EAST TROY - Boating traffic isn't particularly heavy most Wednesdays on Lake Beulah near East Troy.

July 23 was an exception. It was also part of a well-publicized plan.

After a line of thunderstorms cleared the area, a flotilla of about 20 boats gathered at 9:30 a.m. along the shore of Camp Charles Allis in the southwestern lobe of the lake.

Engines were cut or idled as the motley assemblage of watercraft tightened in a circle.

The fleet included just about every type of boat that plies Wisconsin waters, including pontoon and fishing boats.

But also as part of the day's design, four of the vessels were distinguished from the others.

These – a deck boat, a jet boat, a speed boat with a stern drive or "I/O" engine and a wake boat – were on hand to be tested.

It was part of a study on

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