I recently was offered an amazing deal and picked up a 22' trailered sailboat. I'm used to launching my fish and ski, which alone I can do in moments. This thing on the other hand is bigger, heavier and is very top heavy until you get it launched and get into deeper water so you can lower the 500# keel.

I'm trying to launch this thing the other night at Stewart's Creek and these 2 or 3 wakeboard boats were circling just outside (and sometimes inside) the no wake bouys pitching off their massive wakes. This boat has an older pull start motor and I'm launching it myself so I had to get in the boat and get it started to pull it off the trailer. All the while these waves are pounding the boat into the trailer. When I finally got out and got the sails up I was cut off repeatedly by jet fleas and wake board boats. When you are under sail you are almost always the stand on boat. However several times I had serious doubts I was going to be able to stop a collision. Remember, sailboats can't just throw it in reverse.

Its one thing to be ignorant of what your wake does, or not realize you shouldn't wait until your on the ramp to load up your coolers and hoochies into your dad's overpriced boat, or failing to give way to the stand on vessel. But what I saw the other night was people just being jerks for the fun of it.

Sorry for the rant.

Yep, wake-boarders buy boats that put out the biggest wakes possible and then drive them acting like they have no clue about wake restrictions...which their selfish rear ends probably don't because for the most part they seem way to self-absorbed to even care one whit about others.
Talk about a match made in hade�s...
Just once I would like to see them actually be held accountable for their wakes.
And I wish they would TURN THAT DARN MUSIC DOWN!!!!! Like everyone want to listen to that carp full blast at 6 in the morning!!!!!

sailboats have the right of way regardless, i thought.

Maybe try Ray Roberts...it's a family friendly lake....alot farther from you though....or just get you a baitcasting catfish set-up with about 4oz of No-rolls and start slingin' when they get too close.

They do.

power boats must always give way to sail.
next time take your camera and get some pics with the #'s then send to gw.
or just call the gw and report em.
as far as the wake board idiots I just make sure to parallel at a safe distance far enough in front of em to wake out the wake boarder, amazing how much wake a 19' champion will throw at low speed.

Sail boats, under sail, are always the stand on boat unless they are overtaking a power boat, then they are the give way.

wakeboard boats and these big cruisers all need to learn how to trim a boat when they are not boarding. i am pretty sure they have no idea they can trim a boat out or any possible knowledge of the damage they do to their surroundings besides the safety factor. they all need some boater education. if it would stop a lot of the nonsense i would be in favor of mandatory boater education since common sense is dwindling everyday it seems like.JMO

Yes-they have no clue, but unfortunately they'll never know because they won't be on this forum. Suppose we'll have to tweet 'em

a lot of ppl on tff like to complain about the lack of etiquette of wakeboarders, skiers, jetskiers etc. well i have experienced just as many inconsiderate jackasses in bass boats as any other kind of boat. a bass boat does not automatically give you proper etiquette or commom sense.

i was fishing the old dam cut on lewisville yesterday morning in my bass boat when another bass boat approached from the lake dallas side. i thought he was going to run wide open through the cut which is a no wake zone. i was fishing about 25 yards from the shore. the dumb a** in the bass boat was coming right for us. half way through the cut he decides to slow down and pass between my boat and the shore when he had the entire cut to pass through. not only that but he only slowed down enough to get off plane which we all knnow throws more of a wake than if he had just stayed on plane and flew right by me.

i just looked at him. someone that stupid couldn't have been taught any different.

so the moral of the story is lets stop generalizing and saying that wakeboarders and pleasure boaters are the discourteous ones on the water. my experience says every group of boaters, bass boats included, has discourteous, inexperienced, inconsiderate boaters.

+1

Everyone has a certain degree of etiquette, but like a tube of toothpaste, sometimes ya just gotta squeeze it out of them...

insert cool gif here.