Go Back   Winnipesaukee Forum > Winnipesaukee Forums > Boating
Home Forums Gallery Webcams Blogs YouTube Channel Classifieds Calendar Register FAQDonate Members List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 08-27-2021, 10:53 AM   #1
bostonjd
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 8
Thanks: 2
Thanked 7 Times in 3 Posts
Default Jetskis and 150 ft rule

I am a jetski owner and love riding it, so this is not from a general dislike of PWCs, but the number of times a week I am encroached by a PWC has increased exponentially over the past 3 years. As an example, driving north in my boat from Wolfeboro along Wolfeboro neck yesterday, and I am just to the left of the red buoys, giving myself about 160 feet from docks along the neck. Boats coming in to Wolfeboro are all closer to Parker Island, giving us at least 200 feet of room. A jetski turns in towards shore and then turns again and begins coming straight at me. When he gets about 200 feet away I slow to headway speed and he proceeds to pass me at about 30 mph no more than 10 feet from my boat. This has become closer to a daily occurrence than a monthly occurrence. In this case the driver looked to be about 65 years old, but I see it with drivers of all ages. Is this just an unusual streak of luck that this is happening to me or are others frequently seeing 150 foot rule violated by PWCs in situations where the PWC driver could have easily remained outside this distance?
bostonjd is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to bostonjd For This Useful Post:
The Real BigGuy (08-27-2021)
Old 08-27-2021, 11:15 AM   #2
thinkxingu
Senior Member
 
thinkxingu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 5,939
Thanks: 1,152
Thanked 1,959 Times in 1,210 Posts
Default

This situation seems pretty clear, though it's not a PWC-exclusive issue: the number of operators on the lake who either don't know or don't care about the 150' rule (and others) is very high these last few years. Whether it's purely related to the increased number of users is unclear.

In terms of PWC specifics, I and my riding friends, who consistently try to do the right thing, have been put in a ton of situations where we've needed to bend/break the rules. I posted about this before, but usually it's to avoid being swamped by vessels going the "perfect disruption" speed in channels.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
thinkxingu is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 08-27-2021, 11:52 AM   #3
DEJ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Posts: 539
Thanks: 514
Thanked 309 Times in 152 Posts
Default

I thought jetskis had to be 300 ft. from shore and other boats, is this correct?
DEJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-27-2021, 11:56 AM   #4
tis
Senior Member
 
tis's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Posts: 6,386
Thanks: 716
Thanked 1,375 Times in 951 Posts
Default

Maybe it's because there are so many of them but I have noticed the jet skis are out of control this year.
tis is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-27-2021, 01:27 PM   #5
DPatnaude
Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Hopkinton, MA / Moultonborough, NH
Posts: 49
Thanks: 1
Thanked 12 Times in 10 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by DEJ View Post
I thought jetskis had to be 300 ft. from shore and other boats, is this correct?
300' is correct for two passenger PWC less than 13' in length. The majority of PWC you see on the lake now are three passenger and greater than 13' in length, so they are registered and treated as boats.

10' is obviously too close...
DPatnaude is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to DPatnaude For This Useful Post:
DEJ (08-27-2021)
Sponsored Links
Old 08-27-2021, 03:56 PM   #6
codeman671
Senior Member
 
codeman671's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Posts: 3,345
Thanks: 206
Thanked 759 Times in 443 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by DPatnaude View Post
300' is correct for two passenger PWC less than 13' in length. The majority of PWC you see on the lake now are three passenger and greater than 13' in length, so they are registered and treated as boats.

10' is obviously too close...
What PWC are over 13' in length??

My RXTX-300 (new 3 seater) is 135.9" long, and that is the max length of any normal Sea-Doo they make except for the Fish Pro at 146.8". The largest new Yamaha 3 seaters are 140.9".

