Wolfeboro Hit and Run
 

My wife just shared this with me. Poor Chris Craft.

https://indepthnh.org/2023/08/13/wol...investigation/

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Wmur
 

WMUR is posting the same story with the same two pictures now...

Unbelievable….what a shame!

Sad and disgusting, especially to an irreplaceable boat. Happy to see the ID'd the guys, looking forward to heavy punishment

So what is the punishment for leaving the scene of a boating accident and not reporting it?

I can see that the beach area is roped off around the raft for swimming and safety, I am assuming. Do you think that he hit a rock which pushed him off course and into the boat or what is anyone speculating?

Maybe alcohol was involved ?

Obviously some very poor judgement was involved in leaving the scene but maybe they'll blame it on the bottle.

We just went by. There are three barges, 2 MP Cars, and caution tape there. The boat hasn't been moved. The wooden boat was taken out.

Crime Scene?
 

"Caution" tape or "Crime Scene" tape?

:confused:

The dock doesn't look so good, either...:(


Let's not speculate now.

We'll have the full story soon...

Y'know, like the Nipple Rock crash. :rolleye2:

It was hard to tell -it was yellow.

The owner of this boat is a menace. It is the same one that was found on the rocks a few years ago. The picture of them leaving in the getaway boat is priceless!

I saw this boat in Meredith a few years ago. Probably 20 people on it partying hard. They pulled into the docks to reload on beer. Multiple cases were carried across the street and loaded on so the party could rage on.

Sorry, pics from my phone often load upside down!

Since it’s State Police, I’m betting leaving the scene of a boating accident is the same as leaving the scene of a car accident. As far as alcohol use - there is now no way to prove it. May have been why they left the scene but, we’ll never know for sure.

Sad about the beautiful Chris-Craft but at least no one was hurt.


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Back upside up

Very sad about the old woody.

Maybe in addition to conduct after an accident charge to the driver, the other driver of the get away boat should be charged with accessory after the fact.

Alan

Only reason they fled was they were hammered. No other reason to run. You just put a boat worth $100k on the a dock. They are gonna get caught cause you know they gotta call their insurance company lol.

Well, I was thinking they must impound the boat until after the trial.
As well as remove boating license until such time... and if found guilty... could they lose their boating license forever?

They had time to report it the next day... but seems they didn't bother.
The damage is well over $1000, but I don't know what the reporting timeline is.

Would this be a big enough event to trigger a round of LSRs to enhance penalties?

Both the owner of the Sea Ray and the Wellcraft should lose their boating licenses for ten years. Even if they can't prove impairment, leaving the scene of an accident should result in that steep of a penalty. Especially for Sea Ray guy. Second wreck of his in two years

I’m sure they are “lawyered up” and are planning the usual defenses (I wasn’t on the boat, someone stole my boat, there must be a boat like mine w/a falsified registration number, etc.). Hope he/they get more than a slap on the wrist! Not sure taking someone’s boating license will stop these guys from operating.


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Make a condition of operating with a suspended license the same as a car; you get caught, you go to jail. This wealthy A-hole should not be above the law

Total jerks. I bet when they hit this boat they didnt stick around to even make sure noone else was on or around that woody. Just concerned about themselves. That Sea Ray will be sold and they will be the same old jerks on some other boat next summer. Thank God noone got hurt.

All the names you all are calling these clowns are far too generous. I for one, lack words.

Boat is being towed back to MP headquarters right now. MP right there with them

Its going to be interesting to see how this one unfolds... Of course I also wonder just how many details we are going to get as the investigation goes on.....

They MP have all the information they need to get this figured out, we all just need to allow that to happen.......

We will probably get as much information as the guy who hit nipple rock! Those names were never released to the public!….makes you wonder why?….

Dan

The guy who hit a rock just hit a rock. Destroying somebody else's boat and fleeing may be criminal. If not criminal, it's at least subject to a civil lawsuit. Either way leaves a public record

Hit A Rock?
 

The guy just didn’t “hit a rock”….he and his passenger were both ejected into the water while his boat went dangerously around in circles before eventually hitting the back end of a marine patrol boat and nearly killed two officers while dragging them under the overturned and capsized RIB…..Yet no names released?…really?? Sorry but something stinks to high heaven on that one!

Dan

I think what they are trying to say is the guy that hit Nipple rock might not have had any charges because no significant laws were broken, so no names would have been made public. Might have been an unfortunate accident.

I have seen this in every recreation.
Complaints about the loss of freedom (speed on Winni and such), but no legislator around the lake seeking to impose higher fines and loss of privilege.

I have to say, it is our fault. We simply allow it to go on day after day without holding the Legislature's feet to the fire.

