Prevalence of "Electric Only" Lakes?

[CO_4X4]

I happened to be watching a cool Jon rebuild video a few weeks ago and it was all geared out for batteries and an electric engine because "more and more lakes are prohibiting fuel engines for environmental reasons" which I thought was interesting (the idea of how much fuel is burned to mine, process, ship and charge those batteries, let alone disposing of them, always being ignored) and wondered how many lakes really are banning gas boats these days considering the very high cost of electric motors and the massive inventory of gas motors owned by boaters. I've never seen one and I'm in a fairly progressive environmental city so I don't know if this really is a trend, a fad or if it's really as big of a deal as the guy in the video made it out to be or if he was just saying that because he was building an all electric boat.

 

[Ray Clark]

There are plenty of electric only lakes in my area of Iowa. They tend to be smaller lakes; the kind you'd like to fish if you're looking for bluegill and crappie. Not a fad, and more like a trend that is popping up everywhere.

There are also a lot of "no wake lakes" around here. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that there are more lakes that are restricted in some way than lake without restrictions.

I don't think there's going to be any going back on that. It's just the way it is.

 

[CO_4X4]

I've seen plenty of no-wake lakes for small bodies of water mostly intended for fishing, but haven't seen any electric only. I would think that electric lakes would first start with charging a premium for gas boats that eventually drives gas boats out of coming - sort of like cigarette taxes that taxed people to quit - it seems like the number of people who have or can afford an electric boat motor are still pretty small. It's not just the motors that are extremely expensive but the batteries can easily double or triple the investment.

I figure that electric motor requirements will take a while to hit most recreational lakes (where I tend to spend the most time) to give people time to afford motors and batteries. Hopefully they do like cars and allow vintage boats access because I know some Chris-Crafters that have many tens of thousands tied up in restoration to just throw it away and not even be able to sell it because who wants a boat that can't be run anywhere?

 

[airshot]

No wake lakes are hard to control when gas engines are allowed !! Electric motors cause far less shore errosion as speed and wake is far less. As electric motors become more powerfull, things will have to change. No idea why this changed to bold... A friend was a DNR officer some years back and one concern with small lakes was sloppy boaters !! I had no idea how much fuel boaters spill into the lakes, until I saw some tests results. Hopefully as battery production is increased, more people will become educated on how much energy from fossil fuels are required to produce these batteries !!! If the truth was well known, we would probably be required to use oars and paddles vs. any type motor !!

 

[MrGiggles]

There is only one that I know of in the immediate area that is strictly electric only. Two more that are horsepower restricted/no wake only. All smaller bodies of water where big wakes likely pose a problem for docks, erosion, stuff like that. To my knowledge none are restricted for emissions concerns.

In the future folks will charge their electric outboard setups with electricity generated by the hydro-electric dam, to run their boats on that same body of water. Circle of life I guess, haha.

Batteries have a long ways to go in terms of energy density when compared to fossil fuels. I've done the math before and it's not even close, if I remember right it takes 5lbs of the best lithium battery to equal the energy in 1lb of gasoline, even when that gasoline is converted to motion rather inefficiently by a combustion engine. Weight is a major concern in the marine world so I expect the transition to electric to take quite a bit longer. I do know there are some electric outboard setups, however from what I've seen their run time is pretty lackluster.

 

[LDUBS]

I can think of only one electric only lake near me. It doesn't have a ramp. Folks can rent boats with oars or bring a TM and battery to use on a rental boat. I'm sure there are others I'm not aware of.

 

[CRS]

I fish on electric lakes, that's all that is close. The 3 biggest are reservoirs for Baltimore city, others are in the state Parks in Pennsylvania. Penn. has both electric only and gas. Better get used to the fact that electric is going to be required more and more. The current progressive trend is to end all gas, gasoline and diesel. The basis for this is a complete and total false narrative. Batteries are not even close to replacing the internal combustion engines. They are much better than past but still far from being practical. Instead of spending 10-15 minutes at the pump it's hours at the charger. Advertised fast charge still take 15-30 minutes and only charges to 80%. The environmental quacks never mention the manufacture of batteries or how to dispose of the old worn out ones. Never a mention that solar panels need to be replaced and old disposed of. Wind Mills kill millions of small birds and thousands of raptors. each year. Put them over the ocean and kill the migratory birds and some say cause the deaths of whales and effect fish migrations. Solar panels require rare earth, ever see a rare earth mine? Still under the current trends get ready to mothball your outboards, and join us electric only puttering along at 4-5 MPH.

