Adirondack Marine Service Center

New York's only statutory rental age is for personal watercraft and specialty prop-craft: Navigation Law §73-a bars a livery from renting one to anyone under sixteen, and in the same clause requires genuine proof of identification and age plus compliance with the boating safety certificate rule in section 49. A personal watercraft renter over eighteen may skip that certificate only where the livery keeps them within five hundred feet of the agent assigned to supervise, on a clearly marked craft.

Operating age is separate. Section 49 sets ten years for a mechanically propelled vessel and fourteen for a personal watercraft, each with a certificate; a personal watercraft operator may instead be accompanied by a certificate holder over eighteen. Rental companies set their own minimum age.

Source: New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (nysenate.gov)

Yes, but New York calls it a Safe Boating Certificate rather than a boating license. The state generally requires recreational operators of motorized vessels to complete a state-approved course and carry the original certificate, including for personal watercraft. Operators of other motorboats must be at least 10, while PWC operators must be at least 14. Renters age 18 or older may operate a livery motorboat without a certificate after receiving basic instruction and safety information; a rented PWC may be operated without one only within a marked area near the livery. Renters under 18 need a certificate, and no one under 16 may rent a PWC at all. Course graduates receive a temporary certificate valid for 90 days. Valid U.S. Coast Guard operator licensees are exempt. New York State Parks administers the program.

Source: New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (parks.ny.gov)

You can boat directly from Lake George Village into Lake George, choosing the Southern Basin, Dunham’s Bay, Log Bay or The Narrows without leaving the lake. Trailered boats can put in at DEC’s hard-surface Million Dollar Beach launch. The Southern Basin gives you broad, open water close to town, while Dunham’s Bay is a more enclosed side trip. Log Bay has a shallow, sandy bottom and is used for swimming and anchoring. Farther along, The Narrows threads between islands, including Glen Island and 14 Mile Island, and feels more confined than the main basin.

Source: Lake George Park Commission (dec.ny.gov)

Boaters on Lake George head to Speaker Heck Island for pavilion picnics, West Dollar Island for a dockside picnic stop, and Diamond Island for a day-use landing. Farther up the lake, the Waltonian Islands offer a quieter setting for picnicking or camping, while Robert E. Henry Memorial Park in Hague provides public docking beside a beach and playground.

The island stops are reached by boat, and New York’s DEC identifies Speaker Heck, West Dollar and Diamond as designated day-use areas with docks.

Source: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (dec.ny.gov)