No wake zones
 

I have a question regarding where does a no wake zone begin and end. It is easy when one is entering a cove or an obvious spot but at times a no wake buoy is less clear since you can approach from either direction and I have seen boaters slow down approaching and speed up right after so is there a rule when it is not clear

Like you said, some you can tell. For the others I have to break out my chart to know for sure.

I always just kept a no wake between the buoys or after the buoy when entering a cove, since there shouldn't be a second buoy.

Boats have to go through the narrows to get into Greene's Basin. There is a house on the left as you go through. All the family does is use a siren and scream "NO WAKE" when people go through. Yesterday I was on my Seadoo when going through and they screamed at me. I didn't even have my hand on the throttle. I couldn't possibly go any slower. I didn't have a wake. There are times when people are ridiculous. I have been in Greene's Basin my entire life. There are days when I wish I could go back go the "Good Ole Days". At that time people minded their own business. My house ( built and owned by my family since 1936) in Green's Basin is right after the no wake ends. Boaters will go by our place at full speed. They are breaking the rules because they are not out 150 feet. I don't scream at them! The siren the other people blast is so loud I think a frightened boater could have an accident. I follow the navigation rules on the lake and some people still have a problem. Those people just have to much time on their hands. It's summer so enjoy because before we know it the boating season will be over.

http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rule...saf-c5100.html

Scroll down to 5102.96

These are in addition to the 150-foot rule

jill I have not "met" them yet, but look forward to it...

The people who live to look for every violator, yell, jump up and down, blow sirens and such have carved out a miserable existence for themselves. They wallow in their own misery. Don't let them bother you and drag you into their personal hell.

.......Just enjoy the lake, wave back and say hello to them. It pays great dividends.

John- I will look for you when you come up into the basin.

Yes GBG I also love in the basin so remember one year that house but it's own no wake buoy out

:):)Of course meant live I pads will write anything

Well, phoenix, you can love as well as live in the basin!!! :laugh::laugh

People like that make me happy in a schadenfreude sort of way. I don't enjoy ACTUAL misfortune of others (unless it's deserved), but I do enjoy it when people get all worked up over nothing that's really important. The best term for this these days is "first world problems".

Well in defense of the people who yell when the boats make a wake, maybe after a while they have just had enough. I know this won't be a popular statement but when laws are never followed it does get annoying after a while.

Are they not out 150 ft from the shore, or 150 ft from the NWZ? If you need to be 150ft from the NWZ please show me where this is written in law. Not trying to start a pissing match, I've never heard this one before, but I could be wrong too.

Thanks!

So true,NHBoater.....we see a few people like that on our end of the lake and also on the canals in Florida.......instead of enjoying themselves they seem to spend most of their time waiting for a boat to come by with a wake that doesn't meet their standards and they just erupt in a screaming rage.It's too bad because many people have a different idea of what a minimum wake is.
Some deep V boats leave a biggerwake even at the lowest RPM for headway speed.

tis- I just want you to remember that I was going as slow as I possibly could on my Seadoo. I guess the people who yelled could call Bombardier ( the manufacturer of Seadoo) to see if they want to recall all their PWC's and figure out a way to make them go slower.

I had a guy yell at me in Roberts cove and I was barely under headway speed, probably around 2 mph. Personally, I think he was drunk and looking for a fight. As tempted as we are to a.) yell back; b.) flip the bird; or c.) moon him; I always remember the saying "the best revenge is living well", so I smiled, waved back and said, " have a nice day!"

He had no reason to yell at you if you were going as slow as you could. I am just saying that maybe he had been watching people make big wakes all day and just got tired of it. It does happen. Look how many people call other boaters boneheads on here (not that some people aren't.)

Well thanks to Bizer the no wake entering greens basin starts 150 before entering which is around the first island Goodwin and ends at the no wake before GBG house which helps me understand

I always go no wake from Tea Rock to my house in Green's Basin.

I resided in the Hole in the Wall for years..you want to share stories? Too, many to tell.:D

I think this 150' rule is specific to Green's Basin. This came out of the State "rules".

(z) From a point 150 feet from the east entrance of Green's Basin to a point 150 feet beyond the western entrance of Green's Basin shall be a “no wake” area.

Thank you, I wanted to make sure I wasn't doing it wrong in other places.

