do on to others?

[Indiana shooter]

Well my 71 hour work week just ended and it's time for some R&R. I took my boat out to a local lake for a few hours of bass fishing, launch the boat and make a run to my favorite fishing hole. About 15 min into my run down the lake my overheat buzzer started going off. I turned to see if any water was coming out of my outboard, there wasn't so I shut off the motor. Well, as luck would have it my damn impeller to my water pump sheered the key 10 miles from the ramp, great!!!

I used my trolling motor to start heading back and was flagging down anyone I saw along the way. Funny thing was no one was stopping. 5 hours later my battery died leaving me to paddle the remaining 4 miles or so. Finally, a guy stopped and asked what had happened. When I told him his response was "well that sucks, at least your almost there". He then ran back to the ramp that was now about 1/2-3/4 of a mile away.

The whole 12ish hours that it took me to get back I was thinking about the numerous occasions that I have towed someone back to the ramp. Now I'm only 30 years old and I guess I'm one of a few left that follows the golden rule. Though the last couple hours of my journey my thoughts turned to vengeance (see if I'll ever help anyone again) I know that if given the chance I'll give aid to those in need.

[Southern Son]

Mate, there should be an offence for failing to help a fellow boater. To leave someone stranded just cause you got fish to catch is a disgrace. I cannot believe that people would not stop and help. I ain't been fishing in so long it's a shame, but my other hate when I am out is that mong that has to blast past at wide open throttle while I am casting lures to snags.

[bdicki]

That's just wrong.

[blaser.306]

The new "normal" that I am seeing here, mostly with 20-30 something's is as follows . Do to Before Done to! The desire to help another out is just an imposition on another's free time. All of the young guy's that I work with are firm believers in the statement , "it's not my problem" ! Yet cannot believe that someone would walk by and not help them, an age of self entitlement.

[DCP]

There is a thing called the circle of life. What you give out you get back.
These have to be new boaters that haven't got a clue. They need to take a boating safety class.
Remember 70x7

[458mag]

We wont be held accountable for what others did to us, but what we did for others. Trust me on this, When the MAN comes around, all wrongs will be righted.

[00buck]

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger
Maybe you were meant to limp back and contemplate the true meaning of life
Sorry no one helped you
Maybe you were being tested and passed with flying colors

[kbstenberg]

Unfortunately I think Blaser.306 has hit the nail on the head.
I live in a very rural area and there is more of a tendancy to stop and help others.

[winchester85]

i have seen it many times as well, stopped on the side of the road with obvious problems and the cars that whiz by do not even slow down much less move over to give some room.
i was once walking home in shorts and a t-shirt at 5:30 in the morning. the air temp was in the low thirties, my truck had broken down and i slept in it for the night. home was 3.5 miles away, so in the morning i starting walking home. NO ONE stopped, not even the neighbors that lived next door!

[Plate plinker]

Big bummer that irks me.

[timtheartist]

Hello Indiana Shooter. I wasn't on your water to help you recently but perhaps I can save you some grief in the future. I'm an old man and a very slow learner. Lately I've been reading two books about the human condition. I wish I would have had the knowledge in these two books when I was your age. The information in these two books might not make those other fishermen better people but it will certainly help you understand them and applying the information will make you a far better person

The Four Agreements. by Don Miguel Ruiz

Buddhism Without Beliefs. by Stephen Bachelor

Both available cheap on eBay and Amazon

[dg31872]

Been there and done that.
Our rubber impeller sheared off the ears on the pump. Monday with no one on the water. Lake was about ten miles long and I rowed about a mile before I got somewhat smarter and tilted the outboard out of the water for less drag. Water was calm then a storm blew in. Rained like hell. My wife was soaked, and afraid. I paddled about four miles or more.
I was exhausted and sure that God was out to get me.

No alarm on the outboard so I cooked the top cylinder. Rebuilt the engine and sold that boat.
That was forty years ago. That is the kind of lesson you remember for the rest of your life.

[Merc41]

Back in the 70's and 80's ( my younger days) My friends and I virtually lived on the river, and helped quite a few stranded people. I just can't imagine just leaving them to paddle back. But I do tend to think that the attitude has surely changed over the last 30 + years and find it a shame!

[quickdraw66]

Poopy heads will be poopy heads*, and age does not factor into that. (trust me, some of the most unpleasant people I have met were older (un)gentlemen). They'll get theirs some day. Don't let that stop you from being kind to others, giving them a hand when their down, and doing what's right. Be the better man. You may not be rewarded in this life, but you will in the next.

*(Edited for the mod since PG level language (not PG-13, but PG) is apparently not allowed) :rolleyes:

[Powder Burn]

That's a bummer. I haul in 1 to 2 boats each year on a lake we stay at throughout Spring/Summer. I've given gas to several folks that run out far from their dock. No charge. It's our unwritten "rules" on the water pledge.

If it happens again, strip down and put on a bikini. I'm sure you will get folks to stop. :?

