Too big for Parker

[Ibeplumbing]

What do you guys consider too big for Parker. I know some bigger guys run there. A few f32's, spectre, skater, big fountains. I think anything over 28 is getting big, 32-33 being the biggest I would like to see.

 

[Enen]

I always chuckle when this topic comes up. I run my 32 in Parker all the time. Why do you think its too big?

 

[Andy01]

I am curious what length has to do with it? A F32, Spectre, Skater, 35 Fountain Lightning, 42 SL Outerlimits all at any speed put off less wake then any of the wake board boats that are 21 foot long.

 

[Ibeplumbing]

To me it's not the wake, it's just the length. You have a lot more room on a lake, it's tighter on the river. They get around just fine, but just seems large to me for that location. The wake is not what I'm worried about at all. The roll bar boats is what I worry about. These wakes from those things are getting ridiculously huge

 

[plaster dave]

I know that my 26' cat gets boring on Parker because it covers so much ground fast.

 

[steamin rice]

What really gets me is those loud stereos with all of those speakers. I'd like to see no more than 4 speakers in a boat, maybe 6 speakers if it's an open bow. It seems to me that those stereos are too loud for people to talk to each other on the boats.

 

[DLow]

I always chuckle when this topic comes up. I run my 32 in Parker all the time. Why do you think its too big?

My thought was always that the larger boats I have ridden in, especially tunnels, like to stretch their legs a lot more and cruise faster than Parker really allows. Sure, there are a few stretches that are ok, but in my buddies 30' Spectre, it just wasn't as fun in Parker compared to Havasu where we could cruise at 90+ for miles on end.

 

[Enen]

To me it's not the wake, it's just the length. You have a lot more room on a lake, it's tighter on the river. They get around just fine, but just seems large to me for that location. The wake is not what I'm worried about at all. The roll bar boats is what I worry about. These wakes from those things are getting ridiculously huge

Why would the length of someone else's boat matter? If you aren't the one pulling it on and off the sandbar, or cleaning it, why be concerned with it?

 

[Enen]

My thought was always that the larger boats I have ridden in, especially tunnels, like to stretch their legs a lot more and cruise faster than Parker really allows. Sure, there are a few stretches that are ok, but in my buddies 30' Spectre, it just wasn't as fun in Parker compared to Havasu where we could cruise at 90+ for miles on end.

That makes sense, and I agree with your point. When your boat can cruise at 80+ Parker gets really small.

 

[Enen]

What really gets me is those loud stereos with all of those speakers. I'd like to see no more than 4 speakers in a boat, maybe 6 speakers if it's an open bow. It seems to me that those stereos are too loud for people to talk to each other on the boats.

LOL

 

[Ibeplumbing]

You're right, I'm not the one cleaning it or docking or anything so it's not my problem. DLow nailed it. My original though had nothing to do with wake size or how it affects me. It just seems funny to see a 35-40 ft boat on the river. Not my problem either way though

 

[spectra3279]

I'd be more worried about draft (not the beer kind) of the boat. My 32 sits deep.

 

[guest hs]

I think 28 foot should be max on the river. If you have a boat bigger then that why wouldn't you want to run it on a big lake or ocean the river seems like a waste to me for a large power boat.

 

[NorCalRiverRat]

the Speed of the Boat to me is more of a concern than the Size of the boat...on a river anyway.

 

[jeffymurray1957]

What really gets me is those loud stereos with all of those speakers. I'd like to see no more than 4 speakers in a boat, maybe 6 speakers if it's an open bow. It seems to me that those stereos are too loud for people to talk to each other on the boats.

greg now you are showing your age LOL

 

[jeffymurray1957]

Last year at DS Mr Dave Johnson said lets take the Midnight Express to the river. I looked forward to that for that sunday but in the end everyone backed out and I was not familiar enough with the river to take it there and run aground. 10 years ago when i took care of Ed Herbsts 46 skater we had it at the Nautical and he said lets load it up and take it down to parker and I looked at him and said are you kidding me its too big. I ended up convincing him not to go but we almost did it.

