Why do watermen feel so entitled?

Yep. So true...

From Wikipedia:

In January 2016, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposed that the West Indian manatee be reclassified from an "endangered" status to "threatened" as improvements to habitat conditions, population growth and reductions of threats have all increased. The proposal will not affect current federal protections.[29]

As of February 2016, 6,250 manatees were reported swimming in Florida's springs.[49]

Hunting

Federally they are still endangered and given that there are only 6250 left I doubt anyone will be eating any for a long time. Just because an animal is considered threatened as opposed to endangered does not mean all protections are removed and it’s now open season on them.

psneeld said:

The difference iis most of those rec boaters are just ignorant of laws, customs and courtesies...and have little time on the water.

The watermen have few or no excuses.

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Ignorance of laws, customs, and courtesies is not an excuse either, for what it’s worth.

Didn't say it was an excure as much as a reason why it happens.

I am a lot more forgiving of ignorance than arrogance.

And one more time, I am not conemm ng ALL watermen, but I know better than to to think it's just a random few that are chuckleheads.

psneeld said:

Didn't say it was an excure as much as a reason why it happens.

I am a lot more forgiving of ignorance than arrogance.

And one more time, I am not conemm ng ALL watermen, but I know better than to to think it's just a random few that are chuckleheads.

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Oh believe me, i’ve seen some of the arrogance too.

From commercial guys, yacht folks, sailboaters, jetskiers, and so on.

Anyhow, sorry you’re having an issue with them up there.

I can't imagine the marine police waiting around to write tickets against workboat captains for violating no wake zones. I can only imagine that for recreational boater violations and all sorts of other violations also. Police officials of all kinds have vast discretionary power.

Capt Easy said:

Oh believe me, i’ve seen some of the arrogance too.

From commercial guys, yac hiht folks, sailboaters, jetskiers, and so on.

Anyhow, sorry you’re having an issue with them up there.

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It's not just a regional issue....

And like everyone said, I get waked or upset by others too, not just watermen....

It's an ignorance or arrogance issue across all boaters, no matter why they are on the water

Greetings,
Life's too short to let other people's ignorance upset you for more than a few minutes. I am a GREAT believer in Karma. It's not up to me to get revenge or get even, life will take care of the idiots IMO.

If you have an ongoing wake problem, make a video, especially multiple videos for multiple violations. Take them to the Coast Guard, harbor master, marina manager or police patrol.
"Watermen" rarely feel entitled. They just don't like yachts, sailboats and the people in them. They have their reasons, many may be unfair. But when something happens dozens or hundreds of times, some people generalize. But it's no excuse, especially for violating marine laws.

As mentioned before, watermen or anyone else for that matter know there is little or no enforcement... even with documentation

When I was a senior USCG officer, when I brought up complaints, I was directed to a 7 page negligent operation form. Heck I had more juice as an assistance towbiat can with the State Police as they knew I would help them out without charging them or reporting it...

But even they would do nothing if it was after the fact.

Probably the biggest threat to abusers are harbormaster's with ticketing authority ...but they are rare.

dave907 said:

Funny. I grew up in the commercial fishery in Alaska. Spent all my childhood and teenage Summers fishing on the family boat. Spent the better part of a decade as a young man running the family tender (boat that buys fish from the fishermen on behalf of the salmon processors) and I've never heard the term "waterman."

Is that really what they call fishermen in places outside Alaska? How strange and interesting.
Cheers!

Dave

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No Dave, not just in Alaska. All the watermen described above would be called Fishermen, of one sort or another, anywhere in the world except for some places in the US, it appears.

Vallejo ferries go "low speed" in narrow Mare Island Strait (they go 30 knots after leaving), but they still make a wake much larger than the Coot can make. SOP is to turn into the ferries's wakes.

If I had to share my workspace with anyone I wouldn't love it and add to the fact that it's hard work, generally the guys who run the boats aren't being paid well, how many times a day they have to deal with BS and i'd bet some venting towards Rec boaters whether deserved or not isn't shocking.

I will say I get a different vibe from the guys around me who run commercial boats(ALOT) when i'm on my big boat vs my smaller fishing vessel. They are all smiles and waves on the big boat and indifferent on the smaller boat.

My guess is that larger boats tend to have better captains as a whole and small fishing boats are the cause of some "interactions". They see a small boat as potential for someone waking them while they pull crab pots or running in front of them/ect.

I'm a retired commercial fisherman and I long ago learned to treat other boaters, both commercial and recreational as simply hazards to navigation. Some are rude, some are clueless, some I assume are good people but the reality is you seldom know who is at the helm of another vessel.

Imagine being a cabbie driving a junker cab with no AC and the front bumper falling off, struggling to make a living, and half the cars on the road are Porsche convertibles, BMWs and Mercedes-Benzs all driving back and forth from the country club to the beauty salon by beautiful people.

Who in that situation wouldn't eventually feel a little resentment at their lot in life?

I knew a guy once who drove a big F-250 pickup with large tires, and whenever he saw someone intentionally park their new, shiny luxury car away from the other cars in the parking lot to avoid door dings, he would drive over and park right next to them and open his door with reckless abandon to leave them a nice divot in the paint.

Yes, he was a dick! And so are a lot of people. Fishermen are no exception.