The seventh edition of the " Boater's Guide of New Hampshire ( A Handbook of Boating Laws and Responsibilities) states the following:Unsafe Passage

Operating a vessel at greater than headway speed if within 150 feet of:

- Swimmers In the water
- Other vessels
- Rafts or Floats
- Permitted swimming areas
- Docks or mooring fields
- The shoreline
-Operating a vessel at greater than headway speed
while passing under a bridge
- Overtaking another vessel at a distance and speed
such that your sake causes danger or damage

The problem with the no-wake issue is people don't usually look behind themselves to see what they are creating. (No offense meant but jetski's are some of the worst.) I don't believe that most people are intentionally malicious but, having lived in the Hole in the Wall no-wake for almost 20 years it doe get to the point where you have just had enough. You see you boat get banged around so many times that you have to get it out and you yell or whatever.

And then we get back to what is a no-wake? Headway or 6 mph. We don't want to go there. I remember coming out of the Weirs channel 25 years or so ago and getting yelled at by MP for a wake. "I'm not making a wake." I said. "Look behind you. Do you see white? That's a wake!" More people need to look behind them.

No reason everyone shouldn't be able to enjoy the lake all of time.

Excellent post!! You are exactly right.

This really is the key. Looking behind you, knowing your boat and paying attention. A couple of years ago I got the "arms down" motion from an MP in a no-wake. (luckily that was all). With my 21 ft Bayliner at dead low throttle or 3 mph, I'm just making a ripple. Any more than that and I see white. It seems maddeningly slow sometimes but following the no-wake to the T that's where I have to be. The problem sometimes is that, say in the Weirs Channel if you're leading the parade and they're lined up behind you, you feel like a jerk.

NO Wake does not mean no wake!
 

I really don't get why people do not understand this very simple, very clear rule.

270-D:1 Definitions

VI. "Headway speed'' means 6 miles per hour or the slowest speed that a boat can be operated and maintain steerage way.

VIII. "No wake area'' means an area where a boat is to be operated only at headway speed.

The legal interpretation is VERY clear.

You are allowed up to 6 MPH... regardless of the wake generated. The only reason you can exceed 6 MPH is to maintain steerage and control. It is physically IMPOSSIBLE for a moving boat to leave NO WAKE.

Some people think no wake means DEAD SLOW.... It does not nor was it ever intended to. If that was the case NOBODY would get out of Paugus Bay on Labor Day weekend.

I got pulled over once for NWZ violation.... I asked the officer what the issue was, he told me too fast in a NWZ... I indicated my GPS said otherwise. I was travelling at 5 MPH. I offered to demonstrate, he politely declined, and sent me on my way.

If you need more than 6 MPH that you better have a good reason why... water currents, boat hull design etc etc... the 6 MPH was not a randomly chosen number.

The NWZ should be relabeled to HEADWAY SPEED ONLY thus eliminating any confusion.

Also note that the term "headway speed" is also used in several other RSA's

Woodsy

No Wake Zones
 

Out enjoying the lake Saturday evening , coming through the no wake zone between Governors and Eagle Island, while in the no wake zone, a new Mastercraft comes through the no wake still on plane. So hit the airhorn along with the boat behind me and inform the mastercraft "It's a no Wake Zone". No response , just kept on going, but the MP's were in the right place at the right time and pulled them over. I was once a first time boater and made my share of mistakes and learned along the years to respect the others around me and the 150' rule. I have to admit that having been on the lake 15+ years now , this summer has been won of the toughest for rules of the road violations. But any day on the lake , beats a day at work :)

I have to confess that I used to think it meant the slowest possible speed to maintain steerage with an absolute max of 6 MPH...

Obviously there is a big problem with this law. The way it is written it does sound like you can make a wake as long as you are doing the 6mph. However, MP is not usually going to agree with you. A wake is a wake.

Well said! few understand this obvious and correct interpretation-even MP!

Tis,

It is physically IMPOSSIBLE for a boat moving forward NOT to leave a wake. A boat moving forward displaces water.. the water fills the void caused by the hull, creating a wake. Unless a boat is adrift and floating freely with the current, it is creating a wake. The height of the wake will vary with the type of hull, and the speed at which the hull goes thru the water.

