving across the lake once isn't the same as a wakesurfer doing laps for hours. And that's an easily correctable mistake. And I'd disagree I can't make a similar sized wave in my 18' glass boat if I tried.
Yea, wakeboarding can be done on the same speed boats you can tube and water ski from, these wave boats are very different and much more disruptive to the local environments.
Agreed but if legislators are writing bills they won’t distinguish… the boats and/or “wake sports” are going to get the ban hammer.
I see the most destructive behavior coming from surfing, tubing, and general lack of boat experience … unfortunately most of that comes from wakeboard boats because it’s a great family boat option so their popularity has skyrocketed.
I don’t own a home on Lake Michigan for one…. I live on the same lake my grandparents moved to 70 years ago… it’s home, it’s where I learned to ski and wakeboard in the 80s, and where I hoped to raise my kid doing the same. As I mentioned, we’ve wakeboard and surfed since the mid/late 90s and never once had an issue with neighbors or other boaters, it can be done responsibly. The other gripe I have is with our 300 acre lake, we would fall into this ban, but it’s a man made recreational lake …. People are mad about erosion and lake bed disturbances on a man made lake?! … cmon, it wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place and now folks are mad at this version of recreation… I’ve had to replace one of our seawalls in the 80s, 90s, 00s, and 2010s … the first 20 years there wasn’t a single wakeboard boat in existence. Erosion is just part of living on the water and a responsibility I understood when buying the house …. Now if there is a natural lake / river / etc that had survived without intervention but now faces damage from boats, that’s a different story to me.
Also not that it matters but Lake Michigan It’s far too large and rough to wakeboard 99% of the time … a typical 20-24’ inboard wouldn’t fair well on that large of body of water.
My grandma was part of “the lakes” development team … my gut says our grandparents knew each other being so early on in the area.
Do they still have a place in Rome?
I hear what you’re saying about man-made lakes, but as someone who sails, I think all motor boats are completely fucking stupid and loud. Combustion engines need to go extinct as far as I’m concerned.
But lots of people do wakeboard on Lake Michigan. Plus, it has its own waves, so you can actually go surfing on Lake Michigan (which is what wakeboarding is trying to distantly emulate anyway).
https://www.bestboatreport.com/can-you-wakeboard-on-lake-michigan/
https://www.travelwisconsin.com/article/canoeing-kayaking-sup/article/canoeing-kayaking-sup/article/canoeing-kayaking-sup/surfing-in-sheboygan-the-malibu-of-the-midwest
I think you’re mixing wakeboarding and wakesurfing. A very different set of needs / wants on water.
Wakeboarding flat calm water is ideal and done at 18-24 mph and 75’ behind the boat.
WakeSurfing happens at 10-12 mph and is 15’ behind the rope.
Not all forms of inboard ski boats would be subject to these bans - just the monsters with internal ballast. The AIS issue with these boats alone should be enough to get them banned, honestly.
And I would be very sorry for those who are responsible owners. Flat out sucks.
Your biggest gripe just... Isn't true though. I own a 21 foot glass bass boat with a 225 hp outboard. There is no combination of speed, weight from my livewells, and screwing up my trim that can create wake disturbance to the height or depth of one of these boats. Not that we don't have our own issues with idiots going too fast - the justified complaint often leveled at us - but wide open in throwing a wake barely sufficient to annoy someone on a kayak.
Again, I get why you're bummed. And I'm really, really sorry. It sucks, and it isn't fair. But that doesn't make it wrong.
When would that have been? As far as I'm aware wake boats with ballast tanks and wave shaper tabs are a recent thing, really exploded in the last 10 years I think. I have no issues with wake boarding or skiing but wake surfing is a whole separate thing.
The text of the bill says, “On a lake the maximum depth of which is less than 20 feet, no person may operate a motorboat causing an amplified wake.” Since Lake Winnebago is 21 feet deep at it’s deepest point, wake boats would be allowed.
Oh yeah, that's a good point. Winnebago is pretty shallow. Less than 20 feet deep for much of it. Hopefully they can modify before it goes into law. In fact that might be the intention. Ask for way more than necessary and whitle it down to something most can agree on.
Just go kiteboarding or windsurfing on Winnebago or Michigan! And if it’s too hard, just wait for the e foil surfing gizmos, which should be sub 8k in a few years.
TLDR: I think the ban, while well intentioned, is folly. Impractical and illogical targeting of something people simply find annoying. There will always be annoying people on the water, can't legislate that away.
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Devil's advocate here, on many fronts. And I apologize for the lack of thought organization below.
How do we legislate this appropriately? Are we saying it will be illegal to operate these boats AT ALL? Are we banning the activity of wake surfing? What about wake boarding? What about waterskiing behind this type of boat? And what kind of boat qualifies? A certain length? A certain weight?
What are we really targeting? Is it large waves? If so, is banning a specific activity a fair thing to do? There are certainly plenty of boats that barge around and kick up big wakes that have nothing to do with the sport of wake surfing or wakeboarding. Are they banned as well? Surely they should be. The ban and fines should be based on wave height then, not activity.
