I find this business with the proposed Braun Bay rafting bill and the Gilford boat launch ordinance far too vague and, dare I say, subtle. How about we just lay all our cards on the table, pull out all the stops, say what we really mean, and unload every other cliché we can think of. I think the NH Legislature should consider the following bill:
WHEREAS owners of expensive waterfront homes pay exorbitant amounts of real estate taxes; and
WHEREAS said exorbitant real estate taxes contribute greatly to the public coffers and facilitate wasteful government spending, in addition to conferring an unwarranted sense of superiority on the owners;
Be it hereby RESOLVED that henceforth and forevermore the owners of expensive waterfront homes shall enjoy full and exclusive rights to the use of the state’s rivers, lakes and streams;
Be it hereby further RESOLVED that, except when they are working as landscapers and maids at the aforementioned expensive waterfront homes, all other people (also known as “common riff-raff”) shall be confined to their double-wides where they can kick the dog, spit tobacco juice and litter to their heart’s content.
On a more serious note, I am perplexed about the purpose of this bill. The portion of Braun Bay designated as a “No Rafting Zone” is already off-limits to any rafts consisting of 3 or more boats. Correct? This proposed bill limits to 3 the number of rafts consisting of 3 or more boats in all of Braun Bay. So logically the three 3-boat rafts referenced in the bill would have to be located outside of the NRZ. Correct? Now, many of you spend more time there than I do, but I am hard-pressed to recall any time when I’ve seen more than a few boats anchored outside of the sandbar/NRZ area. Is this more common than I realize?
Also, does this bill as written mean that boaters could form rafts in Braun Bay, each consisting of, say, 90 boats, provided the rafts are located outside of the designated NRZ and that there are no more than 3 of the rafts? So, if I go to Braun Bay with two friends because we want to raft, and there are already three 3-boat rafts in the bay (outside of the NRZ of course), we can leave and go somewhere else, OR we can simply join up to one of the existing rafts. I’m not really that big on rafting, and I’d have to get 2 friends first, but if this is permissible under the bill, then the proposed law seems ludicrous to me.