Quote:
Originally Posted by fatlazyless
Switchable exhausts is a mechanical device on the boat's exhaust system that formerly was considered to be not legal, but was recently made legal due to a recently passed law. I honestly have no real idea what the switchable exhaust does in terms of making the lake more quiet or more noisy, but considering the list of known associates listed under the two above posts, something tells me that we are probably looking at the switchable exhaust law with opposite opinions on it.
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This basically sums it up. Many people do not take the time to educate themselves on the intended purpose of the law rather simply associates the law with the people who worked hard and actually took a stand for what they believe in. It is easy to throw rocks at the house that others worked hard to build.
SBONH has taken up many issues, supported many organizations for what they truly believe will help the lake. Some disagreed on certain issues and continue to keep their blinders on when any issue comes up. Simply put we have and continue to work hard for what we believe will improve the lake and those boating. We will win some and lose some. We don’t hold grudges and move on.
As far as the switchable exhaust, if you take the time to understand it or even ask (it isn’t hard to reach out to us) you will find that we wanted to fix the law because NH was the only state in the US that banned these types of systems. When we asked those who initially instituted the noise statues and ban on S.E. "Why the ban?" We were told “because we don’t want a boat with thru hull exhaust to be going down the broads and hit the button whenever they see a Marine Patrol Boat”. “It was an enforcement issue”.
This unfortunately was based on a falsehood that these systems can be used “at speed”. The truth of the matter is all of these systems are “not” designed to operate over 3000 rpms. You can cause catastrophic failure to the unit and damage to the engine. Now some people may risk that but frankly I can’t see risking a $20K engine over a $50 ticket. We also worked directly with the Marine Patrol to make sure the law was written so not to encumber current noise statues or become an enforcement problem.
The reasoning behind changing the law, whether opponents of SBONH what to believe it or not, was to make the lake quieter. For years we have heard opponents of performance boats complain about above water exhaust, especially when sitting by the lake or enjoying a meal at a waterside restaurant while a boat with above water exhaust mills about waiting for a dock space to open up. We also agreed with this contention. Switchable exhaust allows for the decibel level to be decreased almost to the point of not being heard while at idle. We had hoped that this would allow for boats outside the state, equipped with the system to be able to visit the lake helping the economy as well as help to lesson some of the contentions some have against performance boats.
We all have to share the lake and systems like switchable exhaust help make it easier for everyone to enjoy the lake together.