Marine Patrol, Friday Night (4rth) at Weirs

sa meredith · 07-05-2008, 08:16 AM

OK, this is what I watched (and heard) last night on the Weirs Beach Public docks...
At roughly 10:30 PM I was taking a walk with a friend and we decided to walk down the stairs off of the strip onto the docks, and then ventured out to sit at the very end of the last "finger" (closest to the beach). We sat there from 10:45 until 12:15/12:30 and watched the marine patrol pull over EVERY BOAT that left the docks, and as many as they could grad heading from Meredith into the channel. The only exception was when both Patrol boats (there were only two) were already busy with stops, then the occasional night boater slipped thru. Although I am a regular boater on the lake, I have never taken up the sport of "night boating" so I figured, at first, they must be in violation of some infractrion....although everything looked good to me. Both stern and bow lights on, docking lights off, no wake, and so forth. But the blue lights just kept clicking on EVERY TIME. And it occured to me they were stopping everyone, when, at about 11:50 one of the MP boats had drifted in to roughly 25/30 yards of me, and the other pulled up along side of him after coming back from a stop near the channel entrance, and yelled to the first boat "Hey, did you grab that one yet?" The reply, "No, you take 'em." And with the that the second boat powered up and stopped a pontoon boat that had just left the docks. (I heard this as plain as day...no mistake)
My guess would be that, as it was the 4rth of July, what was happening was similar to a State Police "Checkpoint" on the raod, where cars are stopped randomly to check for DWI. Can someone tell us, is this an acceptable practice?
And lastly, of all the boats stopped, only one was detained. The MP seemed to tie off to him in the channel, and after some time tow him in to very near the beach. It was a 32/36 foot cabin cruiser that had just left the Weirs.
3 guys on the boat, and they did not look very happy. Did not look like they were going anywhere for at while.

SAMIAM · 07-05-2008, 08:39 AM

The other night there were only two boats in our bay and the MP stopped both of them.one a deck boat with a family on board and a small fishing boat with two guys.Guys were just still fishing and having a couple of beers at 8pm and the operator ended up getting a sobriety check on board the MP boat. Yesterday,my wife heard the officer yell at a grown man who had his feet over the side of his boat (passanger) Spoke to him in a very disrespectful way.
I never see them when some bonehead pulls a dangerous stunt but they're always when they can enjoy hassling people for very minor violations.

lifeonthefarm · 07-05-2008, 12:02 PM

I was around the Weirs at roughly the same time as you sa meredith and I saw both MP boats as well. One stopped a boat leaving the docks with absolutely no lights on and a pontoon boat with no port (red light). Being visible in a high traffic area and stopping boats for "minor infractions" that they are trained to observe (such as a plate light on your car) is going to nab those people who choose to over indulge during the holiday weekend. Kudos to the MP for doing their job.

And samiam they nabbed these two boneheads yesterday pulling what I describe as a "dangerous stunt" http://www.wmur.com/news/16796286/detail.html

Scupper · 07-05-2008, 02:33 PM

My guess would be that, as it was the 4rth of July, what was happening was similar to a State Police "Checkpoint" on the raod, where cars are stopped randomly to check for DWI. Can someone tell us, is this an acceptable practice?

My guess is a violation took place that you may not have observed, IE: registration violation, greater than headway speed within 150' from a dock, etc. In order for an officer to conduct a traffic (automobile, boat) stop, they must have at the least articuable suspicion or probable cause that a violation took place or was about to take place in their presence. Without A.S. or P.C. the officer would just be pulling over random citizens for no reason, thus violating the 4th ammendment of the US Constitution or Part I Article 19 of the New Hampshire Constitution; illegal search and seizure.

Just an FYI., "checkpoints" that are conducted randomly, in NH have to be advertised in advance prior to them taking place due to the NH Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional to stop people at random, lacking A.S. and P.C. I hope this information has helped answer your curiosity. I have been stopped by the Marine Patrol a few times. Usually for picking up my boat from the marina and the marina folks neglecting to put on my decals.

sa meredith · 07-05-2008, 03:50 PM

Scupper and lifeonthefarm
I understand what you both are saying. And I do understand how the system works and why they would make a stop. But honestly, I watched them jump from one boat to the next. I sat there for over an hour and a half, and it was one stop after another. If you were not paying close attention, you would have thought it was the same stop. Seriously, I bet I watched a dozen stops. Oh well..no biggie. I thought maybe someone who got stopped might be a forum member. I would not be surprised to see this thread reacted to when the new work week begins, and people log on to the forum.

kchace · 07-05-2008, 04:16 PM

Actually, the rules for pulling over a car and a boat are completely different. The MP (or Coast Guard et al) do not need ANY reason at all to stop a boat and check it out. Here is one RSA that I found that mentions the matter. There are federal laws as well that essentially say the same thing that apply when in Coast Guard patrolled waters.