Boating courtesy is dead, at least in Illinois. In my 50 years of fishing it seems folks in Missouri and Wisconsin slow down for you and are willing to help out others in distress.

When I see some bone head antics on the water (boat, jet ski, ect.), I usually spot an Illinois registration. Just sayn.

[snuffy]

The movie "pay it forward" has resulted in some people doing good deeds with the thought that someday they will reap the rewards. We have that attitude here on CB.

When you get some help that is a pay-back, you sometimes don't even realize it may have been a full circle of something you did in the past.

The local advocap partners with the University of Wisconsin to provide garden space for a small fee. One day I was tending my well established garden when I saw two middle age ladies just beginning to tend to theirs. I asked why they had waited until June 10th to start? Turns out they were both grade school teachers, couldn't get out there earlier. Their "garden" was a mass of well established weeds. It would take them 3-4 hours of hoeing to even begin to plant the seedlings they had just bought. I have a little Mantis tiller that while small does a great job. I said, here I'll show you how it works, you can use it to get the ground ready. They were profuse with thanks, they got 'er ready in about ¾ hour.

Several years later I was faced with a similar situation. I had just had my prostate removed, the recovery lapsed into garden time. I still had the Mantis, but it was going to take quite a while to get 'er ready. The guy in the next plot had just finished his plot with his Troy horse tiller. He said "I've got to go home for about an hour, use my tiller while I'm gone". Here's some gas in case it runs out. Having used one of the same tillers when my mom had her garden, I knew how it worked. I was done in 15 minutes, weeds gone, and tilled to a 6" depth. I too was profuse with thanks when he returned. The next day, it occurred to me that it was pay-back for my kindness from years before.

[DCP]

There are jerks everywhere.
If you live in a state that's what registration you will see the most .
This isn't rocket science. Just sayn

How many people have taken a boating safety course?

[Goatwhiskers]

Reminds of quite a few years ago when my son was about 11 or 12, we lived close to one of the cut off oxbows from the Mississippi. He was heavy into fishing, I provided him with a 10' bateau and a 5 horse air cooled outboard. One day he encountered a couple of guys out of gas and towed them to the landing. They tried to give him $10, he wouldn't take it, told them I'm a Scout and we don't take money for helping others. Grew up to be a fine man, too. GW

[w5pv]

I think there are regulations that you must assist a stranded boater on the water

[runfiverun]

your also responsible for any damage your wake causes.

I have been 'pretty fortunate' to have the attitude of not expecting help from anybody all my life and have had to figure things out myself since forever.
if someone does offer to help it screws up my train of thought [plan], and I quite often refuse their offer before I even think about it.

this has the unfortunate side affect of me living in my own little world, and people being around tend to just aggravate me to no end, even if what they are doing has no bearing on me.

[historicfirearms]

Runfiverun and I must be long lost brothers. I have been accused of being antisocial, grumpy, loner, etc all my life. I just want to do things for myself and not rely on others.

Here is an interesting observation about boats that I just made this last week. I used to work as a seaplane flight instructor in Michigan but hadn't done that in about 8 years. This past week my old employer needed some help as they were short handed and I agreed to do a seaplane rating for him. The boat traffic was horrendous, especially for mid week. I hadn't seen that many boats except for past holiday weekends. Finding a spot to land on the lakes was difficult with all the water skiers and jet skis flitting all around. It got so bad that my student was obviously flustered and we had to take a break and fly later in the evenings and early morning. When I talked to the pilot examiner about it he said that he has noticed a huge increase in boat traffic over the last two years. I wonder what could have caused such a large increase. My thought is that so many people are not working right now that they have plenty of time to be out on the water. Anyway, you would not believe how many jet skiers try to race seaplanes and get in your way when you are trying to take off.

[Powder Burn]

Took boating safety several years ago. The only reason was to get 15% reduction on boat insurance. Training seemed to be geared more for the PWC for the young folk which is probably a good thing. Years ago, on Clinton lake, I was fishing in plane sight of the DNR office and two jet skiers came flying past me within casting distance. 5 minutes later DNR had them cornered and both received tickets. I spend 99% of my time fishing out of state these days and really enjoy the seclusion and peace and quiet.

Possible future:

144354

[Bad Water Bill]

Many years ago my brother carried a gas can with his name on it and one day he helped someone and said "pass it on".

Fast forward 10 years and now he is living in another state and runs out of gas.

Believe it or not the guy that stopped to help gave him HIS old gas can back and both had a good laugh about the pass thing.

Years ago while boating down the Illinois river I heard a barge frantically blowing his horn.

Close ahead was a boat dead in the water.

I quickly grabbed a line and scooted over to throw the line and get him out of harms way.

The only thing I ever heard from the idiot was crying about the rope burns he got while I was saving his families lives.

I still wonder if his family could have held their breath while 15 barges and a large tud boat passed over head.:bigsmyl2:

[Fishman]

I interact with boaters all the time in my job and have towed many back to the ramp. In my area at least 90% of boaters would have stopped and offered a hand. I will also say that sometimes it isn't obvious when a boater is in distress. Some troll great distances or float around in the middle of the lake for no good reason.

