Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2014 - 43

Specialty boats are enjoying a fast
rise in market share. Not long ago,
when water-skiing was very popular,
boats for that purpose were designed
to make as little wake as possible.
Except for the driver and a spotter,
passengers were asked to stay on
the dock to lighten the load. Waterskiing boats have inboard motors
with shaft drives. The propeller is
under the boat.
The new craze, however, is
wakeboarding, wakeskating and
wakesurfing. These sports require
the largest wake a boat can make.
To achieve a large wake, boats
have been redesigned, and water
bladders are built into each side
of the boat's hull. Pumps fill the
bladders, dropping the boats
water line by several inches,
causing the hull to plow the water,
which leaves a surf-size wake.
And, excluded from the legal
minimum length of a waterski
tow rope at 20 feet, a wakeboarder's tow rope is much
shorter. With the wakesurfer, the
short line is only to get the surfer
up on the wake. Then, the rope is
released. Because the wake is so
close to the back of the boat, as
a safety precaution, only boats
with inboard power are legal for
these activities.
Bass boats are another segment
of the specialty market. These
flattop go-fast boats are merely
a platform from which bass
anglers can ply shallow water
and cast, pitch and flip a lure at
precise targets where a chunky
Pontoon boats have come a long way
Largemouth Bass or rod-bending
with plush seating, sleek helm station
Smallmouth Bass may be lurking.
and sophisticated electronics.
And, there are big boats for
big water. Starting at 26 feet,
that recent United
some boats can constitute a home
States Coast Guard
away from home. Some of our deeper
statistics show
waters, Lake Erie and the Delaware
that for every 13.8
River Bay, are prime places to boat
households there is
big. These areas allow adventurers to
PENNSYLVANIA!
one boat registered
go to other ports or gunkhole (find
in the Keystone State. Just as there
quiet little coves). Models include
are little boats and big boats to fit
cruisers, sportfisherman, houseboats
everyone's boating needs, there is a life
and slow-as-you-go trawlers.
jacket made to fit everyone boating
With Pennsylvania's wide variety of
style. Be a better boater, wear it!
accessible waterways, it's no surprise
PFBC website: www.fishandboat.com

Even boats that are
only 26 feet in length
can provide creature
comforts to sustain
a couple or small
family for a few days
on the water.

Water sports defined:

Wakeboarding - Wakeboarding is
a surface water sport which involves
riding a wakeboard over the surface
of a body of water. It was developed
from a combination of water-skiing,
snowboarding and surfing techniques.
The rider is usually towed behind a
powerboat but can also be towed by
other means including closed-course
cable systems, winches and PWCs.
Wakeskating - Wakeskating is a
water sport and an adaptation of
wakeboarding that employs a similar
design of board manufactured
from maple or fiberglass. Unlike
wakeboarding, the rider is not bound
to the board in any way, which gives the
sport its own unique challenges. Instead,
the top surface of the board is covered
with griptape or soft, high-traction foam
that allows a rider to ride barefoot.
Wakesurfing - Wakesurfing is a water
sport in which a surfer trails behind a
wakeboard boat, surfing the boat's wake
without being directly attached to the
boat. The wake from the boat mimics
the look and feel of an actual ocean
wave. After getting up on the wave by
use of a tow rope, wakesurfers drop the
rope and ride the steep face below the
wave's peak in an ocean surfing fashion.
Wakesurfers generally use special
boards, 5 feet or shorter.

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * January/February 2014

43
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Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - January/February 2014

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