Who to complain to?

[cracka_barrel]

Ok, so we're out today...having a great day of wakeboarding. We have a loaded boat, and someone's in the water trying to get on my swim platform. A 27' older model bayliner or some type of cruising boat came within 20' of my boat. I screamed for everybody to sit down quick including the guy who wasn't even in the boat yet (we're on a 17') This guy swerved in on me and did a 180 with this big a$% vessel and threw his wake all over me(purposeful). I threw my hands up at him and he flipped me the bird with .....not one, but two hands. So we began the chase. We finally walked this dude down about a 1/4 mile later as he was pulling up to a marina. It's a popular marina/boatyard here....and everybody on my boat knows the owner. Turns out the driver was the marina owner's 17 yr old kid. He thought he could get away with it because his daddy was going to be waiting on him at the dock. We went up and had words with his son right in front of the dad. Mind you, we are all 25 yrs and up...me 31 yrs...somewhat responsible people. The dad offered his apologies but the fat kid was still swearing at us.....lil gd brat. I wanted to snatch his lil rich a$$ off the gd boat and bend him over my knee and whoop the sh*t outta him. Anyway, his dad told him to apologize and the lil brat wouldn't. First of all....if i was his dad, I woulda bent his lil spoiled butt over the pilings and beat him with an anchor chain in front of us all. I've done business with this man and I actually like him. However, I will never leave my boat at his boatyard again, knowing this little f'ed up kid works there and neither will my other buddies....one of which uses that yard to work on his sailboat. To top it all off....his kid was test driving a customer's boat. How do you all think I should handle this? Should I call his dad again this week and really talk to him about it? Should I just report his son to the Coast Guard or wildlife? Or should I let this dangerous shyt slide?

[cracka_barrel]

ok, nobody? Oh well, At least I got a chance to vent again I know 80% of our forum members will hate me for saying this, but maybe they should consider licensing boat drivers in NC. And maybe with a minimal age of 18 if no adult is present????

[pooser]

[cracka_barrel]

Lol headless.....I would know you would say that. But really, they should be required to take a safety course. Even though it wouldn't have helped that little smart a$$. Actually the only trouble I run into in all the acres of rivers around NC is from young people driving daddy's boat. So the licensing wouldn't be a bad idea. I know it's not fair....but is it really fair to risk all the other members of the boating world's lives just to make young people happy. Most of them don't realize they are dealing with usually 2000lbs +++ of danger........all that with a spinning blade under it. It's not really a joke when you think about it. Not when it's a congested area to begin with.

[AOliver]

It's not the kid's fault- it's the parents. They should've taught him to respect other people and be considerate while driving a boat (especially if he is going to be driving a 27' Bayliner). I know that my parents won't let me drive the boat by myself until I fully and completely know every aspect of the rules of the water AND I have to have my boater's liscense. My brother, 17, takes the boat out with his friends and is a very good driver because my dad took the time to sit and drive with him, correcting his mistakes and teaching some "What would you do if..."'s. I think getting your boater's liscence should entail the same requirements as a driver's permit- you should be required to drive with a legal guardian for at least a year, rather than simply take a written test. I might sound crazy being only 16 and in need of a boater's liscence, but I am willing to wait another year to make the waters much much safer for everyone.

[cracka_barrel]

AOliver, you sound like a responsible person. I would love to have a bunch of responsible younger people like you in our river. We have a few very rich subdivisions here. The parents here allow their kids to take the boats out alone at all ages. There is not really a license requirement. The law says that a 12-16 year old can operate a pwc with a safety course. I can't seem to find anything about a boat. We just had an instance about a month ago where two 14 yr old kids ran into each other and totaled two jetsquitos. http://www.newbernsunjournal.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/GlobalTemplates/Details.cfm&StoryID=21676&Section=Local The boat in that article there were talking about was us. However after they investigated...the Coast Guard found that we weren't even in the area. The kids fessed up. Anyway....The question is....should I report that lil crapnugget for being careless and reckless?

