Where to sit when coaching surfers (on the sundeck will get you a citation in MN)

[swankster]

We had friends get stopped in TX on Lake Grapevine and they got a warning for setting on the sun deck. The surfer didn't have on a vest and the officer told them it was OK to surf without a vest as long as there was one in the boat for that person. If I hadn't have been on the lake that day and heard it form all in the boat, I wouldn't have believed that story. How crazy is that!!

We have a safety focus going on at work and to be honest it has changed how I go about boating. It is why I posted the safety alert about the slickness of a wet canvas platform cover. We don't ride on the deck anymore.

[AirTool]

We had friends get stopped in TX on Lake Grapevine and they got a warning for setting on the sun deck. The surfer didn't have on a vest and the officer told them it was OK to surf without a vest as long as there was one in the boat for that person. If I hadn't have been on the lake that day and heard it form all in the boat, I wouldn't have believed that story. How crazy is that!!

What part is crazy?

PS - thinking about the bare surfer. This becomes very technical....as there is an age limit there. Now, maybe, ...below the age limit...a child could get away with it as long as the child is not in an un-moored boat or holding on to the tow rope w/o a vest. That would seem almost impossible...or tosses the PFD in after they get up.

[perry386]

I think it is a little ridiculous for him to give you a citation over it. Now if you were standing up there dancing with a beer in hand, that would have been dangerous. But you were just coaching a surfer, not a big deal. My oldest son always sits on the transom of my 230 with his feet on the swim platform to coach people. We have never gotten in trouble for this as we MIGHT see one cop a year on our river but he did fall off one time and at first I was scared but when he came up laughing me, my wife, and his girlfriend just started making fun of him!

Granted sitting on the sunpad or transom deck is not the greatest of ideas, but at the same time...surfing itself is just as dangerous.

[swankster]

What part is crazy?.

Being able to surf or wakeboard without a vest. I've had a surf board hit me in the head and was glad I was wearing a vest. There are times when I wear a comp vest but only when there is a good crew and driver in the boat.

[Yiger]

I've never seen a surfer at a beach wearing a life jacket. I imagine they aren't required for wake surfers because it would very quickly open up that can of worms. That being said, we always wear a vest when wake surfing but we often sit on the sunpad underway as well. We also sit on the cabin top of our sailboat when underway. I guess that makes me stupid but I've been called worse.

[scottb7]

"surfing itself is just as dangerous"...How is sitting on the sunpad while underway with no lifevest as dangerous as surfing while wearing a lifevest? Your kid actually falls in while someone is surfing and you still don't think maybe sitting on the sunpad while underway is a bad idea?

[perry386]

"surfing itself is just as dangerous"...How is sitting on the sunpad while underway with no lifevest as dangerous as surfing while wearing a lifevest? Your kid actually falls in while someone is surfing and you still don't think maybe sitting on the sunpad while underway is a bad idea?

No one was surfing when he fell. We stopped hard and he lost his balance as he was pulling the rope in. He WAS wearing a life vest and I DID make him get in the boat at that point.

[surroundsound64]

Sitting in the open bow of a boat at 30+mph in rough water is far more stupid than sitting on th sun pad, yet everyone's cool with it. Passenger comes out of an OB and gets run over. Person falls off a sun pad and no one cares.

Just make all boating illegal, then no one gets hurt. This whole debate is rediculious. Clearly the OP wasn't doing anything stupid.

[perry386]

Sitting in the open bow of a boat at 30+mph in rough water is far more stupid than sitting on th sun pad, yet everyone's cool with it. Passenger comes out of an OB and gets run over. Person falls off a sun pad and no one cares.

Just make all boating illegal, then no one gets hurt. This whole debate is rediculious. Clearly the OP wasn't doing anything stupid.

Agreed.

[scott resick]

Well often do we see 40 foot cruisers with a rail around the bow and people laying on it at cruising speed? That is far more dangerous that sitting on a sun deck at 12 mph. And it's legal.

[aarond0083]

When I had my boat(s) we surfed with 2-3 on the sun deck, transom area. Experienced riders surfing with no jacket, beer in the boat always and occasionally in the hand if the surfer, no life jacket, music blaring.

We often had the game wardens or lake police watch us surf for entertainment. Not once were we ever ticketing for anything. We'd get the occasional check for vests count, throw cushion, fire extinguisher, make sure driver wasn't wasted, etc but never a ticket.

