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Would you make a change?


NCSurfing

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Hey guys. See below pic down the lake from my dock...at its narrowest point, it's 1/4 mile across.  Our lake is quite large for NC (800 miles shoreline) and about 10 minutes down the lake, it opens up quite a bit. All of this for context...

We're headed in today right up the center (as per the pic), my wife is pulling me surfing and I drop. Next thing you know, my wife is in a shouting match with a woman on her dock (at least an 1/8 mile away), who is telling us to go somewhere else, complaining about our wake 'beating them to death' and threatening to call 'the law', to which my wife laughed and reminded her she lives on a lake.   

I have mixed emotions whereas my wife thinks it's a joke and suggests we shouldn't  change a thing.  I must say that in the 9 yrs we've owned our place, never has this been an issue nor have I ever gotten irritated about any boats surfing/wakeboarding near us. I understand the sensitivity however, never felt like I was being a bad neighbor.  Would you change anything?

 

image.jpeg

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Your wife is right, you live on a lake, a public lake. You need to be mindful of others, but if you were in the center and it is approx 660 ft across (1/8 mile), you have nothing to be concerned with unless there are regulations against it. Smile and keep on surfing!

Edited by BlackBluMalibu
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2 hours ago, BlackBluMalibu said:

Your wife is right, you live on a lake, a public lake. You breed to be mindful of others, but if you were in the center and it is approx 660 ft across (1/8 mile), you have nothing to be concerned with unless there are regulations against it. Smile and keep on surfing!

I agree!  It's their choice to live lakefront.  If you buy lakefront and have a dock you have to assume you will get hit with a variety of wakes. 1/8 mile is plenty far enough away from the shore unless there are specific regs against it.  I understand not being respectful and riding uber close to a dock is asking for problems but I think you were just fine!

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You are responsible for your wake and the damage it creates.  Surfing or wake boarding it is all the same.  This was a major topic 10 to 12 years ago for the wake boarding crowd.  The law is the law.  I doubt it has changed just because your wake got bigger.

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How about have your wife run the boat while you stay on shore to see the perceived problem first hand. Maybe your neighbor has a legitimate gripe, maybe not.

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1 hour ago, ctvandy23 said:

I agree!  It's their choice to live lakefront.  If you buy lakefront and have a dock you have to assume you will get hit with a variety of wakes. 1/8 mile is plenty far enough away from the shore unless there are specific regs against it.  I understand not being respectful and riding uber close to a dock is asking for problems but I think you were just fine!

 Many of us have lived on the lakes long before surfing, and even wake boarding. I don't mind it that much but it did change the way we use our property.  Also wakes don't lose size much just shape. So even an 1/8 mile is going to hit the docks and shore hard. And yes most if not all states have a law regarding being responsible for your wake. I am realistic its not just boarding and surfing many large and even not large boats run speeds that create very large wakes. So bitching about surfing is just a small part. If I could have seen what would change on my lake over twenty years ago I would have changed the way we did our lake front. My lake front is torn apart this summer repairing sea walls much from waves but not all. I will spend eight thousand dollars on just my sea wall and another seventeen thousand on repairing the property from the equipment and replacing the retaining walls.  Just saying an attitude like this will go a long way to get people to fight wake enhancing boats. Many don't look at other boaters but single out the wake sports. Best to work with people then just think its my wright. JMHO.

     

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I kinda agree with the land owners here. Noone is necessarily right because you can see both sides of the story in this thread. However what's gonna happen if people ignore the lake owner gripes is they will ban wake boats. These people usually are more involved in the community and will yell louder than you. Also, noone really cares to defend wake sports, realistically it's not a battle you can win. 

Anyways, the other reason I kinda agree with the land owners is I'm at the other side of irresponsible wake surfers every weekend at the lake. I'm not calling you out because you might be fully a responsible boater, but you gotta think that many others are doing the same thing and many are doing it irresponsibly. Wake surfing is really catching on and there are so many surfers tearing up the lakes. It's only a matter of time that more and more lakes are gonna implement more rules.

Edited by timelinex
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Most people don't live on lakes with 40' boats. and yes you are still responsible for your wake.  I spent many years on the grate lakes and traveling in populated areas had rules about wakes. As said I don't have big issues with wake sports and have spent many many hours working on our lake to keep it open to all!  It also makes A difference on the makeup of the water front. Some are much more susceptible to damage then others. Like many things in our life's a few can destroy the ability for many! 

 

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I will spend four hours Saturday defending peoples wright to use our lake. It would be much easier for me to stand on the side of property owners and b**** and moan but I am on a public lake and we should not rule the lake. Many of us would just like respect. I will miss my morning skiing but I still fight for people not what I like. Life is not about me or you it all that need to work together!

