Who is responsible for the prop scars in Redfish Bay?
The simple answer is all of us who boat in the area. Anytime a boat is running with the prop hitting bottom, damage to grasses can occur. Vessels with larger motors have enough horse- power that their propellers can cut into the bottom and not bog down, which means that unaware or uncaring boaters are creating scars hundreds of yards long across the flats. Even shallow draft tunnel-hull boats can create scars when they get in shallow water. Many jack-plate and tunnel combinations do not lift a propeller high enough to get the bottom of the prop higher than the bottom of the vessel. These vessels can run shallower than conventional hull types, but most still have limitations on how shallow they can run without causing habitat damage.
