Air Boat Noise

I fish in the Brazos River, often. Wade fishing. And airboats pass by frequently. Every single airboat passenger wears hearing protection, and they wear those headsets for a solid reason. Otherwise the noise from the airboat will damage their hearing in short order.

And this is what bugs me - they know they are making so much noise that they must/have to use personal hearing protection, but they sure do not mind exposing anyone else to that same noise. It's one thing for them with their hearing protection head gear, but they don't give a flying f... about anyone else, do they?

Hearing damage is caused by a combination of decibel level and time of exposure. The passengers are exposed to the high decibel noise continually and the people they zoom by are exposed to the same high decibel level noise briefly.

I suppose in some people's minds that makes it okay to do. They think (if they think) that it's okay to expose my ears to their damaging noise briefly?

In my mind even a tiny bit of damage caused by brief exposure is wrong. I don't need any more hearing loss, not even a tiny bit more.

What right do they have to do damage to my body? Even a tiny bit? On a typical fishing trip I'll be in the river for four hours. During that time it is not unusual for up to eight airboats go by, sometimes twice, going and coming.

These people are in the wrong.

Maybe you should get some ear plugs if it bothers you that much

Throw Little Georges at 'em!

Really? That's what you actually think?

airboats are about the only motorized way to go up an down the rivers in the shallow water they do make a lot of noise but they are legal to use an one can hear them coming a long way off . airboat guys pay their way like everybody else that uses public water .

Yes

And another. Keep a pair handy and when you start hearing the airboat, you probably have 3 minutes to cover your ears. No biggie.

So you like it when a dragster runs up and own your street? It's legal...and you can cover your ears...

Air boats should not be allowed outside of Louisiana:)
How bow dah

Can't say I have ever had that problem, but Leah Pritchett can drive by my house all day!

Only access on a river etc. I can see the need for the fanboats but I night fish for the peace and quiet. The noise level of some of those things on a popular lake like Fork at all hours of the night is unbearable at times. I know some folks love to bowfish but those things do seem to create much more of a disturbance than outboards. I don't see how folks living on the lake can get every bit of aquatic vegetation killed off but don't get irritated enough by fanboats at night to do something. Maybe the noise doesn't carry into the houses I dunno.

Having one go past you in the river is like having an airplane flying by a few feet away - ear damaging noise level.

That would suck.

Regulating entities should require mufflers of some type with a decibel limit on lake and rivers. That shouldn't be too much to ask so other folks can enjoy their time on the lake or get some sleep at night.

Are they legal? Is there a noise limit by law? Is a noise that is loud enough to cause hearing damage legal?

Gun ranges are legal, but they aren't shooting thirty feet away from the general public.

What else, what other hobby, is as loud as airboats and that close to the public? Comparisons anyone? Anything?

I know there are some brazos river homeowners trying to get airboats outlawed on basis of noise ordinance, kayakers aren't too fond of them either.

It's too bad they can't do something about the megawatt stereos with large speakers pointing backwards on the modern ski boats. Too many wanna be thugs around my lake blasting obscene lyrics where all the kiddos fishing on the bank can hear it.

Just another spoke in the, "total lack of respect for others" wheel that has become our society norm.

In all honesty, I'd rather deal with an airboat passing by than the [censored] I mentioned above.

You sound like an angry old man

Get ear plugs or cover your ears when they pass

What do you do at the shooting range? Just get some hearing protection and fish in peace. I've got some for the range that let you hear normally until a loud noise and then kick in. Turn them around and they suppress everything. And they're cheap.

Ad hominem? That's what you contribute?

While that may be an efficacious thing to do it doesn't speak to the violence being perpetrated by the thrill seekers that have no concern for other people for pleasure, does it?

When pleasure seeking causes damage to bystanders, you'd think it would be apparent that something is wrong. Instead I keep hearing (no pun intended) to protect myself and live with it.

Let me try it this way:

1. Does airboat noise damage hearing?
2. Can airboat noise be reduced?

If you can not legitimately answer "no" to either of these two questions - then answer why the airboaters should not quieten their boats.

Ear plugs. There are ones that have a cord that fits around your neck. You have plenty of time to temporarily insert them before the airboat arrives.

I'm about to switch to night fishing on Guntersville. That lake is covered in airboats with bowfishers. I keep a pair handy with me and have no problem with them enjoying themselves.

1. Does airboat noise damage hearing?
2. Can airboat noise be reduced?

If you can not legitimately answer "no" to either of these two questions - then answer why the airboaters should not quieten their boats.

I'm not a big fan of people doing things that are harmful to others, like creating noise at levels high enough to damage one's hearing. But I do see a difference between running an airboat within a prescribed distance of someone's home (particularly at night!) vs running it up & down an unpopulated river or creek area.

Most of the noise is from the propeller. When the blade tip goes supersonic the sound goes way way up since the prop tip speed is breaking the sound barrier. There are prop designs that lower the noise level and these should be the only kind allowed. Of course there are those that want a dragster motor with open straight exhaust and think the louder they are the faster they go. There are some that run Red River below Denison dam and you can hear them all the down river to the Hwy 78 bridge. That's about 10-12 miles as a crow flies.

I'm having a hard time with the "put in ear plugs" crowd. These airboaters are flipping you off every time they go by and these ear plug folks seem to be saying bend over and take it with a smile.

Am I misunderstanding them?

Really dumb comparison. They are legal on any street.
Dragsters do not run legal fuel, are run with open headers and are not inspected of licensed.
Not even legal to start up in a driveway.

My recommendation would be for you to find somewhere else to fish.

And another.
Can't say that I like the noise from them, but I definitely don't think we should make people stop doing what they like just because it's an inconvenience.