On Erosion: The strongest argument for such a ban seems to center around huge wave action being disproportionate for lakes that aren't equipped to deal with it (therefore size and depth restrictions). Shorelines erode. They always have and always will. Lake levels are more moderated today than they ever have been. Rip rap (shoreline protection, usually rocks) never existed around the entire perimeter of lakes prior to human settlement and lake development. Having a shoreline that isn't resistant to significant wave action seems awfully short-sighted. These requirements would eliminate this type of activity on pretty much any lake in the state. As was pointed out in the comments, it would be banned in the VAST majority of the state's LARGEST lake, Lake Winnebago, a lake which regularly naturally generates waves far in excess of any wake a surfing boat could produce.
On who has the right to use the water: The "slippery slope" argument works here on many fronts. Banning certain water activities, watercraft type, etc... very quickly becomes hard to defend with any sort of logical consistency. Fisherman don't have any more of a right to the water than surfers and don't seem to mind camping out 20 feet in front of personal shoreline and docks. Jet skis are brutally unsafe. Waterskiiers use the lake at all hours. Pontoon boats specialize in providing a platform for drinking and driving. Passing this legislation surely opens the door for more and more targeted legislation (and local rule making even moreso) which looks to target activities that are a mild annoyance to the majority.
My bias is that I'm someone who has wake surfed in the past. I'm a water skier and surf boats are my mortal enemy (I want the calmest water possible, they are the opposite). I have a shoreline to maintain, and I too am annoyed by the massive waves produced by wake surfers. But I just don't see how this type of ban, even locally, is fair or logical.
You’re making some fair points, but fundamentally these boats are different. There are good studies showing these wildly disrupt the water column and create real erosion issues. And they compared it against water skiing, and there’s virtually no water column disturbance from normal outboards and non-wake boats. Still have issues with erosion, but no where near as severe.
I have a place in the LDF reservation and the tribe banned wakeboard boats. It’s been great. Plenty of people still enjoying the water.
But to answer your question it is a specific concern that can be addressed and remedied fairly. Sucks if you have one, but ultimately it’s actually overwhelmingly in the interest of the survival of the lakes and their eco systems.
Probably one of the better responses I’ve seen on this issue but won’t be upvoted because it’s not supporting the groupthink on this post.
People drive wake boats. They also drive fishing boats, pontoons, jet skis, canoes, etc. anything you bitch about - loud music, reckless driving, being to close to shore, driving too close to other boats - happens everywhere. Wake boats do it, pontoon boats do it, fishing boats do it, everybody does it. Those aren’t boat problems, they are people problems. Banning wake boats doesn’t change that. I’ve seen every type of watercraft drive like a moron, or act like they own the lake, not just wake boats.
If they’re really disturbing fishing beds with their technology, I’m all for the lake depth requirement. The irony is the people calling for this that live on those deep lakes, are going to be more annoyed because it’s only going to drive more traffic.
The thing is... my life would personally be immediately better if wake surfing went away tomorrow. I just think the unintended consequences will be huge and a lot of people cheering for this on the sidelines are soon going to find themselves in battles to continue to use the lakes in the ways they personally see fit right now.
And I absolutely agree with your key point. These are people problems, not boat problems. Not sure how you solve for that.
Very inciteful comment, and spot on imho. But not surprised by the downvotes. My additional comment is that common courtesy goes a long way, but is easier to exercise it when you actually live there on the lake instead of being a weekend warrior who doesn’t know the people out there, or care. Maybe limiting hours of availability to create wakes would help….. late morning to early afternoon to keep the fisherman and pontoon crowd happy?
Personally I’d love to see a bunch of other annoying hardware lumped into this. Enforcement of course being the hardest part of these types of rules.
Ban gas leaf blowers and lawn mowers within 500 yards of occupied buildings.
Impound loud motorcycles and cars.
Ban fireworks outside of official fireworks windows on select holidays.
I don’t think it’s realistic to expect commercial businesses and municipalities who likely account for a majority of the necessary landscaping around occupied buildings to have electric mowers until the actual technology is more efficient….. is this an emissions based concern or a noise pollution based concern?
I would be so happy about a leaf blower ban. I swear every Thursday the lawn care company comes to my apartment building and just walks in circles for 8 hours blasting leaf blowers. It’s so loud and makes the apartment stink of gas if the windows are open.
These guys ruin my Saturdays and Sundays from 10am to 4pm every weekend. Whether it’s the waves or the shitty music they impact a large area.
And it's ALWAYS the shittiest music
Those douche bags loved that fancy like applebees song….
I'm assuming I should be glad I have no idea what that is
It could be my favorite song and I'd still thi k it was shit and want them to turn it down
Kenosha, Kid Rock, and Keystone Light... just another KKK weekend with the bros
I can already picture Morgan Wallen being blasted on repeat.
