Jet Boat Vs. Canoes

[oneshot]

I was on the river it was packed with Canoes and Tubers.What comes flying up and down the river but bunch of Kids in a Jet Boats.Luckly no one got hurt.

Ok I know their both Legal on the river but this was scary.

Whats your thoughts?

oneshot

[ColdWaterFshr]

Eliminate jetboats on any river or river section that is less than 1000 cfs on avg. annually. Can I get an amen?

[fishinwrench]

Whats your thoughts?

I love'em, and think they are a really cool craft. But, I would never operate one in an environment where everyone had to immediately stop what they are doing, get the kids to a safe spot, jump up on the bank, or quickly paddle to the nearest safe eddy and wait for me to pass, everytime they hear me coming.

I couldn't enjoy putting everyone I come across through all that. I think it is RUDE and they definately do not belong on the Niangua.

On rivers the size of the Osage they do not create any problems, or inconvenience other people at all.

[Bman]

I love'em, and think they are a really cool craft. But, I would never operate one in an environment where everyone had to immediately stop what they are doing, get the kids to a safe spot, jump up on the bank, or quickly paddle to the nearest safe eddy and wait for me to pass, everytime they hear me coming.

I couldn't enjoy putting everyone I come across through all that. I think it is RUDE and they definately do not belong on the Niangua.

On rivers the size of the Osage they do not create any problems, or inconvenience other people at all.

I will give an AMEN to that.

There are a few jet boaters that give the rest of us a bad name. I just don't go where there are lots of floaters. I would go to those areas before Memorial Day or after Labor Day.

[Al Agnew]

I'm truly amazed that there hasn't been a really major tragedy involving jetboats and other river users, especially people on inner tubes but including kayakers and canoers. It depends upon the character of the river, but Coldwaterfisher's limit isn't a bad idea...and I own one of the things. Which is why whenever somebody comes on here asking for advice on buying or using one, I always try to stress avoidance of stream sections that are full of other users, and sections where you're pushing the envelope in trying to run them.

The problem is that nobody has the guts to put on limitations. The feds on the Current and Jacks Fork have, and would like to put on more, but the stubborn, reactionary subset of Ozark natives that are knee-jerk opposed to any limits on what they can do on the rivers are going to be opposing them big time, and I'm betting they'll get their way. The people who already have big, fast, expensive jetboats are going to understandably have a cow if any limits are instituted. And the many jetboat dealers in the region are going to throw their weight against any limits as well.

Unfortunately, the time to put limits on was back when they were first coming onto the scene, but nobody back then had the foresight to do so. This is one place where MDC was part of the problem. When people first started to complain about jetboats and question whether they were bad for the rivers, MDC decided to do a study to gauge their effect on the streams. Great idea. But the study consisted of running a jetboat and a prop boat over a section of stream bed and measuring the effects on the bottom of the stream. Gee, big surprise, the study showed that prop boats were worse than jetboats! There was no measurement of the effect of wave action on the stream banks and edges. No measurement of the increased turbidity of the water along the banks. No appreciation that this new technology was going to mean high speed boats on sections of streams that had heretofore been unrunnable by motorized craft. No thought that, even if jetboats tore up the bottom less than prop boats, the cumulative effects of 100 jetboats running where a handful of prop boats used to run might just make a huge difference. Nope, they'd done their job, did their study, and everything was fine. And they haven't gone back and re-examined anything since, because they know that it's too late now and no matter how bad the jetboat traffic is, they'd never be able to put significant limits on it.

Funny how it's so easy to put no-wake zones on many lakes. A lot of lakes across the country have no-wake zones within a hundred feet of the banks, sometimes much farther, to protect the banks from erosion. On most Ozark streams, you can't get 100 feet away from either bank in most places.

[oneshot]

Well there was about 20 Canoes and 4 Rafts in a very narrow spot,plus 3 Tubers just below the riffle.Here comes these idiots barreling through so they could be on plane to get over the riffle.

Just didsn't look good from where I was watching.

oneshot

[FishinCricket]

I agree, the busy season on the niangua is no place for a big motor or jet motor.

Now, Bman, when are we going fishing in your fancy jet boat? Eh? Huh?

[bajacoop]

A good portion of the time canoers and tubers are more to blame for problems between themselves and jet boats than are the boats. You can hear a jet boat coming from a long ways off and unless you are an idiot you have ample time to make sure you are not in a position to cause a problem if the boat comes through.

[snagged in outlet 3]

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stor...B0?OpenDocument

[Gavin]

A good portion of the time canoers and tubers are more to blame for problems between themselves and jet boats than are the boats. You can hear a jet boat coming from a long ways off and unless you are an idiot you have ample time to make sure you are not in a position to cause a problem if the boat comes through.

There's one of the major problems...Many of the folks in rental canoes and tubes arent on the river enough to know what to do when they hear a jet boat coming....Their kids are in the water swimming, their paddling through narrow spots w/o a clue about what that obnoxios noise from down river means. And frankly, why should they have to get out of the way? What kind of person takes their jet boat out to a river crowded with canoes, swimmers, and tubes? Doesnt display very good judgement IMO...

I dont mind sharing the river with responsible folks, but I dont like to share it with folks who make a nuisance out of themselves by using the river as a race track in loud boats, drunken twenty somethings, folks who litter, and those who blare loud music on boom boxes. Folks like that seem to have no respect for others, accourdingly, I have no use for them. Cheers.