 

[sonny1]

Can only think of one small lake called Pretty Water that does not allow gas motors. Spring fed lake with very clear water almost unheard of in Oklahoma. The technology is out there for clean alternative fuel but it seems to be a dead issue until the major oil company's are willing to allow it. Economics and big money at play. Over time believe the gas engine will be looked upon as we now look at steam engines. It is just a matter of time.

 

[gillhunter]

Georgia has many HP restricted and electric only lakes. These are usually 200-800 acres and are the water supplies for the nearby towns. The other choice are the 50,000+ acre unrestricted lakes. The big lakes can be a zoo on the weekends. We fish for bluegill and put together a boat for the HP restricted and total electric lakes. It is a much more pleasant experience for us.

I'm not a supporter of electric vehicles, can't see myself ever owning one for many reasons.

 

[-CN-]

With electric-only lakes being prevalent in Wisconsin, I've found they are usually some of the best fishing lakes. Many times they are completely surrounded by private land, and while you need to put effort into accessing them from other bodies of water such as streams and creeks, they are posted as electric-only to preserve the shoreline and keep the noise down. I was never under the impression that it was part of a movement to ban gas motors. I prefer the electric-only lakes. You might see a kayaker now and then. These lakes are quiet and undisturbed for the most part, which is what I think the point of them is.

 

[Skunked again]

The argument of horsepower restrictions to control erosion are somewhat false as well. Wind “damage or erosion” is 24/7, it does more damage than the boats do.

Home lake is 500 acres, 50hp limit. Was a 10hp, then 25hp, now 50hp. Politics got it to 50hp. This lakes primary use is for water consumption.

Agree with previous comments about battery technology and infrastructure needing to improve.

 

[LaqueRatt]

Electric only lakes is something I'm hearing about here for the first time. Seems to me the problem here, which is *maybe* human caused, is climate change. Yet that is the symptom. The problem is the human population explosion. Something we studied in school that seems to no longer be discussed. What does it matter what Americans do if all the 3rd world countries are forced to burn coal, wood, maybe used tires because the price of energy is skyrocketing? That said, when running my motor in a barrel and looking at all that nasty sludge that is quickly produced it's a wonder they allow 2 stroke motors, maybe any motors at all on our lakes. Not a tree hugger by any stretch, but hate to see anything become polluted. Especially the lake I like to fish on.

What I believe is American's are paying a steep price with nothing to gain. 29 out of 30 people on this planet don't live in the US. We could all drop dead tomorrow and nothing would change. Environmentalists want to believe that every other country will follow our lead, but I kind of doubt it. Many have pledged, but at the same time coal use continues to increase. Think I recently read that China is actually increasing coal usage and snapping up coal mines at bargain prices.

OK, getting off my soapbox now. Nobody cares what I think anyway.

 

[CO_4X4]

OK, getting off my soapbox now. Nobody cares what I think anyway.

Not true, I do! I agree, I'm not a tree hugger and totally understand why 2 strokes are frowned upon because I've also seen that oil slick in the barrel when I'm tuning up. And people are irresponsible, they run full throttle in no-wake areas and that will erode the shore. I get all of that but my point is that forcing electric is a big pill to shove down peoples throat when there are other ways to mitigate until electric is truly viable for boaters.

 

[LaqueRatt]

Another thought that I've had is, sure use solar panels and windmills. Despite some drawbacks in a way it's free power......sorta. The thing that gets me that I've yet to see anyone address is when we convert one sort of energy to another, EG: gas or coal power converted to electricity there is a net loss involved in the process. Which means there is an inherent loss and WASTE of energy. Better to burn petro in our cars than to convert it to electricity. Also do we suddenly have unlimited natural gas? Last time I checked we were using pretty much all we got available to heat our homes. Are we going to burn the gas to make electricity, put in electric furnaces and this is supposed to be more efficient? Cause less pollution? I don't buy it. My Mama didn't raise no fools.

Maybe I'm letting my age show here, but as a child the US and the rest of the world was marveling at this wonderful new source of nearly free energy called nuclear. Yes, it has it's drawbacks, but seems to me this is the obvious answer. Cheap unlimited energy and the only downside is containing and disposing of the waste. I guess a few major disasters have scared humans away from it or something? All energy, creates waste that has to be dealt with and I'd think modern nuclear plants are far safer than they once were and we should be focusing on making them even safer. OK, going to go read up now on how to convert my Mirro to nuclear power......

OK, really getting off the soapbox now. I'm just a bit bored on this cold dreary day in midwest.