270-D:6 Inspections. – All vessels afloat on public waters may be inspected by the commissioner or his duly authorized representative, to determine their seaworthiness and safety equipment at any time. No person shall allow any vessel which fails to pass such inspection to be used or operated on the waters of this state until brought into compliance.

Notice that it says "at any time" and that there are no prerequisites.

Here is a link to the CG rule:

http://uscgboating.org/safety/fedreqs/law_board.htm

Ken

Mr. Moyer · 07-05-2008, 06:45 PM

SA Merideth you are spot on. a forum member was pulled over in the stops at Weirs. I was one of the boats who got pulled over coming out of the weirs on the 4th. I had gone to the NASWA with 2 of my friends and needed gas on the way home. Both gas stations in the channel were closed, so I had to go to the Weirs. It was around 7:55 and approaching dusk, so I turned on the nav lights. Since it was still somewhat light out, and my 360 white was working, I didn't notice that the bulb had burned out. Needless to say, MP did. They came over and stopped me and asked the typical questions, like registration, boating license, where the sfety stuff was (lifejackets, throwable, horn etc) they also asked if I had been drinking at all, and for once my answer was the right one. I had made a conscience effort knowing we would be travelling close to dusk, to only have soda/water at the Naswa. (no beers since the 1pm celebratory beer for finishing the cabinets in the cottage). Also, the lake was choppy and crowded, so I wanted to be on my toes, since I have a 21ft bowrider and I was coming from Alton. I have to say the MP officer was as polite as possible while still being firm to the rules. We had to go back to the station and buy a replacement bulb, since by the time we were done the stop it was getting pretty dark. All things worked out well, and we were treated to excellent fireworks shows across the entire lake for the ride home.
I for one am completely against the stopping of all boats regardless of an infraction, I personally think it is an invasion of rights, but I didn't give them a choice, since my lights weren't working properly. Fortunately, the MP officer wasn't a hammerhead.

Kamper · 07-05-2008, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kchace

Actually, the rules for pulling over a car and a boat are completely different. The MP (or Coast Guard et al) do not need ANY reason at all to stop a boat and check it out. ...
Ken

I believe a recent NH Supreme Court decision said that was incorrect. NH police including NHMP need probable cause for stops. No more random "safety inspections" was the main result. It's possible they can do BWI check-points the same as land police do for DWI, and they have been accused of "forcing" '150ft rule' violations to justify a stop.

Once they stop your boat for anything they can then do a safety check and if they observe behaviors that indicate intoxicaton, or turn up other violations, they can act. This is probably something a good lawyer could get thrown out if you can afford to fight it through apeals. I'm sure our legal expert, Skip, will clarifiy this if I'm too far off the mark. Still it's safer to behave than trust the court will see it your way.

Good luck!

HomeWood · 07-05-2008, 09:15 PM

I don't understand why this type of situation or ones like it generate the complaints that they do. MP have a job to do and you should be happy that they are doing it. It's a darn if you do and a darn if you don't situation for us law enforcement folk. You want us to do our job, but only if it's not you who is being stopped or inconvenienced by it. This isn't directed at anybody here, just speaking in general. If you have any questions on why MP do what they do, I suggest you call and speak to them directly. I got stopped at a huge DWI check point the other night on the way home from work and I was very happy to see them doing it in my town. I enjoy reading all the "Captain Bonehead" threads on here and then after that I enjoy reading the MP complaint stories. Seems contradicting to me, but then again I'm just a cop and nobody knows my job better than the people who DON'T do it.

Hope everybody had a nice 4th! I worked

Orion · 07-06-2008, 05:26 AM

The MP was out in force in Wolfeboro, too. Does anyone else feel that they should be using a dimmer blue light when they are just patrolling? The multiple blue strobes were very blinding and made it very hard to navigate with all the other boat traffic. It was also nearly impossible to determine their direction of travel since the blue strobes masked their navigation lights. I witnessed one boater who made that mistake and actually cut the MP boat off.

