Riding in the back of the boat lounge area..

[Bennie]

@GTBRMC - QUITTER!! come on man, it's just starting to get to be fun. Lol. Let's argue this egg vs chicken to the death. Haha

 

[BoaterGuy]

What exactly are we talking about here?

Are we talking about riding back there on plane or at no wake speeds, or for some does it not matter?

If you are talking about different speeds, what duration is it unsafe to sit back there?

The problem with online disagreements is that people are often arguing different topics without realizing it. Both (or others) may all have different assumptions.

 

[sysinu]

The discussion is for the legality and safety of sitting in the transom area of the boat underway.

It's illegal in a lot of places, not enforced but illegal in others, and just not a good idea for some.

I don't like the idea of riding back there - so I don't allow it, but I also don't allow a lot of other things (like sending a tube for a whip at 35 MPH). I'm just a killjoy captain ;-).

 

[jawsf16]

You're free to operate your boat as you see fit. I'll operate mine as I see fit and think is safe.

Edit- my response is to jaws.

Absolutely. I just truly don't see the interest or value from a risk reward perspective. This is just a discussion, never me telling you how to act. Freedom is what this country is all about, even if I don't agree with the topic. And my opinion remains, I think this potentially endangers others and the boat captain is where that buck stops.

I think we can respectfully completely disagree with each other on this topic.

 

[Trevor Shipman]

Absolutely. I just truly don't see the interest or value from a risk reward perspective. This is just a discussion, never me telling you how to act. Freedom is what this country is all about, even if I don't agree with the topic. And my opinion remains, I think this potentially endangers others and the boat captain is where that buck stops.

I think we can respectfully completely disagree with each other on this topic.

Agreed and I think this is a health debate. Curious though, how does it endanger others?

 

[jawsf16]

What thrill do you get out of driving your boat? What trill do you get out of tubing, wakeboarding, swimming in a pool, jet skiing? To each his own, I won't judge. Sitting back there doesn't pose anymore danger than sitting in the cabin. Neither have seatbelts. Actually, I would argue that sitting back there is more safe, think of it as the same reason they turn car seats facing the back of the car. Furthermore, sitting back there doesn't affect anyone other than the person back there. Poses no increased danger to others. If you want to argue the CO then do so, but to say you are endangering any one is not a fair statement. How do you figure sitting in the bow is more safe? You hit a big wave, fall out of the bow and the boat hits you. Me, I fall out off the stern and I'll take a good bit of water to the face, no fear of the boat hitting me.

To me it is risk vs reward still. In my opinion, much less risk of the bow ejection scenario than the risk of CO or falling off stern and becoming a target for other boaters not expecting it, especially if the boat captain doesn't notice you are gone.

The only true way to stay completely safe is to do nothing, but inactivity kills too. We're all doomed!! We each make our own choices, the good thing about this one, as opposed to the trailers vs vehicle capacity is that if it goes wrong, the odds of you harming others outside of your boat is nil.

So make your choice based on the opinions and data and get to boating!

 

[jawsf16]

Agreed and I think this is a health debate. Curious though, how does it endanger others?

Others as in other people in your boat that the captain is responsible for.

 

[Jim Robeson]

Just a quick story about not noticing when someone isn't in the boat. When I was 19...just the other day .... Myself, my buddy and our girlfriends were skiing on Table Rock. I was driving the boat and I had instructed the girls to watch my buddy. They get to talking to me and my buddy drops...no one notices. I look back, didn't have a mirror, and see that he is no longer back there. We end up driving back probably 3 minutes before we see him floating in the water. Luckily we were in an area where there wasn't much boat traffic. Needles to say he wasn't very happy with us. We are still buddies in case you were wondering. Anyway, I think you all see my point.

Things happen, for whatever reason. I do my best to limit my, and anyone else that's with me, chances of someone getting hurt. I hadn't really thought about the CO 2 thing but I could see that if certain conditions were right, it could happen. The PWC reference is a good point but the difference is that you have a life jacket on at all times and you also have a kill switch. Last I looked there isn't a kill switch on the transom seats.

This is a good debate and everyone has the right, as @jawsf16 has pointed out, to do what they want. You just have to ask yourself is it really worth it??

