Wake Boats

An emerging threat to inland lakes is the operation of wake boats.

A wake boat is a powerboat especially designed to increase wave height for watersports such as wakesurfing and wakeboarding. Most wake boats also have built-in ballast tanks that can be filled with lake water to increase the weight in the stern of the boat and create larger waves.

Why Do Wake Boats Pose a Risk for Androscoggin Lake?

The horizontal and vertical spread of the large waves produced by wake boats can have an environmental impact on erosion, nests along the shore, wildlife, water clarity, and algal blooms. Our lake is relatively shallow, with a maximum depth of 38 feet and an average depth of 14 feet. Studies show that lakes having a depth of 20 feet or less are more likely to have sediment churned up from the bottom, releasing phosphorus into the water. Wake boats can also be a nuisance to humans in terms of noise, rocking other boats, causing unsafe conditions for swimmers, and potential damage to shoreline structures.

Any invasive plant fragments from an infested lake drawn in to a wake boat's ballast tanks can be expelled into a clean lake. The tanks are difficult or impossible to completely drain or inspect.

What ALIC Is Doing

ALIC is monitoring legislative activities and will keep members informed.

Learn more about what the Maine Boating Impacts Coalition (MBIC) is doing as they lead legislative efforts in Maine to manage wake boats. Bill LD2884 addresses wake boats. The bill was enacted on April 3, 2024, with provisions including a 300-foot minimum distance from shore and a 15-foot minimum depth for all wake surfing activities. Because enforcement was a concern, the Maine Boating Impacts Coalition (MBIC) is mandated to report back to the legislature on enforcement within three years.