EricP · 07-06-2008, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orion

The MP was out in force in Wolfeboro, too. Does anyone else feel that they should be using a dimmer blue light when they are just patrolling? The multiple blue strobes were very blinding and made it very hard to navigate with all the other boat traffic. It was also nearly impossible to determine their direction of travel since the blue strobes masked their navigation lights. I witnessed one boater who made that mistake and actually cut the MP boat off.

I have the exact same complaint about police car lights at night, absolutely unnecessary for them to be so bright, it's blinding. There should be a daytime and nightime setting on the police cars and MP boats.

JDeere · 07-06-2008, 06:17 AM

Quote:

I don't understand why this type of situation or ones like it generate the complaints that they do. MP have a job to do and you should be happy that they are doing it.

I think he hit the nail on the head. The posts could have just as easily been that someone saw a person without a stern light go right by MP and not stop them. Then the outcry that they are not doing their job. I think MP does a fine job.....................well...........until I get stopped for something or other.

codeman671 · 07-06-2008, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JDeere

I think he hit the nail on the head. The posts could have just as easily been that someone saw a person without a stern light go right by MP and not stop them. Then the outcry that they are not doing their job. I think MP does a fine job.....................well...........until I get stopped for something or other.

I agree that they have been out in full force and doing their jobs, but some of them need to learn what "NO WAKE" means. I was heading in in to Glendale at 5pm today and stopped in the broads to pick up a beach ball when an MP RIB passsed in front of me about 75' out and sent a wall of water over the front of my tritoon soaking us. He was just cruising at 10-15mph I am guessing. I had the right of way and was moving forward at idle.

Slickcraft · 07-06-2008, 09:02 PM

For the past 30 years we have been making regular trips from Fay's to the Glendale docks to Welch and back from April through October, passing countless MP boats along the way over the years. We have never been stopped. Then again, we do observe all of the rules.

codeman671 · 07-06-2008, 09:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slickcraft

For the past 30 years we have been making regular trips from Fay's to the Glendale docks to Welch and back from April through October, passing countless MP boats along the way over the years. We have never been stopped. Then again, we do observe all of the rules.

I am not sure if your post was pointed at me or not. To be clear anyhow, I was not stopped by them, I stopped to pick up debris and as I started to move an MP boat came by me too close, ignoring the rules that he is supposed to be enforcing.

He soaked 2 3 year olds and an 8 year old...

Airwaves · 07-06-2008, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by codeman671
I agree that they have been out in full force and doing their jobs, but some of them need to learn what "NO WAKE" means. I was heading in in to Glendale at 5pm today and stopped in the broads to pick up a beach ball when an MP RIB passsed in front of me about 75' out and sent a wall of water over the front of my tritoon soaking us. He was just cruising at 10-15mph I am guessing. I had the right of way and was moving forward at idle.

Did you hail the Marine Patrol on VHF 16 to complain?

I know that for some reason the NHMP boats don't carry a VHF Marine radio but HQ is supposed to monitor VHF16.

I would have hailed MP HQ and complained! Then followed up with a written report if necessary!

I have also gone through that area and been overtaken by MP boats traveling at excessive speed heading back to HQ, violating my 150' as well as the overtaking rule!

It seems that some of these folks don't believe any of the rules apply to them! In my case I did not have a cell or VHF on the boat I was operating at the time. I have since put NHMP in speed dial and installed VHF!

codeman671 · 07-07-2008, 08:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airwaves

Did you hail the Marine Patrol on VHF 16 to complain?

I know that for some reason the NHMP boats don't carry a VHF Marine radio but HQ is supposed to monitor VHF16.

I would have hailed MP HQ and complained! Then followed up with a written report if necessary!

I have also gone through that area and been overtaken by MP boats traveling at excessive speed heading back to HQ, violating my 150' as well as the overtaking rule!

It seems that some of these folks don't believe any of the rules apply to them! In my case I did not have a cell or VHF on the boat I was operating at the time. I have since put NHMP in speed dial and installed VHF!

I did not have a VHF onboard and felt that the phone call would have gone to deaf ears. I have noticed it a lot lately though, especially in the Glendale area.

kjbathe · 07-07-2008, 09:16 AM

...because our annual "Complain about Marine Patrol" thread has officially begun!

