How NOT to drive a sled!

[Matt]

Saw this on another forum: Boat wreck on the Clack, this is a good way NOT to drive your sled.

5hQuuze8dCY


"We hit a rock" no no, I would say you hit SEVERAL rocks....[lol]

[mallard83]

OUCH!!! What an idiot!#-o I have seen similar stuff on the Sky. To much boat for not enough brain.

[fishaholictaz]

Been up the Clack hundreds of times in a sled an easy river to navigate:-"

[Amx]

I lost count at 8, or am I counting the waves too?

[rancocasrich]

...and they actually posted that clip? amazing

[Lotech Joe]

Some people work as hard as they can and still can't afford a boat as nice as that. Then there are those privileged few who needlessly waste a nice boat. Makes me mad to see it.

[fear_no_fish]

Some people really shouldnt have sleds, what if there was someone fishing on those rocks...

[Bodofish]

Ahhhh that's what insurance is for.

[Anonymous]

Some people work as hard as they can and still can't afford a boat as nice as that. Then there are those privileged few who needlessly waste a nice boat. Makes me mad to see it.

You know Joe, I agree 100% and thought the same thing with the video link of the guy using a pontoon boat behind a power boat. Stupid waste.

"We hit a rock" - ya think? I agree with other comment, that looked like pretty mellow water. Maybe back to the easier stuff for awhile or take a lesson. Don't get me wrong, I've grounded my jet twice, both times miss-reading how shallow I thought the water was. Never hit a large boulder though. ouch!

Once you get the hang of it, jets are a lot of fun to drive because they don't have a prop - it's the equvilent of "drifting" a car (which I have never done). You really become "one" with the machine. very cool indeed.

[mallard79]

That water looks waaaayy too easy to read while running a sled. I have run my sled in a lot of different water conditions and NEVER hit anything that hard or grounded my boat. He managed to do both in one shot! I want to know how many they had to drink! That is dangerous for all involved! Luckily for them it didn't look like anyone was injured. I bet they had fun getting it floating again.

We have helped a few boats get off of gravel bars and most of them were high end boats. Too many people who have the money to do so, buy bigger boats with more power than is needed or than they can handle! We watched a guy go up a gravel bar that is dry in normal summer flows, but he tried it during a rainstorm that brought the water up enough to JUST cover the rocks! Luckily for him it was raining cats and dogs and the river was on the rise in a hurry, because he skidded at least 100 feet up the bar in his 20' Luxor with an inboard! OUCH! Humpy season brings out some interesting people! lol

Same thing happened just above the Lewis street launch on the Sky last summer. A guy was running down river in his big fancy new Thunderjet and ended up on the island! I don't know where he thaught he was going but he didn't make it. That one took a 10k pound winch tied to a tree and A LOT of rope/cable! Every guy on that boat was drunk!

If you can read the water to fish, you should know what is under the water when running your sled. It really isn't that hard.

[Matt]

Humpy season brings out some interesting people! lol
.

Oh god, dude..... Don't even remind me!!

[curado]

some people

[fear_no_fish]

John i bet thats the one guy who can drive a sled worse than you just playing :bball:

[mallard83]

[quote="mallard79"]That water looks waaaayy too easy to read while running a sled. I have run my sled in a lot of different water conditions and NEVER hit anything that hard or grounded my boat. quote]

Pretty easy to say when your boat weighs dang near nothing. Snohomish County Swiftwater Rescue anyone. Yeah right, lol, they suck (couldn't save a dog from a flea).

Man that name you got sounds about 4 years to early.

[Bodofish]

So much condemnation tells me one thing. No one here has run much white water or much water experience period. Wavy water doesn't necessarily mean rocks, sometimes the deepest place is in the wave train. The only way to be sure about any area of a river is to run it with someone that knows the river, it's all tribal knowledge. Things can happen real fast in moving water and it takes more than split second decisions to make it. Light reflections, shadows and the angle of the sun can play all sorts of wicked tricks on a guy. River running is not easy, the poor guy’s seemingly cavalier attitude was probably nothing more than shock. As far as weather he deserves to have a jet boat? Heck yes he does! Who do any of you think you are passing judgment on who gets to own anything! He's the guy that worked hard and made the money to buy the boat. I have not seen one jetboat owner that had a boat dropped in their lap. Everyone I know that owns one has worked darn hard to get it. I know of a couple places that have no tell on what beneath the surface. For one on the Snake a place called the "Grave Yard". Flat smooth, a deep channel down the middle with shear rock shelves on either side. The water goes from about 6" to a couple feet on top of the shelf, if you go near shore the bottom of your boat is gone. You can't tell where the deep and shelf starts.
When it comes to Jetboats, there are those that have hit rocks and those that will. No one gets out without a bonk or two. If ya haven’t bumped anything you might as well have a prop. We all hope it’s just an easy one.

