No overnight anchoring

[Gatto Nero]

Originally Posted by Steveo

2. This forum has really gotten to be a slam fest against people more than the information source it was meant to be. I asked a question about renting a mooring to someone other than the original mooring applicant and I get slamed for worrying about toothpaste - I don't get it - thanks for the help

SteveO, I apologize if you took my comment as a slam. It wasn't meant to be. I was merely expressing an opinion. I try to go through life not sweating the small stuff. Life's just too damn short. Now, admittedly, if she took out a bottle of shampoo and a bar of Ivory I might get a little miffed.

[Kamper]

Steveo,

I believe NH has a "Zero Tolerance" for gray water discharge on land or in the water so technically that person is probably breaking a law there. Even though there are much greater 'discharge' violations taking place at every beach it is still kind of rude. I know if I saw somebody doing that I would say "Eew yuck!"

If you're really squeamish, dont drink city water in Laconia!

As for the mooring itself, I am pretty sure only the land owner can file the application but can authorise anyone else to use it. A tenant usually has the same rights as a landowner but the clerk might ask to see the lease. I wouldnt want to bet a large sum on how that might turn out, either way. Especially for a seasonal or short-term rental.

As for the "slamming" that sometimes goes on, It can get a bit "rough and tumble" on the internet. Due the anonymity sometimes people feel less accountable for their words. I have a fairly thick skin myself and try to interpret how folks post with the benefit of the doubt. Most folks here will apologise or back-peddle a bit if you suggest they seem a bit over the edge.

Hang in there!

[Bear Islander]

I just took a look at my Mooring Permit, at the bottom is says...

Pursuant to RSA 270:63, this permit may not be transfered to any other person or location by gift, sale, lease or rent, and may be revoked with just cause, as specified in Saf-C 408.09.

To get the stickers every year you must send them a copy of the registration of the boat that will be using the mooring. Plus $25 per mooring.



I don't know if spitting toothpaste into the lake is legal or not (where is Skip when we need him). My question is... if her spit goes in the lake... what is she doing with her urine?

[Skip]

Originally Posted by Bear Islander

...I don't know if spitting toothpaste into the lake is legal or not (where is Skip when we need him). My question is... if her spit goes in the lake... what is she doing with her urine?...

Sorry, I still have my day job and as some of you may know, I have started a new "side" business, so I'm kinda burning the candle at both ends right now so I can afford oil for this winter!

Anyway, a couple of quick points:

As BI has pointed out, you cannot lease or sell your mooring permit to a third party. You can allow a guest to stay on your mooring...but if it's an overnight junket on a houseboat YOU MUST notify the Department of Environmental Services. This is the Agency that you would take your complaint to in reference to the activity noted above. Don't you just love New Hampshire law?

And frankly, what difference does it make if you spend 8 to 10 hours on the water at night, or do so during the day? Where do we think all the daytrippers without heads are doing their stuff?

I have a lot of respect for the LT, but did get a good chuckle out of his e-mail.

Some of you good folks are starting to catch on to how convoluted the law making process is in this State. The strange twists and turns that HB847 took are but a good example.

Let's talk frankly about the overnight anchor/mooring law.

This law was implemented several decades ago when the Lake was much less congested and times a little simpler. It had a specific purpose, to prevent people from launching and living on the inland waters in toilet/bed equipped houseboats unregulated, a problem that was slowly creeping across the country.

The law specifically targeted legally defined "houseboats".

In the early 90s it was clearly recognized by the State that the verbiage did not include all watercraft, but a specific and narrowly defined class. It 1993 the Senate, recognizing the loophole, attempted to ammend the law to include all watercraft. After leaving the Senate the bill was ITL'd, and the subject quietly dropped.

Fast forward a decade or so, and now you have a much more crowded lake with much larger boats, easier to spend the night on. But here's the rub. No one dares bring the issue forward again for two reasons. The initial publicity could cause a multitude of problems when media coverage reveals to the masses that the law only covers a specific type of craft. Additionally, what happens if the ammendment fails again, this time with a much larger potential audience of overnight water campers playing close attention?

No one wants that headache, so it is easier to play word games and puposely cause confusion over the issue.

The sad part of all this?

The belief by some that if someone in a boatload of fishermen falls asleep, the operator can be cited for "overnight anchoring".

The absurd that you can't boat at night with one or more of your passengers taking a snooze.

What bothers me about this particular faulty statute is that the State persists in creating a myth in the belief that most people will act like sheep, and blindly not question the regulation.

And the saddest part is that they are right, in this particular instance.

In closing, I have said it before and will repeat it again, I think that the law should be simply ammended to include all watercraft. The fact that the folks in position to make this happen won't is a sad statement on how convoluted politics have become in my State.