I personally like the job they do, am happy when they pull intoxicated operators off the water and take actions to enforce the regulations. Sure, I wish they could bag every offender of the 150' rule, but reasonable people understand that MP can't be everywhere all the time. Some people feel MP is just out there to hassle folks, but that's an argument of convenience and one completely inconsistent with my experience. Then again, not being engaged in the type of behavior or operation that catches MP's watchful eye makes avoidance of the "hassle" a rather trivial exercise.

And for the folks complaining about the excess brightness of their lights... Our being "blinded" is not entirely unintentional. It is part of the overall system officers use to help increase their own safety. If you can't see, perhaps you shouldn't be moving.

And just because it was a great weekend -- RAH RAH RAH!!! GO MP!!!

sa meredith · 07-07-2008, 09:39 AM

[QUOTE=kjbathe;75263]...because our annual "Complain about Marine Patrol" thread has officially begun!

As the starter of this thread, I went back and re-read my post. I can't find a complaint or anything like one in it. I just had never seen MP jumping from boat to boat like I did Friday night. And I was wondering if this is an acceptable/ common practice.
I actually think it is probably a good idea. Drinking and boating at night is a recipe for disaster.

I guess I see you point though, kjbathe, reading thru about the blue lights and so forth.
I think the MP have a fairly difficult job.

SIKSUKR · 07-07-2008, 10:02 AM

Yesterday I was floating on my PWC south of Welch Island and a MP boat pulled up to me.I thought,he's going to do a safety check so I started getting my certification Id out.He pulled up and asked if everything was ok and when I said yes,he waved and moved on.

pmj · 07-07-2008, 12:42 PM

I personally am glad they are doing their job . Think of it this way..If any of those checkpoints resulted in one life being saved, just one..was it worth it?? You bet it was. Sure, its seen as an inconvenience, but safety is number one priority.

I posted this on another thread but here is an incident that made me happy that the MP are present on the lake:

We were once outside of Wolfeboro Bay on our 21ft sailboat when some strong gusts started blowing through. I went up on deck (with life jacket on) to take down the main. Right about the same time, an MP was trolling about and slowed down, obviously watching us, then just idled. Once I had the sail down and all lines secure I retreated back to the cockpit. We had the motor on by that point and headed towards home. The MP waved and continued on his patrol. I was pretty impressed at that. I think he was just making sure we were safe and didn't get into any trouble taking down the sails.
pmj

jrc · 07-07-2008, 07:47 PM

In this country and state, the courts decided how our rights against illegal search and seizure are applied to many different situations, including being stopped in a boat by a marine patrol. You may be willing to give up those rights for a extra safety but a lot of people are not.

I hope the MP did everything by the book. From what I've learned from Skip, that means they must have articulatable suspicion before stopping. Now you might say that having a checkpoint is worth it if just one life is saved. But if the checkpoint turns out to be illegal then all the evidence found is gone. So all the people that could be fined or jailed could go free.

I'm all for the MP making visible presence and stopping even small infractions to check for drunks. I just don't want overzealous people to make illegal stops. That doesn't do anyone any good. It violates our rights and risks letting guilty people go free.

VtSteve · 07-07-2008, 09:04 PM

I'm sure they are very sensitive to the public's concern over the latest boating accident, and the "unconfirmed" reports derived from it. I'm not against it at all, and I hope it does act as an overall deterrent, but just sayin ....

Slickcraft · 07-07-2008, 06:33 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by codeman671

I am not sure if your post was pointed at me or not. To be clear anyhow, I was not stopped by them, I stopped to pick up debris and as I started to move an MP boat came by me too close, ignoring the rules that he is supposed to be enforcing.

He soaked 2 3 year olds and an 8 year old...

codeman: My post was not pointed at you. The original subject matter of the thread had to do with what some believed to be many questionable stops by the MP. In my case I have never observed MP making questionable stops.
I agree with you that the MP must also follow the rules.

Skip · 07-07-2008, 08:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kamper

...Skip, will clarifiy this if I'm too far off the mark...

Didn't see the incidents described so I have no first hand knowledge as to the basis of the alleged stops.

But for anyone curious, just make a phone call at your convenience to NHMP HQ. I am sure they will be happy to explain to you the basis they utilize in stopping and checking watercraft.

Same goes for complaints. If you have a valid complaint, concern or suggestion and have the time to type your concern(s) here on the website, then you obviously have the time to either phone or drop an e-mail to NHMP to express your concerns.

Like anything else, the good folks at NHMP can't fix what they don't know about.

Once again, this LINK provides all necessary contact information, plus a valid general e-mail address.

