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County may shush airboats
©Associated Press
October 8, 2002
OCALA -- Marion County commissioners are considering an ordinance that would force airboat operators to muffle their high-powered engines.
The board agreed last week to hold public hearings in December on a proposal to set a maximum noise level at 90 decibels as heard from at least 50 feet away. If adopted, the ordinance would require airboat operators to quiet their engines to the level of a lawn mower.
An unmuffled airboat, frequently powered by a V-8 car engine, registers between 115 decibels and 130 decibels, according to University of Florida researchers.
Commission Vice Chairman Parnell Townley said the proposed ordinance is in response to complaints about late-night airboating from residents along Lake Weir.
"We're not trying to eliminate airboats off of any waterways," Townley said. The board will decide if it needs to install a standard where none exists, he said.
But some airboat owners said there may be technical problems with adding a muffler to their engines.
"The one big problem is that the propeller attacking the air is where the noise comes from," said Russell Baillie, an airboat owner who lives on Lake George. "Once you get up to cruising speed it's all the propeller, and a muffler isn't going to help that at all."
Baillie said he agrees with idea behind the ordinance, however, saying it may help in areas where airboats idle.
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