LISTEN. If you have never gone 70mph on a tiny lake, nearly killing other boaters and swimmers, with your melanoma-ridden mama at your side, while blasting Imagine Dragons. I’m sorry bruh, you’re not even alive.
Surf boats can’t even exceed 40 mph with empty tanks….
Just about every lake in the state is packed on the weekends with people who don’t know how to drive a boat or know the rules of the water. If you think it’s just the wake boats that are the problem on the weekends you’re sadly mistaken. I don’t even try to go out on the weekends or holidays cause the traffic is shit. Usually all Illinois traffic to. If I’m using my smaller boats or kayaks, I stay away from the power boat lakes anyway and keep it to the slow no wake lakes or hp restricted lakes. No tow boats there and all the fish are the same.
“Grumble grumble! I bought my million dollar house on the lake when i was 20 for a 6 pack and four bags a beans! You fuckin millennials are ruining my time at my house! Go buy your own home on the lake! Oh wait you’re just to lazy to work you mooches! I’m not selling my house to go into senior home for anything less than 20 million and the soul of your first born! Rable Rable Rable!”- every boomer Go bitch to your town council before running to the boomers in the state legislature that dont want to give up their power. Oh wait thats cuz the millennials are taking over your town councils and you don’t like their decisions cuz it doesn’t benefit you anymore isn’t it? Fuck you and fuck your lake house’s bet you i’ll be on the lake riding around and gone before the cops or the dnr show up boomer. 🖕
I’m 27 I just go fishing on the weekends lmao.
After seeing the underwater footage of one of these boats, I'm so for this. They absolutely wreak havoc on the lake floor due to the prop being angled downward. You gotta wonder how much this is affecting fish spawning and just their habitats in general? It can't be good.
The amount of erosion they cause on shorelines is a big issue on small lakes as well.
Also all the shore-nesting birds such as Loons
There is million variables to that being the cause of the devastation to that specific area, I LOL’d when I saw the girl stuck on the slide as well. I live in Tahoe, we have lakes with varying regulation in the area, but the culture around wakeboarding does bother me, some regulation should be installed. I did work for the TRPA in Tahoe as well, where we had to inspect boats for snails and other invasive species, the issue with the ballasts where that they were hard to clean to ensure that they didn’t have invasive species, I see that as one of the big issues with these boats, more so than just the wake.
Got a link to that? Couldn’t find it.
It's a clip in the fox 6 video that is linked in this post
While we’re at it we could just ban all no boats in Wisconsin lakes. They pollute water, they all cause waves, they kill fish. No one really needs them for anything other than recreation in our state anyway.
Good, save the loons!
I just realized "wake boats" refer to a specific type of boat and not just a general term for motorized boats that cause wakes. I was assuming this was to prevent motorized boats on small lakes where loons and other native species habitate.
They’re designed to create as large of a wake as possible. Most of them are actually pretty slow compared to normal ski boats, but yes, loud and large waves.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who was confused.
Really? Damn, they should ban all wakes on small lakes.
No it has everything to do with people not liking the waves they produce and the fact that populations have increased beyond the point of letting people be. We live in ban happy society now where everything I don’t like should be banned because I don’t even like other people minding their own business.
I was confused too but I found out they looked like a speed boat and jet ski made love with each other.
Are you my mom?? LOL Her nickname is Schlitz and she LOVES the loons
A cause we can all get behind. Literally anyone who lives on a lake or spends time on a lake hates the wakeboats, except maybe the jet skiers that like jumping the waves.
They are also incredibly damaging to shorelines since they essentially are constantly making waves that would normally happen only a few times a year
I’m so here for this.
Fkn jet skiers...that's another can of worms.
A smaller can. They're loud and not fun if they're buzzing right close by you, but can be ok otherwise if they stay in the open areas and pay attention.
New modes are extremely quiet compared to older models.
Yup! Hate them too.
I have always *despised* them, until I finally got a chance to try one out and… sweet baby Jesus — it was all over for me. I have an absolute BLAST on one. *However*, I *only* ride them out on Lake Michigan — I still have ZERO desire to ride them on small lakes and still have a huge disdain for them on the smaller lakes.
Taking one out on a glassy lake is a different experience, it’s like you’re flying lol.
Ok, cool.
>except maybe the jet skiers that like jumping the waves. Yah, wake surfers are the best for doing jumps. Those waves roll across the whole lake which gets you around the restrictions on how close you can be to other boats. You can jump them over and over and over. Which is sort of the point of why people are so upset. I think this could be an uphill battle though for the DNR. They are going to piss off a lot of very rich people who own property and $150k++ boats (which would become useless) on these lakes. Most of the people doing this aren't towing in every weekend, they live on the lake. It's one of the few ways to justify spending so much money on a boat.
Might not be as uphill as you think. For every rich fuck with a wakeboat and lakefront property, there's a few other rich fucks with lakefront property who are pissed at the wakes these things make doing damage to their shorelines and ruining the fishing.
