This week, the Presque Isle Town Board is considering regulating hazardous wakes on Presque Isle lakes that are produced for recreational purpose. These wakes are produced by boats that are specifically designed to create very large wakes. I have been asked to survey the property owners of Lynx and Red Bass Lakes if they are in favor of the Town Board passing an ordinance regulating hazardous wakes. You can find background information on this topic if you scroll through the posts on this website to January 17.
If you are in favor of the Town Board regulating hazardous wakes, please email me at cfbehr@gmail.com and I will compile the responses and forward to the Last Wilderness Alliance which is coordinating these efforts.
Please include in you email your name (and spouses if they agree), Presque Isle address, and brief statement in support of this by tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon. For example:
As a property owner (or voter) in Presque Isle I am in favor of the Town Board regulating hazardous wake because it will promote the safe use of our waters and help to prevent environmental harm to the lakes in Presque Isle.
It’s not clear to me how a hazardous wake is created. Is it due to the speed of a boat? The size of the boat making the wake? or a Modification to the boat so it creates large wakes? Will this ordinance have any impact on boats that are currently used/owned by Lynx Lake Homeowners? Has there been a present problem with hazardous wakes on Lynx Lake?
IF the Town regulates hazardous wakes it will not affect any of the boats that are currently on the Lake , nor will it affect how they are operated. In fact, the Town has no legal authority to regulate what type of boats are used on a lake. If they do regulate wake boats it would be for things like hours of operation, required distance from the shoreline, etc.
Wake boats have a large rubber type bladder in the stern of the boat that gets filled with water before operation. The weight in the back of the boat prevents the boat from getting on plane, and pushes the stern of the boat deeper into the water, which helps produces the large wakes. Additionally, the boat hull can be shaped to create more wake than a traditional fish, ski boat, or pontoon boat. Speed is not a factor in the production of the wake, in fact they are usually operated at slower speeds than a water ski boat.
Gary and I get more comments about people not observing no wake regulations than any other issue.