LAKE SUMMERSET BOATING REGULATIONS (FROM REDBOOK Effective March
14, 2005)
1. General Regulations
(a) The provisions of the State of Illinois Boat Registration and Safety
Act are incorporated by reference into these Regulations. All boats on LSA
common property or in the water must have current State/LSA decals.
(b) Every boat operator is required to know the Boat
Registration and Safety Act.
(c) The racing of powerboats is not permitted.
(d) No boat shall be operated in any restricted areas, which are marked
by buoys, or which may be otherwise so designated from time-to-time.
(e) Docking of boats is only permitted in posted areas, or on
the shoreline of your lot, or on another owner’s lot provided the owner has
previously given written permission to you. No docking or beaching is
permitted on LSA dock areas except as posted. Regulations regarding
docking at the marina docks will be published in the newspaper and/or
posted at those docks.
(f) Any boat operator involved in a boating accident must
report such accident to the Manager or Security and may be required to fill
out State Accident Form.
(g) No person in any boat shall operate radio, stereo, or electronic
device of any sound or amplification system, which can be heard 75 or
more feet from boat when boat is standing or being operated on the lake,
except for emergency use or official security use, or permission of the LSA
Manager.
2. Registration of Boats
(a) Any boat operated on the lake must be registered with the State in
which the owner resides if registration of that boat is required by the laws
of that State. All such boats must clearly display the State registration
number. Non-powered boats, such as canoes, paddle boats, kayaks, etc.,
only need display, a valid state registration decal, and an LSA registration
decal with lot number.
(b) All boats operated on the lake must be registered with the
LSA office. To register a boat an LSA registration form (available by mail
from the LSA office) must be completed and submitted along with:
1) A copy of the registration issued by Illinois or the State in
which the owner resides, if registration is required by the State
2) A certificate of marine public liability and property damage insurance
if the boat is equipped with a motor exceeding 10 horsepower.
3) Temporary registration requires documentation and
insurance.
(c) Each boat seasonally registered with the LSA office in accordance
with Section E-2(b) shall be given an LSA colored registration sticker and
shall be assigned an LSA registration number (owner's lot number). The
sticker must be displayed clearly on the boat port side (left) gunwale,
adjacent to the stern. LSA numbers must be of contrasting color to the boat.
LS and your lot number (for example, LS 1) must be displayed on
both gunwales adjacent to the stern. The size of the displayed numerals
shall be the same as those for the State registration number and may be
applied by using the conventional numerical decals available at hardware or
marine stores. Any person operating a boat not displaying a current Lake
Summerset registration sticker and lot number (except those boats having
a valid temporary registration) will be subject to monetary penalty and
suspension of boat privileges. Boat “types” as the term is used herein are
(i) power boats, including deckboats, having a motor exceeding 30
horsepower, (ii) fishing boats having a motor of 30 HP or less, (iii) pontoon
boats, and (iv) non-motorized boats (e.g., canoes, kayaks, paddles boats,
wind surfers, etc). No more than one boats of each type may be registered
per lot, except that up to six non-motorized boats may be registered per lot
in any combination.
(d) If you do not have a boat of a given type registered with the LSA
office but have a guest who owns a boat of that type which you wish to
borrow and use, you may obtain a temporary registration of your borrowed
boat by applying to the LSA office. You must be on the boat at all times
when it is in use on the lake. The validated colored temporary registration
form must be carried in that boat when on the water and turned in to the
guard when exiting through the main gate. To avoid over-crowding of the
lake, you will not be permitted to temporarily register or operate your
guest's boat if you have a registered boat of the same type.
(e) A boat registration card will be issued each year with the
registration sticker for a boat. Any person taking a boat from Lake
Summerset must stop at the main gate and exhibit the registration card to
the guard.
3. Speed Limits
(a) Boats must never exceed a speed, which is safe and reasonable for
the prevailing conditions and never above forty miles per hour.
(b) No boat may exceed a slow, "no wake" speed while
between the shoreline and the marker buoys, which ring the lake, or while
in other designated restricted areas. "NO WAKE" means flat water without
any froth behind the boat.
(c) No power boat may exceed a speed of ten miles an hour before
10 a.m. and after 8 p.m. on weekdays and before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. on
Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. You must do your fast boat riding and
skiing during these middle hours and leave the other hours for the
enjoyment of fishermen, canoeists and sailors.
(d) Traffic flow for all boats, outside the buoys and all water skiing must
be in a generally counterclockwise direction around the lake.
(e) Boats must stay at least 100 feet from a flag or buoy marking the
presence of a scuba diver under the water.