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52 minutes ago, Sixball said:

 Many of us have lived on the lakes long before surfing, and even wake boarding. I don't mind it that much but it did change the way we use our property.  Also wakes don't lose size much just shape. So even an 1/8 mile is going to hit the docks and shore hard. And yes most if not all states have a law regarding being responsible for your wake. I am realistic its not just boarding and surfing many large and even not large boats run speeds that create very large wakes. So bitching about surfing is just a small part. If I could have seen what would change on my lake over twenty years ago I would have changed the way we did our lake front. My lake front is torn apart this summer repairing sea walls much from waves but not all. I will spend eight thousand dollars on just my sea wall and another seventeen thousand on repairing the property from the equipment and replacing the retaining walls.  Just saying an attitude like this will go a long way to get people to fight wake enhancing boats. Many don't look at other boaters but single out the wake sports. Best to work with people then just think its my wright. JMHO.

     

@SixballI don't believe I had an attitude of irresponsibility.  In fact I clearly stated that being irresponsible and riding too close to a dock is  asking for problems.  I certainly don't envy your shoreline repair costs but like I said buying lakefront comes with some expectations...some great and some not.  On my lake there are far more problems with wave runners and tubers ripping around the private docks and marinas then wake surfers.  I still think 1/8 mile off a dock is a decent distance.  

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Life is about you .   You have water front property. . Take the side of makng it a private lake form an association to treat the lake if you don't already have one. Would love to see our  small pond go 100 private.  The damn fisherman always cut their lines leaving hooks snagged on my lift they hook my cover & have broken off a speedo on me 

People suck!

Edited by h2oratJR
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We need to retire the "you are responsible for your wake" statement because what exactly does that mean?

 

if I tie my boat up with fishing line on a calm day and a kayaker paddles by really fast and my boat breaks loose, is the kayaker responsible for damage to my boat?

 

It has nothing to do with wake and everything to do with negligence and it goes both ways.  if a boat is improperly tied to a dock and is damaged that's on the boat owner. If boat is properly tied to dock and is damaged by someone surfing too close then it's on the surf boat. 

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Just now, vanamp said:

We need to retire the "you are responsible for your wake" statement because what exactly does that mean?

 

if I tie my boat up with fishing line on a calm day and a kayaker paddles by really fast and my boat breaks loose, is the kayaker responsible for damage to my boat?

 

It has nothing to do with wake and everything to do with negligence and it goes both ways.  if a boat is improperly tied to a dock and is damaged that's on the boat owner. If boat is properly tied to dock and is damaged by someone surfing too close then it's on the surf boat. 

As long as we keep a respectful distance from peoples docks then there shouldn't be anything to b**** about. ROUGH WATER HAPPENS! Especially on Saturdays during the summer. Tie up the boat properly keep it on a lift or out of the water all together. Or just get a house in the back of a cove not in big water. Every boat makes some sort of wake at anything above 6 mph that will beat on the docks and shoreline. 

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My family has a lake front property and we are going to have to repair shoreline and our dock this year.  It's been a few years since our last repairs and we aren't surprised by this at all.  My question is, if everyone is responsible for their wake how do I find out who is causing the damage and hold them responsible?  

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So as I said I am not a wake sport hater. I also would say for the most part an good distance from docks and shoreline that is built up is trying to respect people. Sometime it takes more. you need to understand each situation. Hay as said some people are just going to bit#% about everything. I will look back in a short time but need to go ski now!......  See ya  good surfing!

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I think you are technically in the right, but that really doesn't matter to your neighbor. I like the suggestion of:

1) having your wife drive by to see what's happening with your neighbor's shoreline and if you (as a lakefront owner) would be annoyed as well then

2) avoiding that area for surfing.

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Tubers used to be the frustration on our lake, surfers have since taken the title, 4-5 ft rollers going across the lake and by the docks. Not uncommon to see a G25 with 12-14 people in it surfing. Disclaimer we enjoy surfing too.

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The rollers put out by a surf boat are much larger than from a wake boat from what i have seen. My lake has only a few surfers, some wakeboarders and tons of tubes and jetskis. There are not any boats larger than say a 25 foot boat and i have only been tossed around by boarders and surfers. What can happen is some sections could have no wake zones created. Then if your surf wave gets into the area, then all thats needed is a video and you may be held responsible. Im not saying anyone is at fault but maybe the land owner has a valid point. If you bought a lakehouse 15 years ago, who knew surfing would be a thing? The lake home owner could get neighbors to band together and make a loud enough noise that laws on your lake get changed or the zone they live in could have no wake areas created. I would move on myself to another location to surf. 

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I came upon this same type of problem a few years ago, it was more the fishermen on the shoreline bitching because of my wake, at the time wakeboarding behind a DD not much of a wake, I didn't want the fight so I got in the practice of just idling past where the homes were closest and what I would consider "my neighbors". What really got to me is when one "good neighbor" saw I was idling out past his home but he started surfing about 50' off my dock.... I sold my place and he was part of the reason I did.

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Avoid the area if at all possible.

And ideally... throw your larger surf side roller onto a non-developed shoreline.

stay out of traffic patterns.

 

^^^ implement these 3 and you'll enjoy your time surfing on the water much more

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