Personal Watercraft Not Sole Cause Of Troubled Waters
Jet Ski or, more accurately, personal watercraft - PWC for short are among the newest water toys. My wife and I are pushing 50, and we each have one and love to tour on them. We do not wish to be unduly restricted or condemned because of the actions of inconsiderate PWC operators.
PWCs are viewed by many as nuisances or worse. They are annoying when they constantly buzz around a short distance from your lake home. Boaters worry when PWCs come too close jumping a wake and a few accidents have occurred. You have probably seen some unfavorable articles in the newspapers.
I have to admit that some PWCs and their owners are causing problems.
If we assume that power boats in general are acceptable, then comparing a PWC with an average power boat shows that the former produces much less wake (it is smaller and lighter), burns less gas, and is less noisy than nearly all of the many “hot” boats on the lake. In spite of this, people cite wake and noise as specific problems related to PWC use.
While traveling on the St. Joe River in my 20-foot boat, I crossed several PWC wakes. I could just feel them. A 40-foot cruiser went by. I had to stop my boat and turn its nose directly into the wake. It would have swamped us otherwise.
I turned and watched the wake proceed along the river bank, completely covering it as it went by.
If we are going to ban something from the lake, I have a few candidates. In fact, why don’t we ban large boats (pick any size, just so it is a foot longer than yours)? As it is, I can use my PWC only on weekdays, because on the weekends the lake is so churned up by boats and my back is only so strong.
Do we need more no-wake zones? I do not think so, but if we must, they should apply to all watercraft - especially those that make a lot of wake.
The PWC driver tends to be younger than the average boat driver and in many cases has taken no interest in any kind of training. Driving very fast, very close to the shore, a swimmer or a boat is an unsafe practice in any water vehicle, whether boat or PWC. Perhaps because PWC operators have greater control and visibility, they feel more able to do such things. That doesn’t mean we should let them.
The basic problem then is with the operator, not the vehicle.
I drive my car much more than my PWC, yet it has been 16 years since the police have stopped me in my car. The sheriff has stopped once or twice each year that I have been riding my PWC. (Hey, just for safety inspections.)
The sheriff and Coast Guard are doing a good job of enforcing existing laws. Because they have been so singled out as villains, PWC operators are really feeling the pressure to obey those laws this year. So in that sense, all the bad press is having a good effect.
I think we will be seeing fewer problems in the future, even as PWC ownership increases, as it is sure to do.
PWCs should not be singled out for special legislation. I do feel additional measures could be taken for all boats, including PWCs.
Age limits should be placed on operators. A safety course should be required, at least for the younger drivers.
A law restricting the time a boat can spend in one area (Minnesota’s solution), unless it is traveling at no-wake speed, might be a good thing.
I live on the lake and can understand the feelings of a lakeshore dweller when visited by PWCs continuously. PWCs are getting quieter all the time, but better muffling could, and perhaps should, be required.
While we’re at it, can we do something about those big, powerful racing boats?
Some laws would be foolish, however. It seems to me that a helmet would increase the area presented by the head when hitting the water, causing it to catch the water more violently. This could increase the chance of a neck injury. Helmets are for racing events, where you are more likely to hit another participant.
I read with amazement about the Fourth of July boating accident in which a runaway boat injured a woman on the Coeur d’Alene city beach. Can you imagine the outcry had that instead been a runaway PWC? I heard no mention of tighter regulations for standard power boats, however.
If a PWC operator had fallen into the water, the safety lanyard would have pulled off, cutting the engine. I realize the runaway boat had such a facility (very unusual for a boat), but that facility was not being used, probably because boaters are not accustomed to using such things.
On a PWC, even if the safety lanyard for some reason did not cut the engine, the spring-loaded throttle, standard on all PWCs, would have dropped the speed to an idle.
Speaking of falling out of boats, when is the last time you saw a boater wearing a lifejacket? When is the last time you saw a PWC operator not wearing a lifejacket?
If we are going to allow any kind of power boats on our waterways, let’s encourage PWCs. If used properly and considerately, they are safer and they produce less wake and less noise. (OK, we may need to spread that around.)
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