Speeding boats are destructive and DANGEROUS.
Jim McCulley (PLPA President) — In cooperation with the Peck’s we have been working to educate boaters of the rules regarding speed. New York state law PROHIBITS any motorized boat from operating at greater than 5mph within 100 feet of any shoreline, dock, docked or moored boat. The rules of the lake, established by the Peck’s, increased this to 200 feet. As a point of reference, the average WALKING speed of a human is 4mph. If your boat is making visible wake, you are likely going greater than 5mph. If your boat is going faster than you can walk, you ARE very likely going more than 5mph.
Boats producing large wakes near the shoreline are annoying but more importantly, destructive to docks, the shoreline, and potentially to nesting birds, like loons. But, I also want to remind everyone it can be DANGEROUS.
Kayakers, swimmers, canoers, people enjoying their docks or using floats can be knocked over by large wakes near the shore. As the wake nears and reaches shore you might be surprised how the wake from a boat can become much larger.
By the time wake is causing unnecessary damage or presenting a danger, the boat is long gone. So please, be aware of your distance, your speed, and the size of your wake. 5mph is the MAXIMUM speed within 200 feet of the shoreline, dock or docked or moored boat. 200 feet is about 70 yards, slightly more than 2/3’s of a football field.
Not only could you be damaging someone’s property or dock, you could hurt someone. People swim, kayak and sail in the lake – going more than 5mph within 200 feet is completely unnecessary and it can be extremely dangerous.
The vast majority of boaters on the lake follow this simple rule, but I am hoping that getting the word out will curb those who are perhaps unaware of the rule, or of the potential for damage or danger. And just to clarify, this is not a camper/renter problem, but a lake problem. The Peck’s have been taking this seriously, and have been redoubling their efforts to inform campers and renters of the rules. We at the PLPA are doing the same here.
All the boating rules for the lake can be found here on the plpa.org website, under “Lake Rules.” They are also part of property owner deeds. Knowing the rules and using common courtesy is all that’s needed to address this problem. Thank you!