 

[Echo Lodge]

The bigger the boat.... The harder it is to find parking at Foxes!

 

[mash on it]

I think 28 foot should be max on the river. If you have a boat bigger then that why wouldn't you want to run it on a big lake or ocean the river seems like a waste to me for a large power boat.

The 28'+ crowd WILL NOT put an ocean boat on the Pacific, they need the safety of 13 miles if Parker.

I've been in the S.F. Bay in an 18' Bowrider, 5.7 Merc
Long Beach in a 19' squirt boat
And been to Catalina in a 21' Day Cruiser...without a prop

And well Parker is a lake by the way...Lake Moovalya.

Dan'l

 

[brgrcru]

Size does not matter !

 

[Advantage 1]

The 28'+ crowd WILL NOT put an ocean boat on the Pacific, they need the safety of 13 miles if Parker.

I've been in the S.F. Bay in an 18' Bowrider, 5.7 Merc
Long Beach in a 19' squirt boat
And been to Catalina in a 21' Day Cruiser...without a prop

And well Parker is a lake by the way...Lake Moovalya.

Dan'l

We have 👍

Did a Catalina run last year in our 25'. And played around in the big blue for 2 years before dragging her back to Parker. My trailer is totally hammered.

 

[mbrown2]

Sitting at Foxes on Friday....an F32 warms up and pulls away...couple of ol timers on the other side appear to be snickering about big boat on Parker.....they look over my way looking for that group sway effect.....I ask ...What boat did you guys drive here?....Silence!

 

[mash on it]

We have 

Did a Catalina run last year in our 25'. And played around in the big blue for 2 years before dragging her back to Parker. My trailer is totally hammered.

After Catalina- did the wash down thing at ~6:00pm, and at 11:30ish backed down the ramp at the Riverside in Laughlin, let the motor run for 15-20 minutes, till up to temp for a while. Trailer fared fairly well considering Its a '76 Competitive with a lil surface rust anyways...
WD-40'd the chrome wheels before the salt, too

Dan'l

 

[LuckyStrike]

I am curious what length has to do with it? A F32, Spectre, Skater, 35 Fountain Lightning, 42 SL Outerlimits all at any speed put off less wake then any of the wake board boats that are 21 foot long.

And the LuckyStrike boat Has No Problem:thumbup:

 

[rivermobster]

I always chuckle when I see the big boats in parker...

Better to be a big fish in a small pond, than a guppy amongst sharks eh?

 

[Tooms22]

High traffic and roll bar boats make it rough for small boats.

A year or two ago I dropped the Magic in down there and stayed with my buddy at Echo Lodge for Memorial. We loaded up the boat with people and headed down to the sandbar two days in a row. When we were going to leave he said that was the first time he had made it down to the lower sandbar twice in one weekend since he was 15. He has a 22' Air Nautique. So maybe some people like Parker but don't want to deal with the chop. I mean Parker is definitely a different fromHavasu beyond just the size difference.

If we want to get super extreme, we could say the river is only for jet botes?

 

[Ziggy]

I'd be most concerned about all the drivers condition and capabilities.

 

[brgrcru]

Big boats on weekends, small boats during the week...... just like i like it ! :thumbup:

 

[RiverDave]

What do you guys consider too big for Parker. I know some bigger guys run there. A few f32's, spectre, skater, big fountains. I think anything over 28 is getting big, 32-33 being the biggest I would like to see.

