An area state representative says he will vote no on a bill involving wake-enhanced boating.
Last week, we reported that a coalition of 90 groups, including Manitowoc County Fish and Game, came out against Assembly Bill 1033, which would require only boats that create wake behind them to be 200 feet from shore.
However, State Representative Paul Tittl explained on the WCUB Breakfast Club that he’s voting no on the bill because it doesn’t provide a certain depth that boats must be at in the water.
Rep. Tittl referenced a University of Minnesota study on wake boats and their effects on the bottom of a water body.
He noted, “It basically puts this brown plume behind the boat, basically digging up all the dirt and the weeds and everything off the lake bottoms, because it has so much turn to make that (the water) curls so you can actually surf.”
Rep. Tittl would like to see wake boats required to be used only in lakes with 20 feet of depth or more, so they can’t ruin the lake bottom.
He says there are competing bills in the Wisconsin Legislature that could be voted on this week, though the Manitowoc Republican thinks a compromise is possible.
“It’s going to be an interesting week,” he stated. “It’s going to be one of those long weeks where we’re going to have overnight sessions and go into the night.”
The other bill would require wake-enhanced boating to be within 500 feet of a shoreline with a depth of 20 feet.
