[ApS]

Originally Posted by Silver Duck

"...I honestly wish that my back didn't prevent my using one to explore parts of the lake that my cruiser can't go..."

Where your cruiser can't go is where kayaking is more pleasant.

My problem is much less with kayaking than with my sailboats getting hammered to a stop by excessive wakes and that small sailboats are disappearing from the lake. Hobie cats, with their two hulls, get banged to a halt even more readily.

I think I'll invite you to sit at my dock some weekend to watch the cruisers go by and watch the shoreline turn to mud with each "pass". To truly experience the cruisers' wakes, (and for your chair's location on the dock), I have just the spot!

Originally Posted by Dave R

"...The lake is far less hectic this year than I have ever seen it for this time of year, I've been coming here for more than 30 years. Two gorgeous Sundays in a row and the lake was practically deserted. Last year was quiet, this year is even quieter, so far..."

Having a "ringside seat" on Winnipesaukee, I agree that some boats must be leaving the area. The size of the average boat appears to be getting much bigger as the years pass.

My "running average" (of about 24-feet) just got a huge bump from a few appearing here these last couple of days. That includes a three-engine Sonic, the largest Cigarette GFBL I've ever seen on the lake, and two "Express Cruisers" of about 35-40 feet. Technically, being an outboard, the Sonic can't be a GFBL, but those three outboards sure get noisy.

Originally Posted by Dave R

"...People are friendlier and there's no bike week to endure..."

Can you account for the "less-friendly" atmosphere here at Winnipesaukee? Did it begin about the time five years ago when I posted the headline here that read, "Winnipesaukee means 'Noise and Action'"?

Bike Week does seem to have attracted a permanent "different sense" to this area.

Now I'm curious what sized boat you have in Maine (and don't apparently use), and what sized boat will you have there when you retire?

Originally Posted by Dave R

"...I don't contribute to the pollution anywhere near as much as a typical shorefront property owner.

You and 120,000 other NH-registered boaters are saying the exact same thing about pollution and erosion!

Originally Posted by Dave R

"...When you are at your lakefront home, do you have a direct view of the water, or is your view obscured by brush and growth? Do you have a beach? Do you have a dock or a boat house? Do you have a path that leads to the water? Do you have a septic system? Any of these things can impact runoff into the lake and will have a much greater impact than a boat running along the surface or at anchor; or sitting on a trailer 50 miles away, 325 days of the year..."

I have a naturally obscured view, an old dock, no path—no beach. My view from the dock is unobstructed for about 185°, and can see about 2 miles north, east and west—even out to The Broads.

"Dry" boat storage and pavement produces sudden runoff even more readily than non-McMansion lakeside residences and boat houses. Even then, I've got many years of experience watching my shoreline disappear. Tree roots uphill are being exposed even as "replacement duff" sprinkles down from the trees and "replacement mud" arrives from uphill.

I have a septic system, but hopefully, so does every boat out there. I expect that all visitors are using the facilities ashore.

Shore facilities—and pumpouts from those big boats—go somewhere.