Quote:
Originally Posted by BroadHopper
There are certain restrictions for a 'houseboat or cabin cruiser' for overnight on NH waters. However there is no law governing overnight stays for a day cruiser. To make a long story short, if you don't have a galley and or toilet facility you are technically not a houseboat. You may anchor overnight.
I was caught in a situation when anchoring off Timber Island one night. An MP officer stopped and told me I had to have my anchor light on if I want to stay overnight. I had a daycruiser with no galley and toilet. I did have a porta potty.
There was a thread on this when Skip quoted the RSA that resulted in this loophole. I can't find the thread.
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Huh that pretty interesting because I have asked before about spending the night on my bow rider when I was having the MP do a courtesy inspection couple years ago. The gentleman that I spoke to said that some think that the law is written such that one could get the impression that some boats would be OK anchoring overnight and you'd be fine sleeping on board. He said that assumption is incorrect and if I were caught spending the night I'd be sited with a ticket and asked to leave. So based on that conversation I believe that it's not OK. However I did tell him that I've read the law and it's confusing and it does lead one to believe it may be OK and he agreed with my assessment, but it doesn't change what is likely to happen if you got caught.
Bottom line - if you do it the key is don't attract attention to yourself and you may be able to get away with it, but be aware that depending on who may confront you - the outcome obviously will be different. I've been tempted but never did it at least not yet. I know of some spots where you could probably do it without being noticed but I personally don't want to deal with the hassle if I were caught so I don't bother.