If you give them the courtesy of a call or an e-mail, they will respond.

Skip...

07-05-2008, 08:16 AM	#1
sa meredith Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 986 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 32 Thanked 352 Times in 137 Posts	Marine Patrol, Friday Night (4th) at Weirs OK, this is what I watched (and heard) last night on the Weirs Beach Public docks... At roughly 10:30 PM I was taking a walk with a friend and we decided to walk down the stairs off of the strip onto the docks, and then ventured out to sit at the very end of the last "finger" (closest to the beach). We sat there from 10:45 until 12:15/12:30 and watched the marine patrol pull over EVERY BOAT that left the docks, and as many as they could grad heading from Meredith into the channel. The only exception was when both Patrol boats (there were only two) were already busy with stops, then the occasional night boater slipped thru. Although I am a regular boater on the lake, I have never taken up the sport of "night boating" so I figured, at first, they must be in violation of some infractrion....although everything looked good to me. Both stern and bow lights on, docking lights off, no wake, and so forth. But the blue lights just kept clicking on EVERY TIME. And it occured to me they were stopping everyone, when, at about 11:50 one of the MP boats had drifted in to roughly 25/30 yards of me, and the other pulled up along side of him after coming back from a stop near the channel entrance, and yelled to the first boat "Hey, did you grab that one yet?" The reply, "No, you take 'em." And with the that the second boat powered up and stopped a pontoon boat that had just left the docks. (I heard this as plain as day...no mistake) My guess would be that, as it was the 4rth of July, what was happening was similar to a State Police "Checkpoint" on the raod, where cars are stopped randomly to check for DWI. Can someone tell us, is this an acceptable practice? And lastly, of all the boats stopped, only one was detained. The MP seemed to tie off to him in the channel, and after some time tow him in to very near the beach. It was a 32/36 foot cabin cruiser that had just left the Weirs. 3 guys on the boat, and they did not look very happy. Did not look like they were going anywhere for at while. Last edited by sa meredith; 07-05-2008 at 01:14 PM.

07-05-2008, 12:02 PM	#3
lifeonthefarm Junior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 17 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	to the trained eye... I was around the Weirs at roughly the same time as you sa meredith and I saw both MP boats as well. One stopped a boat leaving the docks with absolutely no lights on and a pontoon boat with no port (red light). Being visible in a high traffic area and stopping boats for "minor infractions" that they are trained to observe (such as a plate light on your car) is going to nab those people who choose to over indulge during the holiday weekend. Kudos to the MP for doing their job. And samiam they nabbed these two boneheads yesterday pulling what I describe as a "dangerous stunt" http://www.wmur.com/news/16796286/detail.html

07-06-2008, 05:26 AM	#10
Orion Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Cow Island Posts: 914 Thanks: 602 Thanked 193 Times in 91 Posts	Dim the lights, please! The MP was out in force in Wolfeboro, too. Does anyone else feel that they should be using a dimmer blue light when they are just patrolling? The multiple blue strobes were very blinding and made it very hard to navigate with all the other boat traffic. It was also nearly impossible to determine their direction of travel since the blue strobes masked their navigation lights. I witnessed one boater who made that mistake and actually cut the MP boat off.

07-07-2008, 09:16 AM	#18
kjbathe Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Posts: 281 Thanks: 3 Thanked 21 Times in 11 Posts	Summer must be in full swing... ...because our annual "Complain about Marine Patrol" thread has officially begun! I personally like the job they do, am happy when they pull intoxicated operators off the water and take actions to enforce the regulations. Sure, I wish they could bag every offender of the 150' rule, but reasonable people understand that MP can't be everywhere all the time. Some people feel MP is just out there to hassle folks, but that's an argument of convenience and one completely inconsistent with my experience. Then again, not being engaged in the type of behavior or operation that catches MP's watchful eye makes avoidance of the "hassle" a rather trivial exercise. And for the folks complaining about the excess brightness of their lights... Our being "blinded" is not entirely unintentional. It is part of the overall system officers use to help increase their own safety. If you can't see, perhaps you shouldn't be moving. And just because it was a great weekend -- RAH RAH RAH!!! GO MP!!!

