Need Help with Boat HP and Length Restrictions

I live on a 350 or so acre lake in a private community. They have had a 20ft and 290 hp limit for quite awhile. There are maybe six wakeboard boats on the lake, all of which are illegal. There are also several deckboats and i/o's which are illiegal. I was frustrated with the current rule so decided to do something about it, and now Im on the board. Its a very mixed user base as far as skiers, fisherman, and tubers. We have tons of wallys on the weekend. Its still a great lake to ride on.

My problem is which arguements to use in justifying this hp increase. We had a new member approach the board for a variance, and we declined it. Instead we opted to consider a rule change. AT the next meeting I have to be able to justify this rule change to an audience comprised of mostly fisherman. They by the way are allowed I think around 175-200 hp on an out board. My arguments are as follows:

1. Decreased time to get the boat on plane resulting in less disturbance of the lake bottom. This is a big issue as our lake averages between 6 and 15 ft deep with a silty bottom.

2. No inboard manufacturers currently build boats with less than 310 hp.

3. Manufacturers are using the same blocks they were 5 years ago, fuel injection and new technology has led to an increase in hp.

4. In a ski boat, hp does not equal high speeds.

Feel free to add any additional valid points. Im also looking for a chart which shows the main manufacturers and their models with hp and length in one spreadsheet.

Thanks for the help.

if they argue speed most fishing boats with that kind of hp are much faster than any wakeboard boat, as well as most i/o's with v8's......

Why did they decide on 20ft and 290hp limit in the first place. that may help with your argument to overturn it. And when was the rule put in place ( how old is it?)?

Your point #4 is a good topic to explain further to the uninformed. An inboard with 290hp will more than likely go just as fast as an inboard with 330hp.

What about weight vs hp? Just like the post above (which I think you meant outboard in the first example)

Maybe a top speed restriction would be a better way to go about it... how could you really police how much hp a boat is putting out while its on the lake?

you mentioned that there are illegal boats on the lake now. who enforces the rules?

I might go at it by saying we have residents now who exceed the limits. Nobody is doing anything about it so, lets included them and change the rules.

Also come in with some info on how fast a 175hp outboard boat goes on a typical fishing type boat. Make them aware that hp and speed are two diff. components and wake boats are all about grunt and not speed.

Maybe find out, if possible, why those specific limits were made and how long ago the rule was put in place. If the rules are very old, go it like its time to update to new modern boat standards. Get them to put a speed limit on the lake, not a HP reqment.

lastly, be prepared for them to bring up the fact that wake boats put out big wakes. ( maybe they dont know that yet ). This came up at our lake. Some univ. did a study, and I cant find link right now, that wake action does very little erosioin to lake shores. This study attributed erosion to wind, not wake action.

Thanks for the advice so far. I also have a couple local dealerships helping me gather info. We already have a speed limit, so we're good there. A couple years ago they formed a wakes committee. I presented the win study, and then it went from erosion to disturning the bottom. They didnt want to look at the physics of a deckboat with an i/o versus the draft of an inboard. Thats why I'm on the board now.

Im not sure how long the current restrictions have been in place or where the original numbers came from.

#2 - PCM offers a 275hp

#3 - Electronic fuel injection makes an engine more efficient, but has nothing to do with increased HP.