Weekend Alternatives

[ragboy]

We are lucky enough to be able to hit the lake during the week. Since it is only a few miles away, we go 2 days a week in the summer from about 1pm til 9pm or dark on the lake. The kids aren't quite out of school yet, so we are only doing 1 day a week right now until. This keeps us off the lake on the weekends when it is busy.

Well my younger brother Lee showed up this weekend with another friend of his we have known for years. I wanted to take them out wakesurfing, but knew the lake was going to be crowded on such a hot day, about 105º.

So one of the things we love doing when we want to get out on the weekends is we take the pontoon boat and the waverunners out. You don't need butter, and we can go in our favorite NO SKI area, and its relatively empty. This weekend, we were almost by ourselves the whole day. Had a great time, and the waverunners were a blast.

One of our rules on the waverunners, is NEVER get within 100+FT of the other waverunner unless idling. This takes away some fun, cuz its fun to try to squirt each other and stuff, but its VERY dangerous, and how collisions happen. So we have another way to have TONS of fun. The guy who drives takes 1 or 2 riders and trys to knock them off. The guys on back hold on HARD, and even try to drag the driver off if they get thrown. Lots of fun, and safe.

NOTE: We are in an area where there were no other boats. The kids all know to stop screwing around when other boats or PWCs come around. They must be far from shore or each other. Lanyards are always worn. These waverunners have special TILT sensors on them to cut the engine to prevent damage if they go over to far, and they are sealed.

ok, now some pics.

Here is Ashley trying to stay on



Dumped, with a mastercrap in the background.



About to take the driver down with her.









Some others riding



RJ, T-Bone, and cousing Joe.



Whitney taking maddie and joe for a wild ride.





My younger brother Lee taking the younger guys out for a nice, easy ride.

[ragboy]

Oh man, I forgot to add, a bald eagle came down and blessed us with her presence, she has a nest in this area. She came down 2x to feed but didn't get a good picture of her using her talons to get the fish, maybe next time.

[da.bell]

Can you adopt me????? Please????????????

That just sounds way too cool. How did you think of that game?

[dogbert]

Looks like fun, we do the same thing on jet skis. I make the kids take boater's safety classes before they can drive them. My youngest can now drive my Tige, too. Comes in handy when launching and retrieving because people who can back trailers down seem to be in short supply.

[G-MONEY]

I love that game...... When we do it the rider has to sit back-wards on the waverunner so that you can't see what the driver is going to do next...

[dogbert]

Our jetskis have straps for the two passengers. It's even more fun when you have to hold on to the strap. Kinda like riding one of those mechanical bulls, but with 2 or 3 of you on there. You can still take the whole ski down with you, tho

[ragboy]

Can you adopt me????? Please????????????

That just sounds way too cool. How did you think of that game?

I don't remember, we did it a long time ago, with sea doos on the river. Its a blast. It sounds like it can be unsafe, but if follow those basic rules, it really isn't. It is definitely safer than falling off a wakeboard doing a wake to wake.

These are Yamaha Waverunner VX Deluxe, basically the intro model with the cool seats and paint job. Those seats really hold you in well, and great handles to hold on to. They only do top speed of 54, but still PLENTY fast. May be more dangerous on a 70+MPH PWC.

I think the game came from the way we used to tube, trying to throw someone off, and king of the tubes.

[ragboy]

Looks like fun, we do the same thing on jet skis. I make the kids take boater's safety classes before they can drive them. My youngest can now drive my Tige, too. Comes in handy when launching and retrieving because people who can back trailers down seem to be in short supply.

I don't let them drive until they have gone through DAD's boater safety course. And one false move and they are off for at least the rest of the day.

I love that game...... When we do it the rider has to sit back-wards on the waverunner so that you can't see what the driver is going to do next...

Y, we did that too. Lee showed us that variation, was fun. Like riding blind.

[dogbert]

I don't let them drive until they have gone through DAD's boater safety course. And one false move and they are off for at least the rest of the day.

That's a given. They also know that they have to stay where I can see them and when I wave them in and they ignore me, they're done for the day. They know to stay away from boats. If they do see a boat in our cove, they idle into the no wake zone and wait for it to leave.

The most fun they have is on my Kawasaki 650SX. 18 years old and still going strong. Saves gas, too (it's quite the workout). Every once in a while I get out there to show them how it's done

[ragboy]

Y, those are fun, I rode those when I was a kid. These new ones are nice, four stroke, quiet, tons of power, safe. I luv em.

[ragboy]

Forgot to add, one nice things about these new yamahas....

They have a small remote, like a car alarm remote that uses RF. You can LOCK the waverunner, so no one can ride it. You can also set it in LOW RPM mode from the remote. This will limit the waverunner to about 30 mph if you want someone to be able to learn, but not have full power. I haven't tested how far away the remotes work yet, but it would be cool to cut someone off when being unsafe. Its a nice feature.

[sparky216]

Forgot to add, one nice things about these new yamahas....

They have a small remote, like a car alarm remote that uses RF. You can LOCK the waverunner, so no one can ride it. You can also set it in LOW RPM mode from the remote. This will limit the waverunner to about 30 mph if you want someone to be able to learn, but not have full power. I haven't tested how far away the remotes work yet, but it would be cool to cut someone off when being unsafe. Its a nice feature.

I don't think it's very far, I have to have the remote right up to the WaveRunner to get it to work, but I think mine is a lemon. My remote is really sketchy, works only when she wants too......but it is a cool idea. I'm actually taking it in tomorrow to figure out why it does not work properly.

[ragboy]

Bummer, i have never had a problem, but I never have used more than a couple of feet from the waverunner.

Did you check the battery in the remote?

[sparky216]

Bummer, i have never had a problem, but I never have used more than a couple of feet from the waverunner.

Did you check the battery in the remote?

Yea, 3v dead on. I replaced it just to make sure, no joy . And of course it's locked now and I cannot unlock it...... .

Decided Friday that while the wife and daughter were out shopping I was going to take the 4yr old boy out on the Willamette River. Tried to everything to start it, but the Waverunner has locked me out. Oh well, good thing the boat still works

[sparky216]

Bummer, i have never had a problem, but I never have used more than a couple of feet from the waverunner.

Did you check the battery in the remote?

By the time the wife and daughter came home we still had time to grab the neighbor kids and hit the water for a while!!! Nothing like 100 degree air temp and 46 degree water......