A very small percentage are real jerks, and I think that percentage is lower than drivers on the road. A certain percentage are just clueless and that happens everywhere.

[farmerjim]

I have never passed a stranded boater, and I have never been passed when stranded. We are friendly people here in south Louisiana. I can't imagine someone not stopping to assist a stranded boater.

[leadman]

I swear most people have tunnel vision! They do not see what goes on around them.
I have towed many boats in for people and do usually get a thank you. Have even repaired their boats if possible.
I usually turn down help unless there is no way I can do without. Recently I installed new rollers on my boat trailer and when we launched it in a high wind the boat got a little sideways on it. Before I could get it pulled up so I could straighten it 2 young guys ran in to "help". They got it pushed off but the bracket for one roller punched a small hole in the bottom of the aluminum hull that is .090" thick. I used silicone and a screw to fix it and modified the bracket.

[dualsport]

Darn shame but don't lose faith. In my experience here as a very poor boater (crumby boats) most people knock themselves out to lend a hand. Maybe you just hit the jerk boater pride parade day that day.

[popper]

Let's see - long run up Texhoma with FIL, ran out of gas. Guy in a ChrisCraft cruiser stopped to tow us in. At the dock, he found his son had pulled the bilge drainplug. Had a blind gal out for a ride on Texhoma, bad storm came up and shear pin broke when I hit an underwater stump - yea, they just cut off the tree tops - Another tow. On Lavon while skiing, an Olds hot rod pad boat had lost power or something, 4 kids on board and she was sinking. My little 60hp barely got it to shore, then the idiot hooked his to his truck and dragged it to the parking lot. Lost an Astro van in Hubbard at the ramp, I was standing on the roof, chest deep waving off a guy who wanted to use the ramp. He was ticked and finally went someplace else. Lots of idiots and self centered people on the water. Funniest one I've heard was FIL's bro. that fired flares near in a lake near Ojia,Ca and expected someone to tow him. He was told that was only valid when at sea. He lost another boat at sea from a fire onboard - he shouldn't have been allowed in boats. We made him toss back a 291/2" Northern at Lake Stockton, keepers had to be 30". FIL had a good laugh about that one.

[Bad Water Bill]

If he had wacked it one in the back it suddenly would have been legal.

Works that way on muskies as well and they are good eating broken back or not.[smilie=s:

[Nicholas]

I have just read all the posts. Boating miscreants are just a symptom of an underlying cultural malaise. Translation, jerks are everywhere in most any situation. Read my signature line and hope that it is true.

[gew98]

Well my 71 hour work week just ended and it's time for some R&R. I took my boat out to a local lake for a few hours of bass fishing, launch the boat and make a run to my favorite fishing hole. About 15 min into my run down the lake my overheat buzzer started going off. I turned to see if any water was coming out of my outboard, there wasn't so I shut off the motor. Well, as luck would have it my damn impeller to my water pump sheered the key 10 miles from the ramp, great!!!

I used my trolling motor to start heading back and was flagging down anyone I saw along the way. Funny thing was no one was stopping. 5 hours later my battery died leaving me to paddle the remaining 4 miles or so. Finally, a guy stopped and asked what had happened. When I told him his response was "well that sucks, at least your almost there". He then ran back to the ramp that was now about 1/2-3/4 of a mile away.

The whole 12ish hours that it took me to get back I was thinking about the numerous occasions that I have towed someone back to the ramp. Now I'm only 30 years old and I guess I'm one of a few left that follows the golden rule. Though the last couple hours of my journey my thoughts turned to vengeance (see if I'll ever help anyone again) I know that if given the chance I'll give aid to those in need.

I in general hate peole and do not put myself in this position without some serious pre planning. People suck..... lesson learned.

[Hawks Feather]

I am sorry that this happened, but I can think of several people (not friends) who I think would do the same thing. Maybe even attempt to make it worse on the stranded person. In time they will be on the other end and realize that it isn't very enjoyable.

[MaryB]

Lake I fished for 30 years most everyone would stop and pull you in. I don't remember how many people I towed back in with my little Alumacraft T-14 with a 10HP Johnson.

I was also a Minnesota River rat and the code on the river was stop no matter what and help. That was a dangerous river to run for newbies and many took out lower units on trees and rocks because they did not go with someone experienced who could read the water. My best tow was an airboat that threw the propeller. Guy insisted I take $100 for getting his $50k toy back to the ramp safely. Tried to turn him down and he finally stuck it in my boat when I wasn't looking. Found it when I lifted my seat back up to head back upriver to where we were camping. I burned an extra 12 gallons of gas that day, it was a good thing I was the gas boat that trip. Everyone else had made it to the island we based off of and I was running behind because of the heavy load. We ended up 6 gallons short coming back but that was an easy tow, friends little 12 foot Craftsman aluminum boat. We usually took 3-4 boats up to camp so we could fish 2 people to a boat once there.