ME Yacht Restoration

The legal minimum depends on vessel class and power: Michigan has no minimum operating age for a motorboat of 6 horsepower or less. For more than 6 horsepower, unsupervised operation starts at 12 with a boating safety certificate. Under 12, operation through 35 horsepower requires that certificate and direct onboard supervision by someone at least 16; stronger boats are prohibited. Personal watercraft require age 14. Ages 14–15 need a certificate and either a parent, legal guardian, or designated adult 21 or older onboard, or within 100 feet while that adult operates another personal watercraft; independent operation starts at 16. Certificates are compulsory for motorboat operators born on or after July 1, 1996, and PWC operators born after December 31, 1978. Rental operators set their minimums, so confirm when booking.

Source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (michigan.gov)

Michigan requires a boating safety certificate rather than a recreational boating license for anyone born on or after July 1, 1996, operating a motorboat over 6 horsepower. A child under 12 may operate 6 to 35 horsepower only with a certificate and direct onboard supervision by someone at least 16, and may not operate more than 35 horsepower.

For personal watercraft, no one under 14 may operate. Ages 14 and 15 need a certificate plus either accompaniment by a parent, legal guardian or designated adult 21 or older, or operation within 100 feet of one; operators born after December 31, 1978, need a certificate. A renter who completes livery safety training may use the written rental agreement as a certificate only for the listed rental dates. Michigan DNR administers the program.

Source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (michigan.gov)

From Holland, you can boat on Lake Macatawa, explore Pine Creek Bay and Big Bay, pass through the Holland Harbor channel, or continue onto Lake Michigan. Put in at the Lake Macatawa boating access site on Ottawa Beach Road. Lake Macatawa is the inland cruising choice; watch the charted shoals outside the dredged channel. Pine Creek Bay provides good small-craft anchorage, while Big Bay has shoals at its entrance and a seasonally buoyed channel. The Narrows is a marked slow-no-wake area. The harbor channel runs between breakwaters and connects the lake with Lake Michigan.

Source: Michigan Department of Natural Resources (michigan.gov)

From Holland, three practical boating destinations are Pine Creek Bay on Lake Macatawa, downtown Saugatuck on the Kalamazoo River, and Grand Haven on the Grand River. Pine Creek Bay offers good anchorage for small craft over a mud bottom. In Saugatuck, Coghlin Park’s Shoppers’ Dock provides short-term boat access to downtown shopping and dining. Grand Haven’s Municipal Marina sits near Chinook Pier and offers dockside water, ice, electricity, restrooms and showers. NOAA describes harbor channels from Lake Michigan into both destination rivers.

Source: NOAA (nauticalcharts.noaa.gov)