To me it isn't so much about the size as the cruising speeds.. Some of these big cats don't really work for a shit until they are doing 80-90 mph.. Then from there when you throttle up the amount of distance it takes to slow down is unreal. I have driven quite a few boats in my life, but I'll never forget the first time I drove Jamie and Charmaines old F-29 in Parker. I was running southbound to the Casino launch ramp and I wound that thing up, and got it running for everything it was worth.. I felt I gave myself plenty of time to slow down, but when I pulled off the throttles the tail came up a hair and the boat actually felt like it picked up speed for a half a second! (Some of them do that believe it or not).. As we came running up on the no wake zone I was running the scenarios through my head of replanting the boat and making the u-turn or just blowing past the line.. Being there wasn't anyone in the NWZ we went through that bouy line doing at a pretty good clip and the boat came off plane about a 1/4 mile later.. It was an eye opener to me on how long it takes to slow a larger cat down, and how long it actually takes to stop one.

The F32's, and the Spectre (formerly 3 Days Only's boat), etc.. don't bother me one bit though. I think it's great to see them running the strip. I just hope they have the skills, and a plan if something jumps out of them.. Because then it gets pretty real in a hurry.

RD

 

[Bigbore500r]

Imagine your 25' boat has 10 feet directly behind it...
Does that affect how you drive it? Does it affect oncoming boaters? It feels big but in reality your not really affecting anything, and the wake most likely isn't much larger if you are at speed. I think it is more of a perception.

Its not really the length ive found that makes a boat look / feel big, but the freeboard. A Howard 22' offshore looks like a good size V-bottom, much larger than a typical 22.

If the boat is fast, it will make the area feel small. If the boat has alot of freeboard and you sit high above the water, it makes you feel isolated and makes everything appear smaller also, and makes the rate of speed feel slower.

Now if you had a wide beam ocean boat throwing a big dog roller wake, that may officially be too big!

 

[28skater]

To me it isn't so much about the size as the cruising speeds.. Some of these big cats don't really work for a shit until they are doing 80-90 mph.. Then from there when you throttle up the amount of distance it takes to slow down is unreal. I have driven quite a few boats in my life, but I'll never forget the first time I drove Jamie and Charmaines old F-29 in Parker. I was running southbound to the Casino launch ramp and I wound that thing up, and got it running for everything it was worth.. I felt I gave myself plenty of time to slow down, but when I pulled off the throttles the tail came up a hair and the boat actually felt like it picked up speed for a half a second! (Some of them do that believe it or not).. As we came running up on the no wake zone I was running the scenarios through my head of replanting the boat and making the u-turn or just blowing past the line.. Being there wasn't anyone in the NWZ we went through that bouy line doing at a pretty good clip and the boat came off plane about a 1/4 mile later.. It was an eye opener to me on how long it takes to slow a larger cat down, and how long it actually takes to stop one.

The F32's, and the Spectre (formerly 3 Days Only's boat), etc.. don't bother me one bit though. I think it's great to see them running the strip. I just hope they have the skills, and a plan if something jumps out of them.. Because then it gets pretty real in a hurry.

RD

Dave, you pretty much nailed it right there big cat's at speed don't turn or slow down well! I stopped using my cat at Parker long ago to many clueless jet ski's no fun..

 

[Icky]

When I was a kid I don't remember seeing anything over 21' in Parker. My dad's boat was a 19' outboard, and I don't remember it being all that rough out there.
When we started going in my buddy's 21' commander in my early 20s it was nice sometimes and holiday weekends it would beat the shit out of u.
Now I have my 25' Daytona that spends most of its time in Parker. I wanted something that was small enough for Parker and big enough not to get beat up bad in havasu.

I like the atmosphere in Parker, I assume that's why the people with bigger boats then mine go there as well.

 

[BoatCop]

If you can't turn around, ANYWHERE on the Strip, without coming off plane or jamming the throttle into a power slide, you're too big for Parker.