 

[Todd]

Right or Wrong I spend 4 plus hours during the day riding in the seats on the swim deck, wearing a life jacket. We spend most of the day surfing 10 to 11 miles per hour. The extra weight of my buddy and I, 400lbs, really helps in creating a great wake. Extra Ballast and the wake wedge makes it about perfect! Our Heads are about 12 to 18 inches away from the people inside the boat. Occasionally we all smell exhaust when idling back to a downed surfer, inside the boat and on the swim deck. But never smell exhaust when surfing. When we are stopped we shut off the engines. I know you can't smell Carbon monoxide but for us its a limited risk we are willing to take. I will be taking a co2 monitor and testing. I think there is more of a risk to the surfer than to us on the swim deck. The Exhaust fumes have to come out of the water closer to the surfer. We take frequent breaks and watch the surfer and everyone closely.

 

[jwells]

That area is definatley where people want to sit and it does look like a fun place to ride. I think as many have said it all depends on a number of things, speed, boat traffic, how choppy the water is. I think it is illegal here in Indiana but if it was perfectly smooth water and I felt like dealing with the stress of someone riding back there I may let someone. I let my brother in law who is an adult ride back there and he loved it but I was not nervous but couldn't stop looking to make sure he was still there. Since then I have had 20 people ask to do it and I have said no but circumstances were a little different in each case. Everyone can make that choice but if it is your boat you are and should feel responsible for what happens to people while they are on it. I have a bad habbit of letting people stand up like I do while under way and last week I backed out of the gas real quick not what I had planned and the other guy standing almost paid for it when he fell forward. Could have been worse and I would have felt terrible. Point is it is up to the person driving to keep everyone safe.

 

[Bennie]

That area is definatley where people want to sit and it does look like a fun place to ride. I think as many have said it all depends on a number of things, speed, boat traffic, how choppy the water is. I think it is illegal here in Indiana but if it was perfectly smooth water and I felt like dealing with the stress of someone riding back there I may let someone. I let my brother in law who is an adult ride back there and he loved it but I was not nervous but couldn't stop looking to make sure he was still there. Since then I have had 20 people ask to do it and I have said no but circumstances were a little different in each case. Everyone can make that choice but if it is your boat you are and should feel responsible for what happens to people while they are on it. I have a bad habbit of letting people stand up like I do while under way and last week I backed out of the gas real quick not what I had planned and the other guy standing almost paid for it when he fell forward. Could have been worse and I would have felt terrible. Point is it is up to the person driving to keep everyone safe.

To me this is no different than working with large machinery, welding, our working at heights. It's done every day but with safety mitigations in place. You had a PDF on your rider, was going at a cruise speed, (Not so slow that CO is a danger or so fast that you could easily lose him) and continued to watch him. I really don't see any difference from that to having someone on a tube or wakeboard. It all boils down to taking safety precautions and pay attention.

What I like is EVERY post so far, no matter what the belief, all call for safety and watching out for each other.

 

[Scottintexas]

I linked this early but I was still amazed at speed how much the eddy effect had and while this was probably steam it's coming from the same place as the exhaust,

 

[subysti]

I'd be willing to bet that most of that smoke in the above video is steam from cooling plates below, otherwise that is a lot of exhaust for these engines. Again I checked with a CO meter and never got a beep. I only allow people back there at no wake speeds when just puttering around. As for safety training, I have hundreds of hours of DOT, Hazmat. NRC and CNRC safety training as I work with radioactive materials on a daily basis.

 

[Bennie]

@subysti -"as I work with radioactive materials on a daily basis"

Homer Simpson has a jet boat? Sweet!

 

[Master-Spud]

Tempted to borrow a 4 head gas monitor from work and do some real testing with ppm read outs for CO, lel, O2.. But don't think they'd enjoy me taking one off site lol... But could pull the all in the name of safety card.

 

[buckbuck]

Hmmm...I would consider doing the same but the spankings hurt so much.

 

[msavold]

Browsing this thread and aw, man, you guys brought it back to a rational discussion just when I thought it was going to veer to Godwin's Law!

Put me down with the "just say no" crowd... much as I'd really love to sit there while running. Although they may be unfounded concerns, unless someone comes up with the air flow pattern over the stern, I'll worry about fumes at slow speeds. And at high speeds I think about the engine and stereo noise and that day when we were at least a football field away before anyone realized that three beach towels and a sweatshirt that HAD been on the back seat were now with the fishes, never to be seen again! (Ya know, that's about 6.8 seconds at 30 mph and 4.1 seconds at 50 mph...!)

 

[Britboater]

I've just returned to this thread and while reading the posts, I started thinking of the scenario of my wife falling off the back without anybody noticing.
To much to contemplate, catching the sun or not, I'm afraid she's not going to be riding back there anymore.

 

[Bennie]

@Britboater - my wife is the same. I merely treat her sitting back there the same as having someone on a tube. There is a designated watcher and/or I have my mirror on her.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Good point....get a mirror @Britboater