NAPLES – A proposed cap on horsepower for boats on Long Lake is receiving poor reviews from marinas on the 11-mile-long waterway.

Rep. Richard Sykes, R-Harrison, has proposed four laws to go before the state Legislature regarding boat safety. One of the laws would limit boats operating on Long Lake to 500 horsepower or less.

The proposal is a response to an Aug. 11 nighttime collision of boats near the Harrison-Naples town line in which Terry Raye Trott and Suzanne Groetzinger were killed.

“Obviously they’re trying to take a shotgun approach to controlling certain things, and I don’t think horsepower is what they ought to be going after,” said Kent Uicker, sales manager at Moose Landing Marina in Naples. “They ought to be going after the owner of the boat who isn’t abiding by the laws.”

Uicker said the law would restrict him from selling 30- to 35-foot fiberglass cabin cruisers, whose size necessitates motors greater than 500 horsepower.

“Some of those have twin engines, and none of them go very fast,” Uicker said.

Uicker said speed is a bigger factor in boating safety than horsepower, and even a boat with a 30-horsepower engine could be deadly if it is not properly used. Uicker said he would support a nighttime speed limit on the lake, though not a daytime limit.

Jim Allen, owner of the Naples Marina, and Jerry Knapp, owner of the Gateway Marina in Harrison, said they also sell cabin cruisers requiring more horsepower. Knapp said about 5 percent of his boats require more horsepower, including the occasional racing boat like the one involved in the August crash.

“It’s the operator, not the boat,” Knapp said.

Stacy Worster, owner of Worster’s Marina Center in Harrison, also disagreed with the proposed restriction.

“I don’t necessarily agree with that,” Worster said. “In my opinion, it’s not the boat that kills, obviously. It’s just like automobiles.”

Sykes and other representatives are also proposing three other laws that would increase boat safety. One would have boaters complete a mandatory boater education course before being licensed, while another would create a summer warden within the Maine Warden Service to better enforce boating laws.

Another law would restrict operation of “certain motorboats” to operators 16 years of age or older. Under current Maine law, a 12-year-old may operate a boat with a 10-horsepower engine or greater if supervised by someone who is at least 16.

These laws got a warmer reception from the marinas. Uicker said a policy of safety, education, and enforcement will improve boating on the lake, while Allen called the three proposed laws “great ideas.”

Knapp agreed with the proposed laws for a restricted operating age and greater enforcement.

“We need more enforcement on the lakes,” Knapp said. “The wardens are spread so thin right now they can’t keep up with all of the complaints.”

However, Knapp said mandatory education would affect his rental business because out-of-state visitors would not take the course.

“They’re not going to get the education just to use a boat for the weekend,” he said.

In August, Trott, 55, of Naples and Groetzinger, 44, of Berwick were killed when their 14-foot motorboat was cut in half by a 34-foot high performance speedboat operated by Robert LaPointe Jr., 38, of Medway, Mass.

LaPointe’s boat had two 435-horsepower engines and was estimated to be traveling at 45 miles per hour at the time of the collision. LaPointe was indicted earlier this month by a Cumberland County grand jury on two counts of manslaughter, four counts of aggravated operating under the influence, and one count of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.

LaPointe later turned himself in at the Cumberland County Jail, posted $100,000 cash bail and was released.