Anchoring question
 

When anchoring (let's say at Braun Bay) is it "OK" to leave the boat unintended while swimming around, etc. Not sure I trust my anchoring skills enough so I'm always monitoring if I'm drifting around.....while others are enjoying the water.

If you are sure you are anchored well, then you should enjoy yourself. There have been a few threads here lately on how to properly anchor and which anchors are best etc. Maybe you can read some of those and make sure you are doing things properly. Good luck to you!

I addressed this in my Mantus anchor review thread. Happy anchoring!

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If you have properly-sized and selected ground tackle in good shape, and use it properly, you should be able to leave the boat unattended indefinitely as long as the weather does not get crazy.

I set my anchor properly last night and slept soundly aboard my boat with no worries. The anchor never moved.

One day at 5-pm, I saw two boat-peoples drop anchor on an 18' boston whaler style boat, raise the motor, unload two kayaks into the water, and go kayaking for a couple hours along the shoreline for quite some distance around the bend. It left me scratching my head how the Marine Patrol would consider the anchored and unoccupied boat?

That's legal, just can't anchor overnight unless you are in coastal water or in a boating-friendly state (any of the other 49 states...).

I have read numerous times that "you can't anchor overnight" (even in this thread)
I'm sure there are cases where you CAN do it and I'm curious what the conditions are that allow you to indeed, anchor overnight.
This is just a question about how you do it when the law says uh-uh?
Please enlighten...😜

Used to go to Braun Bay all the time before I sold my boat.Had two anchors. Set one in the front and buried one in the sand in the rear,,,,,,boat never moved.

He didn't say he was on an inland NH lake.

That's obvious but he is also on the "Winnipesaukee Forum" which is an inland water body... just curious and not calling him out in any way shape or form.

NH law prohibits anchoring overnight on any lake. I don't think there are exceptions. I have never done it and have only anchored overnight in states where it is legal. It amazes me that a state where the biggest industry is tourism could be so incredibly unfriendly to tourists in boats.

I mostly boat on Winnipesaukee because it is really convenient to me and quite nice, but I keep my boat on a trailer and often use it outside NH. I spent last week on Champlain where anchoring overnight is normal and expected. Our anchorage on Friday night had at least 30 boats. It was totally peaceful and gorgeous.

Spending the night at a municipal dock is also quite normal outside of NH. Towns love it because it brings lots of revenue directly to the town and indirectly through the businesses in the town. VT has an Island state park (Burton Island) with a really nice marina that is entirely for transient boaters. They charge $1.75 a foot for overnight slips and 3 or 4 bucks for electric hookup (depends on boat size). I cannot fathom why NH does not have anything like this.

I can't imagine why it's not allowed either...do they feel they're missing some lodging revenue or something? It would be very cool to be able to anchor out and enjoy a lovely, summer's night.
I wonder if the issue has ever been petitioned by boaters to change the law.
I would sign it! :D
I would gladly, pay an anchoring fee if imposed as well...

I've done It on Moosehead many nights, It's the most peaceful,Beautiful, amazing thing/place I've ever been. That being said, Unfortunately, I feel Winni is just to busy. Can you Imagine the battles, and rules to be enforced? It would be a nightmare. I'd love it, But I no longer live on the lake, Those who do will chime in I'm sure. Maybe a new thread?

The no overnight anchoring law was repealed for awhile in the 70s. I can clearly recall how happy it made my parents and the fun I had as a kid cruising from our slip in Robert's Cove to the other end of the lake and spending the night on the hook.

The law exists to protect the peace for lake front home owners on the off chance that someone is loud and obnoxious during night time hours. I HATE this law because it punishes everyone for the few who might disturb the peace, something that is already against the law.

It really is special. I was laying on my sun pad watching satellites go by Friday night in Willsboro Bay on Lake Champlain, and it was just amazing. I could hear soft music (Jimmy Buffett) from a boat nearby until 9:30 PM and then it went dead silent until after sunup.

People would not anchor overnight in the busy parts, they'd choose quiet, protected coves and anchor out of the traveled way. It's not a nightmare on the lakes in the other 49 states. Does not need to be here.

I agree with this 200%!

Especially today with the grey and black water holding tanks, inspections, portapotties, etc.

There is no good reason why NH should be the exception here. It would be great to have this law repealed.

It appears that the no anchoring overnight only applies to houseboats (which means a vessel that has sleeping and toilet facilities - even if they aren't permanently installed). This goes into more detail:
http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/.../270-a-mrg.htm

I cannot imagine spending the night on a boat without sleeping and toilet facilities...

I know, right. It's quite ironic. The only way you can anchor overnight is in a boat that doesn't have the facilities to do so.

And the definition of a houseboat says any sleeping quarters, even if temporary.

from: http://www.gencourt.state.nh.us/rsa/...-A/270-A-1.htm

II. "Houseboat'' means any ship, boat, raft, float, catamaran or marine craft of any description upon or within which are located sleeping and toilet facilities, regardless of whether such facilities are of a permanent or temporary nature.

So if you lay on a cushion, or on a deck, I suppose that is a temporary sleeping facilities. So if you sleep on a boat, it's a houseboat and these rules apply. Or am I wrong?

Not if you remove the toilet(s). I'm guessing that having people "go" in the lake is not what the legislators had in mind with this law, but that's what the law encourages... Wonder if a bucket counts as a toilet facility?

I'm glad I live close enough to make day trips to Winni a breeze, it's a really nice lake. I'm also glad that I live near states that welcome overnight anchoring because it's just awesome to do. If you can figure out a way to do it, I strongly recommend that anyone with a "houseboat" make a trip to a lake or river where you can legally see what it's like to sleep on the hook. An interesting side-effect of allowing overnight anchoring is that it leaves lots of empty slips at marinas that they can rent out to transient boaters, so everybody wins.

Oh yes, I guess it says sleeping AND toilet facilities, so I guess even a bottle could be considered temporary in this case? Lol

I guess I read it as an OR instead of an AND. Is this a loophole that anyone wants to test? ;)

To directly answer this, yes you can leave your boat when it is anchored.

Here is another post where I described how I had left my boat alone for a few hours while anchored:

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...4&postcount=31

I called Marine Patrol to ask them about this last year since I wanted to take the boat with the kayak on it to fish other parts of the lake. They said it is fine but they would prefer you keep your boat within eyesight so if anyone is worried about it you could reassure them nothing was wrong.


As for anchoring at the sandbar and leaving the boat unattended...I would think it would depend on which sandbar! Braun Bay has little wind and boat waves / action so the boat is much less likely to move, where somewhere like West Alton tends to be windier and have much more action from all the passing boats, I would be less likely to leave my boat unattended at West Alton...

I think that depends on your anchor. If you had, say, a Mantus, you could be confident going for dinner at a sandbar!

But seriously, you're right--at Braun Bay we swam way in away from Boatie Two but at Patrician Shores we kept the boat in sight just in case a big boat came by and dislodged our awesome Mantus (it didn't).

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