Boat covenants on private "slalom ski" lake

[sagilbert]

Our association has had certain "boat" restrictions in place for 24 years (when the development started). Of course, that was before wakeboard boats became common-place. Please read the restriction we now have in place, and suggest any possible changes we might make in order to maintain slalom/trick (only) status.

 

Here's the current restrictive covenant we have in place: Motor watercraft used for all slalom course water skiing activity on __________ shall be restricted to multi-port fuel injected boats with inboard engines, silent muffler equipment and American Water Ski Association ("AWSA") approved tow boats. This restriction shall not apply to watercraft used solely for maintenance of ____________ and maintenance of the slalom course constructed thereon. Any watercraft must be approved by the Association.

 

Obviously, if I were to propose any changes to the covenant, I would want to incorporate any changes that I might see in, say, the next 20+ years. That could be a shift from the likes of an internal combustion engine to battery-powered, maybe a name change with the sanctioning body, and even the definition of a tow boat. We already have another covenant that prohibits the use of waver runners and jet skis, so I'm more focused on getting your suggestions on the covenant noted above. Any particular "language" that you might use would also be helpful.

 

For those of you that don't live in a planned development like this, one of the challenges is the possibility that (over time) home ownership shifts from largely "skiers" to "non-skiers", and a heavy majority can sometimes change the best laid intentions. That's certain not an issue now, but if we would move in the direction of changing the above noted covenant, I would like to make sure that we cover that base.

[Dockoelboto]

our covenants specifically mention no added ballast for the purpose of increasing wake volume. Or something to that effect. It allows ballast to balance the boat for skiing but not to surf/wakeboard. Otherwise we have a very similar statement as you have included.

 

That being said, some of the "Youths" on the lake load 15people in their SN196 and surf behind it. Technically they haven't added ballast but the effect is the same. Safety? They are young, nothing can hurt them. This causes a lot of grief for some on the lake, but hard to stop.

 

We have a lot of non-skiers on the lake. Our covenants also include ski boats have right of way. If someone is out paddle boarding/canoeing, they must yield to skiers. We allow them to continue their activity as long as they stick to the shoreline/dock line.

 

Just other considerations to include.

[markn]

Capacity of a 196 is 6 people or xxxx lbs. Simply include verbage stating no boat can exceed legal capacity....

[Cnewbert]

Maybe the covenants also need to include wording stating that no boats may carry more passengers or total weight of people and equipment that exceeds the manufacturer's maximum capacity sticker for that boat.

[paul]

A new SN has ballast for trick...

[dbutcher]

I don't have any suggestions - only questions. Why are ski boats required to be multi-port fuel injected inboards? I understand the inboard and other requirements, but why no carbureted inboards? Boat age? Pollution? What about direct injection engines? DI is supposed to be more efficient and less polluting.

[RAWSki]

Keep it to direct drives with 20' in length max and only towed WaterSports?

[Broussard]

AWSA approved towboats in their tested configuration is a pretty good way to go about it.

[MDB1056]

Would be a shame not to allow anyone to own an older Stars & Stripes , American Skier, Brendella, or a ton of other great old carb’d boats.

[Broussard]

@MDB1056 All of which pulled AWSA events and were approved by the association at the time they were manufactured.

 

Not sure why the additional requirement of multi-port fuel injection was added.

[thager]

Curious, what exactly does "silent exhaust equipment" mean?

[DW]

As I read the covenant - a loophole could be interpreted that if a boat is using the lake and not participating in slalom course activity (ie: surfing/wake sports) the restrictions do not apply.

[klindy]

How about getting a club boat and restrict it to only those boats? That way you avoid invasive species issues too.

[Wayne]

Could you just reference the USA Water Ski Approved Tournament Towboats History list? Seems that would do the trick with some added caveats for passenger/cargo load, noise and direct drive only since there are a few v-drives on the approved tournament tow boat list.

[sagilbert]

Thanks for the responses. I believe that the verbiage "multi-port fuel injected boats" was put into the covenants (24 years ago) because a fuel injected engine runs quieter than a carbureted engine. I didn't have anything to do with writing the initial covenants, so I could be wrong.

 

It's funny how just 24 years ago we were talking about carbureted vs. fuel injected engine. Now we're talking about internal combustion engine vs. battery-powered. It's probably going to happen in the boating industry sooner than most of us think.

[BraceMaker]

@thager mufflers, FAE, turned down tips etc..

 

Was the injection really about noise or was it about making things fancy? My dealings with ski lake associations has indicated that it is usually more about making sure someone spends enough money on their house, their dock, and their boat so the whole place looks fancy enough. Reading some of the association bylaws about what the construction of the house must be will make your head spin.

 

[thager]

@ BraceMaker Kind of an oxymoron. No exhaust is silent. I can run mufflers(headers) in the air etc. Simply saying it needs more definition i.e., a db level, or issued as standard equipment on approved Ski boats etc.

[elr]

1) No V-drives, outboards, or jet drives

2) AWSA 3 event RECORD TOURNAMENT approved towboats in their tested configuration.

3) Passengers limited to capacity sticker.

4) Running weight including ballast (8.33 lbs/gallon) shall not exceed capacity sticker.

 

I read "shall be restricted to multi-port fuel injected boats with inboard engines, silent muffler equipment and American Water Ski Association ("AWSA") approved tow boats" to include both fuel injected boats . . . AND AWSA approved towboats.