May 3, 2023

A tsunami of opposition to wake boats swept through Wisconsin’s statewide conservation hearings in mid-April, with 62% of voters favoring restrictions on these popular wave-generating boats.

“Wakeboats” – which have ballast tanks in the stern to take on water, the weight of which helps generate surfing-size waves when towing wakeboarders – have generated divisive debates, especially near shore and on small lakes. In response, wakeboat foes presented six advisory questions for the spring hearings, which attracted 11,556 online voters April 10-13.