Off the soapbox, it's time to brush my teeth and go to bed....I promise not to spit into my neighbor's yard!

[Airwaves]

This could be another case of conflicting boating laws.

I looked up as many RSA's pertaining to mooring that I could find. If I read most of them correctly you CAN moor a "houseboat" in NH IF you own the property that you are moored in front of, have permission or are renting it.

Here's what I was able to find!

RSA 270-A:1

IV. "Mooring'' means beaching, grounding, or tying of a houseboat to the shore of any of the inland surface waters of the state, and the anchoring of a houseboat on any of the inland surface waters of the state.

RSA 270:63 Which states

I. A mooring permit shall not be construed as ownership of any real or personal property and shall not be transferred to any other person or location by gift, sale, lease, or rent except as provided in RSA 270:67. II. No person shall charge or be charged for the use of a mooring by any other person except as provided in RSA 270:67.

RSA 270:67

(d) Operators in charge of maintaining congregate mooring fields may charge no more for the use of a mooring than an amount which reasonably covers the costs of mooring installations and maintenance. Said charges shall be reported to the division of safety services who shall submit an annual report to the governor and council and the general court on all congregate mooring fields.
III. Notwithstanding RSA 270:61, III, small mooring sites may be established without the approval of governor and council, but subject to the approval of the division. Such sites shall be only for the use of motels, cottages, condominiums, other rental property, or homogeneous use group.

Then we have RSA 270-A:2

270-A:2 Where Overnight Mooring Permitted. – A houseboat may be beached or grounded, or tied to the shore of any of the inland surface waters of the state for an overnight period, or any part of an overnight period, only when on or at a location owned, leased, or otherwise under the control of the owner or operator of the houseboat or by permission of the owner, lessee, or person otherwise in control of such location

Let’s confuse it some more:

270-A:4 Notification of Mooring of Houseboats Required. – The owner, lessee, or person otherwise in control of a location at or adjacent to which one or more houseboats are anchored, beached, grounded or tied to the shore for an overnight period, or for any part of an overnight period, shall promptly thereafter give notice of this fact, in writing, to the New Hampshire department of environmental services, stating the number of houseboats moored at such location and the dates of such mooring. Any person who owns or controls a location at which spaces are rented or leased to the general public for the purpose of mooring houseboats at such location, shall keep a log of all houseboats moored at such locations, the name of the owner or other person in control of such houseboats, the registration number of the houseboat, and the dates of such mooring, which log shall be available for inspection at all reasonable times by any agent of the New Hampshire department of environmental services. When a houseboat is to be moored at the same location for an extended period of time, one written notification of such fact stating the period of time the houseboat will be so moored to the New Hampshire department of environmental services shall be sufficient to satisfy the requirements of this section. Such written notification shall not be required if the owner of the houseboat furnishes such information on his application for registration of the houseboat to the director of the division of motor vehicles in accordance with the provisions of RSA 270:4.

Finally there is RSA 270:67 III which states:

III. Notwithstanding RSA 270:61, III, small mooring sites may be established without the approval of governor and council, but subject to the approval of the division. Such sites shall be only for the use of motels, cottages, condominiums, other rental property, or homogeneous use group.

[VtSteve]

Originally Posted by Bear Islander

I just took a look at my Mooring Permit, at the bottom is says...

Pursuant to RSA 270:63, this permit may not be transfered to any other person or location by gift, sale, lease or rent, and may be revoked with just cause, as specified in Saf-C 408.09.

To get the stickers every year you must send them a copy of the registration of the boat that will be using the mooring. Plus $25 per mooring.



I don't know if spitting toothpaste into the lake is legal or not (where is Skip when we need him). My question is... if her spit goes in the lake... what is she doing with her urine?

Not to mention the ducks, geese, loons, and other little critters.


YUCK...... We have done a DNA test over here in the bay. What they've found is our feathered friends are better off in the oven. For completely green and environmental reasons, of course.


Sometimes, people are just silly.

[Winnipesaukee]

...last week I dropped a pair of sunglasses into the lake. Plastic sunglasses...

[MAXUM]

This makes no sense, at least the way the MP states it, "any boat anchored with people sleeping is in violation". This is in direct conflict with the wording of the law, or why else would there be the need to amend the law to include the verbage of "all vessels"?

If I were to take my bowrider out and spend the night on it and was cited I would definitely fight it and seems like there is no way I could loose. I don't have a bathroom onboard and have no "sleeping facilities" other than the floor or a fold down back to back seat which the manufacturer labels as a "lounge" not a "bed". Far as I'm concerned the state really needs to clarify this.

[2Blackdogs]

Why all the angst? We know that the Marine Patrol turns off its phones at 2 am!

Just "Party-Hearty" until 2 am, then sleep it off until the lake wakes up the next morning.