New boater advice - how do you make friends on the water?

[dyfanf]

Cruising around, I see all the camaraderie on the lake. We're all (mostly) a friendly bunch of people. Everyone waves at each other, helps each other out etc.
My question is how do you guys make friends on the water? I see people pull up to other boats like they are old friends. Do most of you already have friends that have boats and just meet each other on the lake? I'm a guy that respects other people's privacy, and doesn't want to bother anyone or intrude, but it sure looks fun to raft up and hang out with friends sometimes; but I'm not going to just idle up and invite myself over. I'm outgoing and have no problem making friends on the shore. Is there some kind of universal boating symbol that says, "Hey! Come on over!"
Thanks!

 

[minn19]

Booze.

 

[Julian]

There are a TON of members in your area! What I do is connect with them in a thread (you can @ them to get their attention), and arrange a gathering. Doesn't have to be formal, just say....Saturday we are heading to (name a specific spot to raft up) - then see if people are interested. You can use the Member Map to find folks in your area.

 

[Theryan]

@Julian - I didn't know the map was a thing. That's awesome. I keep getting an error message saying that google maps can't load the page correctly. Any idea what might be going on?

Edit: figured out that the pins still show the person's name. This map is awesome!

 

[dyfanf]

Thanks @Julian !!
@Theryan I got the Google error too, but if you click "OK" you can still use the map.

 

[Theryan]

Time to find people in my area!

 

[dyfanf]

Time to find people in my area!

Now, I just have to figure out how I get myself to show up in my city...curious how people show up in certain areas of a city now.

I don't show up when I look on the map, but Julian knew where I was, so maybe it just doesn't show you when YOU are looking?

 

[Theryan]

I don't show up when I look on the map, but Julian knew where I was, so maybe it just doesn't show you when YOU are looking?

The second I posted that it randomly updated and showed me on the map. No clue!

 

[ripler]

I usually make friends by jump starting a dead battery or by towing them back to the boat launch.

 

[Julian]

The second I posted that it randomly updated and showed me on the map. No clue!

It shows you on the map based on your IP address (which can sometimes be WAY off), and also based on when you logged in. It won't show people on the map who haven't logged in for a while.

Sorry about the map error...thats something we need to fix....just click ok and it works.

 

[Julian]

Also, if you are using the Dark Style, the names in the "Bubbles" on the map don't show up well (they are a super light yellow on white backgroud-something else we need to fix!). You can either switch styles, or just highlight the bubble to see the names.

 

[Theryan]

Awesome, thanks Julian. The map thing is cool.