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[The Gilly]

This is the place where you can spill your guts about jet boats and other water craft.  It's acually the operators that are the problem.  Some of the boats are really nice.

Rieber...is the Hellfish metalic red?  I think this may be the same moron that Buzzed me within 25' at 30-40mph while I was anchored with lines out last June.  I felt like chucking a 20oz weight at him. 

To all the boat operators out there...Know the rules, play safe and be nice.  We're all out the to enjoy the day.  When you anchor close to someone ask if they mind your position first.  They may have a good reason for you not being so close.  Like the guy who anchored in front of me last year at peg leg.  You'll lose your fish in my anchor again and again.  And to the guy who anchored 30' behind me when there was 1km or river to choose from.  Sorry that I ruined your day by casting over your lines.  If everyone is courteous we'll all have fun.  Those two idiots were on the same day.  The rest of 2004 I had no problems with anchoring.

[Rodney]

While it is off-season and cabin fever is beginning to set in, and we of course feel the need to vent at times (which is fine, when done appropriately ), I would like to suggest that beside providing the bad experiences, make some suggestions like Gilly has of ways that may improve the boating atmosphere (this sentence is getting way too long!).

I personally don't have or operate a boat, so can't really provide any rant...

I'm curious though:

I can't believe that I need a pleasure boat operators card to operate a 12' boat with 10hp and I don't need one for an 18' jet boat with 200hp.  Everyone operating a boat should have to pass very rigorous testing. 

Why don't operators need testing if their boats are bigger?

[Gooey]

I agree, if you want to driver an industrial truck you most likely need an air brakes ticket...driver a bus and you need a  class 6 liscence (i think). 

It makes sense that a power boat operators card should have a tiered system based on size and power of the boat.

A lot of it comes down to enforcement tho...no enforcement them the s*** h***'s run wild.

[The Gilly]

Everyone will eventually as the legislation slowly gets grandfathered in.  The legislation is based on a criterium of power boat length and the operators age.  Here is the web site with the regulations.

http://www.safeboater.com/pages/regulations.html

All operators of powered water craft under 4m (14.5 ft) must prove competency as well as all operators born after April 1, 1983.  I was born in 1964.  This means that I do not have to prove myself competent operating my boat that is 4.3m (15').  I do have my card.  The test is way too easy.  Anyone with basic knowledge can pass it. 

This still doesn't preclude people from being idiots as we see every day with drivers licences.  Right Randog? (that was a slight against the guy that hit you).  Hope your feeling better.

As for your question...I don't know.  I think that everyone that operates a boat should have to pass a qualifying exam.  People do not know how to pass or who has the right of way.

As for being positive rather than negative.  It's hard to remember the positives as the negatives always seem bigger.  I will say that the large majority of people are courteous and good natured and make boating fun.  I'd say that the bad ones are in the 5% range, but they make up for thier lack of #'s by thier actions.  As I said before, I only had one day in 2004 where I wish I didn't go out.

This is what it is all about for me...

[The Gilly]

How's that Rod?  I changes the subject to be more inclusive   

[Randog]

Gilly, thanks for slaggin' that young fellow who crashed into me, I feel much better now

 Looks like your little guy has found something very interesting overboard, did you lose a watch by chance? Glad to see you make sure they're all wearing PFDs. I try to always use mine while travelling on the Fraser, but remove it when I anchored.

[ahans]

Nice boat Grumman...lucky kids. Wish my daddy had a boat  .

[Randog]

Well here's a positive story, last year Mrs. Randog and myself figured we'd head out for a little bar fishing by ourselves at Queens. We launched at Island 22 and started headding over to Queens without the anchor! About mid river my Evinrude dies, so I reach down give the bulb a few squeezes and try to start her up, buy no way she wasn't going to start. So here we are drifting WAAAAY down river and me pullin' that starter with all I've got, we'll another guy in a JET BOAT sees I'm in trouble and pulls up next to me and his buddy grabs my bow line and tows me to the boat launch safe and sound.

  Goes to show, how people will come to help in a situation like that.

[Trout Slayer]

Here's a question, how many of the boaters causing trouble actually have their boaters operation cards? And where is the policing?

I got mine when I was 13.

[Randog]

So you just got it then?   Kidding

[Trout Slayer]

So you just got it then?   Kidding

.......Need any help at the hatchery?

[Rodney]

How's that Rod?  I changes the subject to be more inclusive   

Much better! Nice boat by the way, really like that picture.

When number of users explode in an area, it's not surprising to see conflicts. Frequency of conflicts is probably lower than what most believe though, since bad experiences tend to stick to our minds more easily than uneventful days. Regarding policing, who would be doing this? CO, FOC? Why isn't there a license fee for boating? There should be an one time license fee of $100+ at least if users can afford to purchase $10,000+ craft. The fee can then be transferred into enforcement, but of course, that's just a fantasy... In Europe, a driver's license can cost up to several thousand canadian dollars (1,000 Euro in Germany, CDN$2,000+ in Denmark).

[The Gilly]

Looks like your little guy has found something very interesting overboard, did you lose a watch by chance?

Nope.  But we did catch a nice 14" bull trout on the rod in the photo.  My daughter kissed it and we sent it home again.  That's the Pit R. by the way, just down from the launch.

[Randog]

As far as jet boats are concerned, once on plane, these boats will draw anywhere from 4"-6" of water but when not on plane they draw 10"-12" of water. So when you see a jet boat up on plane in shallow water say 8 "-10" of water the operator just can't slow down to come off plane or they will have a 3000 pound boat stuck on a sand/gravel bar, NOT FUN! I know this looks bad to shore anglers, but what can be done in these situations besides staying in deeper waters.

 Input please

[The Gilly]

It has to be a collective solution.  We all want to play in the outdoors.  I used to canoe a lot when I was younger.  A power boat is supposed to slow when they overtake/pass a canoe or kayak.  I'll tell you from experience that I'd rather them go by at full tilt than 5 miles per hour.  The wake is way less at speed for most boats.  It certainly is not practical to slow to no wake conditions everytime you see a canoe or shore angler but, the boater must be resonable and cautious.

Rodney, as far as cost is concerned, I would like to see the cost applied to a manditory boating course.  A watered down version of power squardon would do fine.  Most boaters do not need to be able to navigate by map, but they should know the rules of the water and how to identify certain bouys for navigation.