Bringing my boat to Winnipesaukee
 

I have been coming up to the lake from PA for the last 20 years. Just recently, I started bringing my boat up for the week of our vacation. I know the lake pretty well and have boated in salt water and lakes for a long time. Last year, I was literally pulled over 11 times in a week by the state police. They even questioned by boaters safety certificate which was issued by the PA state police. Is the marine patrol in general tough or not friendly to out of state boaters? I feel like I was harassed a bit and now my wife doesn't even want to take the boat up this year. Any insight is appreciated

Wow! In boating for twenty years I haven't been stopped once. I assume all these stops were fruitless, i.e. you were not charged with anything? All I can figure is that they are expecting out of state boaters to not be familiar with NH boating certificate requirements and are being extremely zealous. I think you should mention to the Marine Patrol the negative effect this has had on your time here. I get the need for enforcement but we don't need to be alienating visitors either.

Maybe the Marine Patrol should consider issuing some type of NH compliance sticker that indicates the boat docs have been checked and are OK?

Better luck this year.

Thanks for the response. I did not receive a fine for anything, just nonsense type stuff. Checking registration, boaters safety card, asked to see a personal flotation device. After about the 5th time it was just plain ridiculous and felt harassed. We were literally followed one time from the docks in Meredith back to Paugus bay and right to our slip one time.

Anybody actually Believe This CRAP..??: NEW member..FIRST post. ???: GAG ME with a spoon. :D NB

Wow!!! really??? Why in the hell would I make that up???

We have 30+ years of boating on Winni, never been stopped. Our boats do have NH on the bow number but I don't think that the Marine Patrol has a "harass out of staters" mindset.

I think that you have only 30 days on a out of state reg.
https://www.boat-ed.com/abc/abc_spec...dfs/nh_law.pdf

Maybe a call to Marine Patrol stating that you have a PA bow number, noting the past stops and asking about how to avoid such. My experience is that they are pretty reasonable folk.

Sorry to see you called a Troll - your concern seems legit and I can understand why you'd join to get an answer to your question. Just texted a friend who works at marine patrol. He said that while its common to see a mass boat up here (or even CT, RI etc) he hasn't ever seen one on the lake from as far away as PA. He said he'd probably pull it over to make sure it hasn't been here for 31 days (after 30 you need to register it in NH). I agree with Slickcraft that the best course of action is to call marine patrol here locally. They are a pretty decent group of people.

A few of the times I was pulled over was for informative purposes. They asked on one occasion if I was aware of the 150 foot rule and the other asking if I planned in being on the lake for more than 31 days. Those stops didn't bother me.

I have been boarded by U.S. Coast Guard three times, in two different states, while piloting three different boats. Each boarding and inspection had nothing to do with my operation of the vessel. Everything checked out ok.

They gave me a paper documenting compliance with the rules and told me to show it if another boarding was initiated.

I wonder if NH Marine Patrol has a similar program.





About the "trolling"...

Maybe the o.p. is a troll, maybe he's not, I have no way of knowing.

I shall assume innocence and consider the possibilty that this person has had enough encounters with Marine Patrol to feel a bit unwelcome bringing his boat up here from PA. Labeling him a troll may reinforce this feeling...

Just as a general rule regardless of whether or not the boat is registered in state or not it seems to me that alone should not be reason enough to pull somebody over, in the same way as applicable to out of state vehicles.

Pulled you over for "informative purposes"?

"Asked if you were aware of the 150 foot rule"?

How many times were you stopped and informed that you were in violation of rules such as the 150 foot rule or travelling through a no wake zone at excessive speed?

Your stated experience boating on the lake, if true, is highly unusual. I have been boating on Winnipesaukee every summer since 1970 and now live on the lake. Every summer I put over 250 hours on various boats and have only been stopped twice in over 45 years, both times for lights that had burned out. I got a written warning and the tickets were dismissed after I took the boat to Glendale the following day to show a Marine Patrol officer I had replaced the bulb.

I highly doubt you were stopped 11 times just because your registration is from another state.

The Marine Patrol does an excellent job and I only wish they would stop more violators. The violations of the 150 foot rule in the Weirs area are almost constant.

Coast Guard can board for any reason or no reason. I'm pretty sure NH MP has to articulable suspicion of wrongdoing in order to legally stop a boat.