Too much of that in this world. "I don't like what you're doing, how you're acting, what you think.....etc.... so let's make you change because it bothers me."......B.s. that's not the kind of person I like to around. My neighbor rides a souped up Harley Davidson. He's a prison guard that leaves to work at 4:30 or 5am, his bike is ungodly loud, should I try to make him sale it or try to get him in trouble for it???

Ear plugs would solve your problem.

Dragsters not as in nitro fuel quarter milers, but as in v8 with open pipes. But I guess that is tool old school for people to understand these days...

And another. Keep a pair handy and when you start hearing the airboat, you probably have 3 minutes to cover your ears. No biggie. [/quote]
And another.
Can't say that I like the noise from them, but I definitely don't think we should make people stop doing what they like just because it's an inconvenience.

Too much of that in this world. "I don't like what you're doing, how you're acting, what you think.....etc.... so let's make you change because it bothers me."......B.s. that's not the kind of person I like to around. My neighbor rides a souped up Harley Davidson. He's a prison guard that leaves to work at 4:30 or 5am, his bike is ungodly loud, should I try to make him sale it or try to get him in trouble for it??? [/quote]

No, not make him sell his bike. But put a reasonable muffler on it, do you think that is too much to ask? Ask yourself this, why does he feel the need to be so loud when he knows you are sleeping and that he is disturbing your sleep? Is it because he completely dis-respects you and thinks of you as a coward and thus enjoys waking you up? As in he thinks you are too cowardly to stand up for yourself against him?

If you don't like the noise fish elsewhere. It's stills free country and I don't want it changed .
J D

some folks just need another state annexed for them so they can be happy all the time this went from being about the noise of airboats which they really cant do anything about that have only a few places to run them to motorcycles an other motorized vehicles with straight pipes on them. way too much politically correct now .as far as standing up for yourself next time say something to the folks that are offending you rather than waiting until you get to the saftey of your home an computer.

I have two choices - flip them off or take them to court. Which do you suggest?

1. Does airboat noise damage hearing?
2. Can airboat noise be reduced?

If you can not legitimately answer "no" to either of these two questions - then answer why the airboaters should not quieten their boats.

1. Does airboat noise damage hearing?
2. Can airboat noise be reduced?

If you can not legitimately answer "no" to either of these two questions - then answer why the airboaters should not quieten their boats.

I don't think it's disrespectful. You see it as that. He likes it and it's a free country that he fought for from Vietnam to Iraq. He has done things that not many people will do for you and me to have freedoms like running sure boats and motorcycles. He might think I'm a coward I don't know I'll ask him next time we fish together.

I just want to apologize for -

My Harley with great custom pipes.
My Sportster with great custom pipes.
My Gator 825i with no muffler.
My JD lawn tractor.
My Stihl weed eaters.
My Stihl chain saws.
My old Ford tractor.
My bypassed Superduty.
My unsuppressed firearms.
My suppressed firearms too, just in case they also offend.

Please forgive me for I know not what noise I make.

Would gladly be your neighbor sir....

Still dumb illegal to run open headers or pipes.
I am older than dirt and don't ever remember them being called dragsters.

Being a Veteran is a good thing, but it does not excuse obnoxious behavior.

1. Does airboat noise damage hearing?
2. Can airboat noise be reduced?

If you can not legitimately answer "no" to either of these two questions - then answer why the airboaters should not quieten their boats.

I just want to apologize for -

My Harley with great custom pipes.
My Sportster with great custom pipes.
My Gator 825i with no muffler.
My JD lawn tractor.
My Stihl weed eaters.
My Stihl chain saws.
My old Ford tractor.
My bypassed Superduty.
My unsuppressed firearms.
My suppressed firearms too, just in case they also offend.

Please forgive me for I know not what noise I make.






1. Does airboat noise damage hearing?
2. Can airboat noise be reduced?

If you can not legitimately answer "no" to either of these two questions - then answer why the airboaters should not quieten their boats.

Pretty simple questions and yet no one answers...


1. Does airboat noise damage hearing?
2. Can airboat noise be reduced?

If you can not legitimately answer "no" to either of these two questions - then answer why the airboaters should not quieten their boats.

1. Can you not hear them coming and then put ear plug in to avoid the ear damage?

2. Can you not fish another place where there wont be any air boats?

If you can not legitimately answer "no" to either of these 2 questions, then answer why you are complaining

I don't own an airboat, but I certainly respect the right for those that do to operate them within the confines of the current statutes. I'd think you would stand a much better chance in getting some relief if you take your grievance up with your state representative if in fact that is your sole motivation for this thread.

Cute, but still avoidance.

Dude the answer us probably yes to both but that does not matter. You think because it bothers you there should be a law against it. That is as snowflake as safe haven rules.
Shooting guns make noise that can hurt a bistanders hearing as well as the shooter but there isn't a law against shooting them. It is called common sense. Wear hearing protection. Just because it bothers you doesn't make it a reason for a law.
So now your simple question is answered. Live with it. There is no reason to pass a law on something that effect so few people.

Why don't you march your whinny rear end down to Austin and ask the governor to make them illegal. Otherwise get you some earplugs or quite fishing the same water as them if they bother you that much. We've fished around them on the Red river our entire life and while annoying, nobody has had their ears injured.

Dude you have a problem but don't want to do anything to correct/minimize said problem. Personally I think you are the one being obnoxious and I don't own an airboat or bowfish. Get a set of ear plugs or find somewhere else to fish. It is extremely simple.

I've seen airboaters not wear ear protection. Since those folks are subjecting their own ears to the damage you are peeing your pants about, would it be okay for them to drive by you?

Be an adult and realize the folks you are complaining about have a right to be there and aren't breaking any laws. Then get of your rear end and go buy a 3 dollar pair of ear plugs.

Not just noise, ear damaging noise. You don't move up close to other people and shoot your guns. There are guns fired around here all the time, no problem though because they aren't that close to me.

And even though you think you've answered the questions, you have not.

