What about "No Wake Please" signs?

[smittypaddler]

I'm at Acosta Creek Harbor on the St Johns, having arrived Tuesday after the long 1380-mile trip from Wisconsin. As I was walking down the pier to my slip the other day I saw with delight two C-Dorys coming upriver from the north. I wondered if they were stopping here, but they both kept up on plane, and passed the half-dozen large "No Wake Please" signs facing the river.

Their wakes weren't the worst I've experienced here at Acosta Creek. There's a club in Jacksonville of owners of beautifully renovated antique Chris Craft inboards that often do group cruises up the St Johns. An armada of 20 of those heavy old boats passing by up on plane causes a maelstrom here in the marina. They caught me one year frying bacon, and I had a choice between balancing the frying pan full of grease, and catching the cup of hot coffee on the table behind me. The spilled coffee only caused a brief redness on my backside.

There was a fellow living here at Acosta Creek Harbor on a houseboat, wheelchair bound, with only one arm that worked. They'd built him a ramp from his houseboat to the pier so he could get to his wheelchair up on the pier. He'd maneuver his way from the boat up onto the pier using that one good arm and what little strength he had in his legs. I wondered what would happen to him if he were in that slow process when the inboards went by.

A sailing friend of mine described to me being anchored and rafted up with several other sailboats just outside the channel and offshore from the official no-wake buoys in a channel leading into a harbor on Green Bay in Wisconsin. A big 42-foot powerboat came snowplowing into the channel as my friend desperately waved his arms, trying to get the guy to give them a brake. Instead, the powerboat driver (I won't call him captain) merely pointed at the official no-wake buoys, and kept on snowplowing. One of the cleats on his boat got pulled clean out when the wake hit them.

In my own case, I try not to have a rigid schedule (the most dangerous thing on a boat) and I'm just out there recreating, so although it sometimes irks me when I see boats tied directly broadside to a riprap shore, relying on me to take care (self-preservation is a word in the dictionary, just like courtesy), I try to always take the few seconds or minutes to come off plane. But the motivation is also the guilt I feel for the few times over the years I, for whatever reason, failed to be courteous.

I started this thread, because I keep wondering if I'm missing something. Am I priding myself on being a courteous waterman when there's a good reason so many folks don't slow down when passing an unofficial "No Wake Please" sign? Am I being like the Bambi lovers who want to ban deer hunting, not recognizing that if they got their way Bambi would eventually starve due to an unchecked deer herd population? For those of you who don't slow down when they see a "No Wake Please" sign, what's your reasoning?

[Will-C]

Some people just don't get it. They have idea or situational awareness. The same people probably don't move over to let someone on an on ramp merge. Maybe they were drunk? I myself prefer marinas that are away from the main thoroughfares to avoid no wake zone violation prone idiots. Now back to regular programming. Stole that from Tom!
D.D.

[Pat Anderson]

In some places, the sign does not say "Please" and there is enforcement. Regardless, what people need to understand that there is usually a good reason for "No Wake" signs, and they should be respected.

[ssobol]

Some people are oblivious to things outside their own little world. People with big/fancy boats (and similar cars) often think the rules of common courtesy don't apply to them because they're special (demonstrated by the fancy boat or car).

I'm sure a lot of the people blasting through the no wake zones (because they are exempt from the rules) also curse others who do the same thing when they are tied up.

To be fair, IME some of the no wake buoys are not well maintained and are hard to read. Often obstruction or rock markers look just the same as the no wake markers and you can't see what they say from any distance.

On the other hand I got stopped once for going to fast in a no wake zone on a lake that I was not experienced on. The guy let me off with a warning because the buoys were missing. He pointed to shore and I saw them lying on the beach.

[hardee]

Two comments:

1. Whether it is an "official" No Wake sign or not, even with a "Please" You are still responsible for your wake, sign or not. Any damage incurred is your responsibility.

2. In our C-Dory's even if we come off plane, there is still a sizable wake until we slow considerably. A actually think my wake is smaller at 10 -12 knots on plane than it is at 6-8 knots, or even 5. It takes more slowing to get down to a real "No Wake" speed, maybe 3 knots. Yup, that's slow, and yes it take some time but, as Nike says, "Just do it"

If you're in a C-Dory it will reflect the better on all of us.

Harvey
SleepyC

[AstoriaDave]

I think Harvey may have a point there about a planing wake off a C-Dory hull perhaps producing a lesser wake than at 4 to 6 knots. Certainly not true for hulls with substantial deadrise, even those way less than what you see on a deep vee hull. I've done a lot of sea kayaking here and in BC, and have no fears about wakes ... bring em on! But from the viewpoint of a paddler sitting below the water surface, seems like Harvey might be right.