Maybe troll is a little harsh. :eek:

My one and only experience with the MP was on Winnisquam probably 7-8 years ago. I was operating my ex-gf's boat on the lake and we were hailed down by a female officer. She did the complete inspection and found no violations except one...the boat reg. numbers were, in her opinion, "not legible enough to read" and she promptly, wrote a ticket for it. The boat's numbers were not just the black "block letters" usually seen...they were more of a custom lettering done with lettering that complemented the boat's green and white coloring.
Perfectly, legible to me and everyone else on board but there was no arguing about it.
A sizable fine was paid. I, of course thought it was a lame excuse for a fine.
Anyone else ever been cited for this types of "custom" lettering?

Added note: I just went to the NH requirements for numbers and saw that they emphasize "BLOCK LETTERS" I guess that explains it...but anyone else had this experience?

Articulable cause
 

I agree with Dave R, MP generally has to have "Articulable cause" for a stop. I've heard this phrase directly from MP in legislative testimony. On the other hand, nobody should have to feel a need to call in and say "i'm from out of state and wanted you to know I'm here." At the same time, displaying a NH or CG Auxiliary courtesy inspection sticker answers a lot of questions without a word being spoken.

Many states have a 150 ft rule regarding distance to shore, docks, etc, but only NH has it boat to boat. If I were from out of state,I could honestly say "I'm aware of the 150' rule," and really not be aware of the NH distinction. I could see where that might be cause for multiple violations, and MP simply being "informative" to a visitor. I know this is always the attitude that comes from MP leadership, courtesy to all.

I agree, Probably some violations involved. I've never been boarded on Winni, I'm sure I will be.

This could be the reason. Perhaps MP was stopping you because they felt that you passed too close to another boat and rather than ticketing you they felt that informing you was enough?

For me, over the past 20 years I have been "approached" by MP 2 times while trolling. Both times they instructed me to continue "fishing" and they would maintained speed along side me at a distance. They asked each person to hold up their fishing license, a PDF and the other required gear (one person was viewing us with binoculars). They never asked me to pull up our gear so they could approach the boat.

IMO that was MP/FG doing what they should be doing. I am sure if they had any doubt they would have asked for a closer look and we would have had to pull up our gear but they seemed to go out of their way to make sure we could keep enjoying our fishing.

Speculatrion?
 

Havingh, presumabaly, read all the comments, I would ask RaplhT44 to give us a little feedback. There's been a lot of speculation on this topic. It would certainly be helpful to other out of state boaters, many of whom are regular visitors to this sire, if not participants.

I have towed my bass boat (sold since) from North Carolina up to Winnipesaukee a few times for a week at a time. Never had a problem with MP. I've never been stopped on Winnipesaukee and that includes operating all of our other boats. It's near impossible to answer and kind of unfair to ask us why YOU were stopped.

Although my boat is currently Registered in NH -- for at least 25 years we trailered our MA registered boat(s) to the Lake and left it for weeks at a time. Never once been "hassled" by the MP.

Also, I thought it was 45 consecutive days of being in the water i.e docked, moored, etc. not 30 days ?




here's where someone will save me the time of researching the RSA's
.

My boat has non-block, but very legible registration numbers and has had them for 11 years with extensive use on Winnippesaukee and other bodies of water. I have never been hassled about them despite a few (always pleasant) interactions with NHMP I was stopped by the US Coast Guard in Annapolis Harbor a couple of weeks ago for a safety check (also pleasant), they went through everything and gave me a piece of paper (for future CG stops) stating that I was in compliance with all their checks.

Sounds like someone taped a "Kick Me" sign to the back of rappht44's boat. :laugh:

I'm thinking the MP lady had a hair across her butt for some reason...legible is legible...period. Or perhaps she had one of those..?? :D:D

Quota Saftey Stops
 

This may just be a quota issue, need to get those safety checks in to support the on-the-water funding.

I've never been stopped on Winni, but frequently have been stopped for safety checks by the state police on Lake Memphremagog in Vermont (most of the time they'll motor up while I'm fishing on my trolling motor).

Having the police/mp on any body of water I fish is worth the short delay for a safety check - even if its multiple times in a week. They should give you a dated "receipt" showing that you completed the safety check. When your stopped the 2nd, 3rd, 4th time just show them this receipt and you'll be on your way.