Annoying isn't my point - ear damage is caused by noise over 85 decibels, and since they wear hearing protection you might think they are aware of the problem. But they just do not care.

Just look up the decibel levels.
I looked this up and most airboats decimal levels on the boat are around 95 . That is a lot but it would take prolonged exposure for ear damage. So the answer to your question again is NO. When experienced in short exposure time such as one passing by you there is little to no chance of ear damage. It is no different than getting out of your car an airport and a jet roaring overhead. Although the jet is putting out about 135 decibels the short exposure will not harm your hearing.
So since you asked the question but did not take it upon yourself to actually look up the answer I did for you.

Wanna know what annoys me? This thread.

I am so sorry that you do not control the world, even as it seems you so want to.
The answer is simple and has been pointed out multiple times--
You just won't accept it-
Why the heck do you choose to go through life so unhappy?
Because it looks like being on the river sucks for you and yet you refuse to make adjustments that would allow you to enjoy it-
I bet you are hoot to be around--

What do you not get about that it is their right to be there? Plus, it's on the river where an airboat is the only viable boat. You would maybe have a point if you were on Lake Lewisville or something. Actually you wouldn't but I'm trying to be nice.

Would you go have a picnic next to a shooting range and expect everyone not to shoot b/c you are trying to enjoy a picnic?

You keep posting the same two questions but not bother answering the questions asked of you. What would be wrong with going and buying a 3 dollar set of ear plugs? That way you and the airboat, who both have a right to be on the river, can enjoy your time outdoors.

I'm not going to go back and read the whole thread, but I don't think anyone has agreed with you. If they have it's only one or two. It might be time to look in the mirror and see who really has the problem.

I agree that air boats are ridiculously loud but they have a right to the river just like the motorcycle next to me on the road and he raps up his open pipes. I do have a problem with the airboats flying around a curve in the river through a shallow riffle with fishermen wading. I have been on the Brazos and had to get out of the way. That is a hazard and they have limited control. Also have had my peaceful float trip "interrupted". Oh well. Short of dragging a johnboat or kayak upstream this is how some travel/fish the river. Guess if you don't like the traffic or noise you shouldn't fish in highway or next to the airport! :-)

I hate the idea of having to remember even one more thing on the water...earplugs are uncomfortable, fall out, hot, and aren't easy to just pop in especially when you are fighting a fish or wearing gloves have arthritis etc.

BUT...I started wondering just how much more loud airboats are than bass boat outboards and I was surprised what a quick googling turned up. Most 150hp outboards were around 80db at cruising speed airboats around 90db... not a massive difference. The slippery slope isn't always the greatest argument but after learning the facts and weighing it against the risk that if they "come for our airboats then they'll come for our outboards next" we should probably just all get along with each other as outdoors people and not let what amounts to a smaller issue like this divide us. Already enough division these days. Guess I'll just grit my teeth and plug my ears if I ever get to night fish again on mother Fork.

Here is the info.
You can look up the exposure time yourself. There is a table for it.

www.setcomcorp.com/pdfs/Setcom-Airboat-Hearing-Safety-Article.pdf

I am surprised at the people apologizing for the airboaters who need to wear ear protection for their own hobby but do not mind taking that noise next to other people. All when the extreme noise is unnecessary and can be quitened with some changes.

Well at last, an attempt to answer. As I've stated, it takes time and decibel level to cause damage - however it is damaging even in short exposure, a bit more research will bring you to that.

As to the second question, do you not believe they can bring the noise level down? The answer, after a bit of research is yes they can, and it is not all that expensive to do. So why apologize for the obnoxious and harmful and unnecessary behavior of other people?

You are annoyed by me being annoyed by people blasting my ears with noise they cover their ears for?

Here is the exposure table for damage to noise.
Notice at 91 it takes 2 hours. And to answer your last question. No I do not believe that there should be a law or regulation to force airboats to be quieter. The airboat user and passengers are the only people that might incur hearing damage and everyone I have ever observed had hearing protection on.
Your comment about even short exposures cause damage is your opinion but not fact. Read all you want but minute exposure does not cause hearing damage.

You seem to know an awful lot about me...based on what, that I don't like screaming loud noise nearby?

Perhaps a more apt analogy would be having a person come up next to you while you are on a picnic and start shooting a loud revolver.

Whether anyone agrees with me or not does not make me wrong. It's not a popularity contest, it's a question - why don't they make their boats quieter - they can you know.

Of course it is their right to be there, and of course airboats are a total hoot to fly down a river on. But they can do so much quieter than they do, and what's wrong with them respecting other people?

Keep reading - short exposure to loud noise causes hearing loss, even if you didn't find it the first time.

By the way I don't know much about you but I am creeping around. If you are the writer of the books I see I'll read a couple and see what I think. I read for relaxation and will try some.
I still think you are trying to push a rope up a hill though.
No fact to back up your claims.
Hope your books are good.

Facts, those are slippery things.

Here's another way of trying to say what I am trying to say.

Just a few minutes ago I was watching television, at normal level. My home is on the river. An airboat went by and the murder mystery I was watching was drowned out, could not hear the gun shot that I could see happening. That airboat was 300 feet away, give or take, and the noise had to travel through trees and through my wall to drown out my television. What decibel level is that? I don't know, but it is loud.

Moments later another airboat came by, and while I could hear that airboat I could also hear my television plainly and it was just conversation taking place at that time. How many decibels? I don't know, but it wasn't near as loud as the first one. So I know they can be quieter.

When I'm down in the river fishing an airboat will go by pretty often. I've been "living" with it for years, and will continue to live with it for years to come. I don't mind the ones that are fairly quiet, relatively speaking.

But some go by that I actually do cover my ears because of the pain caused by the extremely loud and aggressive - and in my mind totally unnecessary - noise. Some of these boats are ten times (no, not by any actual measurement) louder than others.