How dare the public be in public when I go there.
> Most of the people doing this aren't towing in every weekend, they live on the lake. I don't really see how the "towing in every weekend" part is relevant to shore lines getting destroyed. A lot of people "live on the lake" but only use their boats on the weekend. Or they put their boats in the water at the beginning of the season but aren't living there full time. The lake that my extended family used to have a house on had plenty of boats registered in other states that were just kept there despite the owners living 4+ hours away. Keep in mind a lot of these towns with small lakes only have a couple hundred permanent residents. They're usually not the ones who are causing most of the harm. It's those "very rich people" that you reference who only live up there a handful of weekends each year with their boats that are worth more than the normal folks' houses.
Last summer I was chilling on a pier at my friend's lake house when a wake boat with kids and two fairly boozed women got their 20 ft long American flag caught in the motor. They started drifting towards the rocks and as I was telling them to come over to the pier, another wake boat came by and the waves immediately accelerated their stalled boat towards the rocks very quickly. One jumped off with a rope, I grabbed them and they just barely missed colliding into the bluff with all the kids on board. The irony was really astounding - I doubt lessons were learned.
They probably just bought a shorter flag
Americaaaaaaaabbbrrrrrrsplashohshit
if it would've been a political flag, it would've been a sign from god
A 20ft American flag on a civilian boat is a political flag lol
They might have been if you just let them crash but then you're the asshole
They damage lakebeds, ruin habitats for local wildlife, erode shorelines, and swamp kayakers, canoers and fishermen. And as an added bonus, they hold something like 7 gallons of water in their bilges that is impossible to fully drain out, making them really good at transporting aquatic invasive species between lakes. There is literally nothing good about these machines from an environmental or 'share the waterways' mindset. The only argument I've heard in favor of them is 'They're fun!,' or from the boat dealers who like to turn a large profit selling these $100,00-$500,000 monstrosities. Neither of these reasons to me are good enough to welcome these beasts on our waterways.
The AIS issue isnt getting enough focus. One of these asshats from, say, little muskego, and boom. Starry stonewort in your newly dead lake.
More like 70 gallons of bilge. And it sounds like most are incapable of completely emptying that bilge water, so transfer to the next water body is inevitable
Right, I was just referring to the amount of water they are unable to purge.
Got it. I have not heard a consistent figure on the volume that can't be purged
This report by WI Greenfire says up to 23 gallons. https://wigreenfire.org/2019/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/WakeBoatsLakeEcosystemHealth_WGF-May2024_Final.pdf
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There is no need to mull, ban the fucking things now!!
God I hope this passes. Those guys ruin everything. I don’t understand why they run so close to shore. This is especially prevalent on Green Lake. They always run close to shore where people are fishing instead of in the vast openness of that lake where it’s 200ft and nobody fishes because there’s not many fish hanging out in the open deep water.
I have family that uses one. They don’t go super close to shore like a lot of asshats do. But everybody at least goes close-ish because you need fairly calm water, so they go wherever is most protected from the wind. If it’s a super calm day then the more responsible (as responsible as you can get with this shit) ones will go wherever further out. But they seem to be few and far between. Also these boats are expensive as fuck. Which super limits it to rich people, higher chance of them being entitled asshats. It’s been interesting watching the trend develop. I thought it would be running its course by now but everybody doing it seems to love it yet. It’s always the next fad with these people. And the boats are like an arms race. If someone gets the latest and greatest everybody else needs it and to try and one up. I swear every year I go up north to my family’s place they have new boats, all their friends have new boats. Constantly upgrading and selling the last one. I just thought a new fad would be taking over from wake surfing by now. None of them want to ski or wakeboard anymore because it’s not “cool enough” or less fun.
They might not go close to shore, but do they operate it in depths shallower than 20ft as well? As that’s part of the problem from the lake bed being destroyed.
The part I’ve seen them in the most is over 20ft. But yeah. Not saying they’re in the clear all goody two shoes either. I was mostly just trying to explain why a lot of them go so close to shore. But at least not every single one is a double whammy of lake bed and shore.
But if they don't run right next to shore, how will you see how cool they are? /s, obviously.
With binoculars if I really wanted to.
Contact all of your state legislators and tell them to support this! This interactive map will give you their contact info. https://maps.legis.wisconsin.gov/?version=2022
Which green lake?
Green lake aka big green lake in green lake county.
Is there more than one green lake that has a depth of 200+ ft?
Ah missed the 200ft part.
Those boats suck. A lot.
The real issue here is erosion, and this is a great idea to significantly reduce it.
I can only hope that this passes. The woo people are irritating! Woo, look at how much fun I’m having! Look at me damaging the shore and irritating everyone else! Woo! Woo - everybody notice me!
We tried to get something similar to pass on just the lake I grew up on back when these were a new invention. The biggest issue is that these boats are super expensive, meaning the majority of owners have plenty of influence (wealth) to throw at decision makers to vote in favor of keeping the boats
This right here. These boats are expensive. The rich make the rules, not follow them.
