"no wake" question

[dwna1a]

Just to be nice and correct I gotta ask, if a private dock owner posts a "no wake" sign along his shoreline and on his dock...do I really need to come down off a slow 5kt/6kt speed. I noticed tonight that about four or five homes have posted these signs.

 

[JimG]

Legally, no... only as a courtesy.

 

[dwna1a]

I know the CG turned down that areas request for no wake... I guess they took matters into their own hands

 

[fwebster]

THe USCG doesn't establish no-wake zones. That is a matter that usually requires a local ordinance. Once enacted and signage is in place then any law enforcement officer with authority over that area can enforce it. Legally you do not have to obey private signs, but it is the courteous thing to do, provided it is a reasonable request. Remember, however, it doesn't matter if there is a sign or not, you are responsible for any damage your wake causes.

 

[Four Suns]

Just to be nice and correct I gotta ask, if a private dock owner posts a "no wake" sign along his shoreline and on his dock...do I really need to come down off a slow 5kt/6kt speed. I noticed tonight that about four or five homes have posted these signs.

If I may ask... Is this on the Chickahominy?

 

[dwna1a]

If I may ask... Is this on the Chickahominy?

No, Powhatan Shores and Creek. The Shores are a No Wake zone, but along the creek every owner has posted a small 8x11 sign. You can see them till your already in the area or in front of the dock. Just seems as if the homeowners are trying to over rule the CG and make their own rules. I don't want to upset them but isn't that like raising or lowering the speed limit on your street just because you want it?

 

[chandalen]

After having a semi similar issue here... a home owner posted 'Buried Cable: No Anchoring' on their dock. The reasoning is their dock was smack dab in the middle of a very popular anchoring and swimming point. Well.. of course no one heeded this and anchored anyway. Home owners would come out and yell, they threatened to call the CG or police, never did. Eventually someone's anchor pulled up their line and it got cut. It was a cable line feeding their house cable and internet. This was a USER dropped line.

The guy who owns the boat anchor that cut it called CG? or police? Well the signs are down and they have a DirecTV dish now (internet type), and there was a news article about not being legal to post your own warning signs, OR lay your own lines in the water.

 

[Four Suns]

Well... Around these parts (Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina), I don't think there is any way for someone to get damages on their boat if it is docked outside a no-wake zone. We live in a state that recognizes contributory negligence and no court is going to award damages to anyone if they are 1% at fault. If you leave your boat tied up in an area that you know people go zipping by and don't put a bunch of fenders out, etc. , I'm pretty sure that'll cover the 1% your fault thing. It's like when Rick went zooming by the dorks 3 miles off shore in NJ this summer that were in a metal row boat and had about 8" of freeboard and no life jackets...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contributory_negligence

I got nailed in a crosswalk years ago by a car and got busted up very bad (surgery and all) and because I didn't see the car, that was my 1%... So I would find it hard to believe any homeowner is going to get any damages to their property not properly secured or constructed in an area known for boats going by on plane.

I know there is an area of housing and a marina up on the Chickahominy and they have been trying to petition the state to make it a no wake zone and they have said "No" many times. I can't believe that posting your own signs would be legal... Sorta like putting up your own stop signs on a street.

PS. Now if they could just change the damn gun laws here to match TX, I would be happy. Getting arrested for shooting at people in your yard should be OK in my book.

 

[Henry Boyd]

As Frank pointed out no wake zones are local ordinance issues. In Mass, swimming and mooring areas are no wake zones by default and do not need signage. As a result, I could put no wake buoys in front of our dock that would be enforceable. That's because A) it is an established official mooring field, and B) people frequently swim off of their docks making it a swimming area. My neighbors and I don't have to mark it though because the town does. Given the safety issues related to swimming areas it might be a good idea to check your local regulations. The dock owners in the OP may simply be putting up signs to remind passing boaters of the underlying regulations.

Henry

 

[dwna1a]

Anchored or moored I can understand, but with no boat or a boat on a lift..questionable at best. I'm not trying to upset the owners but.... If someone is swimming, that would be a safety issue. CG has turnd them down, so what's right?

 

[Henry Boyd]

First, the USCG has no say as to no wake zones, no more than the FAA would. It's local ordinance either at the state level, or municipal. This belongs to the local harbor master, or possibly the Corps of Engineers (if it's a charted navigable body).

For our dock the powers that be are; the state EPA, local conservation commission, harbor master, and Corps of Engineers. The EPA and cons comm cover the environmental stuff we have to comply with, harbormaster public safety (and no wake buoys and enforcement). The Corps is involved because the dock is partially in the charted channel (it's also recorded on the chart), so we can't make any changes to the dock that would affect the chart.

Swimming areas are no wake whether there are swimmers visible or not. It's like a stop sign, you have to stop regardless of whether there are any other cars.

Wakes do cause damage to docks, and by their presence create an anchorage. Again no boat necessary.

Like I said check the local regulations, particularly the swimming safety zone. You may find that within 150 ft of a swimming area is no wake by definition.

Henry




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

 

[dwna1a]

I did as you said, I checked with my local regulators. I found that these signs were not allowed or approved. The landowners are going to be advised to remove them, or they could be fined. I was reminded that I am responsible for any damage my wake may do. I WILL slow down even tho it's not required.