That's why I just treat them all as hazards, I don't have to think about who's a "dick" and who isn't.

I knew a guy once who drove a big F-250 pickup with large tires, and whenever he saw someone intentionally park their new, shiny luxury car away from the other cars in the parking lot to avoid door dings, he would drive over and park right next to them and open his door with reckless abandon to leave them a nice divot in the paint.

Anyone who would do that must have a real self image problem and an extremely small
p—-is.

Most likely he went to publik skool and was tutored in SELF ESTEEM, for 12 years before being handed a diploma he couldn't read.

hmason said:

I knew a guy once who drove a big F-250 pickup with large tires, and whenever he saw someone intentionally park their new, shiny luxury car away from the other cars in the parking lot to avoid door dings, he would drive over and park right next to them and open his door with reckless abandon to leave them a nice divot in the paint.

Anyone who would do that must have a real self image problem and an extremely small
p—-is.

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More like a jealousy and envy issue. I think he just disliked anyone who had the resources to buy things he couldn't afford. And it pissed him off to see them flaunting their affluence in public like they were better than the rest of us.

This is the mentality that fuels the animosity to the 1%ers, and it is way more prevalent now than it was back then. And most of us with larger boats would be seen to be in the 1% by the rest of the population.

WoW, I’ve never thought anyone making a living on the water as “ Entitled”. Slowing down when passing is just the right thing to do, a wave, smile which is often returned cost nothing and can be contagious.

saboga said:

More like a jealousy and envy issue. I think he just disliked anyone who had the resources to buy things he couldn't afford. And it pissed him off to see them flaunting their affluence in public like they were better than the rest of us.

This is the mentality that fuels the animosity to the 1%ers, and it is way more prevalent now than it was back then. And most of us with larger boats would be seen to be in the 1% by the rest of the population.

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These days F-250’s ARE luxury cars: have you been in a King Ranch or Platinum lately? They cost almost as much too, mid $80k list for one set up to tow an RV.

So is it possible to be both polite and engage in class warfare? There is something to be said about conspicuous consumption. Personally I could afford a much bigger boat but twenty six feet and twenty horsepower is all I need, it's not my place to judge others.

Woodland Hills said:

These days F-250’s ARE luxury cars: have you been in a King Ranch or Platinum lately? They cost almost as much too, mid $80k list for one set up to tow an RV.

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:lol: His was rusted-out beater farm truck probably 15 years old!

Now that we have anointed all firemen, (excuse me) firefighters, teachers and, unfortunately anyone who ever served in the military, as "heroes" with out portfolio or heroic deeds to their credit, it is only a matter of time before that title is bestowed on fisherpersons, plumber-persons and who know who else.

We yachties are a long way down the list for that recognition, even those who have actually performed heroic deeds rescuing people at sea. Like awarding "participation" trophies to school kids just because they showed up, it's just another to further devalue the currency of humanity.

Well at least we've all justified our expensive toys now so I'm done.

Greetings,
This thread should have been done 50 posts ago...

RT Firefly said:

Greetings,
Life's too short to let other people's ignorance upset you for more than a few minutes. I am a GREAT believer in Karma. It's not up to me to get revenge or get even, life will take care of the idiots IMO.

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LOL, the older I get the more that I find this true.

Interestingly, some of the most entitled folks that I have seen on the water are at the helm of large recreational boats, like sport fishing yachts, throwing up hugh wakes in narrow channels, bouncing the he!! out of the smaller boats.

Jim

Woodland Hills said:

So why do crabbers and fishermen feel like they are the only ones on the water? I guess I can understand exclusively dropping ones pots in the channel if that’s where the crabs are: folks gotta make a living. But what’s with everyone zooming through the marina trailing a giant wake? We’ve been tied to the fuel dock for a few nights awaiting a permanent slip to open up and every morning around 5:00 am the fleet heads out at such a clip that we rock and roll until dawn when the recreational boaters head out. Then it’s even worse after dark when they return. Last night one crabber was in such a hurry to tie up that he rocked my soup out of the bowland onto the table. The recreational boaters all seem to know what a no wake zone is, I wonder why the pros do not.

Do professional fishermen have some sort of exemption from courtesy?

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Well, the first rule of boating and is covered in every training for your captain's license is that YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR OWN WAKE! I think all forget this when they get behind the wheel. If you dare you can take their hull number and vessel name down and report them to the Coast Guard that they spilled your soup and burnt your leg, and you intend to sue for damages. Of course the burden of proof is on you.

I agree that we should also take a different perspective and you said it in your post In order to get going at 5:00am they probably had to be up at 3:30 or 4:00 to get ready to go out and they get back after dark for a wage that you and I would consider about the Poverty level. They do it because it is a passion and not because they plan to get rich! The only ones I know getting rich in that business are the ones filming the shows on Discovery.

having spent 15 yrs of my early life commercial fishing in alaska, i think some of the guys that run the 60ft seiners, have no brains...i always watched my wake! when i got a 40 ft fishing boat, made into a pleasure boat, and cruised to alaska frequently, we often went to prince rupert, a small shipping/fishing town at the northern end of british columbia, and the seiners going out in the mornings, made terrible wakes! right by where the pleasure boats tie up to the yacht club! i usta watch for them, and we would try to keep our rolling down! i really never understood the stupid mentallity!...clyde