i sure hope the bill doesnt get signed. i own a airboat. I never
go up that way. but what if i wanted too. i just hang out here
below whitney. But i think is rediculous. the whole thing.

Last week I mailed a friend in Graham,Tx and asked if this had passed. He said yes. Told me Alice Walton of Walmart, Waltons from Ark. was behind this. She had a confrontation with a Airboat on the river by all her property .She losted the confrontation. She has been buying up all see can along Brazos River below PK. So I called BRA - Public Relations office to confurm all the and Judy Pierce told me it had passed and is on Gov. Perry,s desk waiting to be signed, vetoed or just go away.She had heard the Walton had something to do with this , but only a rumor as far as she knows.

Brilliant!

Dusty, Dusty, Dusty....
No need for such massive modifications to your watercraft...just get a Barret .50 BMG, semi-auto, on a swivel mount for the Green Weinie. They will stay at least 1000 yards away...no problem. Besides, with torpedos, you have to turn to face them...with the Barret, just swivel and fire. End of problem... It would also work nicely on Lake Falcon..

Im completely against restricting the outdoors from some user groups simply because the area is "pretty".

If there are legitimate safety or erosion concerns on the Brazos then create no wake zones at sensitive areas.

The same thought process is happening on the coast where people are trying to use bad science and scare tactics to create no motor zones.

The battle has been happening on our public beaches for as long as I can remember.

Property owners dont want kayaks in front of their property any more than they want boats. They will do anything they can to restrict access to everyone so that they have their own private paradise that they dont have to share.

This state is getting smaller and smaller and we all have to share. Once you go down the road of pointless restrictions, you can never go back.

Unless you're disabled and aspiring to do things then it appears to be a slam.

I find it interesting that the bill names Air boats and jet drive. This would include some of the new designs like the Mokai boats and jet skis. Why are they banning two types of drive systems and not all motorized craft? I am assuming my new rocket powered boat will still be allowed. T minus 10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1

I hope it is a noise issue
or a wake issue
or a speed issue


therefore I hope it a speeding noisy wake issue and I curse introducing mathematical logic into this discussion, as that is actually not the problem or the solution.

Only boats sold at WalMart are allowed!!!
Duh, its the Alice Walton bill!!!

I would be careful about advocating the limiting of rights or privileges of others simply because they are inconvenient to you. The airboat issue on the Brazos is more a courtesy issue than anything else. I live 10 minutes from the Brazos and fish it regularly. Rarely do the airboats impact my fishing. In fact, after they stir up the water, the fishing actually improves a bit. Conversely, I have had numerous kayaks and canoes splash right through a hole I am fishing, some out of ignorance and others, who should know better, with total disregard. It doesn't take a dummy in a boat to wreck your fishing. I can't begin to count the number of times a wading fisherman, including some highly regarded members of the flyfishng community, have tromped and splashed right thru water I was fishing to beat me to a hole slightly downstream.

Anyway, the airboat issue I believe is being driven by property owners along the banks who object to the noise....Unfortunately, the wardens will still be running up and down the river in their airboats. The sound of an airboat roaring up or down river would be a most welcome sound to a kayaker or wading fisherman in distress or stranded due to a surge in water level or some other accident.....If you want to hear some interesting stories...talk to Andy Moreau about some of the Brazos River rescues he has been involved in.

Just sayin'

This is what I posted in the kayak fishing section:

"I'm against the law. I was canoeing on the Brazos below Whitney yesterday and an airboat came by. It was curteous and got as far away from me as possible when passing. Airboaters have just as much right to be on the river as I do. The fact that they create more noise shouldn't be a factor at all. I have a problem with taking away somebody's right because it annoys some people. A kayaker's pleasure is no more important than an airboater's pleasure. If safety is your concern, put a speed limit on the water. There's no need to remove somebody's preferred mode of river travel because some people want it quiet. For the record, I've never set foot on an airboat, much less owned one. Canoeing and fishing rivers is by far my favorite pass-time, and sometimes airboaters can be a bit annoying, kind of like skiers on the lake. But I no more believe we should take away somebody's right to airboat than I think we should take away peoples' right to use ski boats."

-Tom Baty

I've only seen airboats on TV, but I understand they can be quite loud. I have read other posts on TFF that relate unsafe driving practices of airboats. That is hear say to me since I wasn't there. However most cities in Texas have noise ordinance laws which are/can be strictly enforced. I can certainly see how the incessant roaring of an airboat would cause land and homeowners to support this bill. Why shouldn't those persons who actually live down and on the river, a number of which I have met, be able to enjoy the same peace and solitude afforded to those persons living within a city limit?

Budd and jtbcountryboy,

Amen and Amen!!!

Agree...I think the only person who can hear them on the Brazos below PK is Alice Walton. There aren't many homeowners on that stretch of river either...maybe some cows and other wildlife.. They do make a racket, but so do jet skis and the really fast cigarette boats... ever heard them on Texoma?

LOL David,
I don't think it would be a good idea for Alice to buy a waterfront home on Texoma. If an air boat with a 400hp motor going 40mph bothers her, DeBerry rocking down the lake doing 140mph in a 38ft Skater making somewhere between 2000 to 3000hp will really blow up her skirt!!!

The solution is very simple. Alice can spend her Wally bucks to fund a stealth air boat program. Using technology similar to the technology being used in helicopters. She can buy each guide a new stealth air boat and everyone will be happy. See Steve mathematical logic and science can solve the problem! Now can someone slip my name into the guide list.