Assumptions

The boat traffic model makes some important assumptions that must be taken into consideration for evaluation. While some simplifying assumptions have been made in the interest of parsimony and timely implementation, several rules have been preserved that should keep the essential nature of the system's behavior. The most important ones are:

1.

Boaters act independently. Boaters select their destinations and plan itineraries independently of any centralized dispatcher.

2.

Boaters establish itineraries at departure. Rather than considering boats to be like bugs blindly picking their way through their environment, it is assumed that when a boater leaves, s/he already has a notion of where s/he wishes to go. In reality, this itinerary is subject to change due to accidents or caprice of the boater, but this possibility will not be considered at this time.

3.

Boaters would rather not change their itinerary once embarked. While this assumption is subjective, it is convenient for this model as it allows for consideration of static rather than complex, dynamic models.

4.

Boaters use the most efficient path to their destinations. This assumption needs to be treated carefully in a recreational context: there are several kinds of trips that boaters make, such as towing a waterskiier or tacking back and forth in a sailboat, where the destination is secondary. While some involve purposeful travel from point to point, many boaters take their boat specifically out to ``run back and forth for a while.'' This latter category of trip can still be represented as a series of trips between points, if the points represent intermediate destinations.