And that makes me wonder - is there a legal decibel level they are not supposed to exceed? Or is it that they can be as loud as they want to be without recourse by others that are forced to be near them. They have a right to use the river, and I have a right to use the river - but do they have a right to be so loud that they actually induce pain when they go by - and I can tell you this for a fact, some of them cause actual pain in my ears as they go by.

Beyond the law, there is something just plain old-fashioned wrong in being that loud when it is unnecessary to be that loud and that is in the pursuit of their own pleasure. Obviously some of the airboaters are of a higher quality person than others, there are airboats that are reasonable in the sound they generate. But there are others...

What most surprises me about this thread is the vitriolic apologists that take up for the airboaters with a vengeance. Pushing a rope is correct I think.

In the end all I can say is that many of these airboaters are wrong, and their apologists are wrong as well.

They are not wrong because you say they are wrong.
There is no law keeping them from running those boats so they are not wrong.

That is what everyone is trying to say.

Yes. They are wrong. And it doesn't matter how many of you say they aren't wrong. You are wrong too. Causing other people damage and pain, unnecessarily, is wrong, even in small amounts.

I think Lloyd5 is off his meds. Buy ear plugs.

Lloyd5, I sympathize with you, There;s an airboat at Fork that does rides in the evening, and launches about 300
yards from our RV. It is LOUD, but there's nothing I can do about it currently, and it's tolerable.
If this REALLY bothered me I would pursue several avenues..I would check with all the local authorities
to see if there are any violations..if not, move on.

This reminds me of people who buy a house close to an airport and then Complain about the airplanes-

Have found a couple of different reports on the subject. This one seems credible to me:

http://meetingdocs.alachuacounty.us/docu...f459deec025.pdf

In it, it states that typical airboat noise levels range from 95db to 110db from 50 feet away - this is probably farther away than the scenario that the OP is talking about.

According to your chart, exposure to those sound levels for just 2 to 4 minutes can cause permanent hearing loss. I do agree that airboats can be modified to run with lower noise levels, and perhaps they need to be if they're going to operate around other people.

More appropriate would be an airport built near your house, long after you bought it. I've lived on this river for 46 years, and 30 or so of them were before the airboat invasion.

But that's not my point. I've grown used to airboats, I don't mind most of them. I can see what a blast they are to zip up and down the river on. The airboaters have as much right to the river as I do.

What I do not like is that many of them are obnoxiously louder than they need to be. Some of them, not all of them, some of them are so loud they actually hurt your ears when they go by.

Many have said on here to get earplugs - I am of the opinion that I should not need to wear ear plugs when I'm out fishing - rather those airboaters need to make the modifications that other airboaters have made and quieten those machines down to a reasonable level. And it can be done - there are definitely airboats that go by that are not pain inducing obnoxiously loud. They aren't exactly stealthy mind you - but they are within a reasonable sound range for what they are and for what they can be.

And yet the moment I said the airboaters should be quieter the boo birds came out to tell me I'm wrong for wanting the airboaters to quieten their machines down, that I should just live with it and start wearing ear plugs when I go fishing. Then they tell me that since they all say I'm wrong, I must be wrong because I guess I've been out-voted or something.

Well folks it doesn't work that way. What I am saying is right. What those too-loud airboaters are doing is wrong. Those that support those too-loud airboaters are also wrong.

All that is merely an opinion.

I'd like to see the use of airboats outlawed on public water from sundown to sun up. They're obnoxious and so are most of the bubbas running them.

No, it is not merely an opinion - it is fact based on actual experience.

No, it's your opinion and you are in the minority. There's an easy solution that has been given numerous times to you but you would rather keep arguing that you have no responsibility to protect your own hearing. If you truly believe that this is horrible then why not use your time to contact your representatives and have a law passed instead of repeating a couple of lines over and over here? If you are in an area known to have all of this high noise problems and until something is done to legally stop it, you fail to use protection then it does not sound as if a true problem exists.

I'll guarantee you he is not in the minority. I have a place on Lake Fork. If you polled the homeowners/renters on Fork, the overwhelming majority would vote to outlaw airboats on the lake at night.

Heard the neighbor headed to work on his Harley this morning at 4:30 and thought about this thread. Sitting there thinking I should be MAD, he's being an obnoxious jerk, and how if I wasn't such a "coward" (as Lloyd says) I'd tell him he to put mufflers on it or stop riding it, literally made me laugh out loud. In the kitchen alone, making coffee, at 4:30am, laughing loudly with no one to share the joke. Thanks for the laughs Lloyd.

I'll get behind the idea that they shouldn't run airboats at night up and down the river in front of your house or only in designated areas at certain hours, but telling them to buy modifications for their boat to appease you is ridiculous. You are a writer so you know the definition of "opinion". The things you are saying are not facts just because you claim they are, they are opinions and nothing more.
Airboats are too loud-opinion
They should modify them to make them quite-opinion
People running them are obnoxious-opinion
They can cause hearing damage is the only FACT in this thread.

Sasquatches don't live in Louisiana anymore. They couldn't stand the noise from air boats.
I know this because I had one tell me about it. Said people couldn't even hear them scream at night because of the air boat noise. Said they were all moving up to Colorado where than can get free medical marijuana.

At the moment, you have two choices

1. Buy earplugs.
2. Find another place to fish.

Until a law is passed, air boaters will continue to produce ear damaging noise and there is nothing you can do to change that fact.

Shared resources ain't they fun! I bet they think you should not be wading in their navigable waters. This is beyond dumb, and such an easy fix. buy a cheap set of ear muffs and learn to get along.

Hmmmm.

I've spent thousands of hours on an airboat without wearing hearing protection. I hear just fine.

You just don't like airboats. Like many yuppie's I've ran across.