Instead we make broad restrictions that only punish those that act in good faith.

Hope they will use his cell phone data to prove he was there.


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Unfortunately it will be almost impossible to prove impairment or who was driving... Although there may be some charges forthcoming from the investigation.

The silver lining of this accident is that thankfully nobody was killed and most likely there is plenty of liability insurance on that 50' SeaRay to cover both the dock rebuild and the old woody rebuild.

Woodsy

An owner has so lovingly cared for such an old wooden craft, and have it wrecked by a window licker on HIS dock!
Anybody that has similar stories about this oxygen thief like codeman671posted up, I’m sure the D.A. will appreciate the help! Let’s get this guy (and the 1997 Well Craft… accessory after the fact) buried in lawyer fees before a trail is even held from his past practices.

Slow learner
 

Same boat Grounded on different rocks September 2021

A bit of rotate

That driver is a danger to the lake.

The boat is currently at Silver Sands Marina with two Marine Patrol Officers standing by. It may be taken out of the water by crane in the next couple of days.

You really have to over achieve to qualify for two rows of Police tape!

In all seriousness, almost all people go their whole (boating) lives without doing what this guy did...TWICE.

I hope there are serious consequences for everyone involved.

Also, were I him, I'd be thanking whatever god he believes in that he doesn't have blood on his hands.

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Yes and yes. I agree with Dan's implication--I should not be flippant about the danger to the officers. But as chachee says--the Nipple Rock incident does not appear to be a crime. This latest incident does. So we should expect names here

A note that someone posted aerial pics and a bit more detail about the accident on the iBoat Facebook page.

Here's the link, for anyone interested: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1423...ibextid=Nif5oz

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I was at a boat repair shop near Exeter and a person who works their, and knew I kept my boat on Winni, brought the accident up unsolicited. He add that a rumor is circulating that the owner has said that the boat was stolen by a bunch of kids. I wonder???????


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There is a picture on social media of the escape boat sitting in the water by the crash...and it's full of middle aged people, not any kids that I could see.

The social media post I mention “alleges” that the crew was seen in at a watering hole on the other side of the lake at 8. If he or “they” are adding (allegedly) false reporting of a crime to the charges, have at it.

They have 2 boats (both identified), and at least “some” pictures from Winter Harbor after the crash. I gather from that social media post, that there are eyewitness reports from this bar.

Missing "Normal" Yet...?
 

That may be a Hackercraft. :eek2:

I have sent an email to the NHMP to confirm that name and the location of the "accident". Technically, it maybe been Tuftonboro Bay (Libby Museum area) and not Winter Harbor (Carry Beach area).

That "rescue trip" to Tuftonboro could've been very short. :rolleye2:

What responsibility has the insurance company to inform authorities? :confused:

"Failure to keep a proper watch" is a ticketable offense. Whether points are assessed is unknown to me.

...And the lake can return to Normal--right?

We may be grooming Lake Winnipesaukee's own Robert Lapointe!

https://www.mrlakefront.net/newsdeta...id=1080&start=

What is amazing to me is not one person on that Sea Ray has come forward. If my own son did something that dumb and criminal while I was on his boat, I'd turn him in.

Crap morals and values with every one of those people

I may be mistaken, but I believe that the picture of the 50’ Sea Ray is at Mountain View, not Silver Sands. We also heard that the big yellow crane over there belongs to him.


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The accident was in the area of the bay right where it goes towards Libby. Pretty close to the corner between the Carry Beach area from the Libby Beach Area.

Wrecked boat not a Chris Craft. Still a beautiful craft.

You are mistaken. Docking on that side belongs to Silver Sands. It is across from Mountain View's I Dock but not part of it. The owner of the SeaRay does own cranes.

What are the chances that SeaRay lives on Mammoth Rd in Windham?

Looks strikingly similar to a boat I've seen on stands in a side yard during the off season

I kinda doubt that boat is moved anywhere but near shore on Winnipesaukee. It would be huge money to move a boat that size to Windham.

Windham and Pelham
 

The Searay is registered out of Windham and the other one, the escape boat, is registered out of Pelham according to the news.

I think that would make the boat coming to their aid... accessory to grand theft.
Would it really be worth holding back reporting to change a misdemeanor into a felony?

I've seen it done... but usually by a single individual acting really stupid.

Wealthy = bad?


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The boat is regularly in Winter Harbor visiting someone. I didn't know people owned their own cranes. How does that work?

No

I'm simply implying that in the American court system, those with the means to afford high priced attorneys tend to receive lesser sentences than those that cannot afford such representation.

