View Single Post
Old 03-10-2023, 08:54 AM   #21
ApS
Senior Member
 
ApS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Florida (Sebring & Keys), Wolfeboro
Posts: 5,788
Thanks: 2,085
Thanked 742 Times in 532 Posts
Question Lesser Boats, Kayaks, Swimmers--Move Out of The Way...?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dick52 View Post
I was one of the 700 who wrote a letter asking that the speed limit not be increased. I have lived on the lake for 30+ years and have boated year-round for 40 years. I have seen first-hand the dangers of boating and how speed increases that danger. Most boats do not the ability to go much faster than 50 MPH. The only exceptions would some bass boats and high-performance boats. The need to travel faster than 45 MPH is for the minority of boaters yet if the speed limit had changed it would affect most boaters and other users of the lake. Some people cite people in canoes, kayaks as more dangerous than high speed boats. Really? I would agree a kayak should not be out in the middle of the broads, BUT it is my job the be alert and see them and not the other way around. There is a huge difference in my ability to see and react to other boaters, swimmers etc. I simply have more time at 45 MPH than at 90 MPH. Me? I usually boat at my most fuel-efficient speed around 35 MPH. This speed limit debate will come and go again and again but common sense and the majority ruled.
Ocean-racers designed for racing off our coasts are incompatible with:
1) lesser craft
2) New Hampshire's 150-foot distancing requirement
3) "golden pond" quietude
4) lazy afternoons afloat
4) swimmers!

It's not necessarily speeds over 65: It's as simple as not being able to see ahead from idle to top speed. Check out this brief video of an ocean-racer Donzi as it accelerates:

https://youtube.com/shorts/2B4HGfYI-Y8?feature=share

It's even worse when you're short and feeling invisible.

Many were convinced when an ocean-racer ejected both aboard, crossed a nearby lake without a captain, ran up a shore with enough inertia to continue 130-feet to interrupt a neighborhood cookout!
ApS is offline  
The Following User Says Thank You to ApS For This Useful Post: