Wakesurf Waves - Small Lake - Recommendations

[Eagleboy99]

1 minute ago, asnowman said:

This is why i add "if possible"

 

Like Dad used to say "Ya can't fix stupid".  Gaston would say you can prevent recidivism though.

[Wolflake]

It looks like whomever was posting to me deleted their posts 🤷‍♂️.

Back to your question, I think it all depends on many circumstances and when you go out. I live on a chain of lakes. Obviously we prefer the largest one, but there are days we go out on the smaller ones and surf. You won’t please everyone as my earlier post showed, just be observant of your local laws as they vary from state to state. 

Edited August 20, 2020 by Wolflake
Spelling

[Hemmy]

Laws don't always = boating etiquette.  I could cut across the path of a skier on the water at a legal distance (whatever that is state to state) but that is not being courteous to the skier that has to jump your wake.  Wake boats are different.  If you are surfing say 200 ft away from shore or any other object or boat (common distance in a lot of states) your surf wake is going to be a menace when it hits that object.  At that distance, you can easily swamp an anchored boat.  It is legal distance but IMO not cool to do.  Not a lot of people on my lake understand boating etiquette unfortunately. 

[Wolflake]

No arguments about etiquette, but generally on a small lake you are always moving in the same counter-clock wise direction. If you’re cutting off people you’re already out of etiquette.

[Hemmy]

2 minutes ago, Wolflake said:

No arguments about etiquette, but generally on a small lake you are always moving in the same counter-clock wise direction. If you’re cutting off people you’re already out of etiquette.

Unfortunately, people don't always follow this on our lake.  I usually surf when there is nobody out in the morning.  Sometimes one other boat out and he will mange to 35 right across my path.  We have a deep end in the middle of our lake that is the only spot to surf.  mid-afternoon there are quite a few boats anchored there and there is always some teenage kid that thinks it is a good idea to go surfing and is usually weaving in and out of anchored boats.  This type of behavior is what gives wake boats a bad name.

[Wolflake]

8 minutes ago, Hemmy said:

Unfortunately, people don't always follow this on our lake.  I usually surf when there is nobody out in the morning.  Sometimes one other boat out and he will mange to 35 right across my path.  We have a deep end in the middle of our lake that is the only spot to surf.  mid-afternoon there are quite a few boats anchored there and there is always some teenage kid that thinks it is a good idea to go surfing and is usually weaving in and out of anchored boats.  This type of behavior is what gives wake boats a bad name.

I agree, and should have said “should be moving in the same counter-clockwise direction”. This certainly does not always occur. Picking the right time of day is key. I’d say 90% of the time the lakes are empty. 

[Hopeful]

t least 33 homes on the lake own wakeboats, and many other visiting wakeboats use the lake on a daily basis when the weather allows. Since wakeboats stir up the sediment on the bottoms of shallow lakes, our lake quality is a disaster. Homes are losing their shorelines and trees because of the destructiveness of the wakes. Even rip rap is giving way under the stress. 

Activist movement is growing around the state, the country, and the world to restrict wakeboats to lakes that are wide enough and deep enough to accommodate their wakes. I know the boating industry is throwing tens of millions of dollars to save their jobs, but I believe restrictions are coming. Science usually wins out, although it may take time and persistence. 

 

[EchelonMike]

Hard to solve on a small lake.  We boat at Norris in TN, which is massive (36K+ acres) and even with all that space, people argue about wake.  It's easily solved with etiquette.  I would never surf up a small inlet where boats are tied up, nor would I surf in an area where there are private or public docks.  Even hundreds of feet away, the wave energy from our boats is strong.  On a huge lake like Norris, about 60% of the shoreline is protected state land...no docks.  I surf there.

A friend has a cottage on a small lake of about 250 acres.  20 ft boat limit, but even the small surf boats can crank waves that just ping-pong the entire length of the lake.  The boating there was always kind of crappy but wake boats really make it not fun due to tight quarters.

Edited November 29, 2021 by EchelonMike

[vanamp]

7 hours ago, Hopeful said:

t least 33 homes on the lake own wakeboats, and many other visiting wakeboats use the lake on a daily basis when the weather allows. Since wakeboats stir up the sediment on the bottoms of shallow lakes, our lake quality is a disaster. Homes are losing their shorelines and trees because of the destructiveness of the wakes. Even rip rap is giving way under the stress. 

Activist movement is growing around the state, the country, and the world to restrict wakeboats to lakes that are wide enough and deep enough to accommodate their wakes. I know the boating industry is throwing tens of millions of dollars to save their jobs, but I believe restrictions are coming. Science usually wins out, although it may take time and persistence. 

 

What lake? 33 wakeboats you say? Almost sounds like you counted each an every one of them.  

Science so far has worked in favor for wakeboats and found that generally the problem is irresponsible boating and more laws and regulations won't help with that. 

Just remember if you take the wake boats away they will be replaced by tubers and jetskis and you will quickly find out wakeboats are not as big a problem as you think.  

 

 

[Gene3x]

On 11/29/2021 at 12:36 PM, Hopeful said:

t least 33 homes on the lake own wakeboats, and many other visiting wakeboats use the lake on a daily basis when the weather allows. Since wakeboats stir up the sediment on the bottoms of shallow lakes, our lake quality is a disaster. Homes are losing their shorelines and trees because of the destructiveness of the wakes. Even rip rap is giving way under the stress. 

Activist movement is growing around the state, the country, and the world to restrict wakeboats to lakes that are wide enough and deep enough to accommodate their wakes. I know the boating industry is throwing tens of millions of dollars to save their jobs, but I believe restrictions are coming. Science usually wins out, although it may take time and persistence. 

 

Hell of a first .....   and only post.....

[Hopeful]

On 11/30/2021 at 1:04 PM, Gene3x said:

Hell of a first .....   and only post.....

Ha! Stupid.

[UWSkier]

What the?