Quote:
Originally Posted by tis
Since you refer to Capt. Dunleavy as Tim, you must know him, so why don't you just call him and ask him if you will be stopped for making a wake doing 6MPH? Also ask if they do take people to court and MP does win. I know what he told ME. I wish he would chime in here. The 6MPH rule was because of currents mostly for the ocean when you need to maintain steerage. Weirs Channel may require that at times in parts of it.
We really do have to agree to disagree because I see plenty of boats obeying the law and not making any appreciable wake. The water is almost dead flat behind a lot of boats obeying the law. I just don't think there are that many boats that need to make a wake. People just don't want to slow down.
I would hate to have posts such as yours make people think that they can make a wake going 6 MPH and get in trouble for it. According to what I was told it isn't a good defense. I wonder if the MP officers really know all the laws now? It seems it is a very different force than before.
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I hate to be negative, but based on what you say, Capt. Dunleavy is dead wrong and really should just concentrate on law enforcement, not making up laws and reasons for them. There's no difference in steering a boat in salt water versus fresh water and the law clearly makes no distinction.
NH really should just change the law to 5 MPH like the rest of the north east (perhaps the rest of the US?). 6 MPH IS too fast in a NWZ for most pleasure boats, IMO. I tend to do 5 MPH and make a tiny wake. I do it right in front of MP all the time with no issues.
That said, people on Winnipesaukee get WAY too worked up over wakes in no wake zones. The rest of the world is pretty ambivalent toward the whole issue unless the wakes are monsterous. You should see busy (non-Winnipesaukee) NWZ harbors full of moored boats with powered dinghies some time. Everyone knows the dinghies make tiny wakes, even at speed, so they can race around at WOT without getting a second look from anyone. If people here saw that they'd flip out...