Maybe you should move to California, forced to get mine and It has not made a difference on the number of idiot drivers out there. Funny how the law in CA excludes rentals.

https://www.boat-ed.com/california/boating_law/?campaignid=234041419&adgroupid=41382798391&keyword=california boaters card&gad_source=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI_Kqgr_nOhgMVOBetBh1bpQCmEAAYASADEgKF8fD_BwE

What does the crew think of requiring a valid boaters license or safety certificate for all operators, regardless of age or type of craft? This would include requiring proof of boaters education to purchase, register and insure watercraft. In my state you can operate a boat with license at 12 and a PWC with license at 14 which seems fine. The major issue is those born before 78 are grandfathered in for PWCs, and once 18 you can operate a boat with zero education requirements.

My Background below, but not completely relevant as I have seen atrocious boat safety and etiquette on bodies of water everywhere from Lake Michigan to small north woods lakes, to TVA lakes down south with very little traffic.

My opinion is that this should happen. I need an endorsement for my motorcycle and significant training to operate a car, why not a boat? Cars to some extent are easier because there are lanes, boat’s don’t have that. Cars don’t tow riders. Boat’s also don’t have crash protection or airbags. In my state a lot of people die while boating, and maybe some of that could be prevented with education.

EDIT: For info, Michigan’s course is only 3-4 hours of online training with a basic test at the end. You can do it at 8am Saturday morning and be on the water after lunch. I think that is fine. I am not advocating for extreme licensing requirements at all. I love the idea of an on water boater’s safety test, but I am a realist.

Signed, a lifelong water sports enthusiast and the holder of a safety certificate in two states since age 12.

————

I live in a VERY busy Michigan inland lake, imagine a 12 mile line of small / medium lakes with the only “large” bodies of water being 1600 and 800 acres at each end. A couple Miles of channels in between all with lifts. The 800 acre lake that I am on has 4 Marinas with 30-80 boats each on 200ft or less of frontage (floating docks), as well as all of the people living in the channels coming into the larger lake. There were problems before covid, but half the boats were slow pontoons and so it was manageable. The lake I grew up on in Minnesota had strict requirements on the number of docks per 50 feet of lakefront, and banned marinas completely.

With the advent of cheap financing, COVID, and TriToons we now have the vast majority of boats capable of 40+ MPH, and the tritoons pretty much drinking and zig-zagging through the lake around Skiers, Fishermen, Surfers and PWCs. These people rent cheap trailers which reduced the cost of access significantly. I would consider moving but we bought out my wife’s family place and she grew up here and wouldn’t sell it for the world. It’s over 100 years old and very unique.

I can’t even do water sports in the day anymore without an uneducated boater following my rider at anywhere between 50-200 feet. I can only go out in the mornings and evenings. Often surfing and wakeboarding after sunset (legal here for an hour after) with spotlights and riders with lights on them.

No matter how many people I catch up with to have a (legitimately) friendly conversation about laws and safety with, I can’t keep up. Only one other guy on the lake does the same as me, the president of the lake association (not an HOA).

Thank you so much. I will try that today. How do i remove the fire arresor that civers the motor. I tool the 6 screws out and it didnt budge. I want to change the cap and rotor before i put it in the water.

On 6/5/2024 at 9:57 AM, oldjeep said:

Most modern gasoline motors have no external fuel filter - just a sock in the tank.

Why are you looking for it?

I thought that re my boat as well.  Turned out there is a fuel filter on it, and it’s even listed in the manual as a periodical replacement part (I think it’s yearly in mine).  The FF in my boat (15 23lsv 409ss) ended up being between the fuel tank and the fuel rail, on the vertical fuel line near the tranny/vdrive.

The rule of thumb as I know it for oil is:  if it has a filter, use detergent oil; if it doesn't have a filter, use non-detergent oil.  Your vee drive has no filter, so no detergent.

For the engine, use heavy duty 15W40 oil that has an S (for spark engine) rating.  A lot of us use Delo diesel oil that is rated both C (compression engine) and S.