Because of the myriad of boat hull designs, there is no way to define what is acceptable wake height, and what is not. Every hull is different and creates a different wake and that wake all varies with the forward speed of the boat.

The important clause here is "maintain steerage". Maintaining proper control of your boat is paramount and trumps ALL! Currents, boat traffic, wind & weather can all affect at what speed steerage can be maintained. For example, in the spring the Weirs Channel usually has a 5+ MPH current... to overcome that current you have to go a minimum of 7-11 MPH... guess what?? Your boat is making a pretty good wake!

The 6 MPH speed is essentially the standard acceptable speed that is universally recognized as the maximum speed necessary to maintain steerage for 98% of the recreational boats. Why 6 MPH and not 5 MPH? No idea! :)

Woodsy

I don't think there's a problem with the law at all. The problem is that people, (including MP, apparently) seem to think that words on some little floating signs are to be taken literally and that they should ignore the actual law. I've seen signs in NH that say "idle speed only", but they are merely suggestions.

People that don't plan and prepare for the effects of wakes just because they have waterfront property or a slip in a no wake zone are being unrealistic and negligent. There's always a chance of a waves on water. Realistically, one could justifiably make a huge wake in a no wake zone if a human life was at stake.

With the 45/30 speed limit in place, and speed detection equipment on board MP boats, this seems like a VERY easy law for MP to enforce with quantifiable evidence.

You don't have to go faster to maintain steerage in a current. You become part of the mass of water when you travel in a current. If your headway speed is 5 mph in still water then it will be 5 mph in a current relative to the water. Your speed relative to the point on land will be different in a current than in still water, but this does not affect your steerage and your wake is the same unless you speed up, which is unnecessary to maintain steerage. It's simple physics.

I stayed in Center Harbor for the first time this past summer. I was very surprised there isn't any sort of no-wake zone as you get closer to the docks they way they have it in Meredith Bay and Alton Bay. All sorts of craft come barrel a$$-ing thru there full bore. I didn't really care other than the times when I'd be trying to dock my boat and the waves would be crashing making things tricky. I just thought it was odd.

I know on the Charles River there were many a kayaker and row-boater that would do the slow down wave in certain zones, but as it's been stated 6mph is no-wake, anything less it does get harder to maintain control and if I do make a little wave there isn't much I can do.

That's because Rusty McLear and Alex Ray don't have waterfront hotels and restaurants in Center Harbor as they do in Meredith. Does anyone really think that the HUGE no-wake zone in Meredith is there just because the State thought it was a good idea? If so, then I have some swamp land in Florida that I would love to sell to you.

Maybe
 

A couple of points that I would disagree with:

The movement of water across your hull is what leaves a wake, not necessarily your boat speed. For example: If you maintain a constant stationary position against the current in the Weirs Channel in the spring your boat will be leaving a wake, though not moving at all.

To travel against the current in the Weirs Channel (or anywhere with a strong current) the same 5 to 7 mile per hour speed is all that is needed. Don't confuse the speed of the water across your hull with your actual speed over the stationary land. Your boat speedometer (if not GPS) will indicate a higher speed than you are actually going because it will read off the pressure sensor and will not correct for water flow.

Many people are use to one "No Wake" speed RPM setting and fail to account for the movement of water underneath them and adjust accordingly. Quite often that is the reason that the Weirs Channel backs up so much. It would be nice if people looked behind them to see if their slow speed is causing a backup or handling problem for the boats following them. Not all boats react the same way at slow speeds.

And the law (which is very poorly worded and misleading) mentions nothing about wake, waves, ripples, or anything of that sort. It only mentions speed.

TiltonBB & ITD...

Agreed! Its the old Air Speed vs Ground speed. LOL!

I was just trying to keep it simple... you need to increase your power to overcome the current.. so if the current is at 5 MPH and you are stationary, you are creating the same wake as you would @ 5 MPH in a no current or wind sea state.

Being stationary in a current of 5MPH your boat speedo will usually read 5 MPH even though you are not moving forward. Your GPS will read 0 MPH. When you move forward through the current at 5 MPH... your boat speedo will read 10 MPH and your GPS will read 5 MPH. However, you will be creating a 10 MPH wake and the engine power will be the equivalent of 10 MPH in a no current or wind sea state.

I totally understand it... I just didn't explain it fully! :)

Woodsy