On Fri, 25 Aug 2006 15:54:48 -0700, "Peter Duniho"
wrote:

"Emily" wrote in message
...
I've never flown a seaplane, but isn't it fairly unmaneuverable during
takeoff? I know I don't want to be swerving on the runway in a plane with
wheels...

snip

I've never had to deal with the situation described in the article, but I
certainly have aborted a number of takeoffs due to boaters. I've never had
a boater intentionally cross in front of me, but they certainly do tend to
get too close. A common "stupid boater trick" is to try to race the
seaplane during takeoff. If they keep their distance, I don't have a

You should see the ore and grain carriers coming up the Saginaw river.
People riding those little "personal water craft" will cross over very
close and actually ride the bow wave of those huge .

problem with that, but too often the boater (or even more commonly,
jetskier) approaches the airplane too closely, making a collision impossible
to ensure against, and eliminating maneuvering room I might need to avoid a
collision with another boater who doesn't see me.

OTOH I was landing on 05 at Bay city where you come in across some
flooded flats and then the river. There is about a 6 or 8 foot dike
(think I got the right spelling) at the end of the runway. I was
getting close to the river when I realized something didn't look
right. As I got close to the river I realized one of the big boats was
passing the end of the runway with the bow well to the north and the
stern well to the south of the runway. I went full power and into a
climb. Had I stayed on a normal path I would have passed about 30 feet
above the deck and between the bow and stern. There's usually "stuff"
hanging between the two.

when landing on 05 or 36 the thresholds are quite close to the water.



I have had less issues with landings. Few boaters notice an airplane until
it's actually on the water, and even on a relatively small lake, it's
usually possible to select a landing site far enough away from the boaters
that they cannot reach the airplane until it's slowed enough to be
reasonably maneuverable (though, an airplane on the water is never really
all that maneuverable).

Pete

Roger Halstead (K8RI & ARRL life member)
(N833R, S# CD-2 Worlds oldest Debonair)
www.rogerhalstead.com