Waked early and hard

Docked at Jekyll Harbor Marina we are right on the ICW. Today early AM a trawler "Island time" came by at what appeared to be full speed, pushing a huge wake only 25 feet or so from a full facedock. One of our live a boards called the trawler and spoke with the Captain. I was to busy trying to keep my wife from falling down the galley steps. We get waked a lot in spite of the bridge and a no wake zone and yes I know that over a 100 ft from a dock you do not have to cut your speed. Being able to legally wake the boats at our dock does not mean you should. You cause an accident you will be liable. If you cause my wife pain I will track you down. When we cruise I try my best to be aware and courteous to other boats.

What would you do?

One reason I don't stop at Jekyll it's rather exposed to say the least

Couldn't be a Trawler..we are too perfect...had to be a Sea Ray or Bayliner knucklehead...

Just ask some of the experts here...they know which boat types do that by heart.

I too don't like it..but am resigned to the fact that marinas will get waked probably and houses for sure if they are open to wakes from the ICW...it's just a fact of life.

I'm glad I travel down after the crowd and am usually North by the time the exodus starts. But my slip on the ICW in Jersey gets waked non-stop all summer. I look forward to the day I stop my towing job and can find better dockage for the summer and take my time on the ICW to only dock in places or better yet anchor where wares are rare.

In California the no-wake zone is within 100 feet of a swimmer but 200 hundred feet from a landing occupied by boat or passengers. Regardless, distant wakes slipping through our marina's breakwater entrance have destroyed about three finger berths near the entrance. Forty-something-foot cruisers seem to be the worse offenders.

Greetings,
Island Time. Any port of registration or size and make of vessel?
Vessel Documentation Query by Name
Also sounds like high speed/wake within 25' of a dock is reckless boating. Since you were one of several witnesses a call to the local coast guard is in order. Maybe the captain was BUI?????

psneeld said:

...had to be a Sea Ray or Bayliner .

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Yeah, that's it I'm sure.

Wifey B: "Waked Early and Hard?" What? Am we the only ones who thought anything other than "hit by strong boat wakes early?"

BandB said:

Wifey B: "Waked Early and Hard?" What? Am we the only ones who thought anything other than "hit by strong boat wakes early?"

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Sadly, no.

Well, guess i'll be off to the St. John's confessional booth now. Thank you.

Greetings,
Ms. WB. The thought never entered my mind until you brought it up...

Autoteacher said:

Docked at Jekyll Harbor Marina we are right on the ICW. Today early AM a trawler "Island time" came by at what appeared to be full speed, pushing a huge wake only 25 feet or so from a full facedock. One of our live a boards called the trawler and spoke with the Captain. I was to busy trying to keep my wife from falling down the galley steps. We get waked a lot in spite of the bridge and a no wake zone and yes I know that over a 100 ft from a dock you do not have to cut your speed. Being able to legally wake the boats at our dock does not mean you should. You cause an accident you will be liable. If you cause my wife pain I will track you down. When we cruise I try my best to be aware and courteous to other boats.

What would you do?

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In SC it's fifty feet. They might as well not even have the law.

What would I do? If you cannot document any actual damage, there's nothing you can do legally. Of course you could publish the name on a web forum but you should remember that there are usually several boats with the same name so you could be embarrassing several innocent boat owners.

I would just write it off to an encounter with a jerk who owns a boat and move on. It's happened to me a few times.

BTW: The Coast Guard site shows 259 vessels with that name and that's just the documented vessels.

I am surprised we don't see more use of wave attenuator's. It's really the best solution for marinas exposed to boat wake. The problem is that the dock in question was designed to provide protection to the slips and designed to expose the side tie transients to wake. I think perhaps their assumption was that smaller boats would dock in slips and 100' plus would side tie on the outside and not be impacted too much. I don't know. What I do know is if you build a dock like that on the ICW you're going to get wake. Depending on season and day of week it might be fairly constant all day.

There's just an inherent and unavoidable problem unless it's in a no wake area of the ICW and even then it's going to have some.

Wait, did you say,"Depending on season and day of week it might be fairly constant all day." ?
I'm having trouble following this thread.

"Depending on season and day of week it might be fairly constant all day." ?
Don't they say to visit a doctor if it lasts more than four hours?

Unfortunately too many wake attenuators help accelerate silting in of marinas that I am familiar with. Plus once damaged by a storm...you rarely see them replaced quickly...not until attrition from the marina over the years due to wakes makes it worthwhile to replace if the silting issue doesn't just negate them forever.

Jobe said:

Wait, did you say,"Depending on season and day of week it might be fairly constant all day." ?
I'm having trouble following this thread.

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Wifey B: That's what he said.....and my man knows whereof he speaks....

The other side of the coin is, you don't have to go far out of your way to dock at that marina.

HopCar said:

"Depending on season and day of week it might be fairly constant all day." ?
Don't they say to visit a doctor if it lasts more than four hours?

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You clearly watched the "Little Fockers"…

We have docked at many marinas on the ICW that are exposed to wakes so excluding those like Jekyll limits your adventure. My purpose in posting was to expose that some Trawler owners on the ICW are jerks and azzes. Just because your toy will go 25 knts does not mean you should show your azz to docked boats anywhere you please. 100 or 150 or 200 feet are not the problem, it is being inconsiderate of fellow boaters. Some one may be a vet suffering from PTSD and not behave in a predictable manner. We would of course morn you and secretly say "He was such an Azz we are so happy he is off the water"

Autoteacher said:

When we cruise I try my best to be aware and courteous to other boats.