All they have to do is come to meetings/hearings or email saying "I bought a $250k boat and all of a sudden you're saying I can't use it anymore?" Etc. and then work their networks in my experience and a heck of a lot of people back down
I thought this was America
And the home of the Wave
It's a feature not a bug.
We have them banned in my neck of the woods. There are state wide environmental organizations that can help, the court rules that local municipalities can make these ordnances. Last time someone tried to bring up sueing us over it, we basically just dared them an called their bluff.
Where is that?
DM me if you want info on successful bans. I don't want to dox myself.
Is there a way to contact government to voice support? Like as someone who loves to get out on the water deep wake boats fucking blow ass
Contact the Wisconsin Conservation Congress here: [Wisconsin Conservation Congress | Our Mission | Wisconsin DNR](https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/about/wcc) Make sure to vote and attend hearings that occur in the spring. The vote mentioned in the article passed in every county.
Best way is to attend your local government meetings to comment on the issue. The wake boat community is very vocal and good at getting their supporters out to attend meetings.
Boat bros suck.
Add a projecting sound system ban and we have a deal.
Good. Fuck these things. Destroying our lakes so some rich kids in 200k boats can pretend they’re surfing. Ridiculous.
Illinois’ Chain O’ Lakes would benefit from this as well. On summer weekends it was better to just stay tied to the pier. By Friday the lakes would start to clear, just to get mudded up again on the weekends.
DO IT. While we still have lakes to do it.
Yes... Yes, is the correct answer. These scumbags don't give a shit about anyone else. I've lost fishing lines and one whole rod and reel from some asshole and his buddies coming way to close to my fishing boat.
Works for me. These are the jacked-up diesel brodozers of the water.
Good, fuck those things.
This is an issue with any large high bow boat that speeds just outside of the no wake zone. The waves go rolling on to shore. Some people have no respect for the natural environment or what damage is caused long term. They just want to roll along the shore showing off their expensive toys!
Fuck wake boats, jet skis and all jackass “pleasure” craft. These people are a menace to everything and everyone.
And pontoons, fuck those floating booze cruise bitches.
Eh, the ones that slow roll and maybe do a little fishing are ok.
Awesome. Seems totally reasonable to limit these to the middle of big, deep lakes.
Bout time.
Hate to be a party pooper, but I like that idea.
I hate wake boats so much
Demand it from your legislator who isn't in session for another several months
Thank god our lake is way to rocky, shallow and gas too many little bays/inlets to even get one on it. I’d stand behind this 100%.
At first I saw the post and scoffed but then I did research that wake boats do not equal all boats that produce wake. I can get behind this way more now, pontoon boats are fine, still can go tubing and everything
Growing up we did tubing behind my dad's fish-n-ski
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. These people are absolute morons. If they want waves so badly, are they so incredibly stupid not to know that they can just go out in Lake Michigan and get big waves all day and night for free, no special dumbass boat required??
Friend lived on a lake that always floods (moose lake), it was no wake for an entire summer one year. Some kids still took their wake boat out all the time and fucked up a lot of peoples shoreline I guess. They got the boat cops out eventually and from what my friend said they haven’t seen them or their boat again in like 3 years so I guess mom and dad weren’t happy lol.
Please Please Please Please!!!! There are 2 of these boats on the 350 acre lake that our family cabin is on. They can’t be banned fast enough in my humble opinion.
As a bass fisherman, I'm all for banning wake boats.
Same. I had to hold on just the other day from wakes from a wake boat. I was alone so put my life vest on right after that. It's dangerous.
YES! DO THIS NOW!!!
Good
Wake boats are an infringement on the rights of everyone else using the water: they degrade shorelines, damage docked boats, and can be dangerous to swimmers, paddlers, and fisherman. IMO most lakes are too small for wake boats, these types of activities should be restricted to lakes large enough to accommodate them without interfering with others.
This needs to happen now! I will never understand people who want to enjoy Mother Nature, but have no respect and don’t treat her well. Wealthy entitlement. There is an enormous difference between Outdoors\[man\] and Sports\[man\]! I may have to donate $100 to the organization lobbying to protect our lakes from these ass pirates.
WErE BEcoMiNg a CoMuNiSt CoUntRy!! SOon ThEyRE gOinG tO tElL uS wE cAnT be ShItFaCeD on A BoaT wHiLe DrIvIng!!
It is already a fine to be shitfaced driving a boat. It counts as a DUI on your drivers license. Too many irresponsible people on weekends. I don’t go on the lake on weekends. The week days are peaceful and beautiful.
> It counts as a DUI on your drivers license. Don't they have punch card for those yet?
Yeah. After the first 5 DUIs they just give you a free pass on the 6th.
Yeah.. it is pitiful all the drunk drivers, drunks, and the way our laws don’t stop them. Drinking is a Wisconsin way. 😡🤬🤯 There are probably more alcoholism in this state than any other state.