4. Restrictions on Sizes and Types of Boats
(a) No powerboat operated on the lake may exceed 17 feet in length per
manufacturer's specification and Illinois State Registration.
No pontoon boat operated on the lake may exceed 20 feet in
length per manufacturer's specification and Illinois State Registration.
No sailboat operated on the lake may exceed 20 feet in length per
manufacturer's specifications and Illinois State Registration.
The exception to the limits specified herein shall be those crafts,
which have been continuously registered with LSA prior to the adoption of
the applicable length limit.
(b) No boat-motor combination exceeding 70 horsepower may be
operated on the lake or registered by LSA unless that same boat-motor
combination has been continuously registered with LSA prior to the
adoption of the applicable horsepower limit. However, the 70 hp limit
stated above is increased to 75 hp for motors which are replacements on
registered boats or equipped on boats newly registered after January 2003,
providing such motors meet or exceed CARB 2006 emission standards (for
example 4 cycle or “2 cycle hybrid” technology outboard engines).
(c) Houseboats may not be operated on the lake nor may
anyone sleep overnight on any boat.
(d) All boats may cross the lake in the most direct manner at any given
time, providing good judgment is used and the safety of others is
observed. Non-motorized boats shall have the right of way.
5. Personal Watercraft
"Personal Watercraft" means a motorboat that uses an
inboard/outboard motor powering a water jet pump or propeller as its
primary source of power and that is designed to be operated by standing
on, kneeling on or sitting astride the watercraft. Personal watercraft is
subject to all State of Illinois Dept. of Conservation boating regulations and
LSA boating rules.
(a) No person may operate a personal watercraft BETWEEN SUNSET
AND SUNRISE. (Fast boating hours rule applies per Section 3(c).
(b) No person may operate a personal watercraft unless each
person riding on the personal watercraft is wearing a personal flotation
device.
(c) Jumping the wake of another boat is prohibited
(d) Racing of personal watercraft is prohibited (see Section E1(c).
(e) No person may use a personal watercraft to tow a person
or any other watercraft or device.
(f) The motor power output on all personal watercraft may not exceed
550cc's except that all units previously registered over 550cc's will be
grandfathered until such time they are replaced.
(g) Effective June 2, 1995, no "Personal Watercraft" as described in the
opening paragraph of Section E5 shall be allowed to be registered or
operated on Lake Summerset. Personal watercraft previously and
continuously registered with LSA shall be "grandfathered" so long as
ownership does not change.
(h) All craft to be operated over, on, in or below the waters of LSA must
comply with E4 (restrictions on sizes and types of boats) and E5 (personal
watercraft). If not in compliance, the craft is prohibited until LSA approval.
(i) Transfer/Sale of watercraft. See Article 3, Section 2 of the By-Laws of
LSA
F. WATER SKIING REGULATIONS
1. General Regulations
(a) The provisions of the State of Illinois Boat Registration and Safety
Act have been adopted by the Board to be applicable to all water skiing
activities on the lake. Water skiing shall be defined to include the usage of
towable devices such as tubes, kneeboards and etc., used to carry a person
or persons on the water. Any violation of State law is a violation of these
regulations.
(b) Neither a boat towing a skier nor the towed skier may enter
any "no wake" restricted areas marked by buoys or which may otherwise
be so designated from time to time.
(c) All skiers must remain 50 feet outwardly of buoys and other
markers designating restricted areas.
(d) Kites, jumps and slalom courses are prohibited unless express
written permission is first obtained from the Manager.
(e) The intentional "dropping" of one or more skis is not permitted
except within 50 feet outwardly of the buoys along that shore where an in-
shore wind prevails at the time.
(f) Because skiing is not permitted within the marker buoys,
which ring the lake, ski "starts" and "stops" must not begin or end at the
shoreline or a dock.
(g) Simultaneous towing of more than one skier, tube or similar device
is prohibited on all Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The Water Safety
Staff may advise boaters to terminate any activity due to heavy traffic or
other unsafe conditions.
2. Hours for Skiing
No water skiing may take place before 10 a.m. and after 8 p.m. on
weekdays and before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. on Saturdays, Sundays and
holidays. Illinois law prohibits water skiing after sundown.
3. Pontoon Boats
(a) Pontoon boats must adhere to all rules applicable to conventional
powerboats, but with the additional limitations that on Saturdays, Sundays
and Holidays, deck boats of over 17 feet in length, as well as all pontoon
boats (of any length) must not pull skiers, tubes, etc.
(b) On other days, during fast boating hours if pulling a skier,
skiing regulations as set forth in Section F1(c) apply. (All skiers must
remain 50 feet outside of buoys and other markers designating restricted
areas.)