I was chatting with a kayaker yesterday morning and I noticed she wasn't wearing a PFD.

 

I sighed and said, "I'm not going to dwell on this, but you should really be wearing a PFD."

 

She took it well and said she normally does and we went back to chatting about other things. Have you ever applied a little peer pressure to keep someone safe on the water?

I will if it's a friend or a family member.

 

I honestly don't understand the folks who don't wear a PFD. Things can go wrong quickly out on the water.

All the time. Especially with the kids. Gotta promote safety first.

 

Here in Florida we have to stay on top of our surroundings. Gators can be lurking anywhere closeby ready to launch an attack. So I have to stay on the kids about always scanning the water. Look for gators. Stay away from shoreline and splashing along the shoreline is bad news in Florida especially as light fades.

 

So I am always on them about safety and picking up trash and not leaving things behind and always take home line you cut off and cut it up into small pieces before throwing it away so birds and other critters don't get tangled up in it at the landfill. Just little details to hammer away at them on as they grow up.

 

But when out on the water myself, I tend to leave others adults alone to their choices. Many of the old men who move into Florida don't take it too well when another guy is getting on to them even if doing it tactfully often does not go over too well, so I have learned to just let others be with their bad choices.

 

Kids are another story. They need some guidance in their directions of growth.

 

No I don’t.  Even when people are having trouble launching or loading I don’t say a thing.  I used to but too many times it just caused them to get angry.   I think it is a hillbilly red neck ego thing.

I am with @Jig Man on this one.  There was a time when I was younger I would have said something to someone but it backfired too many times.

 

So now I just ignore it.  I let people make their own decisions, even if I know it might result in a serious outcome.

 

"Watch your own bobber" is the term often used.

Yes.

It came in the form of a citation and a fine.

Afterwards, I was usually the only one smiling.

A-Jay

 

4 hours ago, Kayak Koz said:

Things can go wrong quickly out on the water.

 

That's it!!!

 

You're a good father, F3.

 

I like when LEOs cite people. I wish more tickets were written. 

 

 

When we hit the point in the year where PFDs are mandatory (Nov 1 to April 30) if I see someone not wearing one I'll give them a reminder if I'm nearby.  I'm not going to ride across the lake to tell someone.  The rest of the year when they are legally optional I'll mind my own bobber.

 

Same with loading and unloading.  If I'm at the ramp and someone is on their own and struggling or if they have a bigger boat that could be tough for a single then I'll offer if they would like a spare set of hands. 

Seeing little kids with no life jacket is the only time I stick my nose in someone else’s business. 

I was a motorcycle trainer/instructor for many years, hence my handle Motoboss.

We would have the same conversation with students about wearing a helmet, don’t do it for yourself but for your family. Your Wife, kids and parents are the ones who will suffer and have to deal with the consequences, not you because you’re gone.

 

It’s surprising how many folks have a change of heart and attitude when they think about leaving their kids and family to clean up after their poor decision.

 

Same applies to pfd’s and I will mention as much when seeing someone who doesn’t use one while on the water in a kayak or canoe. A bass boater while fishing or pontoon boat owners are on their own, a bit safer than being in a small craft inches off the water but should still be a consideration for them as well.

 

Never oppressive, just suggestive.

 

If someone needs help I’ll help

If someone has a question I’ll answer

If someone asks for advise I’ll give it. 
 

If someone is putting someone else or even themselves in a dangerous situation I’ll calmly and respectfully only bring it up and move on 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mike 

Nothing wrong with offering a helping hand, but I’m not trying to tell anyone what they should or shouldn’t do unless it’s one of my grown kids lol. 
 

I have boundaries and hopefully nobody crosses them. (No shortage of rude, obnoxious behavior) 

I do not. If it’s legal it’s their choice. I will always ask if someone needs assistance if they look broke down or struggling. 

I do and will present my argument in an appetizing manner and quite frankly, I don't give a rat's a$$ if they are upset about my presentation. There is no substantive rebuttal that they can present in a verse of reason. 

Experienced grown men seldom heed well intended advice.  It could be it on the dock, in the gym, or just about anywhere else, on any subject.  It's usually an ego thing or long established habits and beliefs.

I handed my nephew an inflatable as he was getting in my boat, he said “he didn’t need it” .  I told him “ Put it on, it’s easier to find your body when it floats verses dragging the bottom for it” 

My sisters are still upset with me about what I said to him, and that was years ago.

But I was at his house not to long ago, he was showing me some new plastics. Laid out on his boat was 3 inflatables. 

11 minutes ago, GRiver said:

Laid out on his boat was 3 inflatables. 

 

Mission accomplished.

On 10/6/2025 at 4:48 AM, Swamp Girl said:

Have you ever applied a little peer pressure to keep someone safe on the water?

 

No.  We're all adults.  I'll talk fishing and ask how the other person did, that's about it.

Katie, this post has applied pressure to me.  From now on I'm wearing the PFD that I have been carrying around but never wearing.  Reading the comments has jarred my pea brain into action.  I'm an old, stumble bum that really needs to wear one but have been too lazy to do so.

Thank you @Swamp Girl and all the folks who have commented on this!

2 hours ago, Lottabass said:

Katie, this post has applied pressure to me.  From now on I'm wearing the PFD that I have been carrying around but never wearing.  Reading the comments has jarred my pea brain into action.  I'm an old, stumble bum that really needs to wear one but have been too lazy to do so.

Thank you @Swamp Girl and all the folks who have commented on this!

 

Peer pressure worked! I'm so glad, Al. 

I will apply peer pressure---hell, I will flat out SHAME someone who is littering. I alway start out being nice and asking them to clean up, but if that fails I will become much more insistent. There is NO excuse for an adult to litter. If it is a young person, or group of youngsters, I offer to help and start picking the litter up. With kids, setting an example is more successful than berating them. 

Very true!

 

My 12 year old son told me a couple days ago one of his fishing buddies tossed about 10' of fishing line into the water as his method of disposal. My son said he stopped fishing and fished that line back out of the water and scolded his friend, and he wadded the line up and stuck it in his pocket to take home to cut up and put into the trash.

 

He then asked me why is it again we do this? I said because you should not want wildlife becoming entangled in it and experience a slow painful death that is completely unnecessary. And that we cut it up before putting in the trash to prevent that same line from tangling up birds and other animals at the landfill for the same slow painful exhausting death.

 

So our efforts at teaching the young does pay off. Hopefully my son's friend will also learn to be more compassionate towards wildlife. A case of my peer pressure going through my son to now peer pressure those he knows. It does work!

It's a requirement in Kansas, it's a requirement in all the tournaments I fish. It's a ticket if you're caught without it fun fishing, it's a DQ if you're caught without it in a tournament. 

 

I wear mine 100% of the time on the water because it's a piece of equipment like every lure and rod in my kayak and the more I use it, the better I'll know how it functions and how to use it when it's needed. I've fallen in exactly three times in all my years on the water, only once did my life vest do anything for me and that was the most recent case because I have the Chinook instead of the inflatable vest I use to wear. 

 

I wear mine because a friend didn't and despite being just like me, a lifetime outdoorsman who was more than capable of handling himself, he went in the water and didn't make it back out. I owe it to my family and the people to count on me to not put them through that if it's at all avoidable. 

 

It's not putting peer pressure on someone IMO, it's just caring about them. It's a mild inconvience that will become the most important piece of equipment you own when something goes wrong. 

Littering is a poor comparison because it's illegal.

 

Not wearing a PFD isn't illegal.