You do know that, by putting a trolling motor on your kayak, you're
classified as a power boat, right?

Oh, give me a break. At worst I'd be a hybrid. Small, slow, noiseless
and backed up by paddles.

Still a power boat. So is a sailboat when under power, which they are most
of the time while in the Intracoastal.

At one point, my Canoe was registered as a 'powerboat'. And I recall
that it was a bit of a nuisance to get it fit with letters of the
required minimum height for its Registration#.

No more nuisance than any other boat. You left off the bother of having to
renew it every year. It's a tax, pure and simple. If you are documented,
it's worse. I don't have to display numbers, the name of the boat
identifies it. The numbers that match the name have to be permanently
carved into the boat somewhere. Mine are in a stringer in the engine room.
In addition to the Coast Guard document, which has to be renewed every year,
I have to have a Florida registration as well that alwo has to be renewed
every year.

I'd look before I anchor to a reef, don't you?

What am I going to see when the reef is more than 100 feet below and
visibility is 40 to 50 feet? I have an option most kayakers don't. I have
a color depth finder that can give me an idea of the nature of the bottom
below me. It's not always sure what I'm over, but I generally have at least
an idea what's there. A high profile reef is pretty easy to see. A flat
one isn't.

OK, why don't you get rid of the big ones?

If you're talking about the anchor, because it's what I need to hold my big
boat. If you mean the boat itself, because it's what I stay on, fish from
and dive from. I'm not sure my wife would agree to sleep on a kayak.

Can the government ever be that bad? They claim they treat everything
at Virginia Key...

Hugh already gave you the links.

http://www.reef-rescue.org/research/keywestcitizenpage1.pdf
http://www.reef-rescue.org/MiamiHerald/Oceanisnoplacefortreatedsewage.pdf

Here's their homepage; note the 'Donate' button:
http://www.reef-rescue.org/

Do you do kayaking by any chance, or you just represent the
motorboating association?

I have a kayak. I don't usually take it into the ocean. I sometimes take
it into the Gulf when I vacation in the Keys. I'm taking the boat down to
Lake Olita this weekend. Perhaps I'll see if the kayak will fit on the bow.
I'd kind of like to tour the waterway in the state park and they won't allow
my powered dinghy in there.

Apparently, you find it utterly incomprehensible for there to be
people who actually own both powered and unpowered watercraft,
particularly when their perspectives and conclusions are at odds with
yours.

Until recently, I had a rowboat and a sail boat too. As Hugh knows, I live
on a lake.

Lee