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Good for you, and the rest of us. We do the same.

There are some strange posts creeping in, once lost a thread may disappear into a parallel world, never to be seen again(except by RT Firefly )

To misquote an old friend;

“The thread stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail. But hope remains, if friends stay true.”

Autoteacher said:

What would you do?

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I would assume that this was going to happen at some point due to bozo boaters cruising the waterway, and take whatever steps are necessary to prevent damage. Use oversize fenders or long, wide fender boards depending on the kind of dock or pier you're up against, and keep things inside stowed in such a way that when a big wake does hit you unexpectedly, stuff won't get thrown all over. And we'd keep an eye out for boats approaching that are throwing out a big wake and not be in a physically precarious position when the wake hits. Doesn't sound like the most relaxing situation, but it seems to be the reality.

Taking the name/hailing port of a boat that does wake one badly is fine although, like others have already said, it's doubtful that any action will be taken unless there is an injury involved. But that is all after-the-fact stuff. There is no way to know when it's going to happen until it does, so the only thing I can see to do is be prepared at all times.

Either that or simply don't moor to exposed docks/piers where getting nailed by some inconsiderate boater's wake is a distinct possibility.

The boat might have been on autopilot.

Andy G said:

To misquote an old friend;

“The thread stands upon the edge of a knife. Stray but a little and it will fail. But hope remains, if friends stay true.”

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That's beautiful, Andy.

Southwest Grand Prairie, Tx has a lake, Joe Poole. There is a nice protected cove called "The Cove" strangely enough. On any given weekend during the summer there would be a hundred or more boats anchored, grilling, beering, listening to music, swimming, floating and so forth. It was not the skiers that would come barreling through but the DA parents pulling a tube as if to show off the product of their loins. Throwing a wake and generally screwing up the works.
I came up with an idea....gill netting cut into 18" width in ohhh say 50 foot lengths stowed in a bucket. Then a potato (potatoe in Quail speak) gun with the potato attached to the mono net. See abuser coming, fire off the gun thereby stretching out the net in front of the boat. Boat runs over netting and finds props, seals and stops boat. Next stop, repair shop for lower unit repairs......I never did it but it was a nice fantasy. I always visioned the boat, engine off for a well deserved cussing from the crowd.

Boat on water = high probability at one time or another crossing paths with both inconsiderate and lousy boaters. I just accept the reality and put it out of my mind as soon as it's over. I just choose not to expend my energy dealing with a negative I can't change.

Now, where I live, I see quite a few citations written nearby for exceeding speed in a no wake zone. We have two type zones, "Slow speed minimum wake" and "Idle speed no wake." The former requires the boat to be off plane, while the latter requires the boat to go the minimum speed under which they can maintain their bearing. For the first we typically stay at 1000 rpm, for the second we drop to 700. But locally they are very serious about the zones. As a result you see minimal boats creating wakes.

BandB said:

We have two type zones, "Slow speed minimum wake" and "Idle speed no wake." The former requires the boat to be off plane, while the latter requires the boat to go the minimum speed under which they can maintain their bearing. For the first we typically stay at 1000 rpm, for the second we drop to 700. But locally they are very serious about the zones. As a result you see minimal boats creating wakes.

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Worth Creek has another type of wake limitation. I believe the size of allowable wake is 16". I thought that was a crazy rule until I was passed by a boat (SeaRay of all things) throwing a big wake. With sea walls on both sides the wake was rebounding then coming back to meet its self. For the rest of the way it was like being in a washing machine.

These wake threads are interesting to say the least.

On the one hand I see the poor guys point that gets waked sitting at a side tie.

On the other hand I see the "inconsiderate boaters" point that its not a no wake zone, and he is just cruising along enjoying his time on the water.

People comment that the boat "screamed by" throwing a huge wake, when in reality if he slowed down and slogged through the water he would throw an even larger wake. Unless he slowed all the way to displacement speeds.

For us, we get waked all the time. Tour boats, 50' charter boats, etc... Nobody slows down. We just take it in stride and prepare for it ahead of time. We choose not to anchor or moor in places that we can easily identify as being a high risk of being waked, and if we do we keep ourselves and our boat accordingly, expecting to be waked.

As far as a violation of law, I cannot comment on state laws, but federal law does not include a provision for wake related violations in uncontrolled waters, injury or damage, or not.

The statement or saying "you are responsible for all damage caused by your wake" is complete and utter fabrication made up by someone long ago teaching boater safety, and repeated so much that people actually believe it.

ksanders said:

The statement or saying "you are responsible for all damage caused by your wake" is complete and utter fabrication made up by someone long ago teaching boater safety, and repeated so much that people actually believe it.

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You are correct unless a law is being broken. Otherwise their is an assumed risk on the part of the one harmed. It's like going to a baseball game and getting hit by a foul ball. If it's not a no-wake zone the assumption is there will be wake.

So right on Alaska, Kevin. Not a state of no-wake zones and you side tie in many places and you know ferries, charters, cruise ships, and commercial fishermen will be going by creating wakes. Often times too the marinas are located adjacent to where the ferries dock.

Google maps shows that it a lousy place for a marina. Look at that bridge opening!

That's like "camping" next to a highway.