rules of the road question, how courteous?

[cwoody]

I was on the lake this weekend and in the cove we usually pull the boys behind in a tube were 5 huge boats tied together having fun.
I slowed down to under 10 mph in my 16ft bowrider and they still were screaming bloody murder.
I thought I was going slow enough not to create a wake that would damage their boats. they threatened me with the law which made me mad.
I want to be courteous to others and thought I was but at the same time shouldn't they be responsible to put floats between their boats to prevent damage by a wake that was so small it wouldn't even rock their boats?

 

[L Hall]

Time for my semi-annual ain't no rule post. In order for a boat to be help accountable for wake damage, there has to be some form of negligence. Florida, for example, specifically states that, without that negligence, a boater is NOT reponsible for his wake. Grady says that it's a matter best left to the courts. He is correct except that a court is the only place where damages can be awarded. If you are going down the ICW at 25 knots in a 25 knot zone and capsize a canoe that is a hundred yards away, there is little likelyhood of any responsibility. The other party's decision to canoe in an area frequented by boats going 25 will be the one that will most likely be determined to be the cause. On the other hand, if you capsize a canoe that is 5 yards away by not slowing down, chances are you'll be the negligent one.