Frontage needed for dock

jbg · 07-14-2012, 12:01 PM

Not sure if this should be in the "boating" or "land" category but I'll start here:

I understand that one needs 75' of frontage to have a 40 x 6 dock. Less land would require a 24' dock. However, does anyone know if there is a minimum amount of frontage needed to have the 24' dock? I haven't been able to find anything on the state websites. Thanks.

codeman671 · 07-14-2012, 12:14 PM

I think 75' is the min frontage now for a dock in general. On lakes other than Winnipesaukee the standard dock length is 24'. The 40' seasonal dock length is Winnipesaukee only, without depth issues that need additional variance from the normal standard.

sluggo · 07-14-2012, 01:22 PM

The standard rule is on a body of water over a thousand acres you can go 40 feet out and 6 ft wide with a min. of 75 ft of frontage. Less than a thousand acres with 75 ft of frontage you can have a 6 x 30 ft dock. If you have less than 75 ft of frontage you would need to file a dredge and fill permit application to get a max. 24 ft. Dont forget that there is a 20 ft abbutter reference. If you were to put a dock within 20 ft of your property line you would need to have certified paper work from your nieghbor to present to the state. In saying that if you have 50 ft of frontage you need to subtract 40 ft. that leaves you with 10 ft where you dont need permission from your nieghbor to do anything. Hope this was helpfull.......

Rockridge Farm · 07-14-2012, 08:08 PM

Keep in mind that the dock and boat slips need to be within the property line extensions out over the water. The DES will not approve a proposal for a boat slip that encroaches over a property line extension. Be extra careful if the PL's are not perpendicular with the shoreline. You would need to obtain notarized consent from any abutter for whom the dock or boat slip encroached within the 20' setback.

A legal boat slip is defined at a volume of water 25' long x 8' wide x 36" deep at normal full lake elevation (lakes over 10K acres) or 20' long for smaller lakes. So depending on water depths, the site may qualify for a longer than 24' dock.

Hypothetically, in perfect conditions, a waterfront with 17' of frontage could possibly be approved for a 1' wide dock providing 2 boat slips with notarized consent from both abutters. Obviously a 1' wide dock is kind of impractical but you get my drift.

I think the narowest lot I have obtained a dock approval for was around 25'.

jbg, feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any other questions.

Lakegeezer · 07-18-2012, 11:57 AM

In a related question, I have a dock that with one edge exactly 20 feet from one of the property lines. I'd like to add a jetski ramp to it, so that the jet-ski won't get trashed by wake. The ramp would encroach into the 20 foot zone.

Questions include: do I need to add to the existing permit that the dock already has? Must the neighbor approve the extension into the 20' boundary?

What I'm hoping is that I can just do it. If it was part of the dock, the dock would then be wider than 4' and not be legal - and I've seen plenty of them.

Onshore · 07-18-2012, 04:56 PM

Yes the lift needs a permit and yes, if it will be inside to 20 ft setback to property lines you need the abutter's permission.

07-14-2012, 12:01 PM	#1
jbg Junior Member Join Date: May 2012 Posts: 13 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Frontage needed for dock Not sure if this should be in the "boating" or "land" category but I'll start here: I understand that one needs 75' of frontage to have a 40 x 6 dock. Less land would require a 24' dock. However, does anyone know if there is a minimum amount of frontage needed to have the 24' dock? I haven't been able to find anything on the state websites. Thanks.

07-18-2012, 11:57 AM	#5
Lakegeezer Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Moultonboro, NH Posts: 1,677 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 354 Thanked 639 Times in 290 Posts	In a related question, I have a dock that with one edge exactly 20 feet from one of the property lines. I'd like to add a jetski ramp to it, so that the jet-ski won't get trashed by wake. The ramp would encroach into the 20 foot zone. Questions include: do I need to add to the existing permit that the dock already has? Must the neighbor approve the extension into the 20' boundary? What I'm hoping is that I can just do it. If it was part of the dock, the dock would then be wider than 4' and not be legal - and I've seen plenty of them. __________________ -lg

07-14-2012, 12:14 PM	#2
codeman671 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 3,481 Thanks: 221 Thanked 810 Times in 486 Posts	I think 75' is the min frontage now for a dock in general. On lakes other than Winnipesaukee the standard dock length is 24'. The 40' seasonal dock length is Winnipesaukee only, without depth issues that need additional variance from the normal standard.

07-14-2012, 01:22 PM	#3
sluggo Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Posts: 169 Thanks: 13 Thanked 70 Times in 43 Posts	The standard rule is on a body of water over a thousand acres you can go 40 feet out and 6 ft wide with a min. of 75 ft of frontage. Less than a thousand acres with 75 ft of frontage you can have a 6 x 30 ft dock. If you have less than 75 ft of frontage you would need to file a dredge and fill permit application to get a max. 24 ft. Dont forget that there is a 20 ft abbutter reference. If you were to put a dock within 20 ft of your property line you would need to have certified paper work from your nieghbor to present to the state. In saying that if you have 50 ft of frontage you need to subtract 40 ft. that leaves you with 10 ft where you dont need permission from your nieghbor to do anything. Hope this was helpfull.......

07-14-2012, 08:08 PM	#4
Rockridge Farm Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Keep in mind that the dock and boat slips need to be within the property line extensions out over the water. The DES will not approve a proposal for a boat slip that encroaches over a property line extension. Be extra careful if the PL's are not perpendicular with the shoreline. You would need to obtain notarized consent from any abutter for whom the dock or boat slip encroached within the 20' setback. A legal boat slip is defined at a volume of water 25' long x 8' wide x 36" deep at normal full lake elevation (lakes over 10K acres) or 20' long for smaller lakes. So depending on water depths, the site may qualify for a longer than 24' dock. Hypothetically, in perfect conditions, a waterfront with 17' of frontage could possibly be approved for a 1' wide dock providing 2 boat slips with notarized consent from both abutters. Obviously a 1' wide dock is kind of impractical but you get my drift. I think the narowest lot I have obtained a dock approval for was around 25'. jbg, feel free to shoot me a PM if you have any other questions.

07-18-2012, 04:56 PM	#6
Onshore Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 502 Thanks: 12 Thanked 423 Times in 145 Posts	Yes the lift needs a permit and yes, if it will be inside to 20 ft setback to property lines you need the abutter's permission.