well i went swimming today up here in mass

[tiqueman]

I swim for our boats on occasion also ---- but before I get in the water the first thing I put on is an approved chest life preserver! Never go in after a boat with out one!

I am an accomplished swimmer - been thru drown proofing school while in the Corps(twice) and still think watching my boys graduate is the most important thing!

You never know when a cramp will strike .... and what child won't try to help his Dad!

Great advice on the PFD. I used to do the same thing while retrieving my gassers. Also Ive used a boogie board to kick out with and paddled out on a surf board a few times. All much better than straight up swimming IMO. A few hundred or even thousand isnt worth your life.

Plus you could get attacked by a Locness or something!

[AndyKunz]

Ten years ago I tried drowning while swimming for a model boat. At the time I was a decent swimmer. It wasn't very far out and I've easily gone three times as far. Lots of margin for safety. I felt it was safe.

It was just plain stupid.

Fortunately for me, one of the guys at the race (2000 NAMBA Nats) was a life guard.

You've been warned. Now the question is, Are you stupider than me?

Andy

[detox]

Swimming for a boat is no different than recreational swimming. You can dround eather way.


...

[dana]

thank you!

[Jesse J]

what is it, exactly, that makes swimming for a BOAT so dangerous? i mean, is there some added element of danger, or are you all saying don't swim in ponds? is it having to push the boat in while swimming? i have never heard why.

The underestimated element of danger is the panic. Panic alters the brain, takes over reason and makes it justifiable to swim... in just thawed waters, where there are weeds, a "reasonable" distance, or whatever the challenging situation is. I too have swum for a boat (once) in a pond less than a week after it thawed --- my wife was on the shore and was unable to unconvince me to swim.... I barely made back before locking up. Now I don't even go unless I have my fishing pole and/or rescue craft.

Remember its the PANIC factor!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD, THAT'S $500 WORTH OF REALLY GOOD EQUIPMENT AND I JUST GOT IT RUNNING REALLY GOOD... Sound familiar? well, that ain't reason, that's panic.

[dirtysouth31]

except when said boat that is still being powered by a batt decides to lung forward slashing your femur with sharp prop and u die

[JMSCARD]

The underestimated element of danger is the panic. Panic alters the brain, takes over reason and makes it justifiable to swim... in just thawed waters, where there are weeds, a "reasonable" distance, or whatever the challenging situation is. I too have swum for a boat (once) in a pond less than a week after it thawed --- my wife was on the shore and was unable to unconvince me to swim.... I barely made back before locking up. Now I don't even go unless I have my fishing pole and/or rescue craft.

Remember its the PANIC factor!!!!!!!!!!! OH MY GOD, THAT'S $500 WORTH OF REALLY GOOD EQUIPMENT AND I JUST GOT IT RUNNING REALLY GOOD... Sound familiar? well, that ain't reason, that's panic.

I totally agree with this.... I myself ALWAYS bring a kayak everytime I run my boats anywhere...period... If i don't have a kayak (or at our camp a boat) I don't run.... for me its not when my boat will capsize or breakdown... its at which point that day it will happen:) I myself also like having the kayak handy because I can run my boats the way i want to run them without fear of having a stranded boat.... everytime I run my boats the first thing I do is take my kayak either off its rack (on my suv) or out of the back of my truck and put it by the water with the oars put together and lifevest in the kayak.... I myself can swim too.. very well I might add... long time waterskier, and still in the heat of the moment.... when there is $ 1,000 plus dollars on the water... your heartbeat is just not the same, and sometimes like said earlier we try things we shouldn't.... and wouldn't normally do...:)

[Jesse J]

except when said boat that is still being powered by a batt decides to lung forward slashing your femur with sharp prop and u die

Oh and for you southerners... what about crocs or water moccasins? Or maybe piranhas? or .... (insert favorite monster here)?

[dirtysouth31]

i personally used to throw rocks at it to help the p.o.s to sink faster

[dirtysouth31]

Oh and for you southerners... what about crocs or water moccasins? Or maybe piranhas? or .... (insert favorite monster here)?

for a moccasin i could walk on water

[JMSCARD]

Oh and for you southerners... what about crocs or water moccasins? Or maybe piranhas? or .... (CHAMP UP HERE IN VERMONT)?

We have a big lake, Lake Champlain, between Vermont (the state I live in) and New York...... for over a hundred years now their have been sitings of CHAMP (supposidely like loch ness)................

[Doug Smock]

I bet some of you played with matches when you were a kid.

[Rumdog]

How hard is it to have a life jacket in the car? I'm a little luckier than most. I usually run at my sisters house where there are canoes/kayaks and waverunners for retrieval. Otherwise, when running on the local inland lakes the beaches extand out a couple hundred yards of waist deep water.

[tiqueman]

Oh and for you southerners... what about crocs or water moccasins? Or maybe piranhas? or .... (insert favorite monster here)?

Already did.. see last line of post 16

and this was my run site 2 weeks ago.... look near the bank. Im not goin swimmin. Thanks Jese for that overlooked point

[Jesse J]

I think you may need a bigger prop on that one, and you may be running a tad wet...