It shouldn't be that way. This jerk should receive the same sentence as someone else committing similar crimes who doesn't have those means and requires a public defender.

Correct...here is the view from Mt. View looking at Silver Sands.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...a875e3e6bf.jpg

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You go into the crane business and buy some cranes. You hire operators and rent them out. People use them, usually on construction sites, and the crane owner hopes to make money.

There you go. No need to thank me.

Not sure how to take your post. Are you being funny, sarcastic, or just plain mean? I didn't take the OPs comment to mean that the operator owned a crane business, I thought maybe if you docked at Silver Sands you could have your own crane in your berth and I had never heard of it.

No Attorney Necessary...
 

I just realized this morning that I had a front seat to this "accident"! :eek2:

That explains all the boat traffic while I was having an early lunch. There may have been a second barge docked there at the time.

One excavator barge left this morning at 7:30AM.

The crash took place at a prominent point of shoreline we've always called Camp Keewaydin--after the road that services the area.

The wrecked boat is one I've seen docking a number of times. The operator's handling skills are amazing. He docks that boat as if it had side-thrusters!

The HackerCraft may be totalled, although both new and ancient examples range from $35,000 to $120,000+. These boats have been manufactured--and raced--since the roaring Twenties.

http://www.classicboat.com/antique-b...mmuter-27k.htm
(Notice the removed shoes of all aboard flopped in the center: only bare feet allowed!)

As for the "driver" of the offending boat, I think he tripped on a boat cushion, hit his head on the throttle, crashed, recalled the fatal skiing accident of Liam Neesom's wife (head injury), phoned for help, was rushed to shore nearby, then feeling better, and no worse for wear, later declined further assistance from friends.

Would it be schadenfreude if the Hacker Craft belonged to him? :emb:

Accident Location
 

This is where the accident took place....

Value
 

APS;

Don't you think that Hackercraft is worth a heck of a lot more than that?? I see one "original" on boat trader going for $670,000.00!! This one involved in the accident is probably not an early original but still the value has to be much higher...

I personally would much rather have the Hackercraft than the Searay!!

Dan

ishoot...

Word on the FB fb pages is that the woody was a replica, not an original. Not that is any consolation given the large amount of damage.

It will be interesting to see this all play out...

Woodsy

AND...tampering with evidence, willful misconduct, reckless endangerment, and obstruction.

I figured it was a replica but it is still made by Hackercraft correct?...they are still making boats and I see the Hackercraft sticker and logo on the side...so while it is a replica design of a old woody, it's still a Hackercraft....

https://hackerboat.com/boat_builder/...runabout/front

On the alcohol--I'm pretty sure that there are going to be a number of people on each boat who will want to testify after the police explain their own legal peril to them. For example...

Driver of getaway boat: "I wasn't helping someone flee the scene of the crime...I got a call that my friend was completely trashed and had run his boat up on the rocks...I didn't even see the woody...I just wanted to get my drunk buddies home before they got hurt"

If I had to guess that's an early 90's Hacker. Still original and still very costly, probably close to $350-400k value. Wooden boats are still being made by certain manufacturers but often construed to be "antique".

The crane was rented from Astro Crane a company out of Boxborough, MA. The boat is being taken out of the water this morning at 10 AM. For the present time it will be left on blocks and stands at Silver Sands Marina.

The travel lift at Silver Sands is not big enough to lift the SeaRay. The boat weighs about 20,000 pounds more than the Silver Sands travel lift can pick up.

This location has been the site of several of the launches for the largest boats on the lake. Each time, a large capacity crane has been brought in.

The crew trying to escape certainly didn't look like a bunch of kids...In fact one of them looks like the guy in my picture previously taken in Meredith a few years ago.

I doubt they will get away with that story. I'd be pretty surprised to see a 50' Sea Ray piloted at night by a bunch of kids make it even that far.

I think we all know what happened here... A bunch of drunks being drunks. This guy rides around like he owns the lake and is untouchable. Hopefully he gets nailed hard on this one. People like this have no place on Winnipesaukee. He will kill someone if he keeps it up.

There is a good chance that boat is Coast Guard registered being of that size. With the HIN anyone can look it up on the CG site if it is CG registered.

A couple of delays but the lifting process has begun.

We always called it Keewaydin Point. They used to have cottages for rent, now they are condos.

Keewaydin Point
 

That is what I have always known it as well...

Dan

This is good news that the boat is being removed from the water. The problem is that the owner may go out and either rent or buy another boat instead.....

OOPS! On land and it may be there for a while.

So we see the one mangled prop what did the other one look like?
I also wonder what the keel looked like.....

