Obnoxious boaters suck!

[manni-yunk]

It's not like the flag is 5" x 7". It's not microscopic. It's a dive flag I've seen flown a thousand times before. I've seen smaller ones flown. If it was a dive flag issue, then all dive flags that size would never be manufactured. What, is that just a wall decoration never meant to be used in the field?? A couple more square inches would not have made a hill of beans difference to that disrespectful, uneducated boater.

Argue just to argue. That's cool with me.

OK -Im done arguing with you since you cannot apply logic and reason. "CLOSE ENOUGH", is not legal. Why wouldnt you want to do everything possible to protect yourself?? I fly 2 GIANT clage from my boat (Alpha on top, DD just below it) - not because the gaint flags are needed, but because I want to take responsibility to do anything I can to assure it can be seen.


As Ive already said- Im also not about to "assume" any more details from the picture.......about the boater. I'm "arguiing" facts with zero speculation. You, on the otherhand, are assuming, speculatiing, and quite frankly - Im not about to.

 

[TristanEddy]

I was actually on site twice when lake patrol arrived to warn boaters to stay the required distance away from this flag.

 

[tracydr]

Quoting from post #25......
"8. "Diver's flag" means a red flag not less than twenty (20) inches by
twenty-four (24) inches with a four-inch white stripe running from one
upper corner to a diagonal lower corner, and such flag is used to
indicate a submerged diver;"

What is Texas's size?........lol, must be even bigger, I mean everything in Texas is bigger---or something like that...............tia.......

And, why would a commercial dive flag be sold for a dive float that is smaller than legal size? Or, are the laws different in every state regarding size? You'd think dive flag size on a float would be somewhat standard. If I purchased one at and LDS or even online I would have assumed it was the proper size.

 

[amoses]

I am not taking either side. However,I did just a small amount of research and found that most states do not require as big a flag as Oklahoma does. I did not check all states, but did check quite a few of them. On average it seems that most states only require a 12"x12" flag, and I didn't find any besides OK that required larger than 16x20. Boats are typically required to have the larger 20x24 flag, but not divers like we are talking about here. I am not sure why Oklahoma requires such a large flag. I would assume that most manufacturers that go with the 16x20 flag think they are covering most state laws. Here is some interesting reading: Dive Flag Laws Examined

 

[diver 85]

And, why would a commercial dive flag be sold for a dive float that is smaller than legal size? Or, are the laws different in every state regarding size? You'd think dive flag size on a float would be somewhat standard. If I purchased one at and LDS or even online I would have assumed it was the proper size.

looks like different from state to state......link

Dive Flag Law

---------- Post added July 11th, 2013 at 08:32 AM ----------

I am not taking either side. However,I did just a small amount of research and found that most states do not require as big a flag as Oklahoma does. I did not check all states, but did check quite a few of them. On average it seems that most states only require a 12"x12" flag, and I didn't find any besides OK that required larger than 16x20. Boats are typically required to have the larger 20x24 flag, but not divers like we are talking about here. I am not sure why Oklahoma requires such a large flag. I would assume that most manufacturers that go with the 16x20 flag think they are covering most state laws. Here is some interesting reading: Dive Flag Laws Examined

Correct........Texas 15"X15"......Louisiana, no size requirement..
EDIT:....see my above post & link....

 

[amoses]

That is a good site, I was looking at it earlier also. However some of the states it does not list all the information for. If you look at that sites information from Oklahoma it does not list the flag size. So some of the states listed on that website may not have all of the information that it should.

 

[diver 85]

Just thought of something------where we dive(in the Gulf), who needs a dive flag???.........65 miles south of Cameron jetties, WC 431

No dive flag here......

 

[agilis]

That bright yellow float and flag are considerably larger than a diver's head and upper shoulders (I use one of these), and much more visible. If the boat steerer with an engine twice the size needed for that craft does not avoid that warning marker it's a good bet they will run right over the head of a surfacing diver, or amputate their legs. All in an afternoon's work for some beer swilling fools cruising as if they owned the water because they are bigger, and completely ignorant of basic water rules and courtesy.

I avoid boats and boatmen of this type as much as possible. They are pure poison. They often collide with logs, debris, and all sorts of things, and they kill innocent swimmers and divers.

