AUGUSTA – Four proposed bills to make boating safer on Maine waters got mixed reviews during public legislative testimony Tuesday.

The Joint Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife heard Reps. Richard Sykes, R-Harrison, Timothy Driscoll, D-Westbrook and Thomas Watson, D-Bath.

The bills are a response to an Aug. 11 boating accident on Long Lake in Harrison in which a 34-foot, twin-engine high-performance boat operated by Robert LaPointe, 38, of Medway, Mass., struck a 14-foot motorboat carrying Terry Raye Trott, 55, of Naples and Suzanne Groetzinger, 44, of Berwick. The couple died in the nighttime accident.

LaPointe and his 19-year-old passenger survived. He has been indicted on two counts of manslaughter, four counts of aggravated operating under the influence, and a count of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon.

Sykes has submitted two of the bills, which would limit the horsepower on boats on Long Lake and Brandy Pond in Naples to less than 500 horsepower and prohibit the operation of a motorboat by minors under the age of 16. These bills would also create horsepower restrictions on several Maine waterways, require boaters to wear personal flotation devices, and prohibit motorboat operation between sunset and sunrise.

“The issue for me comes directly out of this accident,” Sykes said. “That boat could have been operated by a 12-year-old.”

Driscoll’s bill would allow boat owners to register their craft online, while Watson’s bill would require completion of a safety course before a person could operate a motorboat. Watson’s bill, which would be phased in over eight years, would not apply to out-of-state tourists, and Maine boaters would have to pass the test once.

“It merely means that over time, everyone on the water will know the fundamentals of boating safety,” Watson said.

Sykes said he had considered all of the bill’s goals, as well as the possibility of a speed limit for boats and greater enforcement by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

Rep. Ralph Sarty Jr., R-Denmark, said some boats, such as cabin cruisers, exceed the horsepower limitations but cannot reach excessive speeds. He suggested that the bill be amended to exempt certain watercraft.

Gair MacKenzie, a member of the Lake Region Safe Lakes Association, expressed his support for the bills, saying high-performance boats on Long Lake are the source of excessive noise.

“I don’t know if you’ve ever had a DC-10 take off over your head,” MacKenzie said, “but that’s what these boats sound like.”

MacKenzie also said the boats presented a safety issue, citing LaPointe’s craft in particular.

After the collision, which knocked LaPointe overboard, the boat went 134 feet inland between two residences.

“That boat was essentially an unguided missile, and it could have killed anyone on the shore,” MacKenzie said.

Jim Allen, owner of the Naples Marina on Long Lake, disagreed with horsepower limitations.

“We have a lot of boats in our marina that will be affected by LD 2090,” he said.

Allen argued that 36 boats would be prohibited from his marina under the new bill, and the restrictions would negatively affect the region’s economy.

Stephen Kasabian of New Gloucester said he knew the operators of both boats in the Long Lake collision and did not believe that horsepower limitations would have prevented the crash.

“That was an accident,” he said. “Horsepower was not the reason. Two boats collided in the night because the operators did not do what they were supposed to do.”

Several people expressed their support for an education requirement and greater enforcement on Maine’s lakes. Steve Blackstone, representing the National Transportation Safety Board, said 710 people died in boating accidents in 2006, and most of the the boaters did not have adequate knowledge of boating rules. Thirty-eight states already have education requirements.

Last year, 16 people died on Maine waterways.

George Smith, representing the Sportsmen’s Alliance of Maine said the bills would prove onerous to tourists and residents, and the issues involved could be resolved via harbormasters or local police.

“I would encourage you to do nothing that discourages young people from boating and fishing,” Smith said.

Maj. Greg Sanborn, the acting colonel of the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, expressed opposition to Sykes’ bill restricting motorboat operating times, saying it would inhibit such activities as duck hunting and bass fishing.