Fishing Report Boating Right of Way

Funny that this topic has risen again. It happened again today with me close to the Old Cut coming in from Pottahawk. A vessel approx 24’ is approaching my port side at almost a 90 degree angle to me for which he must have been over in the shallows swimming. To avoid any last minute decisions I had to pull back on the throttle and make a hard turn to port. This is why I don’t even fish on the weekends only to avoid the weekend warriors.
Even during the week while fishing/trolling if I have the right of way to a charter boat I will generally give way far enough in advance only because he has his hands full with his clients and his spread of lines. I will run up to 10 lines behind my boat while on auto pilot and that can keep you busy with operating the boat, landing fish and resetting lines.
 
Old Cut LongPointer said:
Operating Card Training ? You have to be dummer than Forrest Gump not to pass the test for your Pleasure Boat Operators Card. Why wasn't training set up like the Hunter/Firearm Safety Course before writing your exam ? That would have weeded out a lot of cheaters as proof of training is needed in order to write .
Click to expand...
you are 100 percent on the money. Lots just cheat
 
Right of way , just look after your own butt and assume that a lot of boaters don’t have a clue . The rule a Longpoint is that if you have a 25 + foot boat get out of my way . As far as right of way goes how many near misses have you avoided on the new round a-bouts . Clear yields signs that people are oblivious to.
 
The worst part is those same "people" (to be nice) vote ! Sad part is the bigger boat usually wins in a collision. Just like driving on the roads just assume everyone else is a bad driver and drive defensively . Like I was taught " you can be in the right but dead right really sucks" .
 
DST said:
Interesting thing about that diagram is if you have a boat approaching you head on you are red to red or green to green. The link below provides a very clear description of the rules.
maritime.college

Boating Rules | National Maritime College

Rules every boater needs to know to avoid a collision and keep safe out on the water.Learn more.
maritime.college maritime.college
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How so , if you are overtaking the boat in front of you the colour would be on the same side ,But Not head on
 
Old Cut LongPointer said:
Operating Card Training ? You have to be dummer than Forrest Gump not to pass the test for your Pleasure Boat Operators Card. Why wasn't training set up like the Hunter/Firearm Safety Course before writing your exam ? That would have weeded out a lot of cheaters as proof of training is needed in order to write .
Click to expand...
Perhaps some learn, not everyone's a dummy as you put it.
 
If you expect people to understand right-of-way on the water, you've never driven through a 4-way stop intersection! Idiots waving at idiots because they can't be bothered to remember a couple of simple rules. I call it a "Canadian standoff" when people are so busy trying to be polite that they hold up traffic.
 
If you are counting on others to do the right thing and Know the rules, you are setting your self up for frustration! I try to stay out of the crowd and assume every one else is trying to hit me. But honestly I wish you guys would get off my roads and stay off my lake.
 
This post and the replies confuse me daily. I also fish around buoys and in navigation channels like most people on here and just except the issues that come with that. I am sure we frustrate a lot of the big boat pleasure craft users. My apologies for posting that. I do not have the depth of knowledge about the subject some seem to have.
 
Old Cut LongPointer said:
Operating Card Training ? You have to be dummer than Forrest Gump not to pass the test for your Pleasure Boat Operators Card. Why wasn't training set up like the Hunter/Firearm Safety Course before writing your exam ? That would have weeded out a lot of cheaters as proof of training is needed in order to write .
Click to expand...

I think we should have a poll right here right now on 68. Everyone on here I assume has a Pleasure Boat Operators Card. Who here has taken it via the internet, or at a boat show where they practically give you the answers or thirdly who has taken the weekend-long CPS course that teaches everything plus navigation in a classroom setting?

Two of the choices are cheap and easy and useless apart from getting a legal card.
One of the choices is a commitment both time and $.

One is a pass me now course, one is a "I want to actually learn something".
One gives nothing but a card in the mail and legality, one gives excellent instruction and you get an awesome plastic CPS chart plotter for use with paper charts and an ability to do dead reckoning if needed out on the lake.

Come to think of it, how many have a VHF radio and not taken the course from CPS on it's use? I am thinking less than you'd think!
 
I have had the pleasure to own and operate a few boats in the past 30 years. I am definitely not a expert, but I have learned to never be in a hurry, and leave lots of room, even in busy channels. If I'm not moving quick enough for who ever maybe behind me, I will throttle back and let them go around. I wonder how people made out at the public launch in Port Stanley yesterday with that storm that came in? More than likely a few short fuses with everyone trying to get out of the rain.
 
My comment about being dummer than Forest Gump not to pass the test still stands. I wrote my test outside the Home Hardware store in Sutton the year it was first mandated, after reading thru the 20 dollar book they sold me. I bought the book so my girlfriends teenage boys could also write their tests. The 15 year old and my test was multiple choice but the 13 year old's test looked like a comic book, I kid you not. I've been messing around boats all my life( I'm 64) so between what my Dad taught me and what I read earlier in my life plus hands on training I'm confident in my abilities . I applaud the newbies that take a proper course of instruction or at the least mentor under a knowledgeable person but those that get it via the internet with a so called proxy is what I take issue with. Those clowns even advertise you can get your license in a couple of hours , fast and affordable.... really ? At who's expense ?
 
Any time there's a near miss at 3 mph it's because people aren't paying attention. Knowing the rules doesn't help when there's nobody at the helm.

On top of that, lots of folks troll in circles, or zig-zag, figure-8 through waypoints, etc. all of which can complicate the 'rules.' For example: if you're trolling parallel and ahead of another boat, don't cut them off and then yell for them to stay clear because they're on your port side. Apply some common sense and courtesy.

Running at speed there's more at stake - being predictable and sensible is a safety issue, not just risking tangled lines. Last time out I had a boat fly by me on plane (30+ mph) just as I was slowing down to enter the channel at Port Burwell, right at the end of the pier. Folks on the pier were shaking their heads. I guess the other boaters realized the stupidity and were ashamed, because they didn't even glance backward for the whole awkward idle down the river.
 
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