[Commodore]

cracka_barrel, I would have someone's A$$!!!!!!

Background so you know I am not nuts. I am 27, and I am a Coast Guard certified boat captian, not some little license. I am certified to operate any vessel up to 80ft. My dad is a Master Captain and can pretty much operate any vesssel up to 150ft. I have been on boats all my life, so I got to learn the proper way to do things.

With that being said. The total amount of recklessness that this kid did is completely unacceptable.

1) The kid came horribly close to your vessel at an extreme speed.
2) He potentially endangered everyone on your boat, as if enough kids don't get killed doing that crap with PWC's now they moved up to 5-ton boats????
3) He was in a customer's boat!!!!! If I found out that was my boat, that Marina would be up a creek!
4) I know you know the owner, but the fact that he handled like he did, he is no longer worth having as an associate. My father wouldn't of bent me over his knee, he would have straight up hit me. And probably banned me from ever operating a boat ever again.
5) He is going to be back on the water again, stop him now, before he becomes a statistic.

Get the Coast Guard involved, tell them you didn't want to call at first but you realized eventhough you know the owner, this kid is dangerous. At least get them to visit the kid. That will put him on alert and make him realize not everyone puts up with that kind of crap. Plus it will let the CG get to know the little bugger.
It will also draw attention to the poor excuse of a dad. That will definitely get the kid in some hot water. If something like that got out to the boat owners, he would be out of business, or minus one brat.

Everyone handles things differently, but I have to say, if it were me, I would have had the Water Patrol cuff his A$$!!!!! Not only did he thrash your boat with water, which if if were my boat, I would probably be out about $1500 in Stereo Equipment, he could have killed one of your friends.

[LFADAM]

cracka_barrel, I think anyone under 18 should have to take the boating safety course. This would prevent kids like him from driving because they would either be to lazy to do it or fail it. I took it, I drive my boat alone, I am responsible, I am 14.

[cracka_barrel]

haugy, thanks for your opinion. I should say that the water actually didn't come in the boat, luckily I was parallel to it, but it was a big gd wake and thrown way too close to the boat at too high of a speed. The whole scenario was dangerous and ignorant. I'm starting to lean towards calling C.G. Anybody else before I do?

[pooser]

I've been around boats since i was bordn and been driving boats since i could reach the gas pedal(jet boat). I have a great respect for how dangerous boats are and am a better driver than 90% of the boaters on my lake. It would suck if i had to be 18 to drive because i give my dad pulls all the time and help him trailer the boat, so that would mean less riding for my dad and more work for him too. I dont think an age requirement is nescesary as long as you can responsibly operate a boat. for some people that may be at 12 and for others(it seems like most people i come across) this would be at a later age like 30+.

[cracka_barrel]

Headless Chicken, I didn't mean anything like taking away the driving priviledges all together. But there should be some sort of licensing for operators under 18. And without that license....there should be an adult present on the boat. Maybe if there was some kind of priviledge to be taken away, then the more irresponsible teens would be a little bit more apprehensive about being careless or reckless. For some reason it's ok to license auto drivers...but boats aren't considered as dangerous in this area.

[pooser]

i dont think it would make a differnece unless they showed like "red water" or something to scare the kids out of doing stupid stuff. they pass the class and then say i know what im doing i can spray other boats ive done it so many times before. Their hands slip, they dont see people swimming around the boat and then they are Bubb Rubb. liscensing would help a little, shooting stupid people would help a lot more.

[Commodore]

Make them come to one of my Rescue Squad debriefings. I am a volunteer rescue diver. I have seen some very troubling things from boating accidents.

Seeing things like that gives you a whole new perspective.

[LFADAM]

The Headless Chicken, but most retard/ bad driver teenagers wouldnt pass the test. Its 75 questions that you actually have to study for. They would give up before they passed it if they were a bad driver. If they deserved to drive they would pass it.

