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View Full Version : What's your riding arrangement with your spouse?



jamie_abb
06-01-2011, 10:19 AM
We store our boat at the cottage and have a huge dock where my wife prefers to spend her time sipping, sunning and swimming. She only drives for me. By the end of the day, everybody on the boat is pretty tired and it was tough for me to get my rides in so we came up with an arrangment

I take the first set and the last set of the day and drop my wife off in between. Then it's just me, the kids and any guest we have up until the last set.

Kerry takes her two runs a summer on the two hottest day and is fully wakeboarded satisfied.

dusty2221
06-01-2011, 10:35 AM
My wife drives for me, I drive for everyone else. I've got a driver in training, which is my bud that comes 80% of the time. So far, he has only driven while I surf. Wakeboard driving lessons are next I guess.

jmvotto
06-01-2011, 10:42 AM
Thats a dangerous question...:p and frankly NOYB;)

mmandley
06-01-2011, 10:46 AM
Im pretty lucky as Claudia is a really good driver even though she is nervous all the time. She will always drive for me as much as i want to ride. She wont drive for anyone else unless i ask her to.

I drive for everyone, my buddy Steve drives for everyone in the boat except Claudia, my other buddy Brandon is in training, shes got the wake surfing driving down and a few days out this summer he will be a good wake board driver also.

kaneboats
06-01-2011, 11:36 AM
Mine drives for me about 3-4 times a year. She is reluctant but better at it than she thinks. My oldest daughter drives for me the rest of the time. I pretty much drive for everyone else. Tough part is that my daughter drives onto the trailer. When she's not with us there's no one to do it but me and my wife can't back the trailer. Oh well.

moombadaze
06-01-2011, 11:45 AM
Wife drives for me (still gets nervous after 20 yrs boating with me), I drive for most others in my boat unless Pat or Drew is with us. Got my 12yr old daughter coming along with driving-started with the little fishing boat but she's getting bumped to the Moomba this month.

saskie99
06-01-2011, 12:26 PM
Wife will drive for me only, prefers to drive for wakesurfing but will drive for wakebaord or salom. If my bro in law is around then he drive ( had a malibu a year ago) or one of my good riding buddies drives or I drive his vride. Nobody with out ski boat expierence gets behind the wheel!

Canuckle Head
06-01-2011, 12:34 PM
My wife grew up on a lake and around boats so she is completely comfortable towing, docking and de-trailering/trailering the boat.

You'd be suprised at how many times I am complimented by other guys in the parking lot when I pull up, throw the wife and kids in the back of the boat, launch it, go park, then get picked up like a rock star at the dock and motor away.

Same thing when we pull out. She drops me off at the dock and will float around away from the dock untill it's our turn. Heck, she's probably better at it than me!

She keeps threatening to teach a boating course for women so that they feel comfortable doing these kinds of activities. It pisses her off when there is three or four boats tied to the dock because a bunch of guys have left their wives to hold the boat untill they return from the parking lot and she can't get to me so we have to wait.

Guess I am a lucky guy!

rdlangston13
06-01-2011, 01:05 PM
My g/f does very little is any driving, I think I make her nervous when she tries to drive and thus it is not enjoyable for her so I need to work on that. I will be doing some teaching with her over the next two weeks, I never thought about letting her pull me surfing first, thats a good idea. My buddy Cody pulls me and my dad pulls me but that's it, I pull everyone else and sometimes it would be nice to relax and have someone else take the helm for a little while.

NCSUmoomba
06-01-2011, 01:48 PM
My girlfriend loves to ski, wakeboard, and surf as much as I do, so its not an issue. She is fine driving the boat towing me doing any of these. She even puts the boats on and off the trailer like a pro. I am very proud of this fact. Whenever she loads the boat on the trailer and there is someones wife of girlfirend standing there hold the boat for her man, I make sure to let her know that she did a great job and that I am proud of her, in a loud enough voice for everyone at the ramp to hear.

Personally, I think there is no excuse for a woman to not know how to operate a boat that she partially owns, basically. What would happen if a couple was out on the lake and the husband got injured and couldn't drive the boat back to the ramp?