[Jake]

[localboy]

It's quite simple; the world is full of a-holes.

[BrentB]

I just a bought a nice sign for our Florida home on a canal and hope someone will read it and slow down

Most boaters dont understand the damage their careless ness causes to sea walls and we will be replacing ours in a few years, It is a major expense

[smckean (Tosca)]

I assume the signs on Acosta Creek were on the land. Otherwise the signs only apply to the land side of the signs, right? And if they are on the land, I would think people unfamiliar with the area might not see them. No excuse, but.......

[AstoriaDave]

This is a bit off topic, but may provide some perspective: ship wakes at speed within the Columbia River are very destructive to docks and structures thereon, as well as pit run or smaller rock aggregates in the swash zone. Yet, the cost in ship time for slowing to a no wake condition is so high, that shipping companies, as represented to me, motivated them to reimburse shoreside owners for repair of damages at isolated locations. In contrast, freighters universally slow down when passing Astoria, with a high concentration of docks and piling supported structures.

[Kushtaka]

Boat operators are responsible for their wakes whether posted or not.

If the boat throws a small wake at plane and the operator determines the risk to others property is not significant they do not need to slow down unless posted (officially).

If an operator does not slow down simply because it isn't posted officially, they are in the wrong and should be educated. The best way to do that is to hold them responsible for the damage they cause.

If they simply don't know to look they have no business running a boat, but in this country, it seems running a boat is a right, not a privilege. I'm happy that some states are requiring some training now, but the standard is still pretty minimal at a single 8 hour course.

FWIW, there is a really cool LE boat up here in Prince William Sound that runs around at 30 knots and barely makes a ripple. It's one of the coolest things I've seen. It is made by a builder on the Kenai Penninusula, Bayweld Boats, and is a regular looking deep v aluminum with twin 300 yamis. It's the damnedest thing.

[thataway]

In Florida an offical "no wake" zone is difficult to get. It has to be a country ordinance, then forwareded to the DEP (Fish nad Wildlife" , used to be Florida Marine Patrol), where a Major in the capital approves or does not approve of it. Then a survey is done and an exact spot fo the location is selected. After that an official sign is put in place, with the ordenance number on the sign.

There is a "no wake. idle speed only" There is minimal wake (no white water at the bow, or a wake more than 6") or a speed limit (such as in Manatee zones. Generally No wake in Fl, is in congested areas, swimming areas, or where a danger to people are. Not always for the marinas, or anchored.

When I see any "no Wake" or a kayak, fishing boat etc, I slow to no wake speed. It is comon courtesy. I find that the PWC, and commercial charter boats are the worse offenders.

More after dinner.

[ssobol]

By designing the hull correctly you can minimize most of the wake. However, this usually only really works at one speed. The various waves from the hull cancel each other out. Cruise ships now usually do this. It is impressive to see a really large ship moving along with almost no wake. Certainly very much less than you would reasonably expect.

This does not get rid of any wake created by the prop churning in the water though. However, good propeller design can minimize this as well. Ask a submariner.

Anyone can buy a No Wake buoy from a number of places and drop it wherever they like. There is no way to distinguish a "official" marker (described above) from the one Joe dropped off the end of his dock. Maybe that's why some people ignore them, "Oh, some guy just put that there..."

Maybe officially sanctioned buoys should be marked differently, or only be available through some sort of official request process, sort of like installing street signs. I can't put a stop sign on a public street just because I feel there should be one there. I have to make some sort of request to the town/county/state. If they agree, they'll put up a sign. If they don't, I'm out of luck (or have to appeal the process).

[thataway]

Yes, in Florida there is a way to know if the markers official--it will have the ordinance number on the sign. Also all of the official "no Wake" zones are located at:
http://myfwc.com/media/1411232/RestrictedAreas68D-24.pdf There is also a GIS map of all of the official "no wake" zones.

My house came with a little pennant type sign "no Wake Please" on the sea wall. Not too long after, we had official signs placed. There are 3, one has a light on it. These signs are about 4' x 4'--and retroflective. Pretty hard to miss.
Note, that all of the official signs have the permit number on the lower left side, and ordinance on the lower right. If these are not there, then it is most likely not an official sign.




Note the permit and ordinance numbers on the Manatee sign. There are also buoy's which are marked similarly.