No-Wake Bill Could Calm More Coves, But Will Boaters Be On Board?

A bill filed by Lake of the Ozarks-area State Representative David Wood would make it easier for homeowners along the Lake’s shoreline to banish (most) wakes from their coves.

Wood’s House Bill 1591 was pre-filed in December, and has begun its journey through the legislature in Jefferson City.

The bill already faces stiff opposition from the National Marine Manufacturers Association. "NMMA, the Watersports Industry Association and the Lake of the Ozarks Marine Trades (Dealers) Association are prepared to oppose HB 1591 should it gain support among legislators, and will keep members updated," the NMMA stated in a press release issue in December. "Rep. Wood has introduced similar bills in past years that failed to pass."

In addition to a section that would fine personal watercraft riders up to $25 for not wearing a life jacket, Wood’s bill would accomplish four things, if passed in its current form:

-It would double the cove size that would be eligible for no-wake designation–from 400 feet at the mouth (the current standard) to 800 feet at the mouth.

-It would lower the percentage of resident petition signatures needed to obtain a No-Wake designation, from 75 percent (the current standard) to 50 percent.

-It would make the No-Wake designation only apply to boats longer than 26 feet and boats under 26 feet that are designed to produce larger wakes (wakeboard boats). It currently applies to all boats, but this carveout would exempt many fishing boats and pontoons, jonboats, and personal watercraft from the No-Wake rule.

-It would provide for a $25 fine for violators of a No-Wake area. That fine would also apply to violators of the current law that prohibits boats from creating a wake within 100 feet of a dock, pier, occupied anchored boat or buoyed restricted area on any lake.

“Our current wake law isn’t enforceable,” Wood stated plainly. “I believe that changing the penalty for wake violations will make a difference because the Water Patrol will actually make stops when they know that the penalty isn't excessive and they have the ability to write a ticket without knowing the driver.”

Wood says his bill would essentially create “Large Boat No-Wake Coves,” that would still allow smaller vessels that don’t create large wakes to operate in coves the same way they do on the main channel of the Lake.

He pointed out he has filed similar legislation in the past, and this bill is the result of “hundreds of calls, emails, and visits that I have had with my constituents.” Rep. Wood's constituents are a minority of boaters primarily hailing from the Lake's Gravois Arm in Morgan County, a popular but narrow waterway at the far north of the Lake's 1,000+ miles of shoreline. 

The Lake of the Ozarks is arguably the most popular recreational lake in the country, with approximately 25,000 docks and twice as many boats on most any weekend throughout the summer, as Lakefront homeowners owners join visitors who trailer in their boats. But after enjoying the open water, boaters often end up in coves: whether to enjoy a lakefront restaurant/bar, to find a less busy area for watersports, or to “cove out” with other boaters. In smaller coves, the wakes from boats coming and going can have a damaging effect on docks, and that has created a tension between lakefront homeowners—most of whom are boaters themselves—and boaters who don't watch their wake.

It’s a unique situation because the Lake of the Ozarks is privately owned by Ameren Missouri — the utility company that built Bagnell Dam, which impounds the waters of the Osage River to form the Lake — so residents and businesses are able to build right on the shoreline, making it one of the most privately developed lakes in the country. But as the decades have gone by, the nature of boating and lakefront home owning has evolved, and Wood says he hopes his bill will help both sides better navigate these new waters.

The process for obtaining a “No-Wake” designation and buoy(s) from the Highway Patrol would remain the same as it is now, Wood said, except coves that are up to 800 feet at the mouth would be eligible to apply, and petitioners would only have to get 50 percent of the cove’s residents to sign on. Then the petition would go before the Patrol for approval. View the No-Wake Application.

“The types of boats on the Lake have changed,” Wood pointed out, adding, “The property owners need to have rights too.”

The bill, if passed, would not apply for the 2018 summer season: it would go into effect on Aug. 28, 2018, Wood explained, “so there would be a season of warnings and education to make boaters aware.”