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Well, you fellas will all get a kick out of this one. This week, pulled my Whaler, my first, out of storage and spent a day cleaning it up for the season. Yesterday, a colleague's husband who has forgotten more about boats than I know, came over and we took it to a local lake. Put it in the water, the Merc fired up, and we blissfully headed across the lake. At the far end near the dam, a park ranger stepped out of his car replete with flashing lights and asked (told) me to return to the dock, which I did. He told me he had received complaints that a boat with a motor was on the lake and that he HAD to write me a ticket, couldn't just give me a warning and send me on my way. When I explained my ignorance (previously I had paddled this lake many times in my kayak and had boats whiz by me WITH motors) he explained that the rules had changed a couple of years ago... Too bad the lady who registered my boat at the parks administration office didn't read the boat registration that clearly stated the parameters of my 15 footer. Now I'm $45 lighter but a bit wiser. Tuition, I guess, in Boating 101.
So...words to the wise: check where you are going to go for hp/motor restrictions.
That said, cruising down the lake in my new to me Whaler was all that I hoped it would be.