Also, if I were a female, I would be really pissed to have to be a human docking cleat.

skylar18
06-01-2011, 02:31 PM
Since my wife takes the boat out by herself with the kids more than me she does a great job driving, pulling and docking.

Every once in a while one of my kids would say that mom had a docking incident when I was at work that she wouldn't want me to know about!......

scoot_gt
06-01-2011, 03:02 PM
Personally, I think there is no excuse for a woman to not know how to operate a boat that she partially owns, basically. What would happen if a couple was out on the lake and the husband got injured and couldn't drive the boat back to the ramp?


I agree with this! If you have cruise or PP, and they don't have to maintain constant throttle while riding, there is really no reason to not teach your lady how to drive the boat. Take them out on a non-crowded day and teach them how to spin the boat around by bumping in and out of gear and how to creep up to a buoy or dock, using slight reverse as the brake to swing her up to the target. If they can do this, they can pull a rider. Pulling the rider is the easiest part.

I will admit my wife can't back a trailer but since we have a boathouse, we only need to do that twice a year :) And for the record, yes she can pull onto the trailer better than me, she still needs me to winch her up tho ;)

cab13367
06-01-2011, 03:24 PM
Good topic. My wife will drive for me if the lake or river is not very busy. If we have friends on the boat and they are talking to her, watch out - she is very easily distracted. She has pulled me up full throttle while trying to get up surfing (pulled the rope right out of my hands) and at 1/8 throttle while wakeboarding. One time while wakeboarding, I kept telling her to speed up because she was pulling me at like 12 mph. She insisted she was going 23 or so like I asked her. Turns out she was looking at the tach instead of the speedo.

But bless her soul, she will ride with us (me and the two kids) in the boat all day and pull me as much as I ask (as long as the lake is not busy) while never getting in the water. She will sometimes wakeboard or surf when the conditions are just right and the mood strikes her. The best part about boating for her is when we anchor in a quiet cove and swim, listen to music, and just relax.

My son is now 14 so he started driving me last summer which is a great relief for my wife, although, she gets very nervous if there is any traffic on the water at all and my son is driving.

I am also learning to let my son drive more and more while I sit in the observer seat or in the bow. Kind of nice to not have to drive all the time.

Al

mmandley
06-01-2011, 03:45 PM
Good topic. My wife will drive for me if the lake or river is not very busy. If we have friends on the boat and they are talking to her, watch out - she is very easily distracted. She has pulled me up full throttle while trying to get up surfing (pulled the rope right out of my hands) and at 1/8 throttle while wakeboarding. One time while wakeboarding, I kept telling her to speed up because she was pulling me at like 12 mph. She insisted she was going 23 or so like I asked her. Turns out she was looking at the tach instead of the speedo.

But bless her soul, she will ride with us (me and the two kids) in the boat all day and pull me as much as I ask (as long as the lake is not busy) while never getting in the water. She will sometimes wakeboard or surf when the conditions are just right and the mood strikes her. The best part about boating for her is when we anchor in a quiet cove and swim, listen to music, and just relax.

My son is now 14 so he started driving me last summer which is a great relief for my wife, although, she gets very nervous if there is any traffic on the water at all and my son is driving.

I am also learning to let my son drive more and more while I sit in the observer seat or in the bow. Kind of nice to not have to drive all the time.

Al

HAHA this reminds me of the first time last summer i was with Keenan while he was driving for you. You would bark out an order or something and he would cring, i just said dont worry about it, your pops is just learning to trust you with his other baby. Then a few weeks later i was out with you all again and talking to Keenan and he said " Dad doesnt bark at me now or he does and i cant hear him over the tower speakers " lol

In any case i was very impressed with how well and how fast Keenan learned to drive for you, and when i rode behind him it was funny because he kept appolgizing when learning to pull me up wake boarding haha.

As for the ladies, i always make it a point to tell Claudia thanks, and great job when she drives for me, also when trailering the boat, and she is pretty good at launching it off the trailer and picking me up when needed. I too get very irritated at the guys who wont teach, or let there women help with boating duties.