 

[Still Afloat]

I think there are two different topics here:
1. Electric or non-motorized requirements on small lakes to preserve the banks
2. Liberal thinking with no scientific basis that electric vehicles are greener than gas vehicles

 

[gillhunter]

I happened to be watching a cool Jon rebuild video a few weeks ago and it was all geared out for batteries and an electric engine because "more and more lakes are prohibiting fuel engines for environmental reasons" which I thought was interesting (the idea of how much fuel is burned to mine, process, ship and charge those batteries, let alone disposing of them, always being ignored) and wondered how many lakes really are banning gas boats these days considering the very high cost of electric motors and the massive inventory of gas motors owned by boaters. I've never seen one and I'm in a fairly progressive environmental city so I don't know if this really is a trend, a fad or if it's really as big of a deal as the guy in the video made it out to be or if he was just saying that because he was building an all electric boat.

I'm not seeing any increased prohibition of lakes in my area. As a transplant from northern Indiana I was unaware at the time that there are no natural lakes in the southeast to speak of. They are all man made reservoirs. The large ones were created for flood control and electrical generation and the small ones for potable water supply. These are the ones generally HP restricted or total electric. No one seems to be concerned about shoreline erosion or they would ban wake boats.
I doubt that anyone in the position to ban gas boats would take any cost considerations into consideration.

 

[Ray Clark]

I think there are a number of factors leading to the increasing restrictions.

One is water pollution. Nearly all of our gasoline outboards vent exhaust directly into the lake water. I can understand not wanting that in lakes/reservoirs used for drinking water. Older two strokes are probably more polluting than newer and certainly the new four strokes are much better, but they still vent exhaust into the water. Leakage from gear boxes and fuel spillage doesn't help the gasoline outboards' cause.

A second factor is increasingly crowded lakes and waterways. Couple that with seemingly increasing numbers of boaters who operate their watercraft in a reckless manner and without regard to others around them probably prompt regulators to clamp down on everybody, and not just those do stupid things.

Many of our no wake and electric only lakes are man-made waterways and as such there are plenty of hidden obstacles (brush piles/trees). Unless one know exactly where they are, a high-speed run can easily end in disaster. Again, everybody gets painted with the same brush, not just those with no sense of prudent operating manners.

The lakes nearest to me are no wake lakes. There are times when I wish could legally operate at more than 5 mph, but it is nice to have the peace and quiet while fishing.

 

[Still Afloat]

Yes, I like a few electric only or non powered small lakes too. The key word is small. I don’t want to be caught in the wind again with only an electric trolling motor.

 

[GTS225]

I think there are a number of factors leading to the increasing restrictions.

One is water pollution. Nearly all of our gasoline outboards vent exhaust directly into the lake water. I can understand not wanting that in lakes/reservoirs used for drinking water. Older two strokes are probably more polluting than newer and certainly the new four strokes are much better, but they still vent exhaust into the water. Leakage from gear boxes and fuel spillage doesn't help the gasoline outboards' cause.

Sorry, Ray. I have a hard time buying into this too deeply. I'll concede that it's true, but the other side of that arguement is California, where thier new, (not yet implemented), law is doing away with small gas engines, (mostly lawn care equipment), in favor of electrics. BUT......the boating industry was untouched. Now, a vast majority of Cali's waterways are drinking water reservoirs, or used as such. You'd think they would have regulated that, too, if the water quality was so important, especially in California.

A second factor is increasingly crowded lakes and waterways.

Oh, yeah......I've seen a local state park lake on a holiday. It looks sketchy, to my eye.

Couple that with seemingly increasing numbers of boaters who operate their watercraft in a reckless manner and without regard to others around them

You....ummmm.....wouldn't happen to be speaking of jet ski pilots, would you?

probably prompt regulators to clamp down on everybody, and not just those do stupid things.

Which, it's wrong to penalize those who do follow the rules, for the deeds of others.

Roger

 

[Ray Clark]

Sorry, Ray. I have a hard time buying into this too deeply. I'll concede that it's true, but the other side of that arguement is California, where thier new, (not yet implemented), law is doing away with small gas engines, (mostly lawn care equipment), in favor of electrics. BUT......the boating industry was untouched. Now, a vast majority of Cali's waterways are drinking water reservoirs, or used as such. You'd think they would have regulated that, too, if the water quality was so important, especially in California.

Oh, yeah......I've seen a local state park lake on a holiday. It looks sketchy, to my eye.

You....ummmm.....wouldn't happen to be speaking of jet ski pilots, would you?

Which, it's wrong to penalize those who do follow the rules, for the deeds of others.

Roger

Jet skis...yes...but also wake boats, ski boats, fishing boats, and pontoons with high HP motors. Any operator who doesn't think twice about passing close to other boats while generating large wakes with no regard for others. Personal watercraft don't have a lock on that.

As for applying "manners" to offenders...that's hard, and bureaucracies don't do hard. They makes rules that apply to everybody with as little effort as needed to enforce, and even enforcement is lacking sometimes. No judgement calls needed.