Bacho wrote:
gary eudy wrote:
even at Hobie max speed a rudder on a 16 would not hurt a manatee mine kick up when i hit a big jellyfish also a hobie is usually no wake boat most of the time
That would require rational thinking of police officers to recognize that, something I would not recommend relying on.
Your best bet would be to write the agency enforcing this, probably would wildlife service and explain your boat and ask, find out what exactly "slow" speed is. The 25mph limit is something you probably should not worry about.
I should have specified that during season, 90% of these manatee zones revert to idle speed, no wake. That is when the police make their money. It would make a nice story to tell everyone that I got a ticket, but I just couldn't afford it.
It doesn't matter whether or not the cop is being rational. The police around here (particularly on the water) would write you a ticket for excessive breathing if they could.
I would write to them, but I'm worried they'll say no. Then if I get pulled over in the future, they'll have evidence that I knew speeding on a non-motorized boat is illegal. I also looked through the FL statutes regarding these protection zones and it only references motorized vessels. So I will have good arguing points if I cop tries to nail me with a ticket.