Some Jet Skis still legal at Lake Tahoe

Most Jet Skis have indeed been prohibited on the lake since a ban went into effect June 1 for carbureted two-stroke engines - the kind that traditionally have powered the personal watercraft.

But a number of new models on the market conform with the new restrictions and are available to rent or buy at the lake.

"I thought they banned them all," said Alan Hennig, 22, Reno. "I didn't think they had any at all up here anymore."

Ron Williams, who owns three watercraft rental companies at the lake, said Hennig's misunderstanding is not uncommon.

"A lot of people think all Jet Skis are banned at Lake Tahoe," Williams said. "There are machines that are legal, and Jet Skiing is up and running at Lake Tahoe."

The Tahoe Regional Planning Agency imposed the ordinance prohibiting the two-stroke engines - the first of its kind in the nation.

It targets those engines because they discharge 25 percent or more of their fuel-oil mix unburned into a body of water that must be protected under federal law.

While many rental companies fought long and hard against a law they called flawed and scientifically unjustified, by last spring most were trying to figure out how to stay in business.

The only answer was to lay down big bucks to purchase a new fleet composed of one of the several newer and cleaner fuel-injected models of personal watercraft still allowed at Lake Tahoe.

Williams spent $175,000 to buy 24 new Sea-Doos - two models that are legal now but will be prohibited beginning in October 2001. That's exactly how long he expects it will take him to recoup the investment forced because of the regional planning agency's actions.

People seem to enjoy the newer machines - enough that they're paying higher rental rates without much complaint.

"The machines are just so much more of a Cadillac," said Bob Hassett, owner of Action Watersports. Hassett rents new Sea-Doos as well as another and even cleaner model, the Polaris Genesis FFI, at locations in Incline Village and South Lake Tahoe.

"People are really enjoying them, so an extra 10 bucks doesn't seem to be affecting things," said Hassett, who raised rental rates from $80 an hour to $90.

The new machines are more powerful. The Sea-Doo GTX RFI is 110 horsepower and capable of speeds of up to 50 mph. Many rental companies worried the new machines would go too fast to be rented out safely.

At Zephyr Cove, Kirk Neiderhaus of Captain Kirk's Beach Club elected to mechanically decrease the maximum speed of his Sea Doos. Williams chose not to do so and said so far, he's experienced no accidents.

Neiderhaus says he will need some time to earn the $100,000 investment for his new watercraft, but he is philosophical.

"I'll recoup it back," Neiderhaus said. "I had no choice. If I hadn't spent it, I would have been out of business."

Brian Judge, a regional planning agency official heading the agency's fledgling boating-enforcement effort, tries to steer business toward the lake's rental companies. He often gets calls from visitors planning a trip to the lake who have heard something of the agency's regulations.

"I'll get someone calling saying, 'I've got an '87 Jet Ski. Is it legal?' I say no, but all the rental companies up here have legal machines," Judge said. "The companies are setting a good example."

archive