We never messed with anyone, yet, I've had lights shined in my eyes, lasers, attempted swamping, authorities called for shooting arrows in the water, and yes- shot at.

Guess we were in the wrong, huh?

Last time I checked, this is still a free country.

The only way to get up the Brazos River is by airboat or jet drive. No one is here to please everyone.

If you don't like airplanes, don't live next to a runway.

No one says a word when a twin 502 speed boat is racing across a lake throwin beer cans out the back, but when a guy in an airboat comes along and picks them up, everyone hates him. That's a true story.

Get yourself ear muffs, Nancy. And some Downy paper towels.

__

Oh, and an "airboat invasion" is BS. 46 years of living on the river, then you know that's BS. They have ALWAYS been there.

Also, the reason I found this thread is because an Airboat owner just shared this on Facebook.

So, all the airboaters just saw this.

Congratulations. You better get some ear plugs.

What, all 500 of them?

If you, sir, are typical of airboaters then you've certainly made my point. Thank you!

But then I do actually know several airboaters and they are nothing like you, you are not typical of the one's I've met and talked with.

What is it that you think I should adapt and they should not? When they come by I move aside to give them plenty of room, if there isn't already plenty of room - by your logic I should block the river when I'm in the narrow area and they should have to wait until I leave to move on? By my logic they can make less noise, plenty of others do.

Muffle the idiots riding around on Harley's first... they are by far the most inconsiderate self absorbed DB's on the planet. Air Boats don't bother me, you hear them coming from a long way away and they are gone before you know it. Takes putting your fingers in your ears for 30 seconds, no big deal. Now these Harley homos are everywhere at all hours of the day and night revving the engine to say "look at me I'm cool"... do they know most everyone is looking at them thinking something totally different than cool?

Lastly.. if you buy a home on a lake, river, or other public body of water that is accessible 24-7 its simply something you have to deal with. That awesome waterfront living comes with some negatives too... the day they start making lakes and rivers have "quiet times" is the day we will have officially been over regulated.

That was said to me as an implied threat. As in I should now live in fear of the rabid responses of airboaters, now that the word is out I don't like excessive noise.

Should that FB group invite me to their page to discuss, I'd be happy to. I'd like to start by asking if this threat is real or just this one person's rant.

Well...I don't particularly mind them when I am up on the bank at my home. Distance makes a huge difference in the sound level. It is when I am in the river, wading waist deep, fishing, and one comes by that is not just excessively loud but also close enough that the sound level is far more intense than when I am up on the bank, that is when the pain threshold is hit. And yes, I do cover my ears when that happens, but should I have to? Is there not a point of loudness that exceeds reasonability? Or, are the airboaters in a special category as implied by so many on this forum that they can make noise without any ceiling to it? Any level of sound is okay?

As for Harleys, every residential area I know of has sound limitations and they can certainly be turned in to the local law agency.

How so? Lol

Even after countless amounts of disrespect thrown my way, and the way of my friends who own them, no disrespect was ever thrown back. But if you wanna talk about it, let's talk about it.

If airboat owners are flipping you off, which I highly doubt, then you are doing something to cause it. What stuff have you thrown at them? I know exactly how people like you are. All they have to do is drive by and your shouting obscenities or hurling objects toward them. Don't give me this "I'm the victim" BS.

You know nothing about me. You just don't like airboats. You also don't own the water.

I've never had an airboater flip me off, quite the opposite, mostly they smile and wave in a friendly way. I've never seen an airboater throw anything out of the boat, at people or just in general.

I've never thrown anything at an airboat. I've never flipped of an airboat.

I don't have a problem with airboats, I have a problem with some of them being too unreasonably loud. There's a difference there.

Frankly I don't know where you are coming from with some of this stuff.

let see you bought property on a river that can only can be motor navigated by airboats or jet drive boats and you would like them to stop because it bothers you while you are wade fishing or watching your favorite show. they have been doing it for years the game wardens an the b r a has them I doubt they will stop using them .

Because I know how it works bud. I've been on the boat that these things have happened to. I thought I read somewhere that there was some fingers givin. If that is wrong then I apologize for misreading. If everyone would just do their own thing and not worry about what everyone else is doing, we'd be a lot better off. All I got.

Interesting interpretation..... Just to clarify, I would never make a suggestion to be stupid. Feelings never make good decisions. there is such an easy resolution to your problem and you do not think you should have to spend a few dollars, but want others to spend hundreds.

Apparently you have not paid attention to what I've been saying.

I don't mind them when I am up out of the river, if they interrupt my tv show it is only a tv show and it is interrupted only for a few seconds. There is no pain involved. No hearing damage. I used that as an example of how some airboats are much much louder than other airboats.

Actually I've never yet met anyone that "likes" extremely loud noise. And yet you'd think that there are people on this forum that just love loud noise...

I've never noticed a jet drive boat on the river, I have no idea how loud they are, or aren't.

I've never said or intended that airboats should be banned from the river - I question is there no legal limit to their upper decibel level?

Apparently there are people on this forum who are hyper-keyed up to find offense with anyone that finds offense with excessive airboat noise, an extremely defensive reaction if ever I've seen one. Defensive to the point that they are imagining things that I am against.

So, one more time. I am not against airboats. I am not against airboaters. Many airboats are not excessively noisy. Some airboats are excessively noisy - and I wonder why they are that noisy when they do not need to be that noisy - and I wonder if there is not a legal limit to the upper decibel line that they can produce.

Can I be any clearer than that?

There are two easy resolutions.

One, I cover my ears when I feel pain - this I do - I mean who wouldn't right?

Two, the airboaters that make excessive noise can spend the time and money to reduce the noise to a reasonable level - as many of them have done.

I don't see why they won't do that unless they are trying to be as loud as possible on purpose.

