Waterfront Etiquette

[Jonas Pilot]

You have moved to the wrong state.

[Newbiesaukee]

Although I do "get" your question, and as one of the out-of-state, waterfront property owners, JP's original answer is the correct one "we share the lake."

And I knew this before I bought the property and it seems fair to me. I am not sure what else there is to "get."

[jrc]

Benny, you seem to think you somehow bought my lake, or some portion of it.

You didn't, I and my fellow NH citizen own this lake and all other "great ponds", we let the state government hold it in trust for us, and manage it. My vested interest is equal to yours, just as my vote is equal to yours.

We can't have a law for everything, ettiquette and respect run both ways, we can share this great resource in friendship or we can call out the lawyers and ruin it for everyone. Plenty of history there.

Your statement that "Landowners, almost without exception, accept their responsibility as stewards of the fragile lake environment." is demonstrably false. Just look around the lake.

[Jonas Pilot]

Originally Posted by jrc

Benny, you seem to think you somehow bought my lake, or some portion of it.

You didn't, I and my fellow NH citizen own this lake and all other "great ponds", we let the state government hold it in trust for us, and manage it. My vested interest is equal to yours, just as my vote is equal to yours.

We can't have a law for everything, ettiquette and respect run both ways, we can share this great resource in friendship or we can call out the lawyers and ruin it for everyone. Plenty of history there.

Your statement that "Landowners, almost without exception, accept their responsibility as stewards of the fragile lake environment." is demonstrably false. Just look around the lake.

Well said jrc.

[Woodsy]

Benny...

You are a little out of touch here. Just because you own property that borders public domain property/resource does not give you a right or an expectation of privacy. In fact it guarantees the exact opposite. It guarantees the public access to any part of that property/resource.

We (the citizens of NH) are the true owners of all inland bodies of water, do grant you (waterfront property owners) certain littoral priveleges (not rights). We allow you a dock to extend into the lake (public domain) with limitations... same goes for moorings, swim rafts and swim lines. People need to remember that those priveleges can be severly restricted or revoked depending on the political whim of the public.

As for your dayboater comment... well last I checked there was very little public access to Lake Winnipesaukee. So little in fact that I would hazrd that dayboaters make up less than 5% of the boats being driven on the lake at any given time.

Woodsy

[AC2717]

I agree Woodsy 100% about NH citizens owning the lake,

but why do people say public access to the lake with boats is limited:
at almost every marina on the lake you can get into the lake with a boat - irwins, thurstons, channel, lakeport, meredith, shep browns, to name a few
also at hotels such as christmas island. then you have all the town launches such as meredith, center harbor, meredith, alton, ellacoya

I can count in my head (i know amazing I can count without my fingers and toes) 5 in paugus bay alone, then over 10 around the lake, and I am sure I am missing some

[Irrigation Guy]

If landowners did such a great job of preserving the lakes for the rest of us to enjoy we really wouldn't need the DES would we?

Edit: Great Post Maxum, you beat me to it with much more detail.

[BroadHopper]

You sound like are on the wrong lake! You should move to Squam Lake where the Squam lake Association just about tell you when you can potty!

[Woodsy]

AC...


My comment about public access is pretty straightforward. Public ramps are by thier nature free for all to use. Most of the launch facilities on Lake Winnipesaukee are pay to play... your launching @ marinas or motels. There are only 2-3 PUBLIC launch ramps (owned & maintained by the State of NH for the enjoyment of residents & visitors alike) These ramps are disgraceful.. small poorly maintained facilities with little or no parking or docking. Most "public" launches such as Meredith & Gilford are for RESIDENTS only! or a fee applies. If they allow you to launch at all...

Woodsy

[Onshore]

In fairness, as a shorefront property owner Benny does have some rights that a non-shorefront owner does not have; particularly the right to wharf out, or in other words build a dock. (Please note, this is not an unlimited right but that is another conversation for anoher time.) As for regulating ettiquette, no this is simply not possible. While we would all hope that people would respect each other, some people just don't have a clue. Anchoring a boat 40 ft off a family's dock so you can sit with your significant other and enjoy the sunset is one thing. Getting caught up in the moment and ending up half-naked and making out or worse despite the fact that the family has kids... on the dock... not ok. Needless to say the parent that called to complain was very angry. Unfortunately, making inconsiderate behavior illegal won't stop it from happening. The people who just don't care, still won't care...

As for shorefront property owners being stewards of the environment, I suspect reality lies somewhere between what Benny and Maxum put forward. There is a small percentage of people who are environmentally aware and very pro-active who are truly "stewards" of the environment. At the other end of the spectrum there is a smaller percent of people who are remarkably selfish that really don't care about the impact of their actions on others. In my experience the vast majority lie someplace in between. They don't buy waterfront thinking they about to become stewards of the environment. They simply want a special place they can enjoy with the people that are important to them. (...and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.) Because the place is special to them, if you explain that there is something that poses a risk to it and that further, there is something they can do to protect it or improve it, the overwhelming majority will do the environmentally responsible thing.