Speeding boat on Weirs Channel

[Nauset]

Is there anyone else out there who has seen (or heard) the speeding boat on the Channel in the early AM hours? For the second week in a row I have been awakened by this guy, last week at 4:30am, and this past Sunday morning at 4:45am. I think it is a bass type fishing boat. He has to be going 30 to 40 MPH. By the time I got to the port hole he was already going under the bridge. Not only is he kicking up a large wake but the noise is very loud. I worry that someone may pull out of a slip and get hit or he could go careening off into a docked boat.
I don't know if the MP has anyone on the water at that time but I plan to call them and maybe they can keep an eye on the area for a few weekends.

[Cobalt 25]

Just as a point of clarification, and certainly not to condone the behavior, a bass boat traveling at 30-40 mph would generate minimal wake.

Peter

[Winnipesaukee]

It is still larger than "no wake" and the origin is very close to docks, other boats, and the shoreline.

[Nauset]

Originally Posted by Cobalt 25

Just as a point of clarification, and certainly not to condone the behavior, a bass boat traveling at 30-40 mph would generate minimal wake.

Peter

Believe it or not, in the dead still of the early hours the wake from a boat going that fast in a NO WAKE zone was considerable. Unlike you I was there.

[Cobalt 25]

Winnipesaukee,

You missed my point. I was discussing wake size relative to mass and speed, nothing more.

Peter

[Island Girl]

If the speeder is doing this over an over ... I agree the person is very wrong...

Last summer I was parked at Weirs Beach... upon leaving the docks I noticed I was taking on water... fast... from the rear (bellows issue). I was going to sink ... so I went fast enough so as not to take on any more water... and heading for Minge Cove where I keep my boat.. I called ahead asking them to have a trailer ready to get me out of the water as soon as I arrived.

The channel into Minge Cove is no wake and it takes several minutes to navigate... minutes I did not think I had at headway speed... so I kept the boat going fast enought to keep the water from running in... of course the people in the channel were all screaming at me as I was trying to signal them to get out of the way... Of course they thought I was a bonehead.. I would have thought the same. The fine folks at the marina were waiting for me and got the boat right out of the water... the bilge pump had failed trying to keep up.

The moral of the story is that we do not always understand the situation and must be ever vigilant for those who do not know the rules, who are in an emergency situation, or nake a mistake or otherwise just not doing what we expect they should be doing.

Happy Boating.. and keep your eyes open
IG

[ApS]

Originally Posted by Cobalt 25

Just as a point of clarification, and certainly not to condone the behavior, a bass boat traveling at 30-40 mph would generate minimal wake.

A boat rocking in a bass boat's wake in the wee hours is one thing: it's another thing that the noisy offender awakens you first!

[topwater]

Just to clarify things a little. A bass boat does not make much noise at 30-40mph, actually they are pretty quiet, a boston whaler is the same type of low riding boat, so it may have been one of those, I guess I'm just tired of hearing that anything that goes WRONG on Winnie, is either a Bass Boat or a GO Fast boat. And No you didn't say "quote" it was a bass boat, you just let everyone immediately think that.

[Winnipesaukee]

Originally Posted by Cobalt 25

Winnipesaukee,

You missed my point. I was discussing wake size relative to mass and speed, nothing more.

Peter

Gotcha.


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[Nauset]

Originally Posted by topwater

Just to clarify things a little. A bass boat does not make much noise at 30-40mph, actually they are pretty quiet, a boston whaler is the same type of low riding boat, so it may have been one of those, I guess I'm just tired of hearing that anything that goes WRONG on Winnie, is either a Bass Boat or a GO Fast boat. And No you didn't say "quote" it was a bass boat, you just let everyone immediately think that.

Dude, get a grip! My post was not a slam on bass boats. I was trying to find out if anyone else saw or heard it. What I saw was a sleek, very low to the water boat going at a fast rate of speed. If I was making a statement to the MP I would describe it as a bass type boat. If I saw a 4 door sedan speeding down my street and I described it to someone would I be condemning 4 door sedans? I don't care if it was a whaler, bass boat, or row boat, if it is going that fast in the channel that is the issue not what kind of boat it is.

[jrc]

To me the important problem is a boat traveling too fast in a very confined area. Even if a boat made no wake and was silent, you would still need the 150' rule. You still would not want it going through the channel at 30-40mph.

[Gavia immer]

Originally Posted by topwater

Just to clarify things a little. A bass boat does not make much noise at 30-40mph, actually they are pretty quiet, a boston whaler is the same type of low riding boat, so it may have been one of those, I guess I'm just tired of hearing that anything that goes WRONG on Winnie, is either a Bass Boat or a GO Fast boat.

The two are not the same. "Jack plates" make outboards louder by raising the engine exhaust up to the level of the water. The majority of bass boats have "jack plates". The majority of Boston Whalers don't.