Those that are excessively loud are probably not the best of friends of those that have reasonably quiet airboats. Sooner or later they will create enough noise that ticks off enough people that strict laws will become the norm - and all of them will be affected in some way, and probably not in a way they like.

Well I hope I didn't give the impression that I've flipped anyone off, or thrown things at them. And I would agree that we should all do our own thing and not worry about what everyone else is doing, we'd be a lot better off - but there is a limit to how much noise is reasonable to inflict on other people.

There are two easy resolutions.

One, I cover my ears when I feel pain - this I do - I mean who wouldn't right?

Two, the airboaters that make excessive noise can spend the time and money to reduce the noise to a reasonable level - as many of them have done.

I don't see why they won't do that unless they are trying to be as loud as possible on purpose.

Those that are excessively loud are probably not the best of friends of those that have reasonably quiet airboats. Sooner or later they will create enough noise that ticks off enough people that strict laws will become the norm - and all of them will be affected in some way, and probably not in a way they like.

How often are you on the water and of those trips how long are you exposed to blowboats? I've never once had any issue with one on any body of water.

3rd option cover your ears before u feel pain. One would think it would only take 1 or 2 times until one learns this. I mean I have a similar situation in Downtown Houston. Emergency vehicle are ear piercing loud in the downtown area. I have learned to either walk a different way when they come or cover my ears before it gets too loud. Its easy and I'm not upset with them.

I sure do want to ride on one of these said air boats.

Typically I am in the river, in the summer months when the airboats run, two days per week at about four hours per day. So about 8 hours a week, most always on weekends.

Actual exposure time to the airboats is hard to define because some days there are a lot more of them than other days. But on average let's say six boats go by me per day, and the amount of time they go at max volume is probably 30 seconds or so. So twelve boats in two days or six minutes of exposure at max volume.

Out of those twelve boats probably half of them are quiet enough not to be a problem, about 3 are right on the edge and 3 are over the top loud and close enough to cause pain in the ears.

My point, my original point, and basically my only point, is that it is wrong to subject people to screaming loud noise that causes ear pain and hearing loss and that the people that do that are doing that deliberately.

There's few pain receptors involved in the inner ear. Most hearing damage is painless. If you're feeling pain from loud noise, it's already too late - the damage has been done. And it's permanent.

Look, no offense, but I've covered that ground repeatedly.

I know from direct personal experience that some of these airobats cause pain in my ears.

About it being too late is true, what you lose in hearing you never ever get back. It's a good point to make that these overly loud airboaters not only cause damage, they cause irreversible damage.

Funny.

If you feel so strongly about excessive air boat noise, I suggest you take it to the county commissioners and ask for their involvement.

That is certainly an option. Maybe this stretch of river can be designated with a maximum noise level as some of the lakes in Texas are. I wasn't thinking of doing anything, I was just complaining. But with the blast of personal attacks I've gotten they've kind of gotten my back up - and now they have gotten me to considering what legal things I can do about it.

You'd think the airboat apologists would have a better strategy than to push people into taking action.

Hilarious....I think you just accidentally stumbled on what most of us have been saying by accident. The airboaters aren't doing anything wrong/illegal. Therefor, it is up do you to solve this problem. The easiest way to accomplish this is to buy a set of ear plugs. The second, and much more difficult, is to get the law changed. Someone mentioned talking to your state rep multiple pages back.

I can guarantee you if the airboaters were breaking an actual law 99% of the posts would of been a simple call the game warden or get a video and their registration number. Instead you wanted us to support you and your opinion of what you arbitrarily consider too loud.

Well yes, that more or less sounds like what I've been saying. Although I don't quite think of pain as arbitrary. I'd say some of them are wrong, but they are legal as far as I know. Maybe I should start a petition or something...

There's few pain receptors involved in the inner ear. Most hearing damage is painless. If you're feeling pain from loud noise, it's already too late - the damage has been done. And it's permanent. [/quote]

I know from direct personal experience that some of these airobats cause pain in my ears.

About it being too late is true, what you lose in hearing you never ever get back. It's a good point to make that these overly loud airboaters not only cause damage, they cause irreversible damage. [/quote]



If you feel so strongly about excessive air boat noise, I suggest you take it to the county commissioners and ask for their involvement. [/quote]

That is certainly an option. Maybe this stretch of river can be designated with a maximum noise level as some of the lakes in Texas are. I wasn't thinking of doing anything, I was just complaining. But with the blast of personal attacks I've gotten they've kind of gotten my back up - and now they have gotten me to considering what legal things I can do about it.

You'd think the airboat apologists would have a better strategy than to push people into taking action.
[/quote]


For the record I have never been in side or ridden in a airboat-
So I'm not one of those apologists you keep speaking of-
You posted this rant in a public forum and after seeing you respond honestly you seemed like a jerk in many of the answers, you may not be one in person but that is what it looked like to me-
I just wanted you to know I was jus responding on an open forum my OPINION , about your OPINION-

"For the record I have never been in side or ridden in a airboat-
So I'm not one of those apologists you keep speaking of-
You posted this rant in a public forum and after seeing you respond honestly you seemed like a jerk in many of the answers, you may not be one in person but that is what it looked like to me-
I just wanted you to know I was jus responding on an open forum my OPINION , about your OPINION- [/quote]

Well then everything is peachy! I put out an opinion, opinions came back, I gave further opinions, further opinions came back and so on. Every once in a while I like a really lively debate.

What do you think of this? http://agrilife.org/texasaglaw/2016/06/27/texas-supreme-court-addresses-nuisance-law/

Alice Walton tried for years. Never got close. She'd still shoot at us though.

So many people sign the petition to keep airboats on the river, it never passes.

Maybe you should get in touch with her. She might help.

It'll never happen, us "bubbas" enjoy it too much.

Good luck.