The largest pwc ever made was in the early 2000's, the Sea-Doo LRV. These were built for a short time and were not big sellers. It was 156" long. Yamaha had the SUV1200 back then at 151".
codeman671 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-27-2021, 06:11 PM   #7
salty dog
Senior Member
 
salty dog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Beverly Cove, Ma
Posts: 356
Thanks: 287
Thanked 147 Times in 81 Posts
Default Every man or woman for themselves

Just my 2 cents. We have a 24' Xcursion/115 Merc. We are in no hurry to go anywhere when we're on the lake. We're retired/older and it works for us (not that I don't like speed). We've definitely noticed the lake becoming more 'hyper' each year. I stick to the rules whenever I am able to, but often, other boaters; PWC's or not, make it hard or sometimes impossible. It's simply the way it is and will most likely continue to trend in that direction. My dad taught me early on, either by car or boat, 'eyes wide all the time'. That has served me well. When the rules are not followed, I simply do whatever is necessary to protect our 'toon and the (idiot?) in the other watercraft, whatever it may be. When we go out, I am always expecting all manner of 'the unexpected' from others on the lake and I am 'eyes wide all the time'. My dad was a captain of a minesweeper in WWII and he taught me well.
__________________
I'd rather be relax'n at Winnipesaukee
salty dog is offline   Reply With Quote
The Following User Says Thank You to salty dog For This Useful Post:
TKD (08-28-2021)
Old 08-27-2021, 10:18 PM   #8
8gv
Senior Member
 
8gv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,002
Thanks: 61
Thanked 700 Times in 455 Posts
Default

I find that PWC operators often change course multiple times ahead of me which is, of course, fun for them but it gets annoying when my status toggles back and forth from the stand on vessel to the give way vessel.
8gv is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-2021, 03:38 AM   #9
ApS
Senior Member
 
ApS's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Florida (Sebring & Keys), Wolfeboro
Posts: 5,781
Thanks: 2,080
Thanked 735 Times in 530 Posts
Arrow Not to Worry, They're Electronically-Limited...

I watched a Jet-Ski whiz by at excessive speed. He turned around and exited Winter Harbor the same way. His obvious over-speeding took me to Google, where I found this:
Quote:
"The fastest Jet-Skis achieve around 67 mph in the US, as their engines are electronically limited. Overriding the speed limiter unit (or riding an international model) you can expect around 75 mph on the fastest jet skis. But with additional modifications, you can reach 80-90 mph!"
https://www.jetdrift.com/fastest-jet...080%2D90%20mph!
ApS is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-2021, 06:39 AM   #10
thinkxingu
Senior Member
 
thinkxingu's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2014
Posts: 5,939
Thanks: 1,152
Thanked 1,959 Times in 1,210 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by 8gv View Post
I find that PWC operators often change course multiple times ahead of me which is, of course, fun for them but it gets annoying when my status toggles back and forth from the stand on vessel to the give way vessel.
Two things on that:
1. Yes, though how often, if ever, are you going as fast as the jetski? I do this a fair amount (*almost* always 150' from the trailing vessel), but there's no way the vessel I'm in front of is going to catch me because cruising speeds on the ski are most boats' high-speeds.

2. I've taught my kids (now 9 and 11) that they should always "make their intentions clear" while driving the boat. What I mean by this is that there's a "body language" when operating machines that helps others around you know what you're doing. I have noticed this is severely lacking these days both on the water and on the road. Case in point: when coming out of Wolfeboro Bay the other day, we were turning tight to the red marker at Sewall's Point to indicate to the incoming vessels that we'd be turning north. One incoming, instead of going wide, kept coming toward us enough to make us slow down rather than going wide so we could continue at speed. The jetski behind us, clearly thinking the same as we, zipped out and around and then it was a situation rather than a simple moment.

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk
thinkxingu is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 08-28-2021, 08:16 AM   #11
8gv
Senior Member
 
8gv's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 2,002
Thanks: 61
Thanked 700 Times in 455 Posts
Default

Can you teach the rest of the boaters on the lake to convey their intentions as well?
8gv is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 04:38 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.

This page was generated in 0.29817 seconds