First year we had the boat Claudia drove more then me unless we were pulling people, this got her comfortable driving. I always tell her i need her to know how to drive and be ok with it because in an emergency i will need to know i can count on her to handle everything i do.

sandm
06-01-2011, 03:56 PM
gf just started to learn last year. should have it down this year. put it on the trailer once, but that was out of desperation. going to teach her how to back the boat/trailer this year as I feel more comfortable putting it on the trailer vs someone else :)

TL7
06-01-2011, 04:46 PM
My wife drives our boat more than I do. She backs the boat down the ramp, then when we're done for the day she drops me off at the dock so I can get the trailer and she loads the boat. I also make it a point to get my "regulars" comfortable behind the wheel as often as I can. Not only because I want everyone to be proficient in the event of an accident, but it just makes for a relaxing time when you don't have to worry about it and do all the work.

jmb
06-01-2011, 08:17 PM
Mine drives for me all the time. I get it away from the dock and thats about it for driving. She pretty much drives all day. She does not do any water sports other than getting in the water and relaxing. Usually its only the two of us.

Mikey
06-01-2011, 09:18 PM
My wife will drive for me if no one else is capable or certified,also approved to drive by me. She will sit and spot all day if necessary,so others can enjoy,as she only goes in the water a very few times. I don't push that or she may never go again. I have a couple other capable drivers i ride with that have boats as well and i TRUST them. Next are my daughters,with my Youngest being Probably my best driver as she Listens and Fully Concentrates,with my oldest more concerned with watching for Hot Guys etc. As for trailering ,My wife can and will if she has to ,but she is very cautious and Slow which is OK. We get it loaded with me backing the trailer etc as thats a Whole Other story.HAHA

mbridgs2
06-01-2011, 09:38 PM
my brother ushily drives for me sence hes going to maine maritime to his captins licence hes very good at driving. but sence hes not around much i have to have my mom drive which isnt to bad but when i say 22 she goes like 18 cuz she thinks thats to fast for me to be flying over the wake on my wakeskate. my moms is a very good driver and can dock and do all that but ushily i drive the friends around while shes on the beach talken with friends. i gotta teach my gf how to drive so she can pull me i think im gona start with her driven me wakesurfen this weekend other then that im driven cuz i like to and my bro only likes when i drive him

iwaterskihard
06-02-2011, 03:21 PM
My wife drives for me when I ski as well as another buddy once in a blue moon. Other than that it's yours truely behind the wheel and I'm just fine with that!
My daughters want to learn and I want to teach them however it has to be done on quiet times. Plus up here now you need to have an operators licence to operate a boat and can't get one until your 16. Funny thing about that is my 13 year old probably operates a boat better than most adults which is a sad sad thing!!!

Wife is awsome, backs the boat into the water, parks the truck, I pick her up at the dock, drop her at the dock, she backs trailer in, I drive up and bang we're done!!!

I get many compliments on my wifes abilities and I smile each and every time. She wasn't always as good as she is now but practice and patience always win!!!

We too have thought about doing up some dvd's on how to unload and load a boat as well as boat ramp procedures just to hand out to people.

I always say if you want a great day of entertainment - grab a lawn chair, a cooler full of beer and go spend the day watching at the boat launch!!!!!:mad: LOL

BensonWdby
06-02-2011, 06:51 PM
Michelle is fully capable of driving, launching, loading, and pullinlg me. However, recent knee and shoulder injuries have also injured her enthusiasm for my skiing. And apparently I am not an 'easy' person to pull, something about wanting to go straight, at steady speed , in calm water.

futuredeadguy
06-02-2011, 07:43 PM
My wife drives for me unless there is a better qualified guest in the boat to step in. She always obliges because she doesn't like driving the boat. She's an excellent car driver with no accidents that were her fault in her lengthy driving career (we're both 48).

We are docked on Percy Priest Lake in Nashville, which is full of bad spots that I know pretty well, but she doesn't. As a result, it's hard for me to enjoy a pull for very long before getting worried about a spot we are coming up on. I do a lot of pointing to change course and sometimes have even dropped the rope to stop the run.

There are deep spots where there would be no worries, but the water is never good there. We have a depth sounder, but things change quickly on this lake due to the underwater terrain and rocks, cinder blocks (yes, cinder blocks) etc. in the water.

I'm seriously considering trailering to a distant lake like Center Hill or Tims Ford for a couple weekends just to get some good time in.

Jim