At close range a good old potato gun should be more than adequate A high velocity potato can have a significant impact and it's not a firearm so no licensing issues involved ...
As to the Rules of the Road - within the confines of a marina you'd have a hard time convincing anyone to follow them. The harbormaster or Marina Manager have more influence most likely. One of the more effective ways of controlling this sort of behavior is often if there is a local yacht club that has a set of standards for use in the basin... There should also be a separate dock for PWC's imho.
Once while driving my tiny Trumph GT6 on the highway, a German Shepard darted out in front of me. I did what most of us would do, swerved to not kill the poor puppy and almost hit a power pole resting about three feet from it. Didn't even see the pole, just the dog.
Now days, I'll hit the dog before killing myself or my passengers. Sorry, little squerrl. No offence intended, I just assess the situation and take the best course of action to prevent injury to people first.
Anyway, would the PWC fall into the category of the dog?
Hmmm. . . . well, sorry dude, you cut right in front of me and the momentum of the boat. . . . see, I dump my ballast after getting on the trailer and . . . . are you ok. . . . too bad about your little waterbike. . . .
Turning off motor before you are tied up is a no-no. Do take it out of gear though (my stupidest boat trick this summer)
Rules of the Road would be hard to apply here. Certainly the rules about starboard vs port, overtaking etc are not applicable when you are doing docking manuevers. A PWC would be obliged to stand down under rule one due to the difference in ability to manuever while coming to dock.
On a related topic, has anyone ever approached a dock full of fishing people and had them just stand there with their poles in the water? I ask them to please make way for a docking boat, but its a bit embarrassing - does anyone have a pet phrase you use?
Many years ago, I was very buff and well trained in the art of self defense [editorial accuracy laws require me to say that I am now on the opposite end of the spectrum. I would have a hard time doing three pushups in a row].
Back to the story, I was twenty-something and skiing behind a boat being driven by my brand new inlaws. They were so happy that their daughter married a nice sweet (buff) young man who seemed so calm, considerate and self-controlled.
Well, a doofus clown in another boat loaded with trophy babes drove between me and the boat towing me, and my ski ropes became caught up in his prop and I about t-boned the side of his boat. While my new inlaws looked on in sheer horror, their calm, considerate and self-controlled son-in-law pulled himself along the ropes to the back of his boat, up into his boat and made the drunk doofus wish he had paid more attention to proper Coastguard navigation protocol. Turns out this guy lived 2 houses down from the inlaws. I had to see him for years after that. Oh well, after he quit limping and was able to reproduce again, his navigation protocol was much improved.
Sadly, I sail now watching these nitwit JetSki morons drive around the lake with no regard to people who cannot stop on a dime. I am hoping that Heath will add a MOD category for gattling guns and rocket launchers.
I keeps on tellin yu'ns guys, ya needs to git a water canon. Big gasoline engine driven water pump. Dun seen em at the Attwoods store in Tulsa. Good for a bilge pump too if you get holed by a whale or an iceberg (neither of which is common in Tulsa).
And the water canon would make a dandy jet ski repellant, fire hose, impulse engine, and anchor washer.
I agree with Tom. You are being overtaken so you have right of way (ROW). You are also the least menuverable craft and also have the ROW. I say crush him. He would have known I was there.
At least 3-4 times per weekend we are cut off by someone without any knowledge of boating regs. We had a fellow on a jet ski actually stop about 40' in front of us when we were hard on the rail in about 15 mph winds on a beat. My wife freaked and a panic tack took place.
There have been numerous threads about this and nothing seems to be done. Here in MO I believe its this year you will be required to produce a liscence that you recieve upon finishing a state approved boating safety course.
The one that always gets me is the soccer mom on the 2 seat jet ski with 2 kids on it besides herself and 1 in the tube behind it and the tuber is the only one with a PFD (True story). Who we gonna fish outta the water this afternoon.
A high velocity potato can have a significant impact and it's not a firearm so no licensing issues involved ...
