Citrus County
Airboat Alliance
Airboat Wars
Yuppies vs. crackers in high-
By Wes Smith
Sentinel National Correspondent
June 26, 2005
McINTOSH -
"It's beautiful out here. That's why I'd rather be on my airboat than doing anything else," says Perry, 68, who supplements his Social Security by gigging and selling leopard frogs by the pound.
The rugged retired welder with a white Fu Manchu mustache covets the solitude of
north-
Perry and other airboaters throughout the state are concerned that their way of life
is threatened by a growing contingent of hard-
"The problem isn't guys like Cajun who do it as a way of life. It's the rich yuppies
buying high-
Shidner, who owns a 12-
"They aren't members of clubs or people making a living. They are jerks who don't know any boating etiquette," he said.
State of airboats
Florida's backwater hunters and fishermen were among the first to fit airplane-
There are now at least 23 airboating clubs in the state and about 40 nationwide.
Members typically range from those who build their own airboats out of spare parts
for less than $2,000 to others who spend $30,000 or more for state-
"Everybody thinks airboaters are a bunch of low-
"It's not cheap either," he added. "If you want to buy a new boat, you'll start about $18,000, and at $3.75 a gallon for aviation gas, you can blow $100 in a weekend real fast."
GTO Performance Airboats in Ocala, which has annual sales of nearly $10 million and a new assembly plant, offers a wide range of airboats and can cater to more affluent customers with customized models for as much as $80,000, salesman Keith Sherouse said.
There are now at least 15 major airboat manufacturers in Florida. Most will add any
bell or whistle desired -
Somewhere amid the traditional and newer airboaters are the troublemakers who race
full-
"I'm as much a Cracker as anyone, but the airboat noise has gotten worse. Some of
it's because other places have tightened up regulations on them, so they're moving
here," said Fred Wood, 67, owner of the 113-
Trudy Dickinson, 74, of Lake Panasoffkee, south of Inverness, created a Web site, noairboatnoise .com, after airboats racing on the Withlacoochee River caused her blood pressure to rise to dangerous levels.
"This type of unmuffled noise isn't just an annoyance or a threat to your ears," the retired teacher said. "The sound vibrations at those decibels affect the entire body."
Sound travels
Airboat-
"It has become more of a vocal issue and something we need to look at real hard and
get good data on," said Moore, overseer of an airboat-
Though most airboats have no mufflers, Florida law requires that all vessels be "reasonably muffled." State statute also allows counties to limit vessel noise to 90 decibels at 50 feet, but only a handful have chosen to do so, in part because it's difficult to enforce.
As a result, a hodgepodge of regulations has been imposed. Some counties, towns and
neighborhoods have airboat curfews, bans, no-
No fans
Growing protests even in less-
Alachua County commissioners recently agreed to hire a consultant to study airboat
noise. That county's most vocal airboating opponent -
Markle, whose "Cracker tropical" wood-
"They are out of control, and their recreational noise is polluting my bedroom," he said. "If I'm trying to play bluegrass, and the airboats are in C sharp and I'm in D, it don't work."
Still, during a lull in the clamor, Markle managed to pen a protest tune, "Song of the Lake."
"It tells airboaters that they need to shut their engines off and listen to the critters
-
Alachua County Sheriff Steve Oelrich, who lives across the 12,706-
"The majority are out on Saturday or Sunday afternoons, and it's real, real loud. I can hear them not only on Orange Lake but also on Lochloosa Lake three or more miles away," said Oelrich, who has proposed parking an airboat outside the County Commission office in Gainesville and revving the engines to make his point loud and clear.
To the south, Marion County adopted the 90-
A baffling problem
At the request of legislators, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission ordered the FAU study. After it's done, the commission will need several months to review it and decide what to do about its recommendations, Moore said.
In the meantime, concerned airboating clubs in the state are conducting their own campaigns to fend off tight restrictions, curfews or bans. Most are urging club members to voluntarily muffle their engines and keep it to a low roar near populated shorelines.
"We are trying to teach courtesy, and we are slowly getting through the ranks of
our clubs and others," said Hoover, the airboat-
Nearly all airboaters don earplugs or other gear to protect their own hearing, but that practice may also make them less aware of the uproar their craft create, critics say.
True to his independent nature, "Cajun" Perry has his own unique approach for tuning out the earsplitting din aboard his homemade boat.
On a recent airboat tour, the McIntosh frogger thoughtfully provided protective ear guards to two passengers. But he had no headset for himself.
Instead, just before cranking his souped-
"I lost my hearing because of welding -
Wes Smith can be reached at 407-
Copyright © 2005, Orlando Sentinel |
Family-
Citrus County Airboat Alliance
P.O. Box 194, Inverness, FL 34453