MIKE BRAUN Issue of motor hp to air at meeting

By Mike Braun
Vindicator Outdoor EditorThe issue of boat motor horsepower on Pymatuning Reservoir will be discussed at a public forum planned for sometime later this year.
The move for a forum came about after Pennsylvania implemented a pilot program earlier this year that raised horsepower limits on six of its state parks' lakes.
Boaters on these lakes who routinely circumvented the posted 10-hp limit by altering their boats' motors are part of the reason, Ohio and Pennsylvania officials said.
"It doesn't take much to change a motor," said Pete Houghton, park manager at Pymatuning State Park in Pennsylvania, "and it's hard to tell because there's nothing to show the change."
Houghton said some boaters routinely bored-out boat motors, in effect increasing the motor's rating to 15 hp or more. Other things some boaters have done included altering carburetor systems, or displaying 10-horsepower motor covers on motors that actually were more powerful.
Though outboards larger than 18 horsepower are allowed on boats used in all Pennsylvania state park lakes, they can be operated only in those lakes approved for unlimited horsepower, state park rules stipulate.
Lakes affected
The raise affected Lake Marburg, Codorus State Park, York County; Lake Wilhelm, Maurice K. Goddard State Park, Mercer County; Lake Arthur, Moraine State Park, Butler County; Lake Nockamixon, Nockamixon State Park, Bucks County; Glendale Lake, Prince Gallitzin State Park, Cambria County; and Yellow Creek Lake, Yellow Creek State Park, Indiana County. With the exception of Yellow Creek, all lakes involved in the pilot program are larger than 1,000 acres.
Pymatuning Reservoir -- at Pymatuning State Park in Crawford County -- also was targeted for a 10- to 18-horsepower increase, but could not implement the trial program because the lake straddles both Pennsylvania and Ohio and approval by both states is needed. The as-yet unscheduled meeting is one of the first steps to getting approval for Pymatuning, Houghton said.
A meeting by natural resources officials from both states was held Sept. 25, and an agreement was made to hold the public forum, said Houghton.
"We wanted to hold a public meeting in this area to take public input," Houghton said.
Houghton and Ron Kus, business group manager for the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Parks and Recreation, said it would not be feasible for Ohio or Pennsylvania workers to check individual engines for compliance.
Impossible to implement
Such a move would entail having boaters break down an engine and then checking individual engine components with calibrated tools -- time-consuming, expensive and all but impossible to implement, the two officials conceded.
"It is difficult to catch without tearing the engine apart," Houghton explained. "What we are trying to do is make legal what's already running on the lake," he said.
So far, Houghton said he has received more negative opinions on the change than positive. However, he added, "The reality is that it is not really a change but more of a cover for what is running out on the lakes now."
Kus said his office has received both positive and negative commentary from the public on a horsepower change.
"I have got some letters from concerned boaters about the possibility of the change," he said. "But there are people on both sides."
Kus said there are legitimate issues at the heart of the change. "With a 10-horsepower motor it is difficult for the larger pontoon boats to get across the lake, and there are also safety concerns," he said.
No proposal yet
The Ohio official said that there was no specific proposal outlining what should be done on Pymatuning. "We will be looking at all the issues," he said.
Both men said a likely date for the meeting will be in November or December. Houghton added that with the legislative approval needed for any such change on Pymatuning, any change proposed probably would not be implemented before the 2004 boating season.
braun@vindy.com