I have made it to the bottom of all this and I am almost at a loss for words..... ALMOST.
First off this STINKS of the Salem Witch trials. The LRSLA talks a lot about "safty" but lets be honest hear and just say that if it was not for the LRSLA's impression that Offshore boats are to loud then they would not be in existance today. The LRSLA seems to be saying that all of us Offshore guys have ignored what they are doing. I beg to differ. We have often talked at great length about this issue. As you can see Biggus and myself have spent a great deal of money to comply with the laws that are on the books.
The moving test is one that is JUST PLAIN DANGEROUS! I would NEVER drive my boat at WOT with in 150 feet of anyone if they want me to or not. Now the law says that they want us a LOT closer to that. To that I reply NO WAY. What happens if something breaks on my boat and I hit some one? We all maintain our boats to the best of our ability and take a lot of pride in them. However STUFF CAN BREAK. I refuse to take kids on my Offshore for this very reason. I have been on boats that parts have broken on and felt the effects. So to ask me to not only put other people at that risk NO WAY. The current standing test is fine and it is safe. Since we seem to have said that the boat has to pass with the exhaust open and closed I firmly believe that the standing test is the ONLY safe way to do this.
Now I would like to poss to the LRSLA what if my Donzi does not pass? This is a VERY rare boat (only 8 made to the best of the records that I have been able to find and God only knows how many are left of those 8) This boat is 100% originall and that is the only way that it holds its value. To make any canges would seriously hurts its value. This is not a loud boat IMO but I am not sure if it will pass or not. My big boat, adding the exhaust had no adverse effect on the value so I had no problem making the changes. So is it really fair that I have to either not use my boat or ruin its value? I mean one of your coplaints seems to be that our boats hinder your enjoyment of your property. Well what about ME? What about my ability to enjoy my property and my boat?
I own land on the lake also, I HATE jetskiers, they have cut me off, run into me, and on and on. I would NEVER think to try and get them to stop doing what they enjoy. Edjucation so that they know how to be a better boater if fine and probably smart but telling them to stop, no way.
As for offshore guys being drunks and inconsiderate to the land along the lake, I would say that being on the river the people that come up the river the slowest are the offshores. I constantly see jet ski's, renters, and the alike flying up the river, some even on plane! I also CONSTANTLY see people letting their kids hang their feet over the bow. This is illegal, VERY dangerous, and NEVER enforced. I have watched on many occasions the patrol just drive right on past. To the alcohol issue I find that most offshore people do not drink and drive. Of course there are exceptions to the rule but I am willing to bet that on any given day there are more drunks out there in bow riders and fishing boats then offshores.
As for the abuse that you took on Offshoreonly I have to say what do you expect? You are trying to take away something that is very important in our lives. This is not just a hobby that we do once in a while. Most of us stay awake dreaming about what our next boat will be. We all spend a significent portion of our income on our boats and want to be able to enjoy them the few times a year that we can actually use them with out being targeted by your organization. So some of the guys on OSO want to fight back. I do not think that ANY of the harsh stuff was said by anyone that actually lives up in the area or has probably ever visited the lake. Most of it is guys venting their frustrations as we see OUR freedoms taken away from us.
Now you are probalby ready to say what about my freedoms.... Well what is the percentage of time that Offshores are going past your house? How many on a bussy day? I am willing to bet that it is less then 5 and that is a bussy day. I know that most of the boats on the river only go out maybe once a week. Heck who can afford to run them with the price of gas these days!! So it is really a VERY small percentage of the time that you are "inconverineced" So in the interest of "being a good neighbor" why can't you just let it go?
I also have to agree that to say you can not have a conversation with a person that is 3 feet away is obsurd. I have been to poker runs with hundreds of boats running louder exhaust then you have ever heard and can have a conversation no problem. My example of this is the 1000 Islands poker run. We were in the channel and about 150 feet away from the fleet and my wife and I were talking at normal volumes on shore. So be honest. You realy do not have to yell. If you say yes then lets do a test. Both you and I will stand on your property and we will have the "worst offenders" all drive by and you and I can see how bad it really is. Heck maybe I am wrong but I do not think so.
Lastly I hear you kid likes them, I heard him in the video