[Colclough999]

the massachusetts examw as a joke. I scored 100 on both test they gave out when i was 11. There were 16-17 year olds in there who failed the first time and were given a second chance, and then when they failed that they allowed their parents to "help" them with the test. it was rediculous

[Ryan_Shima1]

This isn't just an age thing. I've seen many adults operate their boat in an unsafe manner. I've always been a big supporter of getting some type of licensing for boat driving across the US.
Driving a boat is much more difficult and dangerous then driving a car IMO. You may not agree with that but it's just how I feel. If the minimum age to drive a car is 16, how is it that someone younger can operate a PWC that can go over 40 mph, let alone drive a boat??? It just doesn't seem right to me.
Here in UT, it's crazy. Most boat drivers have no clue on water etiquette, driving patterns and docking courtesy. Just as an example, 3-4 boats should be able to run the same line or pattern, in the same area without screwing up the water too much. BUT because of the lack of boat driving education, all it takes is 1 boat who doesn't know what the heck they are doing to screw up the water for everyone. This gets really frustrating.
Also, we tend to forget that many of the boats on waterways aren't even interested in boarding, skiing, etc. They are boaters who just enjoy cruising so they could care less about good water, or staying out of the areas where there is good water for the riders.
It would definitely create a safer and much more rideable enviornment if a potential boat buyer was required to have a boat driver's license before purchasing a boat. I've been driving boats for over a decade, and have been taught by some of the best tournament drivers in the industry, and I would not hesitate for a second to pay for a license if it was mandated because I know it would help our waterways become safer. I can imagine that boat manufacturer's and dealers would hate this idea since it would slow down their operations but I think it would only be for a short period.

Just my .02

[DunDunDun]

that is what it is like in canada. you can get your licence whenever but when you are 15 and younger you can only take out a 40 hp and lower, but once you turn 16, the horespower is unlimited. and you gotta right a test.

[blairpoelman]

It's totally unacceptable for anybody to do that. You obviously have significantly more restraint than I do - I would have slapped that little rat into next week.


cracka_barrel, so what are you going to do now that you've heard some pretty strong opinions from a bunch of us?
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Mazda Premacy And Mazda5 Picture

[Jensen]

I think you should have to pass a test to be able to drive a boat, and to be properly educated on proper boating etiquette. especially with seadoos, since all young teens want to do is romp around in them and try and spray each other/swimmers/other boaters, and they put everyone in a dangerous position, i know from experience. my friend and I were messing around on the seadoos, he goes to try and spray me, looses control of the seadoo and rams the seadoo into mine, and i got hit with the nose of his seadoo right in the chest, and i was knocked off into the water. and i'm lucky i didn't break a few ribs, luckily i had a big ass life vest on.

If you can't trust a 12-15 year old with a car, why a seadoo when all they want to do is mess around and completley ignore other boating traffic.

[Swass]

I guess I don't understand what you expect to gain by "doing something." What are you going to do? His dad isn't going to do anything, obviously. It's not a police matter; you can't prove any laws were broken and nobody was hurt. What do you want the Coast Guard to do about it? Again, you have no real proof, aside from witnesses, that anything dangerous occured. If you feel that strongly about it, then move your boat from the dad's lot like you mentioned and forget about it.

[cracka_barrel]

swass, my boat doesn't sit on his lot, but i have taken it to be serviced there. My other buddy uses that place to pull his sailboat up and do maintenance. THe other guy's dad uses that place to store his 30 foot sea ray. Hell, one of the guys on my boat used to work there. Anyway, I was just talking this over with my buddies this morning. This kid has his own older model supra that his dad bought him and I've seen him cutting up with it before. I decided not to call Coast Guard, but instead, I got the number to a local NC Wildlife officer and was going to ask him to just go talk to the kid and try to worry him a little, that maybe they are keeping an eye on him? I want him to know he can't go around acting like a f'in idiot because someone's gonna get him one day....be it a group of people that catch him before he can get back under daddy's wing like we almost did, or an officer.