How big a boat can you have on the lake?
This is a rather complex question, and there are several things that place limits on the size of boat you can have on the Minneapolis Lakes: New for 2011 is a limit of 30 feet for boats. It is hard to image a 30 footer on the lakes, although there is a 27. You can find more info HERE . Beyond that, there are practical limitations:
Trailerable: Legally, this means a beam of no more than 8 1/2 feet, and therefore a LOA of maybe 25 feet. 25 feet would be a BIG boat on Lake Harriet.
Draft: Because you will have to launch using the ramp, you cannot draw a lot of water. Swing, shoal, and wing keels are most popular. High aspect, fixed fins will be an issue without some real creativity. We launch our Beneteau First 235 with 2.9 feet of draft without the tongue extension. You also have to look at how high your waterline sits at the axle. Lower is better. In general, the ramp is high quality, and the water gets deep quickly.
Motor: The low HP output of the required electric motor will af...