You can have fun and still be safe. We did it for years. The only time I thought I might be ticketed was for night surfing but never had an issue doing that either.

[northwestwater]

Sitting in the open bow of a boat at 30+mph in rough water is far more stupid than sitting on th sun pad, yet everyone's cool with it. Passenger comes out of an OB and gets run over. Person falls off a sun pad and no one cares.

Just make all boating illegal, then no one gets hurt. This whole debate is rediculious. Clearly the OP wasn't doing anything stupid.

gotta agree with surround sound... last summer a friend on our lake had a dog with its front feet rested on the bow and back feet inside on the seat. the boat bounced and the dog went over the bow and was sucked under the boat. it was a very sad and gruesome ending. i realize i'm making a point for both sides of the argument. but, suffice it to say, boating is fun and dangerous. the older i get, the more i respect the water...

[bhectus]

Regardless of the situation that occurred, the fact of the matter is that technically it is illegal. As a boat driver and/or owner, it is your responsibility to know and abide by the law. There is a reason for it, primarily safety in this instance. Not abiding by the law makes you irresponsible and you got caught. Hopefully the monetary penalty forces a learning experience. I've seen numerous cases already this summer of people getting injured or permanently disfigured due to irrresponsible and reckless behavior while boating. I'm not a big fan of surfing but I can appreciate it and the fun that comes along with it and have no issue with anyone doing so on the lake as long as it is done in a safe manner. Unfortunately the majority of boats I've seen out surfing are not doing so and it only gives the entire sport a bad name which hurts everyone that likes it.

[ers906]

I am a surfer and I also agree w ^^^. The fact is it is illegal, and therefore you should be willing to pay the ticket/consequences if you get caught doing it. Likely the law isn't there for the majority of us on this forum, but rather the inboard/outboard surfers, tubers, etc that occupy the lakes with us. The cops are not going to differentiate between "us" and "them" because the usually aren't boat afficianados like us, and if they do let you off or don't warn you about the illegalities of it, and something does happen, they could be considered liable. Weigh that against being considered "a cool cop" and we would likely do the same as they do (vs putting livelihood, pensions, freedom in jeopardy). Furthermore, how' many of us have needed to make aggressive turns etc due to being cut off by a jet ski of another boat? You can complain about the law and say it is not needed, but until you become the only person on the lake, and write the laws, the fact remains that a known law was broken.

[surroundsound64]

Regardless of the situation that occurred, the fact of the matter is that technically it is illegal. As a boat driver and/or owner, it is your responsibility to know and abide by the law. There is a reason for it, primarily safety in this instance. Not abiding by the law makes you irresponsible and you got caught. Hopefully the monetary penalty forces a learning experience. I've seen numerous cases already this summer of people getting injured or permanently disfigured due to irrresponsible and reckless behavior while boating. I'm not a big fan of surfing but I can appreciate it and the fun that comes along with it and have no issue with anyone doing so on the lake as long as it is done in a safe manner. Unfortunately the majority of boats I've seen out surfing are not doing so and it only gives the entire sport a bad name which hurts everyone that likes it.

I am a surfer and I also agree w ^^^. The fact is it is illegal, and therefore you should be willing to pay the ticket/consequences if you get caught doing it. Likely the law isn't there for the majority of us on this forum, but rather the inboard/outboard surfers, tubers, etc that occupy the lakes with us. The cops are not going to differentiate between "us" and "them" because the usually aren't boat afficianados like us, and if they do let you off or don't warn you about the illegalities of it, and something does happen, they could be considered liable. Weigh that against being considered "a cool cop" and we would likely do the same as they do (vs putting livelihood, pensions, freedom in jeopardy). Furthermore, how' many of us have needed to make aggressive turns etc due to being cut off by a jet ski of another boat? You can complain about the law and say it is not needed, but until you become the only person on the lake, and write the laws, the fact remains that a known law was broken.

I'm sorry, (well not really) but this is the (ok, not the, but one of the) problem with this country. People think that 1) laws immediately solve problems (example: banning drugs) and 2) simply because a law exists we must obey it. Laws aren't about safety, they are about revenue. Example: red light camera tickets. Or look at the big abortion debate as of late vs seat belt laws. My body my choice, except when it comes to a seat belt. Revenue. Government was created to protect individual liberty. As long as you aren't violating the rights of others, there shouldn't be laws regulating what you do. That includes riding on a sun pad.