07-07-2008, 09:39 AM	#19
sa meredith Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 986 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 32 Thanked 352 Times in 137 Posts	complain? [QUOTE=kjbathe;75263]...because our annual "Complain about Marine Patrol" thread has officially begun! As the starter of this thread, I went back and re-read my post. I can't find a complaint or anything like one in it. I just had never seen MP jumping from boat to boat like I did Friday night. And I was wondering if this is an acceptable/ common practice. I actually think it is probably a good idea. Drinking and boating at night is a recipe for disaster. I guess I see you point though, kjbathe, reading thru about the blue lights and so forth. I think the MP have a fairly difficult job.

07-05-2008, 08:39 AM	#2
SAMIAM Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Moultonborough Posts: 2,895 Thanks: 334 Thanked 1,676 Times in 586 Posts	The other night there were only two boats in our bay and the MP stopped both of them.one a deck boat with a family on board and a small fishing boat with two guys.Guys were just still fishing and having a couple of beers at 8pm and the operator ended up getting a sobriety check on board the MP boat. Yesterday,my wife heard the officer yell at a grown man who had his feet over the side of his boat (passanger) Spoke to him in a very disrespectful way. I never see them when some bonehead pulls a dangerous stunt but they're always when they can enjoy hassling people for very minor violations.

07-05-2008, 02:33 PM	#4
Scupper Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 17 Thanks: 1 Thanked 7 Times in 4 Posts	My guess would be that, as it was the 4rth of July, what was happening was similar to a State Police "Checkpoint" on the raod, where cars are stopped randomly to check for DWI. Can someone tell us, is this an acceptable practice? My guess is a violation took place that you may not have observed, IE: registration violation, greater than headway speed within 150' from a dock, etc. In order for an officer to conduct a traffic (automobile, boat) stop, they must have at the least articuable suspicion or probable cause that a violation took place or was about to take place in their presence. Without A.S. or P.C. the officer would just be pulling over random citizens for no reason, thus violating the 4th ammendment of the US Constitution or Part I Article 19 of the New Hampshire Constitution; illegal search and seizure. Just an FYI., "checkpoints" that are conducted randomly, in NH have to be advertised in advance prior to them taking place due to the NH Supreme Court has ruled it unconstitutional to stop people at random, lacking A.S. and P.C. I hope this information has helped answer your curiosity. I have been stopped by the Marine Patrol a few times. Usually for picking up my boat from the marina and the marina folks neglecting to put on my decals.

07-05-2008, 03:50 PM	#5
sa meredith Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 986 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 32 Thanked 352 Times in 137 Posts	Scupper and lifeonthefarm I understand what you both are saying. And I do understand how the system works and why they would make a stop. But honestly, I watched them jump from one boat to the next. I sat there for over an hour and a half, and it was one stop after another. If you were not paying close attention, you would have thought it was the same stop. Seriously, I bet I watched a dozen stops. Oh well..no biggie. I thought maybe someone who got stopped might be a forum member. I would not be surprised to see this thread reacted to when the new work week begins, and people log on to the forum.

07-05-2008, 04:16 PM	#6
kchace Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Brookline and Moultonborough NH Posts: 100 Thanks: 4 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Actually, the rules for pulling over a car and a boat are completely different. The MP (or Coast Guard et al) do not need ANY reason at all to stop a boat and check it out. Here is one RSA that I found that mentions the matter. There are federal laws as well that essentially say the same thing that apply when in Coast Guard patrolled waters. 270-D:6 Inspections. – All vessels afloat on public waters may be inspected by the commissioner or his duly authorized representative, to determine their seaworthiness and safety equipment at any time. No person shall allow any vessel which fails to pass such inspection to be used or operated on the waters of this state until brought into compliance. Notice that it says "at any time" and that there are no prerequisites. Here is a link to the CG rule: http://uscgboating.org/safety/fedreqs/law_board.htm Ken

07-05-2008, 06:45 PM	#7
Mr. Moyer Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Posts: 49 Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	SA Merideth you are spot on. a forum member was pulled over in the stops at Weirs. I was one of the boats who got pulled over coming out of the weirs on the 4th. I had gone to the NASWA with 2 of my friends and needed gas on the way home. Both gas stations in the channel were closed, so I had to go to the Weirs. It was around 7:55 and approaching dusk, so I turned on the nav lights. Since it was still somewhat light out, and my 360 white was working, I didn't notice that the bulb had burned out. Needless to say, MP did. They came over and stopped me and asked the typical questions, like registration, boating license, where the sfety stuff was (lifejackets, throwable, horn etc) they also asked if I had been drinking at all, and for once my answer was the right one. I had made a conscience effort knowing we would be travelling close to dusk, to only have soda/water at the Naswa. (no beers since the 1pm celebratory beer for finishing the cabinets in the cottage). Also, the lake was choppy and crowded, so I wanted to be on my toes, since I have a 21ft bowrider and I was coming from Alton. I have to say the MP officer was as polite as possible while still being firm to the rules. We had to go back to the station and buy a replacement bulb, since by the time we were done the stop it was getting pretty dark. All things worked out well, and we were treated to excellent fireworks shows across the entire lake for the ride home. I for one am completely against the stopping of all boats regardless of an infraction, I personally think it is an invasion of rights, but I didn't give them a choice, since my lights weren't working properly. Fortunately, the MP officer wasn't a hammerhead.