How would you feel if this happened... (being pulled over) while you were driving your car to the market for a pound of hamburger. :confused: NB

arguable cause
 

MP has to have "arguable cause". If you're being stopped multiple times in NH, I will suggest there is a reason. Can't say for other states. I think Fish & Game can just ask for a license, but they don't have many boats and don't do regular patrols the way MP does on Lake Winnipesaukee.

Different situation. Police do not have to physically stop and see what's in a car to assure safe operation. They achieve similar results with seatbelt check points, DUI check points, Radar/ Speed traps, traffic cams, etc.

Really!!??!

This person was stopped by the MP so many times that he now feels unwelcome on the lake, and we welcome him here on the forum with a post like this?

What happened to "Welcome to NH"?

@Ralpht44, sorry this happened to you (for both reasons).

I've found the MP to be very respectful and courteous. I think after the third stop, I'd politely ask if there was something that is sticking out on your boat to cause you to be stopped so many times.

There must be something that is causing undue attention to your boat, or maybe you have some very beautiful people on board and the officer's felt the need to get a closer look? ;)

Rich raises a good point -- I went back to the beginning and do not see any mention of WHT TYPE of boat you have.

Perhaps this may be the "root cause" ??


By no means being negative here, my friend (back in the day) use to have a Plymouth Charger "Superbird" with high wing foil, LOUD mufflers, etc - before they were popular - the car was actually a starter car for a local raceway at the time. I could guarantee you that no matter what town he went into, he was assured to be stopped on some trumped up cause, yet never cited.

Out of state stickers
 

I have been on and off this lake for 30 plus years.
About 6 years ago I brought up a fishing boat from Florida. With Fl stickers.
Same thing happened , started about 50 ft from when I dropped the boat in .

Now keep 2 boats with local stickers and NEVER been checked.

As a generality the year round folks and officials are NOT very friendly to out of staters . They are not concerned with being courteous to the people bringing in the money and have " we know better " attitudes.
How welcoming are the weekend Police " checkpoints " in Moultonborough, or the sign on the boat storeage and gun dealer on 125 saying " don't Mass it up "

Keep up the negatives and the tourists will give you your state back !

New York State of Mind
 

New Yorker here. Been coming up to the lake since the early '70s and bought a little cabin here in 2007.

Our boats have NY regi stickers (need to change that, I understand) and we've never been pulled over. I have motored up to MP a few times to ask questions and have always found them helpful and polite.

I find the people both visitors and locals to be very nice and helpful. The contractors we've hired in the past have all been first-rate, courteous, efficient and reasonably priced. The pace is slower here, which takes some getting used, but it's fantastic once you dial yourself back. I can't think of a nicer place to be.

Usuallly you reap what you sow.:D

I was thinking the same thing, does something on your boat draw attention to it? We keep a boat at our camp with MA registration and have never had an issue, the boat is a run of the mill bow rider with nothing on it that draws attention.

I would respectfully ask MP if something is attracting them to your boat if you get stopped again, maybe there is something that isn't passing their visual test.

The OP hasn't been back since the 29th.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

Can't say as I blame him. Some on this message board were not very welcoming to him/her.

Could've been a verb too.. Like that boats so ugly I wanted to ralph:laugh:

Woops....:D NB

In CT, where I live, the DEEP (Environmental Protection) officers can board and search any boat for any reason. Once you put something on the water, you pretty much relinquish all rights here.

I've been vacationing on Winnipesaukee for 20 years and have only been stopped by the MP twice. Once they wanted to see my boating certificate, which is from CT, and the other was to see if we had a license when we were fishing. We did.

Both times the officers were very pleasant, and we talked for a few minutes afterward. The second guy suggested some fishing spots and said if we had any questions or needed anything to give them a call.

Editing to add that I think he even gave us a business card with the MP HQ's phone number on it. To the OP, if you keep getting stopped, I would do as others have said and ask the officer if there's something that stands out with your boat that keeps making them stop you.

In CT there's usually a DEEP/Coast Guard officer at the major boat launches if you get there early, and they ask if you want a free safety inspection. If you agree, when you're done, they give you a "Coast Guard Inspected" sticker for your window, so next time you launch, they just wave you through, and having it on the water usually means you won't get stopped because they can see it from a good distance away and know your boat is up to standard.

Not sure what happens if you say no because I've always had them do it.