Hummm I wonder if it will still be at the Marina, this weekend I will have to take a ride buy and see what can be viewed...

It's set up on stands... don't imagine it'll be leaving anytime soon, otherwise they would have dropped it on a trailer.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...0f7d3ab60b.jpg

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Good! I would really be disappointed if he walks. I hope the ChrisCraft owner gets every penny he is due. Too bad you can’t put a price tag on heartbreak!


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The other prop is damaged but not nearly as bad. The rudder is bent and the boat is leaking slightly. Nothing the bilge pump couldn't keep up with when it was in the water. There is some keel damage but not as much as you would expect.

I am pretty sure the chrome piece and the cloth tangled in the prop are from the boat that got run over.

We saw the Hackercraft today.

The subject boat may be out longer than one thinks if it is needed in case this accident situation goes to a trial (i.e. evidence).

In any event, I don't think it will be back in the lake in 2023.

A Judge Should Restrict Him to Canoes...
 

Those figures came from auction sites. (and included a +). ;)

Other figures can include "provenance". (Serial number 1000, once owned by Vanna White, Janis Joplin, Shah of Iran, etc...)

The late Janis Joplin's 1964 Porsche 356C sold for $1,740, 000 eight years ago. (About 13 times today's evaluations).
https://money.cnn.com/2015/12/10/lux...ion/index.html

(My personal 1964 Porsche 356C awaits restoration. :) )
For the rest of the summer, a man of his means can't buy some other gargantuan powerboat to endanger Lake Winnipesaukee's boats and docks? (And cause the Lake's third hit-and-run?).

I can't imagine he will be using any boat for a while if for not more than a hit and run charge. They may even suspend his driver's license.

Word on the street is that the owner of the 50 left the state and is avoiding the police. It wasn’t too hard to figure out who these guys were.
Someone mentioned a company name owned by one of them, from there it was easy to track down. One of the neighbors saw the State
Police at his home on Blackey Cove and was asked if he had been seen. Probably fled that same night.

I have a feeling that Silver Sands, Winter Harbor and Blackey Cove will be getting a lot of curious onlookers this weekend.

.... good cheer to NH boating!
 

In New Hampshire the open container law concerning alcoholic adult beverages in a motor vehicle does not include water vessels or a boat. Boating and drinking an adult beverage is legal. What's not legal is boating with a blood alcohol level higher than "0.08 higher by blood, breath or urine. Or between .03 and .08 along with other evidence."

:cheers:

So it is legal to be driving a motorboat, or paddling a canoe with an alcoholic beverage in one hand and the steering wheel or canoe paddle in the other hand, as long as your blood alcohol level is lower than 0.08, or eight percent.

It's probably not CG documented because it has state registration numbers/letters which are not necessary on a documented vessel. Also, a documented vessel is required to have the vessel name and hailing port displayed and I saw no evidence of that in any of the photos.

I have owned CG documented boats before but still always registered in NH. Can’t say that I have ever see a boat on the lake that should have bow numbers and didn’t. It screams pull me over.

My lienholder required it on my Rinker 320EC (which coincidently was sold to a friend of the clown involved in this). I didn’t bother to put the name on it, it was never leaving the lake while I owned it and no CG here to ask questions. Wasn’t opposed to it, just never got to it. It mainly stayed tied up at our dock being used as sleeping quarters as our camp build was in the planning stages.

I register my documented boat in NH, but I only put the stickers on, no bow numbers/letters. I'm not 100% certain I even need to register it in any state, but I do, just in case. I've been boarded by the CG and they have no issue with any of this. State MP has never stopped me, so I'm not sure how they feel.

-08
 

.08 means .08 grams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood, which is far from 8%.

Documentation?
 

I first owned a documented vessel in 1993. As above, I was concerned about getting stopped by MP for no bow numbers. A letter from Director Barrett assured me there should be no problem, but I was still required to pay a state fee and display the colored sticker. A recent purchase came from NJ and a title company wanted $700 to do the documentation. Since NH is not a title state, I simply took the bill of sale to a marina and registered the boat. (I always register in Gilford so the town gets the benefit of the tax dollars to support Glendale.)

See post 11 in this thread. I was skeptical as well.

https://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums...+marine+patrol

In every major waterfront state I am aware of you are required to register a USCG documented boat with the state. You are also prohibited from displayed state reg "bow" numbers on a documented boat. Essentially, it is an either/or approach to how you register and title the vessel. The state really only cares about getting their taxes, so as long as you're displaying your appropriately colored registration sticker for the state I can't imagine any state agency caring about the bow numbers.

