Boating Myths

Myth: Lakes don’t exhibit rough seas. The very fact that lakes aren’t vast and limitless actually make them treacherous. Obviously lake are shallower than oceans, the waves are steeper and closer together in any amount of wind. Surrounded by relatively close shorelines, lake waves bounce off opposing shores and that amplifies other waves, creating confused seas with waves often twice the height of those produced by the wind alone. Think lakes are calm? Try lake boating sometime.

Myth: Sailboats always have the right of way. Sailboat skippers may think that way, but they don’t. If a sailboat is running on its engine, it’s just another powerboat. To ensure that you don’t get hit by a slow boat, best to steer clear anyway.

Myth: The more blades a propeller has, the faster the boat goes. Drag-racing hydroplanes, have two propeller blades and they put thousands of horsepower to the water. The fact is single-blade props are more efficient, though they would vibrate like crazy. More blades can minimize vibration, but they don’t add to the speed

Myth: Performance boaters are more dangerous on the water. The Coast Guard rates speed as ranking third behind alcohol and drugs as primarily contributing to accidents and fatalities.

Myth: Boating is expensive. Copated to A season pass for your family of four to ski at Killington in Vermont costs about $4,000, according to the resort website, making that $2,500 slip fee for a season of boating not look so bad.Golfing? A popular course in southern Maine, where I live, is Point Sebago Resort. A season pass for one person, including a cart, in 2012 was $1,440. Multiply that times four and your family is spending a lot of money to get frustrated waiting for tourists from Massachusetts who keep losing their balls in the woods. If you’re going to play, you’re going to pay.