 

[purrfecttremor]

I spent many years boating on Parker mostly in squirt boats. Lost access to the house I always used in the keys and about that time bought my current boat a 25' Tremor. I'm not saying it's big or fast but for some reason the strip seemed to small and boring with the new boat. I keep it in Havasu but have only had it on the strip twice. Just boring!!! Boat Cops analogy about the ability to turn at speed makes a lot of sense to me. RDs comments about the amount of time to stop the bigger faster cats is also scary! I think I'll stay on the lake.👍🏼

 

[dtp92648]

If you can't turn around, ANYWHERE on the Strip, without coming off plane or jamming the throttle into a power slide, you're too big for Parker.

I've been thinking the same thing every time I read this thread... and never commented. I don't care about the size or speed, it just think you need an adequate amount of room to make an evasive maneuver at that size and speed. Parker can bottleneck pretty quick...

I haven't been to the channel in Havasu in a few years, but didn't there used to be a 36' limit there?

 

[spectra3279]

Hell even Havasu is a pond to the lakes I'm really used to. Look up KY lake sometime. That is where I grew up.

 

[Waffles]

Good thing Parker is closed.

 

[rivermobster]

Hell even Havasu is a pond to the lakes I'm really used to. Look up KY lake sometime. That is where I grew up.

We are all posers here on the west coast. Florida is where the real boaters are at. NOTHING out here compares...

http://naplesimage.com/welcome/

 

[spectra3279]

We are all posers here on the west coast. Florida is where the real boaters are at. NOTHING out here compares...

http://naplesimage.com/welcome/

So true. One day I'll make it there.

 

[getreal]

My 34' Magic at Dave's house.

 

[rvrrun]

If you can't turn around, ANYWHERE on the Strip, without coming off plane or jamming the throttle into a power slide, you're too big for Parker.

Even in front of rock island?

 

[steamin rice]

greg now you are showing your age LOL

Ha ha... I was mostly trying to make a point. I don't understand why people get so upset at seeing "big boats" at the river. An asshole boat driver is an asshole in a big boat or in a smaller boat. A safe and responsible driver is the same in a big boat or a small boat.

My boat is a 34' twin engine V-bottom, and I don't think I'd have any issue if I wanted to run it at Parker. The reality is that I have more fun in my boat at Havasu, other bigger lakes, and on the ocean and that is where I boat. Although I grew up going to both the river and Havasu, I've never had the desire to take my boat to Parker and I have no intentions of doing so.

Still, I think people should be worried about bad boaters rather than the boat sizes. Big boats matter.

 

[941Punk]

We are all posers here on the west coast. Florida is where the real boaters are at. NOTHING out here compares...

http://naplesimage.com/welcome/

Florida is not taking applications and is currently closed. Sorry.

 

[TBI]

So..... you need a big boat to cruise Parker comfortably because the water is choppy from all the big boats.....noted

 

[triangleman]

Big boats are fine as long as they are sufficiently detuned 🙂

 

[squirtnmyload]

We are all posers here on the west coast. Florida is where the real boaters are at. NOTHING out here compares...

http://naplesimage.com/welcome/

This. And nobody gives a shit how the trailers look cause the botes are never on them.

 

[BUSTI]

Big boats are fine as long as they are sufficiently detuned 🙂

I see what you did there.

 

[Advantage 1]

Good thing Parker is closed.

This was taken last weekend. There is a sign around Vidal but I didn't stop to take the picture. We were bummed

 

[Dossangers]

If you can't turn around, ANYWHERE on the Strip, without coming off plane or jamming the throttle into a power slide, you're too big for Parker.

X F@#KIN XACTLY ! Put those big TUBS on the lake where they belong!!!

 

[RogerThat99]

Last year at DS Mr Dave Johnson said lets take the Midnight Express to the river. I looked forward to that for that sunday but in the end everyone backed out and I was not familiar enough with the river to take it there and run aground.

This was after WE (You and I) spent 2.5 hours cleaning the road grime off of it from the Monsoon the evening before. It would have been cool, but like you said, without someone who knows the river it would have been too risky.

 

[rivermobster]

Florida is not taking applications and is currently closed. Sorry.

Good thing I got in before the lock then...