Freedom Boat Club – Portage

Indiana requires a motorboat operator to hold a valid driver's license, or else to be at least 15 years old, to have passed a Boater Education Course, and to carry an identification card issued by the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Those requirements are set out in IC 14-15-11. The state sets no minimum age for renting, so the rental company's own policy is what decides whether you can book. Confirm it when you reserve.

Source: Indiana Department of Natural Resources (faqs.in.gov)

Indiana does not issue a separate recreational boating license; operators of motorboats over 10 horsepower, including personal watercraft, generally must carry a valid driver’s license. A person age 15 or older without one may operate only after completing an Indiana Department of Natural Resources approved boater education course and carrying an Indiana BMV identification card. No one under 15 may operate a motorboat over 10 horsepower or a personal watercraft.

The rule has no birth date cutoff. Rental customers are not listed as exempt. A temporary course certificate may document completion, but it does not replace the required BMV ID. Boats with 10 horsepower or less are excluded from these operator requirements.

Source: Indiana Department of Natural Resources, in.gov/dnr (faqs.in.gov)

Indiana’s best boating choices span several distinct water types: Lake Michigan for open coastal water in the northwest, Lake Wawasee for northern Indiana’s natural glacial lake country, Chain O’Lakes State Park for connected kettle lakes, and Monroe Lake and Patoka Lake for large inland reservoirs. Chain O’Lakes has nine connected lakes suited to paddling and electric motor boating. Indiana DNR identifies Wawasee as the state’s largest natural lake and describes Monroe and Patoka as man made reservoirs, giving boaters options from sheltered lake chains to broad, open water.

Source: Indiana Department of Natural Resources, in.gov/dnr (in.gov)

Popular boating destinations in Indiana include Monroe Lake near Bloomington, Lake Wawasee, Tippecanoe Lake and Patoka Lake. Monroe is Indiana’s largest lake and has numerous marinas for boating; Wawasee is the state’s largest natural lake at 3,000 acres; Tippecanoe is Indiana’s deepest natural lake at 123 feet; and Patoka offers an 8,800-acre reservoir with 10 launch ramps, boating, fishing and waterskiing. These destinations give boaters a choice between southern Indiana’s large reservoirs and northern Indiana’s natural glacial lakes.

Source: Indiana Department of Natural Resources (in.gov)