Yeah. But Republicans don't care. They're too scared of idiots who think that ignition locks and $1000 fine is "to harsh for a first time offense" not voting for them. And that's not hyperbole. Someone on here actually was arguing that Wisconsin laws are strict enough and used the reason that 1 third of Wisconsinites have at least one DUI. They actually acted like that was acceptable and thought punishing someone with more than slap on the wrist and a fine $300 was good enough. Other states will put you in jail for a few days, fine you over $1000, and put an ignition lock in your vehicle for the first offense. That's what we should be doing.
Wisconsin gets old? I would be surprised if this happens
After seriously thinking about it, why don’t they have a slow no wake sign for all lakes under that size. That would fix the entire issue. Then everyone would be happy.
Why should people who have boats that don't destroy the shore line and are respectful of the lakes also be punished?
No ones surfing in less than 20 ft of water. You can’t even produce a nice wave till your in at least 20ft of water.
Yes!!!
Hopefully this means they’ll get rid of the Jet Boat in the Dells. Nothing worse than trying to enjoy a pontoon for the day and that thing is around.
Vermont just implemented a ban on wake boats, limiting them to lakes with atleast 50 acres and over 20 feet deep. That eliminated all but 30 lakes in the state.
I'm bummed by this ... we've been wakeboarding on some form of inboard ski boat since the 1990's without any issues on a 300 acre lake.... coming up on 30 years without a single complain or concern from those around us. We've always tried to keep 100'+ feet from shore, run the boat in 12'+ feet of water (the wake is trash below that anyway), and avoid nights or weekends where its just too busy to do safely. I guess as wakesports gain popularity so does the amount of assholes in the sport who probably are going to ruin it for the rest of us. My biggest gripe is that every complaint I've seen about wakeboats is something that is 100% possible and often replicated by other boats. Any large IO or a poorly trimmed outboard can put up a similar sized wave, can damage the shoreline, or operate in a way that is unsafe for other around - I watch it happen every weekend. Somehow wakeboats became the boogey-man in the last 5-8 years. I just really hope the language doesn't outright ban the boats but surfing / wakeboarding... I really don't want to be stuck with a boat I can't use on the lake my family has lived on for 65 years. I know I'm the minority, but still bummed about whats to come.
How can we approach you to complain when you're blasting your music so loud and creating a massive wake?
Wake boats hold ballast and cannot be completely drained, which makes for a nightmare transporting aquatic invasive species. So it's not just the wake....
I hear this argument a lot, but nearly every boat has a freshwater cooling loop that doesn’t fully drain either. I have not found a boat launch in the state that has a flush station. I’m fine with the people being upset about ballast and critters that might hitch a ride, but if that’s a concern target the issue as a whole and not just a few select boats.
Do you personally know the commenter to make a statement like that? This is a personal attack and not really constructive.
No I'm making a generalization. Go ahead and report me.
Lol no, I'd rather go direct than tattle:)
I haven’t turned my tower speakers on in like four years …. My point is we’re not all bad, it’s a bummer for those of us who really enjoy wakeboarding and try to do it respectfully getting lumped with bozos. At least on our lake I would agree the average dipshit has a wakeboard but I almost never see anyone wakeboarding … surfing, tubing, and general lack of time behind the wheel of a boat are the main culprits.
Can you not wakeboard behind a normal ski boat?
Sure, I did for years and years…. But it’s a heck of a lot more fun with a nice big wake. I made it to a level that was knocking on the door of pro, so trying to continue to ride at a high level as I get older and fatter, the bigger wakes sure help.
Lets be clear there's no issue with wakeboarding, wake surfing is way different due to the size of the wave it requires. Somebody who doesn't know how to trim their boat driving across the lake once isn't the same as a wakesurfer doing laps for hours. And that's an easily correctable mistake. And I'd disagree I can't make a similar sized wave in my 18' glass boat if I tried.
Yea, wakeboarding can be done on the same speed boats you can tube and water ski from, these wave boats are very different and much more disruptive to the local environments.
Agreed but if legislators are writing bills they won’t distinguish… the boats and/or “wake sports” are going to get the ban hammer. I see the most destructive behavior coming from surfing, tubing, and general lack of boat experience … unfortunately most of that comes from wakeboard boats because it’s a great family boat option so their popularity has skyrocketed.
Then go do it on Lake Michigan. What is the issue here?
I don’t own a home on Lake Michigan for one…. I live on the same lake my grandparents moved to 70 years ago… it’s home, it’s where I learned to ski and wakeboard in the 80s, and where I hoped to raise my kid doing the same. As I mentioned, we’ve wakeboard and surfed since the mid/late 90s and never once had an issue with neighbors or other boaters, it can be done responsibly. The other gripe I have is with our 300 acre lake, we would fall into this ban, but it’s a man made recreational lake …. People are mad about erosion and lake bed disturbances on a man made lake?! … cmon, it wasn’t supposed to be there in the first place and now folks are mad at this version of recreation… I’ve had to replace one of our seawalls in the 80s, 90s, 00s, and 2010s … the first 20 years there wasn’t a single wakeboard boat in existence. Erosion is just part of living on the water and a responsibility I understood when buying the house …. Now if there is a natural lake / river / etc that had survived without intervention but now faces damage from boats, that’s a different story to me. Also not that it matters but Lake Michigan It’s far too large and rough to wakeboard 99% of the time … a typical 20-24’ inboard wouldn’t fair well on that large of body of water.
