Use of jet ski`s on local lochs

[Hillview]

Hi,does anybody know if the use of jet ski`s etc is allowed on local lochs like calder/watten etc,outwith the fishing season?

[annemarie482]

Would likely depend on a few things,
for example wester loch beside me is a SSSI so it wouldn't be allowed there.
You'd need to ask the land owner obviously, and they would tell you if there was any protections on the loch in question.

[rupert]

Lochs Watten, Scarmclate, Calder, Heilen are all Special Protection Areas so I'm sure they would be out of the question.

I personally think its highly inappropriate to use Jet skis on inland water anyway, use the sea theres plenty of it.

[annemarie482]

i'm with rupert on this one.

[Bilbster]

I personally think its highly inappropriate to use Jet skis on inland water anyway, use the sea theres plenty of it.

Why? Jet skis can go slow as well as fast!. Hillview may be doing training/testing etc. not all people who use jet skis are holigans.

[sids]

If you're going to go slow on a jet ski, you might as well just row a boat around the loch.

[Even Chance]

So whats the difference between running an outboard boat and a jetski? Theyre both 2 stroke engines? They both make noise and pollution? Theres plenty of outboards on boats during the fishing season and nobody complains.
Is it the speed thats the concern? If so, what are they going to hit? Can I sail a sailing dinghy there at 20+ knots?
What is the main concern regarding running jetski's then?
And no, I dont have a PWC, or have any inclination to buy one. Its just a viable question, thats all.

[JoeSoap]

My gut reaction would also be that Jet-Skis really wouldn't be suitable for inshore lochs. I can't say how Hillview might choose to ride a Jet Ski but it seems to me that jet skis are fast ('Jet') and manouverable ('Ski') and that's how the majority of people use them. They are noisy which disturbs other people in the area and, more importantly, the wildlife that lives there. They leave behind pollutants which disperse in the open sea but can't so much on a loch. And they damage the banks with their wash and when being taken in and out of the water.

And yes, they may have a similar engine to an outboard on the back of a fishing boat but the fishing boat isn't belting up and down the loch doing doughnuts with the prop sticking out of the water every twenty yards. Also, yes I could probably pick up a fair rate of knots in a topper given the right conditions but I wouldn't be making much noise and the wake I leave behind isn't a) sprinkled with pollutants or b) nearly as damaging to the bank.

I also don't have a PWC or have any inclination to buy one. I'm also not against people owning them and using them (they do look like a lot of fun), but there's a time and a place.

[Bilbster]

My gut reaction would also be that Jet-Skis really wouldn't be suitable for inshore lochs. I can't say how Hillview might choose to ride a Jet Ski but it seems to me that jet skis are fast ('Jet') and manouverable ('Ski') and that's how the majority of people use them. They are noisy which disturbs other people in the area and, more importantly, the wildlife that lives there. They leave behind pollutants which disperse in the open sea but can't so much on a loch. And they damage the banks with their wash and when being taken in and out of the water.

And yes, they may have a similar engine to an outboard on the back of a fishing boat but the fishing boat isn't belting up and down the loch doing doughnuts with the prop sticking out of the water every twenty yards. Also, yes I could probably pick up a fair rate of knots in a topper given the right conditions but I wouldn't be making much noise and the wake I leave behind isn't a) sprinkled with pollutants or b) nearly as damaging to the bank.

I also don't have a PWC or have any inclination to buy one. I'm also not against people owning them and using them (they do look like a lot of fun), but there's a time and a place.

"Jet" I belive comes from the jet of water used to propel the vessel as there is no "prop sticking out of the water" and "ski" comes from the original powered water craft which you stood up on and it was like Skiing. Launching and retrieving a jetski will cause a lot less damage than any loch boats but as most lochs have proper places to slip the boats then this is not a problem. modern 4 stroke jetski's put out a lot less polutants than the old 2 stroke seagulls that have been run on caithness lochs for years. damge to the banks cannot be argued but can be kept to minimum by sensible use. Jetski training on lochs is very sensible before going out on open seas. And I don't own a PWC either but I am for sensible use and training.