There would be no real benefit to having a documented boat on an inland lake that has no USCG presence. Would just add more annual registration hassle to renew the USCG docs, granted minor hassle, but still.

I owned a 34' sailboat in San Francisco for 15 yrs. It was documented and I never had to do any registration with the state of CA. The only display required was the name of the vessel on the stern with letters of a certain size.

These folks are losers and give boatin a real bad name! Take away their boating privileges and vehicular licenses for life!

NH is not a title state, so being documented is the equivalent of a title. Small boats are not eligible to be documented, but for larger boats (5 net tons or greater) that may move from state to state, or to other countries, documentation is an advantage at time of sale, or for those who boat in NH in the summer and go south in the winter. If your boat is 5 net tons or less, this discusssion probably does not apply.

Looks like Rep. Pilliod, the major sponsor of the speed limit law, was right. 'Sea-Rays belong in the seas!' Too bad he didn't live to see this. Next on his agenda was to limit the size and HP of privately owned boats.

Sour grapes? That is simply not true. This was never on his "agenda". Dr. Pilliod was a sincere, hard working and honest man. Why do you feel the need to bring the speed limit debate into this thread and to smear this deceased individual? And fortunately for Dr. Pilliod's legacy, the Maine Patrol is fully on board in support of the need for a speed limit on Winni. Below is Lt. Wade's testimony from last April 2023 in support of the current law which was supported with an almost unheard of 18:0 vote in the R. R. & D. Committee and with hundreds of letters in support of the speed limit and only a handful opposing the current law.

Here we go again!
 

Broad wasn't disparaging Dr. Pilliod, he was making a joke! Dr. Pilliod was a very nice man. He was my first doctor when I moved to NH in 1977. To the best of my knowledge, he did not own a power boat (maybe a sailboat). He lived in Belmont, but may have owned a boat at a marina or club.

Which leads me to my second point, we have people in Concord who have never owned a boat making rules because they feel good. Someone, like Lt. Wade, with a semblance of authority states that the world would be a much safer place if only we had (and now enforced) a speed limit on the lake. While this feels good, it has little or no effect.

This has been litigated in past threads. With perhaps a few exceptions (only one that I can think of), over the past 40 or so years, no accidents have been caused by speed. The most recent spate of accidents have been caused by idiocy and perhaps alcohol. Speed has never been (and certainly now won't be) a safety issue on our lake.

Often, we create laws and rules to replace common sense. The times I have traveled fast on the lake, we were abundantly safe. In the broads, or down a long stretch like Alton Bay, with few boats in sight. We wouldn't have done it if the broads or the bays were full of boats like on Saturday afternoons, or along the shore where people swim, kayak and canoe. In both instances, it would be reckless to operate a boat at a high speed.

Anyway, it's a moot point. It's the law, but they really don't enforce it. I see wave runners and boats consistently going over 45 mph.

Not sure we need to go down the speed limit rabbit hole again...A Sea Ray 500 can run approximately 35 knots WOT from what I saw on a test report from Boattest.

The guy was drunk and not paying attention. I'd say he probably wasn't going overly fast otherwise the damage would have been more severe, as well as the increased likelihood of passenger injuries.

Like it or not, he probably made the right choice for himself by disappearing that night. I am no expert but think that aggravated DWI along with a slew of other charges would carry a higher penalty than leaving the scene and failure to report the accident. Insurance will kick in and make restitution, and other than being the most hated guy on the lake presently he will be free to do this again.

And that's the problem!

I agree... IMHO, the weak link will be the people who came and drove them off into the night. They will be looking at an aiding and abetting charge that carries a far harsher penalty. They will be the ones to flip and put him in the driver's seat.

Woodsy

My guess would be that the guy knew this from past experience.... If information comes out, I wouldn't be surprised to find a long rap sheet centered around doing stupid stuff when drunk.....

With that said, speed got mentioned in this thread also..... speed wasn't the problem in this accident... momentum and inertia however played a very integral role in all of this....

The main perp has a second degree assault/serious bodily injury from 2018. And another close family member has a past impersonating a police officer...And their diocesed father was convicted in a multi state stolen truck ring. I'd say they are a bunch of scoundrels.

Moment is mass times velocity (directional speed); so for momentum to be a problem, then the speed was a variable.

If the operator was intoxicated or distracted... moving at 5 mpH instead of 10 mph would allow twice the time to react before the distance was closed.
If the operator was fully alert, 5 mph instead of 10 mph would still allow twice the time to react before the distance was closed.

The Searay weighs in at approx 35,000 lbs. If it was traveling @ 10MPH, the force at impact was 175 US ton-mph... I am surprised the damage wasn't worse! (If I did the math right)

Woodsy