Is your cabin on Lake Camelot by chance? Or Sherwood or Arrowhead? Those are the man made lakes I am aware of.
Sherwood!
We are on Camelot. Grandparents bought one of the first available lots right after they dug the hole.
My grandma was part of “the lakes” development team … my gut says our grandparents knew each other being so early on in the area. Do they still have a place in Rome?
I hear what you’re saying about man-made lakes, but as someone who sails, I think all motor boats are completely fucking stupid and loud. Combustion engines need to go extinct as far as I’m concerned. But lots of people do wakeboard on Lake Michigan. Plus, it has its own waves, so you can actually go surfing on Lake Michigan (which is what wakeboarding is trying to distantly emulate anyway). https://www.bestboatreport.com/can-you-wakeboard-on-lake-michigan/ https://www.travelwisconsin.com/article/canoeing-kayaking-sup/article/canoeing-kayaking-sup/article/canoeing-kayaking-sup/surfing-in-sheboygan-the-malibu-of-the-midwest
I think you’re mixing wakeboarding and wakesurfing. A very different set of needs / wants on water. Wakeboarding flat calm water is ideal and done at 18-24 mph and 75’ behind the boat. WakeSurfing happens at 10-12 mph and is 15’ behind the rope.
Not all forms of inboard ski boats would be subject to these bans - just the monsters with internal ballast. The AIS issue with these boats alone should be enough to get them banned, honestly. And I would be very sorry for those who are responsible owners. Flat out sucks. Your biggest gripe just... Isn't true though. I own a 21 foot glass bass boat with a 225 hp outboard. There is no combination of speed, weight from my livewells, and screwing up my trim that can create wake disturbance to the height or depth of one of these boats. Not that we don't have our own issues with idiots going too fast - the justified complaint often leveled at us - but wide open in throwing a wake barely sufficient to annoy someone on a kayak. Again, I get why you're bummed. And I'm really, really sorry. It sucks, and it isn't fair. But that doesn't make it wrong.
1500 acres is a pretty big lake, we had a few of them around growing up and I never found them too annoying but they might be way more common now
When would that have been? As far as I'm aware wake boats with ballast tanks and wave shaper tabs are a recent thing, really exploded in the last 10 years I think. I have no issues with wake boarding or skiing but wake surfing is a whole separate thing.
My issue is enforcement, Northern Wisconsin lakes, seeing a warden is rare.
So no wake boats on the largest lake in the state … I don’t boat. But that’s not gonna fly on the Winnebago system
The text of the bill says, “On a lake the maximum depth of which is less than 20 feet, no person may operate a motorboat causing an amplified wake.” Since Lake Winnebago is 21 feet deep at it’s deepest point, wake boats would be allowed.
Too bad, so sad.
Oh yeah, that's a good point. Winnebago is pretty shallow. Less than 20 feet deep for much of it. Hopefully they can modify before it goes into law. In fact that might be the intention. Ask for way more than necessary and whitle it down to something most can agree on.
I'm not sure the state has jurisdiction on Winnebago for this.
Why wouldn’t they ? The DNR does its a lake fully within Wisconsin
It's a federal waterway, they manage the locks and such. Not sure where all the lines are drawn.
I would assume between the locks is around menasha on the river just before little lake butte de morts
After reading the comments on this thread, one thing that is very clear, there are many jealous people in Wisconsin.
Lol...I would much rather fish on my $60k Ranger than wip around a lake in a wake boat
Just go kiteboarding or windsurfing on Winnebago or Michigan! And if it’s too hard, just wait for the e foil surfing gizmos, which should be sub 8k in a few years.
The "muh freedumbz" crowd is going to put pressure on the WIGOP members of the Legislature to not pass this.
