Liability question

[Betik]

Nothing of value to add here, but I do have a question.....
What do you when you are doing 30mph with 12 year old on a tube behind you and mol is asking you to go faster and make sharper turns ???

 

[Wisefam22]

Go slower put keep the turns contstant with them on the outside back and forth sling into own wake they will have fun

 

[swatski]

Go slower put keep the turns contstant with them on the outside back and forth sling into own wake they will have fun

That^^^^
And make sure that they stay apart to minimize the chance of bumping heads, essentially head-butting each other.

—

 

[swatski]

Later this summer we are going on a family vacation with close friends of ours to Torch Lake. We’ve went with them a few times before and had great vacations. They have 2 kids but one is a teenager where my 2 & their other are 10 & under. The teenager wants to bring a friend. On a normal weekend out on the boat, no problem, wouldn’t think twice but this will be a week long vacation. I don’t know this friend but am open to taking them. Has anyone else had this come up??? Should I make the parents of this friend sign a liability waver??? If so should I get one from a lawyer or just print one out on my own or just not even worry about it? Any information would be helpful.

That is a tough question!

I’ve been there before, when one of our daughters wanted to bring a teenage friend for a weeklong family vacation.
My response was: yeah great!
My wife’s response: hell no.
Guess what ended up happening, LOL. The friend did not come.

The thing is, what @Plpbecks said is exactly the kind of nightmare scenario. We used to go with my friends families and with my cousins for vacations outings and what not when I was a kid - all the time. But times have changed...

In our family we pretty much take anyone who wants to come boating if we have space for the day - day trips and just short outings, but anything that involves overnight stay is a no go. Unless it’s a parent with the child.

There’s just too many things that can go wrong - outside of boating. With the boat, I actually feel like I have a little bit of control, along the lines Tim @tdonoughue does it.

That’s just my two cents.

—

 

[Liveto99]

A couple of thoughts, additionally:
1) Not to derail into a COVID discussion, but is now really the right time to be bringing strangers on a close-quarters boat?
b) Should you proceed nonetheless, I have often found when working with teens that i) you should set expectations and ask for agreement as to them and ii) not make threats on which you cannot follow through. For example, you can say, 'I expect you will keep your hands in the boat. If you don't keep your hands in the boat, I will call your parents to come get you.' But if you are not prepared to actually do that at the first infraction, don't make that threat. You can keep the expectations simple and non-threatening (e.g. 'I expect you to respect and listen to me. If we have a problem with that, I will bring you back. Ok?'), but even stating the obvious can be beneficial.

Back 40 years ago when you went with another family somewhere your dad would be sure to say “ you have my permission to beat him if he gets out of hand or does not listen. That worked pretty well.