So before you all have the poor guy going off to jail for running his boat, let’s just say wow that's a rough lesson learned and call the insurance agent.

PS: that video has been around longer than I've had my sled. Good to see it once in a while just so we know we're human.

[mallard83]

So much condemnation tells me one thing. No one here has run much white water or much water experience period. Wavy water doesn't necessarily mean rocks, sometimes the deepest place is in the wave train. The only way to be sure about any area of a river is to run it with someone that knows the river, it's all tribal knowledge. Things can happen real fast in moving water and it takes more than split second decisions to make it. Light reflections, shadows and the angle of the sun can play all sorts of wicked tricks on a guy. River running is not easy, the poor guy’s seemingly cavalier attitude was probably nothing more than shock. As far as weather he deserves to have a jet boat? Heck yes he does! Who do any of you think you are passing judgment on who gets to own anything! He's the guy that worked hard and made the money to buy the boat. I have not seen one jetboat owner that had a boat dropped in their lap. Everyone I know that owns one has worked darn hard to get it. I know of a couple places that have no tell on what beneath the surface. For one on the Snake a place called the "Grave Yard". Flat smooth, a deep channel down the middle with shear rock shelves on either side. The water goes from about 6" to a couple feet on top of the shelf, if you go near shore the bottom of your boat is gone. You can't tell where the deep and shelf starts.
When it comes to Jetboats, there are those that have hit rocks and those that will. No one gets out without a bonk or two. If ya haven’t bumped anything you might as well have a prop. We all hope it’s just an easy one.

So before you all have the poor guy going off to jail for running his boat, let’s just say wow that's a rough lesson learned and call the insurance agent.

PS: that video has been around longer than I've had my sled. Good to see it once in a while just so we know we're human.

I for one was not saying this guy didn't work for what he has. He probably worked hard. It doesn't mean he knows how to run it. You can clearly see the rock that he nailed. Just because you worked for it and bought it doesn't mean you should be running it. Yes sometimes the river can throw curves at you but more often than not it is operator error. Hopefully he learned from this experience.

Yes you are right that if you run a sled you are bound to bounce off a few things. I have been river fishing out of a sled since I was knee high to a grasshopper and have never hit anything harder than bumping a rock or log. What it all comes down to is experience which was obviosly lacking in this guy. It doesn't make him any less stupid for taking the line he did.

If you are smart, and are unfimiliar with the river/water it ain't that hard to nose up to a questionable stretch check it out, back down and then hit it. Yes this could have been a random unlucky screw up, but I doubt it.

[Mike Carey]

I'm sure the first time I ground my jet boat to a stop on skinny water below Blue Creek I looked like a dunce too. But calling that stretch of water in the video "whitewater" is being pretty generous. And a rock sticking a good foot out of the water is pretty hard to not see.

In any case, it is a good reminder that running a river is way different from lakes and saltwater. If you're a new boat owner with little experience find a friend that has run jets before and learn the fine points of running rivers in a jet. Fortunately no injuries and we got an interesting video out of it. Thanks for the balance Bodofish.

[Matt]

Also, I would argue that him running aground was due to a very simple and common mistake. He didn't run ashore because he "hit a rock" it was due to the fact that once he bounced off the rock he went hard left steer, then chopped the throttle, object fixated on the shore, or looked back to where the rock was. When in doubt, wide open throttle is the best choice in a sled, and he should have never JERKED the wheel over to the left like that. If you are unfamiliar with the term "object fixation" it is a term common in motorcycle riding, the vehicle goes where the driver is looking, in this case, he focused on th
e shore and froze up, and what do you know, that's where he went. You have to learn to overcome this is you want to survive, its a basic concept and if you are aware of it it is easy to overcome.

I am not going to defend the guy, he failed at life by making a few simple mistakes that could/should have been avoided. When in doubt NEVER chop the throttle same goes for motorcycles, you will more than likely always end up on your ass.

[Bodofish]

I would have to say major case of inexperience. Absolutely look where you need to go, not at what you are trying to avoid. It's not just for motorcycles; it's any type of conveyance, boat, car, skis, snowboard, bike, airplane and even a parachute. That's how we get the blooper clips........

If there is one thing I can impart..... Hind sight is always 20/20.

[Anonymous]

One time on the autocross course I spun going into the salalom. There was a light post off to the right. I figured if I watched it I'd run into it. So I looked off to the left and the car recovered, then went back on course. Others watching told me I almost hit the pole. I don't even know how close I got.

I don't know how I'd do on a river like that with a jet sled, never been.