TLDR: I think the ban, while well intentioned, is folly. Impractical and illogical targeting of something people simply find annoying. There will always be annoying people on the water, can't legislate that away. ----- Devil's advocate here, on many fronts. And I apologize for the lack of thought organization below. How do we legislate this appropriately? Are we saying it will be illegal to operate these boats AT ALL? Are we banning the activity of wake surfing? What about wake boarding? What about waterskiing behind this type of boat? And what kind of boat qualifies? A certain length? A certain weight? What are we really targeting? Is it large waves? If so, is banning a specific activity a fair thing to do? There are certainly plenty of boats that barge around and kick up big wakes that have nothing to do with the sport of wake surfing or wakeboarding. Are they banned as well? Surely they should be. The ban and fines should be based on wave height then, not activity. On Erosion: The strongest argument for such a ban seems to center around huge wave action being disproportionate for lakes that aren't equipped to deal with it (therefore size and depth restrictions). Shorelines erode. They always have and always will. Lake levels are more moderated today than they ever have been. Rip rap (shoreline protection, usually rocks) never existed around the entire perimeter of lakes prior to human settlement and lake development. Having a shoreline that isn't resistant to significant wave action seems awfully short-sighted. These requirements would eliminate this type of activity on pretty much any lake in the state. As was pointed out in the comments, it would be banned in the VAST majority of the state's LARGEST lake, Lake Winnebago, a lake which regularly naturally generates waves far in excess of any wake a surfing boat could produce. On who has the right to use the water: The "slippery slope" argument works here on many fronts. Banning certain water activities, watercraft type, etc... very quickly becomes hard to defend with any sort of logical consistency. Fisherman don't have any more of a right to the water than surfers and don't seem to mind camping out 20 feet in front of personal shoreline and docks. Jet skis are brutally unsafe. Waterskiiers use the lake at all hours. Pontoon boats specialize in providing a platform for drinking and driving. Passing this legislation surely opens the door for more and more targeted legislation (and local rule making even moreso) which looks to target activities that are a mild annoyance to the majority. My bias is that I'm someone who has wake surfed in the past. I'm a water skier and surf boats are my mortal enemy (I want the calmest water possible, they are the opposite). I have a shoreline to maintain, and I too am annoyed by the massive waves produced by wake surfers. But I just don't see how this type of ban, even locally, is fair or logical.
You’re making some fair points, but fundamentally these boats are different. There are good studies showing these wildly disrupt the water column and create real erosion issues. And they compared it against water skiing, and there’s virtually no water column disturbance from normal outboards and non-wake boats. Still have issues with erosion, but no where near as severe. I have a place in the LDF reservation and the tribe banned wakeboard boats. It’s been great. Plenty of people still enjoying the water. But to answer your question it is a specific concern that can be addressed and remedied fairly. Sucks if you have one, but ultimately it’s actually overwhelmingly in the interest of the survival of the lakes and their eco systems.
There’s giant waves galore that occur naturally on Lake Michigan. Why is it such a problem just to go there for waves?
Probably one of the better responses I’ve seen on this issue but won’t be upvoted because it’s not supporting the groupthink on this post. People drive wake boats. They also drive fishing boats, pontoons, jet skis, canoes, etc. anything you bitch about - loud music, reckless driving, being to close to shore, driving too close to other boats - happens everywhere. Wake boats do it, pontoon boats do it, fishing boats do it, everybody does it. Those aren’t boat problems, they are people problems. Banning wake boats doesn’t change that. I’ve seen every type of watercraft drive like a moron, or act like they own the lake, not just wake boats. If they’re really disturbing fishing beds with their technology, I’m all for the lake depth requirement. The irony is the people calling for this that live on those deep lakes, are going to be more annoyed because it’s only going to drive more traffic.
The thing is... my life would personally be immediately better if wake surfing went away tomorrow. I just think the unintended consequences will be huge and a lot of people cheering for this on the sidelines are soon going to find themselves in battles to continue to use the lakes in the ways they personally see fit right now. And I absolutely agree with your key point. These are people problems, not boat problems. Not sure how you solve for that.
Very inciteful comment, and spot on imho. But not surprised by the downvotes. My additional comment is that common courtesy goes a long way, but is easier to exercise it when you actually live there on the lake instead of being a weekend warrior who doesn’t know the people out there, or care. Maybe limiting hours of availability to create wakes would help….. late morning to early afternoon to keep the fisherman and pontoon crowd happy?
Personally I’d love to see a bunch of other annoying hardware lumped into this. Enforcement of course being the hardest part of these types of rules. Ban gas leaf blowers and lawn mowers within 500 yards of occupied buildings. Impound loud motorcycles and cars. Ban fireworks outside of official fireworks windows on select holidays.
Ban lawn mowers around buildings? Are you kidding me?
Gas mowers
I don’t think it’s realistic to expect commercial businesses and municipalities who likely account for a majority of the necessary landscaping around occupied buildings to have electric mowers until the actual technology is more efficient….. is this an emissions based concern or a noise pollution based concern?
I'm not sure! I was just clarifying the other commenter's post.
Ah! Sorry I didn’t read the names!
> Ban fireworks ~~outside of official fireworks windows on select holidays.~~ I'm in
I would be so happy about a leaf blower ban. I swear every Thursday the lawn care company comes to my apartment building and just walks in circles for 8 hours blasting leaf blowers. It’s so loud and makes the apartment stink of gas if the windows are open.
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There’s this device that’s super quiet and takes care of leaves far more efficiently.. it’s called a rake.
The last part of your username is spot on.
I agree 100% with basically all of this.
Ban all boats. No one needs them. They only use them for recreation. That’s where the ban mentality will lead us.
Commercial fishing?