[topwater]

Well Gavia, I have a Jake Plate on my boat, and I"ll bet breakfast that my boat is quiter then yours unless you have 10hp on a canoe. While you're in the channel, you Jack Plate is down in order to keep your bow down, unlike the large cruisers, We like to see whats in front of us.

[Hermit Cover]

What we are supposed to swallow is that if a boat is quiet....and makes no wake.....it can go as fast as it wants....any place that it wants to go....any time of day or night....anywhere on the water......Wow! All the rules and laws are suspended. Marine Patrol? Why?

[Gavia immer]

Originally Posted by topwater

Well Gavia, I have a Jake Plate on my boat, and I"ll bet breakfast that my boat is quiter then yours unless you have 10hp on a canoe. While you're in the channel, you Jack Plate is down in order to keep your bow down, unlike the large cruisers, We like to see whats in front of us.

Then yours is adjustable. At the 30-40 miles per hour being discussed, wouldn't it be adjusted to the water level, and be noisy?

[jeffk]

Originally Posted by jrc

To me the important problem is a boat traveling too fast in a very confined area. Even if a boat made no wake and was silent, you would still need the 150' rule. You still would not want it going through the channel at 30-40mph.

Even though the desired outcome of a no wake zone is to reduce wake, the implementation is by minimizing speed.

[Airwaves]

It's three days short of a month since the original post by Nauset.

Did you call the Marine Patrol?
Did they set up a patrol to trap him?
Did they get 'em?

[Chris Craft]

Originally Posted by Gavia immer

Then yours is adjustable. At the 30-40 miles per hour being discussed, wouldn't it be adjusted to the water level, and be noisy?

Usually at those "slow" speeds the jack plate would be lower. If you lift the jack plate high at that speed you will cause the boat to bounce in the water (porpois). Typically the jack plate is only high when trying to reduce drag for the fastest speed.

[JonLevis]

I think there are a couple that go through the channel at 4am-ish...I am at Handy Landing and nearly get rocked out of my bunk twice a night on Saturdays...each time missing the yahoo cruising through. One that goes a lot is real loud...almost a Baja sound too it. The other is definitely an outboard. The nights that I sit up to try and grab bow numbers, I usually pass out on the stern

[SAMIAM]

What is a Baja sound??? A big block is a big block.I defy you to cover your eyes and pick out a Baja from a Donzi,Fountain,Eliminator.....even some of the new Fourwinds have big blocks and loud mufflers.I've never owned a Baja but don't think it's fair to demonize them.

[robmac]

I agree,once you've got a big block and transom exhaust you are unable without seeing the boat to determine by sound what kind it is, Alot of boats pleasure and performance have those engine and exhaust packages

[LIforrelaxin]

Originally Posted by robmac

I agree,once you've got a big block and transom exhaust you are unable without seeing the boat to determine by sound what kind it is, Alot of boats pleasure and performance have those engine and exhaust packages

For the most part I agree with you on this statement.... and one should never generalize the through hall exhaust sound to one particualar brand.

But let me say this, I have many nieghbors with through hall exhaust on various types of boats. And interestingly enough as I sit on my porch or in my camps long before the boats get into my view, I can tell you who has started up and heading out. They all have unique sounds depending on how they are muffled, tuned, and in some cases how close the exhaust port is to the water line.... So although you can't generalize any one sound to a brand..... you can pick up distinct differences in individual boats.......

[ApS]

Originally Posted by LIforrelaxin

For the most part I agree with you on this statement.... and one should never generalize the through hall exhaust sound to one particualar brand...So although you can't generalize any one sound to a brand..... you can pick up distinct differences in individual boats.......

This is not to suggest that it's an MP boat in the channel, but MP boats 7 and 12 share a distinctive sound, as well as the MP's dual outboard boats. (Meaning, even when the MP dual outboards approach head-on, you can tell they're duallies).

My former neighbor has a White classic with thru-hulls, and drops by a couple of times a summer. He hasn't figured out how I can always "spot" them and waiting for them at the dock! By ear, I can tell which of my neighbors has started his boat—even at an idle—except for the gray Formula, four doors down, which is now been sold off.

The family's tired of my pointing out that a multiple-engined boat is about to come into view a full minute before it actually does appear. (From The Broads direction, sometimes two minutes or more).

The secret is to listen for the sound just like a Cadillac's horn: sometime in the late 70's, Cadillac put three-horn honkers in their cars—a distinctive warning sound if you've been slow at a traffic light. It's clearly an analogous sound to multiple engine thru-hull exhaust pipe noise.

Owners of switchable exhausts can't resist turning them on and off as they go by. (Three dB difference—right ).

Anyone notice that some thru-hulls are louder from the side than the rear? It may be that the entire hull is acting like a guitar's soundboard, raising the ambient noise level. My oldest friend on Winnipesaukee is an MIT sound engineer—presently in "Great Hall" music recording—and he says noise is a very complex study.

At my Florida lake—with no hills in sight—my experience has been that all the boat noise is muted.