A lot of selective outrage in this thread, everybody's all about following/upholding the law until a law adversely affects you. People have to deal with loud equipment every day, we live in a loud world and in many cases max db standards are in place for different classification areas, just be glad you don't live in California or you probably wouldn't be able to use your tractor, mower or chainsaw with out purchasing a permit.

If your not willing to put forth the effort to get your grievances settled through the appropriate legal channels then pull up your man pants and navigate your way through life the best way you know how right along with the rest of us. I assure you all of the drama of complaining about what is right and what is wrong in your personal space will not result in the remedy you seek.

Possibly the best response yet.

And there's this to think about:

TEXAS PENAL CODE

TITLE 9. OFFENSES AGAINST PUBLIC ORDER AND DECENCY

CHAPTER 42. DISORDERLY CONDUCT AND RELATED OFFENSES

Sec. 42.01. DISORDERLY CONDUCT. (a) A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly:
(1) uses abusive, indecent, profane, or vulgar language in a public place, and the language by its very utterance tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace;
(2) makes an offensive gesture or display in a public place, and the gesture or display tends to incite an immediate breach of the peace;
(3) creates, by chemical means, a noxious and unreasonable odor in a public place;
(4) abuses or threatens a person in a public place in an obviously offensive manner;
[b](5) makes unreasonable noise in a public place other than a sport shooting range, as defined by Section 250.001, Local Government Code, or in or near a private residence that he has no right to occupy;[u][i][/b][/u] [/i] emphasis added

Well of course not, who likes rich people?

Should wake boats be banned as well? I was tying on a new hook Saturday and a wake boat came by and threw a good 3' wave on us. I saw it coming and quit what I was doing for a few seconds and then resumed. If I had kept tying on the hook, I could have had permanent finger damage if I had slipped, fell and hooked myself. Either way, I was inconvenienced for like 10-12 seconds while somebody else on the lake exercised their right to do what they enjoy. I waved at the people in the boat, said thanks, and enjoyed the view of the bikini clad hottie riding in the bow. Do I like wake boats? No. Do I wish they were not there? Sometimes. Do I worry about it? Not hardly. Same with air boats.

This thread is like the people who buy lakeside property on a good fishing lake with grass but then determine that the grass displeases them and they have it killed or the person who builds a house beside an airport and then petitions the airport about noise levels. Just put ear plugs in or go call the police nad let them tell you whether it is illegal or not. The other option is to move away from civilization.

Stop fighting, you are scaring the fish.

Some final thoughts:

I've enjoyed the lively discussion, but I think we've covered it thoroughly now as the back and forth is getting repetitive.

For the most part it was civil, and that was cool. For those that weren't civil, try decaf.

Hope everyone catches a ton of fish this summer!

LT

13 pages was probably a bit too long to just get to the point...

Currently, the noise from airboats is legal. But has there been any recent research to determine if the noise from airboats exceeds the current definitions of the law?

"(2) a noise is presumed to be unreasonable if the noise exceeds a decibel level of 85 after the person making the noise receives notice from a magistrate or peace officer that the noise is a public nuisance."

http://www.statutes.legis.state.tx.us/Docs/PE/htm/PE.42.htm

btw...those things are a blast to ride on, but wow...they are loud. lol...

By that, pretty much all outboards and air boats are illegal. I've never really had an airboat bother me. They have the right and it's public water. Now, I don't want to get sprayed down or blasted with prop wash, that would [censored] me off, but noise isn't that bad. Anyway, sometimes stuff like this will open a bigger can of worms and make it worse for everybody.

Okay, I thought I was done...but I have been sprayed by their prop-wash many times and find it quite refreshing on a hot day. Just to be fair about it all. :-)

Guessing you haven't heard the new yamaha SHO's or hondas, the newer generation of outboards are many times quieter than the old ones.

Lloyd, one question I have for you that I don't think you have answered,
When someone goes to the gun range we take protective hearing with us,
so I have to ask and " not tell you" knowing that over these past years
When you go fishing your ears are going to be in "pain" from someone's airboat
Noise then why haven't you been carrying ear protection with you?
You may not like it or think your being violated, but it seems to me your not
willing to actually protect yourself knowing full well what's coming. Just a thought

I'm in the group that believes since we have been fishing for a few thousand years now, we have not had to wear ear protection in all that time for what is supposed to be one of the quietest sports there is, except for the girl screams when a snake swims by or crawl in the boat. Ain't about to start now.

I'll take airboats any day over a lake full of spoiled rich kids in wake board boats blasting loud heeby jeeby hep cat music. Had my fill of them yesterday.

So, muzzlebreak your ok with going down to the river to "damage" your hearing everyday
knowing full well you could prevent this by every now and then while fishing you take approx 4.2 seconds placing 35 cent ear plugs in to avoid your hearing damage? Not saying you have to like it , but personal responsibility has to factor in somewhere.
Why do people want to turn to government for all their problems i.e. " ought to be outlawed"
"Need a law" etc etc. just my 35 cents worth

I gots a great idea. When you hear the airboat coming stick your fangers in your ears unril you see them go bye. And be sure to wave!

It's the fan that makes the most noise, most airboats (at least mine does) has mufflers

It's not that I don't cover my ears, I do. I don't carry ear plugs because I can cover my ears with my hands - and hope I don't miss a bite while in that position. That is not the issue I tried to bring up.

The issue that I tried to bring up is that the generator of the obnoxiously loud noise should know that it is wrong to generate an obnoxiously loud noise that is so loud that the person they are passing-by needs to protect himself.

I've tried to fit the gun range and other analogies to this, but not one analogy that I've read or thought of works 100% for this situation. The closest I can come is that if you want to shoot a gun, that's fine as long as you are a sufficient distance from anyone that the noise of the gun does not damage them (and all other safety factors accounted for). However if you walk up close to a person to fire your gun and you are wearing ear protection, don't you already know that you are doing something wrong? I say you do know, and you are in the wrong.

