junior member boat owners

[nitroderrek]

i have read the email sent around about junior members being boat owners in the club.   I disagree with some of the opinions given.  i think that junior members should be allowed to use their own boats.  i do think we should get a parent's permission letter from each junior member that fishes in the club.  with this letter, i would not have a problem with a junior member fishing out of their own boat. 

or, maybe a compromise can be made... like 14-15 y/o members cannot use a boat, but 16-17 y/o members can.  i believe that if you are 16 y/o and have a drivers license, you can drive to the tournaments, so why not be able to drive a boat?  isn't driving a car much more dangerous than driving a boat?  would the club have any liability from a 16 y/o driving to a lake at 4:30 am and getting into an accident? 

i don't want to see any junior members fishing out of a 12 foot boat on st clair, and i don't know if we should have a rule on the size of boat allowed....  i think common sense should be used.   i wouldn't really have a problem with junior members using a small boat on inland lakes.... 

i think that if the state of michigan will allow a person to operate a boat legally, i don't think we should take that right away from a club member.  this could be considered a form of discrimination. 

this is just my opinion, and am open to further discussion either pro or con on this argument.

nitroderrek

[Steves58]

I agree with the boat driver having a drivers lisence to drive a boat during a turniment

[bassmandan]

i wouldnt recommend st clair for junior members with a boat

[Mark B]

I also have to agree with Derrek on junior member use of a boat.  If the member is old enough to drive a car, he should be old enough to operate a boat.  If this reasoning doesn't please everyone, we could also ask any Jr Member, who wants to use a boat, to obtain and carry a boater's license during tournament hours.  This way we can reasonably believe they have enough knowledge to safely operate a boat on our lakes.  We also need to consider that some of the lake we fish like Kent and Stoney are 10mph lakes which leaves very little room for a Jr. Member to injure himself or someone else, or be injured by someone else.  If Michigan law allows a member to legally operate a boat, we shouldn't take that ability away from them.

[jdunckel]

If a Jr Member has a boat, a license, and parental consent (assuming a minor), then let them run their rig.  As a career non-boater, I can assure you I've been out plenty of times with guys who have owned a boat and had a valid drivers license for 40+ years who scare the heck out of me.  As a teaching Club we owe these Jr. Members more than just fish stories and a ride in expensive rigs.  We should also teach them conservation, propert catch and release, as well as how to run the various types of equipment (boat included) it takes to be a solid tournament fisherman.