I recounted on this board how years ago in Negril I went looking for a Jamaican employed by Sandals who zoomed me in a powerboat and came within inches while trying to generate business. My blood was up red hot, and I was fully prepared to decapitate him with my cutlass. It was fortunate for the sniveling rat that Butch Stewart, the Super Club's owner happened to be there and intervened. I've known Butch since he was poor, a long, long time ago. He soon had me laughing about the time he sold his mother's house from under her because he needed the money, but if I had seen that sleek powerboat turd first I'd certainly have killed him. Butch would probably have gotten me off.

Here in Jersey I see dozens of powerboat honchos fueled on alcohol and arrogance, completely oblivious to their surroundings. I love it when they ground themselves on the shifting sandbars in Barnegat Inlet. Thirty knots and a sudden stop, gear flying, fat people doing tumble saults, teen daughters launched like ordnance off the bow. A wonderful sight.

I keep as far away from them as possible, and always make the usually correct assumption that the boat's steerer/owner is a stupid incompetent, never to be trusted to act responsibly. I've seen these morons do horrible things. Avoid them like the plague, and this includes the jet ski crowd, often the worst.

 

[paulw]

That bright yellow float and flag are considerably larger than a diver's head and upper shoulders (I use one of these), and much more visible. If the boat steerer with an engine twice the size needed for that craft does not avoid that warning marker it's a good bet they will run right over the head of a surfacing diver, or amputate their legs. All in an afternoon's work for some beer swilling fools cruising as if they owned the water because they are bigger, and completely ignorant of basic water rules and courtesy.

I avoid boats and boatmen of this type as much as possible. They are pure poison. They often collide with logs, debris, and all sorts of things, and they kill innocent swimmers and divers.

I recounted on this board how years ago in Negril I went looking for a Jamaican employed by Sandals who zoomed me in a powerboat and came within inches while trying to generate business. My blood was up red hot, and I was fully prepared to decapitate him with my cutlass. It was fortunate for the sniveling rat that Butch Stewart, the Super Club's owner happened to be there and intervened. I've known Butch since he was poor, a long, long time ago. He soon had me laughing about the time he sold his mother's house from under her because he needed the money, but if I had seen that sleek powerboat turd first I'd certainly have killed him. Butch would probably have gotten me off.

Here in Jersey I see dozens of powerboat honchos fueled on alcohol and arrogance, completely oblivious to their surroundings. I love it when they ground themselves on the shifting sandbars in Barnegat Inlet. Thirty knots and a sudden stop, gear flying, fat people doing tumble saults, teen daughters launched like ordnance off the bow. A wonderful sight.

I keep as far away from them as possible, and always make the usually correct assumption that the boat's steerer/owner is a stupid incompetent, never to be trusted to act responsibly. I've seen these morons do horrible things. Avoid them like the plague, and this includes the jet ski crowd, often the worst.

WOW I just dont know what to say so I guess nothing is best but I don't always do whats best so...
The sight of people being hurt is not a "wonderful sight" and I have to question anyone who thinks it is.

 

[agilis]

I've never seen anything more serious than a wrenched back or a few bruises. I always, if I'm close enough, come alongside to see if help is needed and call the accident in to the Coast Guard Station which is just inside the inlet itself, and which usually sees the accident happen as soon as I do. The worst of the shifting sand bars are within a mile of the CG station, and can be discerned even at half-tide, when all but the largest powerboats can still make it across. At lower tides, you can see the choppy yellow colored water clearly. If you are looking. If you are a competent seaman.

I have a high level of anger about these people because they permanently crippled a good friend once, swamped my small boat (14 feet) several times without a second glance, have nearly run me down when I was diving more times than I can count, and in general act create havoc in violation of the law and ordinary decency. Boating on certain parts of the bay has become high risk behavior, even if you stay well clear of the main navigational channels. Some people dislike waiting their turn or recognizing the prerogatives of those they obviously feel are inferior to them.

Not all weekend captains of megapowerboats are this way, but a hell of a lot of them are, with names on the sterns of their boats that suggest the clever ways in which they extracted their money. During the many times I've offered assistance to these suddenly grounded incompetents, the usual response is generalized anger. Never gratitude. I've seen hard working commercial fishermen in boats large enough to crush these fools get themselves in trouble to avoid an accident with the masters of the universe. Laughter is the usual response heard issuing from the sleek powerboat as they speed to their destinations with some hilarious new story to amuse their friends.