07-05-2008, 09:15 PM	#9
HomeWood Senior Member Join Date: May 2006 Location: Clayton,NC / Sanbornton,NH Posts: 611 Thanks: 126 Thanked 137 Times in 75 Posts	I don't understand why this type of situation or ones like it generate the complaints that they do. MP have a job to do and you should be happy that they are doing it. It's a darn if you do and a darn if you don't situation for us law enforcement folk. You want us to do our job, but only if it's not you who is being stopped or inconvenienced by it. This isn't directed at anybody here, just speaking in general. If you have any questions on why MP do what they do, I suggest you call and speak to them directly. I got stopped at a huge DWI check point the other night on the way home from work and I was very happy to see them doing it in my town. I enjoy reading all the "Captain Bonehead" threads on here and then after that I enjoy reading the MP complaint stories. Seems contradicting to me, but then again I'm just a cop and nobody knows my job better than the people who DON'T do it. Hope everybody had a nice 4th! I worked

07-06-2008, 09:02 PM	#14
Slickcraft Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Welch Island and The Taylor Community Posts: 3,301 Thanks: 1,222 Thanked 2,088 Times in 955 Posts	For the past 30 years we have been making regular trips from Fay's to the Glendale docks to Welch and back from April through October, passing countless MP boats along the way over the years. We have never been stopped. Then again, we do observe all of the rules.

07-07-2008, 10:02 AM	#20
SIKSUKR Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 5,075 Thanks: 215 Thanked 903 Times in 509 Posts	A positive MP sort of a stop. Yesterday I was floating on my PWC south of Welch Island and a MP boat pulled up to me.I thought,he's going to do a safety check so I started getting my certification Id out.He pulled up and asked if everything was ok and when I said yes,he waved and moved on. __________________ SIKSUKR

07-07-2008, 12:42 PM	#21
pmj Senior Member Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 240 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I personally am glad they are doing their job . Think of it this way..If any of those checkpoints resulted in one life being saved, just one..was it worth it?? You bet it was. Sure, its seen as an inconvenience, but safety is number one priority. I posted this on another thread but here is an incident that made me happy that the MP are present on the lake: We were once outside of Wolfeboro Bay on our 21ft sailboat when some strong gusts started blowing through. I went up on deck (with life jacket on) to take down the main. Right about the same time, an MP was trolling about and slowed down, obviously watching us, then just idled. Once I had the sail down and all lines secure I retreated back to the cockpit. We had the motor on by that point and headed towards home. The MP waved and continued on his patrol. I was pretty impressed at that. I think he was just making sure we were safe and didn't get into any trouble taking down the sails. pmj

07-07-2008, 07:47 PM	#22
jrc Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 33 Thanked 439 Times in 249 Posts	In this country and state, the courts decided how our rights against illegal search and seizure are applied to many different situations, including being stopped in a boat by a marine patrol. You may be willing to give up those rights for a extra safety but a lot of people are not. I hope the MP did everything by the book. From what I've learned from Skip, that means they must have articulatable suspicion before stopping. Now you might say that having a checkpoint is worth it if just one life is saved. But if the checkpoint turns out to be illegal then all the evidence found is gone. So all the people that could be fined or jailed could go free. I'm all for the MP making visible presence and stopping even small infractions to check for drunks. I just don't want overzealous people to make illegal stops. That doesn't do anyone any good. It violates our rights and risks letting guilty people go free.

07-07-2008, 09:04 PM	#23
VtSteve Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1,320 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 230 Thanked 361 Times in 169 Posts	I'm sure they are very sensitive to the public's concern over the latest boating accident, and the "unconfirmed" reports derived from it. I'm not against it at all, and I hope it does act as an overall deterrent, but just sayin ....