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Freshwater Boating Alliance.....worth joining?

I

Indian_Lake_Bum

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Orchard Island on Indian Lake, OH
We went to the Indian Lake boat show last weekend and there was a booth for a new group (USFBA) that wants to start a chapter on our lake.  They currently have a chapter at Grand Lake St Marys (13K+ acre lake) with a pretty active member base for their first year.  I think they said there is 20 current members with 12-14 of them being very active in the chapter.  Their main goal is boaters helping boaters with towing boats and removing debris from the lake while still enjoying your lake time.  Everyone is in radio contact (via a marine radio) to form a network of volunteers that are out on the lake in case you might need some assistance.

Here's my question to everyone....do you have anything like this on your lake (other than the DNR boat for towing) and if you did would you join?  The membership fee is $30 for the first year which gets you the yellow burgee to fly on your boat and a hat.  The one perk is that while you are out enjoying the lake (like always) and are logged into the usfba network (via radio) you can tax deduct your fuel as they are a non-profit 501c3 tax exempt organization and you are considered "on duty" and patrolling the lake.  You do have to take a safe boating class and have your boat inspected annually by the power squadron or DNR to make sure all required equipment is on board.....not a big deal as we had that done last year as a precaution to make sure we were equipped with the new boat.  We would have to buy a marine radio (something we should have already I suppose) to monitor traffic on the lake (channel 16 and 68) 

From what I gather it would basically be nothing more than what we currently do if we come across a boater that is having problems and needs a tow......did that exact thing 3 times last year on our small lake.  The first guy was bound and determined to pay me for the trouble....told him to pay it forward and that was payment enough for me.  He started to laugh and said I did just that a couple weeks ago and towed in 2 boats......now I'm on the other end of the tow rope.  Was a virtually brand new bennington (only a month old) and still came across some small motor issue that had him bobbing around in the lake like a cork with the whole family on board.  I hate to see anyone broken down out on the lake but especially if there are kids on board......I'd want someone to give me a hand if we had trouble.

Here's the website so you can have a look:  http://www.usfreshwaterboatersalliance.com/index.html
 
I think that is a great idea. I was looking for a central Ohio club to join here not only for things like that but also the social side of it. That would be nice to have if I was to bring my boat to Indian Lake I would know that I could contact someone like you for advice about lake and if trouble came around. My primary lakes are Deer Creek and Buckeye Lake but will be traveling a lot this year. We will be on your lake this year Indian_lake_burn. Maybe we can meet on the water sometime.
 
Very good friend of mine on GLSM is one of the key persons there (CIO). If they were local I would probably sign up. I just spoke with him about expansion in Indiana and Michigan. It sounds like they're doing great work and would be great fun, especially if you're service minded and enjoy helping others.
 
Sounds a lot to me like this forum, only on the water. The common thing we all have on this forum is Bennington. The common thing with the alliance is the lake you are on. I'd join that in a heartbeat. Never heard of that before. But it's a great idea.
 
Just looked at the website. I would definitely join a group like that. I've pulled logs to shore, then drug them up to the treeline. My son and I picked up trash on the beach on a Monday afternoon after a weekend of partiers. I towed another boat a mile back to their ramp once too. Just trying to put some good deeds in the bank. Hope I never need a tow...
 
I should have mentioned, my friend at the Alliance is also a Benny owner, but his other boat is so cool you'd have to see to believe it http://www.rangertugs.com/  :)
 
Holdren23:

If you come to indian lake this summer by all means look me up.....you already know what my boat looks like.   If it's a weekend and not pouring down rain you'll find me someplace out on the lake relaxing/cruising.
 
Glad to see this thread on the USFBA.  The USFBA is all about boating safety on interior lakes by putting some structure around the "Good Samaritan" rule of boating.  Check out our website and watch the video of our 2014 year in review on Grand Lake St Marys to get an idea of what we were involved in last year.  And if you're around Indian Lake on April 7th come to our Open House at the Indian Lake State Park office at 7:00pm.  We'll have a brief presentation and have plenty of people there to answer any questions you might have.

And if you're interested in what it takes to start a chapter on your lake, just contact us through the website.
 
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I am a member of the USFBA at the Grand Lake Chapter. I helped out at our booth at Indian Lake last weekend.  I need to tell you that this is a great organization and it takes no effort.  You just cruise around as you normally do and render aid if you can.

Our lake is 9 miles long and 4 miles wide with miles of channels.  Due to the budget, the State only runs one boat on weekends and holidays.  Bottom line is that we are out there helping others.  We have no enforcement powers nor do we want any. 

Don't know if your lake has fireworks. We have it at least 3 times and we aid in running a perimeter around the barge.  Best seats in the house while we keep others from straying into the safety zone. 

Join it.  You won't be sorry.
 
This USFBA sounds like a really good thing.  Glad you guys are having success getting it off the ground.  I'm guessing there will be lots of "chapters" as it spreads...
 
On our lake I always see others helping each other and I myself have towed a boat back to their dock. I'd be too nervous getting close to the fireworks in fear of embers burning the seats etc.

I can see a real benefit to this type of assistance network on larger bodies of water.
 
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