How to stay safe on the water on 4th of July weekend
LAKE MINNETONKA, Minn. -- Especially this weekend, having fun can be dangerous.
"I've never seen anybody get run over. But when you're out on the lake you definitely see people that aren't watching where they're going," said Hank Graef, who works for Indoor Boat Storage Inc. Graef will be loading dozens of boats into Lake Minnetonka this 4th of July, a peak in the boating season.
"On all the Facebook chat groups everybody's saying a lot of the people that live on the lake stay home because so many boats come in from other places," Graef said.
At Metro Lakes Marina and Rentals, they're prepared for boaters with all experience levels.
"It's gonna be crazy out there. Whether they know how to drive a boat or have never driven a boat, there are crazy drivers out there. Some people don't know the laws at all," said Jake Hanson, a shift leader at Metro Lakes Marina.
The America Boating Club Minnetonka Squadron does vessel safety checks throughout the summer they say 50 percent of their checks are failed. Some things are easily fixed, other problems are bigger.
"The other day we had that fishing boat over there. They ran it into rocks. the entire lower unit went off. The entire prop, lower unit, skeg, all of it: gone. when they came back I don't even know how the boat was moving," said Hanson.
Follow the rules for an uneventful holiday.
"You gotta understand the buoy system. And the next thing has to be drinking and driving," said Hanson. "Be alert. Always be looking. There's gonna be dummies out there so you gotta be smart. Gotta be the smart one out there."