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Originally Posted by winnilaker
There has to be something other than your personal feelings toward that type of boater in order for any of us to make progress in this discussion.
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Again, It is not the boats or the boaters...IT IS THE BEHAVIOR. I thought you guys were being insincere, but now I feel that you just do not believe me when I say that.
I honestly only have two complaints about conditions on this lake these days (besides lawns); high speeds and loud noise. I have a problem with these whether they eminate from a GFBL boat , from a canoe, or from the Mount. I have the same problem with them whether the driver is a 25 year old man or an eighty year old lady. It is not the boats or the boaters...IT IS THE BEHAVIOR.
The noise problem is never going to be solved by any direct attempt to do so. No noise ordinance is ever going to be truly enforceable or properly applied. We can only hope that some other factor causes the noise to go away. In fact, I believe that the noise statutes only got through without this type of battle because the loud crowd knew it was going to be a joke and was never really going to have an impact on them. They were right.
But high speed is the thing that can and must be controlled to some reasonable degree.
Barrett's contention that "no speed is too high for this lake under the right conditions" did nothing except discredit him and show him for the bag man he really is. His position that marine speed limits are unenforceable just shows his incompetence. Why are other enforcement agencies around the country able to adequately enforce speed limits on hundreds of other lakes while his crew is not able to do so here? Is he admitting that is "hire the college kid for the summer" program does not work?
Of course there is a speed that is too high for this lake. But what is it? What speed lets go-fast people have a REASONABLE degree of fun while letting the vast majority of the citizens still feel safe? I think 45 is a good start. You might feel it is too low. But no progress is going to be made as long as you take the wild position that no speed is too high. At least WE have brought something to the table for discussion.
And controlling speed will inadvertantly and beneficially control the noise problem too. The boats that are designed or altered for speed are the same boats that are making all of the noise. One does not need to be anti-GFBL biased to make that observation. Canoes are not making the noise on this lake. Once the speeding stops, the noise will be gone.
I grew up in the city and moved here to escape all the noise. The noise law is a joke, does not work, and can never be made to work. Lake George Marine Patrol says their identical and unenforcable noise statute became moot once their speed limit started because the noise went away with the speed. Think about it...ALL of the boat noise comes from the boats that are either speeding or accelerating towards high speed. Any boat going 45 or lower (even GFBL's) is going to be reasonably quiet. HB162 will thereby virtually eliminate Winnipesaukee's noise problems.
THE GFBL boats are still using Lake George according to their MP (although I don't understand why), but they are going slower and are quieter. I appreciate a beautiful sports car, a fine Harley, and a sleek cigarette boat. Being against high speed and loud noise does not require that you hate these things. You can love nice guns while hating violence. This is not about the boats or the people who drive them. It is about the SPEED the boats are going on this inland freshwater spring-fed mountian lake, and the amount of NOISE they are making as they do so, period.
It is easy to side against the speed limit and pretend you are doing so because you feel it is the first step towards an assault on your personal freedoms. You can join Barrett and pretend that you believe the other laws are sufficient and the immeasurable 150 foot rule is more enforceable than a speed limit. But if you sincerely look at the situation on this lake these days with open and unbiased eyes, and if you truly care about this lake and the majority of the people who would like to enjoy it, you have to agree that the time has come for a reasonable speed limit, and you cannot seriously contend that this bill is about anything other than boats that are going TOO FAST for this lake.
You, Custie, seem to have the influence and intelligence to make this lake better, but you are siding with a bunch of people who feel that lawlessness is bliss. Laws and limitations are not always bad. Rights are not always taken away by laws. Sometimes they are enforced and strengthened, as they would be if we could all work together to come up with a reasonable speed limit for this lake instead of denying that one is needed.