The airboats can be quieter, as can be easily determined by listening to different airboats. So if they can be quieter, they should be quieter when they are going to be in close proximity to other people.

When you go to a gun range, you EXPECT loud noise. When you go fishing, you EXPECT peace and quiet.

At my Gun Range, we have some guys using high powered rifles. They warn everyone before they shoot, and we put our ears on, if not already on. We don't ask them to use a silencer or not shoot. Think that is pretty standard across all gun ranges, and so is ear protection.

Funny I would think someone not wearing ear protection at the gun range should know they are wrong.

This reminds me of fishing in the boat lane posts.

Most gun ranges REQUIRE ear protection anytime on the firing line. It would be stupid not to.

Bottom line- This is Texas. We enjoy the free will that we have, that a lot of other places do not. Everyone is free to do as they wish within the law (which we already have too many in my opinion, but that's another discussion.) So handle it yourself instead of removing that responsibility and putting it on someone else. I'm not blaming the sun for this 27th degree sunburn that I have right now. It's my fault for not wearing sunscreen. I really don't understand why that's such a tough concept to grasp. I get it- they aren't considerate of your ears. You've mentioned it. Cowboy the F up, this ain't California.

Know what I hate? Wakeboard boats and Jet Ski's. Yeah they wear me out, especially on the river. Wake boats beat my boat up against the dock and cause erosion of the river bank. Falling trees and what not. I might bitch about it once in a while but there is nothing that I can legally do about it, so guess what? I deal with it.

You really just don't get it do you? Are you "not getting" it on purpose?

"Cowboy the F up, this ain't California."

Your grasp of geography is pretty good, your grasp of basic logic, not so much.

To the OP, is this you in an airboat???

Is this you as well?

It is yes. We were taking wounded veterans on a fishing trip that day. BRAB was hosting the event. I was around all of their boats and none of them were of the excessively noisy variety. Perhaps because they seem to be responsible people?

Okay, I'm getting some feedback that makes it clear they are knee-jerking and not actually reading what I posted.

So, in future, I won't bother responding to a post that makes it clear they aren't bothering to respond to what I actually wrote. But I will try to respond to those that appear to be responding to what I actually wrote.

I could care less about hearing loss. I already lost my hearing in 1966-67 in Vietnam.
At least airboats don't make big roller wakes that knock you overboard.

X1000

It reads like I'm not the only one. Do you get what others are saying?

Don't grasp logic? Here's some logic. You're a self entitled d bag that thinks everyone needs to adhere to your way of thinking. Everyone bow to the gluten free fantasy novel writer. Gtfoh.

I dont like em either, no idea how to make em quiet without outlawing them BUT the planet is getting crowded, more & more people on lakes, rivers, roadways, etc, etc, you gotta adapt. I dont like loud thumpity thump car stereos going down my street, loud motorcycles are awful, helicopters & planes are noisy too, The Who & Neil Young didn't do my hearing any favors, the list is endless, & the battle to stop it is futile. Give up, give in, smoke a joint & chill.

Yes, I do. And of course not one answer I can give you responds to the many and varied responses. However, some people take my pointing out the "wrongness" of the actual physical actions of some airboaters as entitled snow flake whining - instead of what it is - a pointing out of actual wrong actions by others - in, you know, real life not internet life. Am I whining? No. I'm saying out loud that some of these airboaters are in the wrong and I've provided information to back that assertion up. Am I a snow flake? [censored] dude, if you'd been with me through just tiny parts of my life you'd know better than that.

What I'm mainly getting out of this is that there are a lot of people on the internet that are extremely thin-skinned and ready to jump up and down in self-righteous anger on anyone that says anything that they can attribute some imaginary angst to, and that most of them it seems do not bother to actually read the message first.

Good attitude. I like it. Although I'll substitute Corona for the joint.

For ideas on how to make them quieter - there's a ton of stuff on the internet about it. And if you listen to 10 airboats you find 10 different volumes, some of them quite decent. So there are ways.

Decaf dude, decaf :-)

My thought is that Lloyd expects gun ranges to be loud, we all do BUT in return we also expect fishing to be a quiet time
However Lloyd you have obviously eluded to the FACT peace and quiet is not going to happen on that particular river
Or that stretch of the river for you. For others the circumstances may be quiet enjoyable and not bothered at all.
Bottom line is the problem your having is, it's just your opinion on what's loud and what's not. If you really "feel" that by not covering your ears you'll sustain permanent hearing damage, then I'd recommend finding other spots to fish even though this has been your residence for a long time. Sometimes you get old and give up things, But if you continue to go to river and fish, then the conclusion is it's just not that bad.

so it's alright if you airboat, but not ok for others???

Perfect example of what I mean about not replying to what I've actually said. You say I say it's not okay for people to airboat. Nope, that's not what I said. But thanks for the pic, it's a good one.

Seems you've drifted quite a ways off topic. Nice pic by the way, thanks!

I appreciate the advice but I'm not moving and I'm not going to quit fishing here either. I no longer expect the river to be quiet - that was years ago that could be expected. What I do say is that those airboaters who are extremely loud are in the wrong. That's what I say. Many of the airboats are not extremely loud in that way.

I get the feeling that there is gonna be a lot of airboats on the Brazos in the coming days.

There are most summer weekend days. Lots of them.

So I guess if something doesn't go your way you rant and expect others to accommodate you?


Sometimes you just have to suck it up and act like a grown man and just make the best of the situation.

Is that you setting the standard then?

Have fished the Brazos from below Pk and below Whitney all the way to Waco for a long time. Rarely do I go that I don't have airboats blowing right by me waaaaaaayyyyyy too close than should be allowed. Last trip down below PK, had a guy in an orange airboat come blowing by my wife and I within about 10' feet of us. No way that should ever happen.....