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Old 05-14-2008, 09:15 AM   #86
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Exclamation Intent...

Quote:
Originally Posted by Skipper of the Sea Que View Post
I thought there was a time frame portion of the anchor/mooring difference. I thought anchoring was temporary and mooring was more permanent. There could be no one on board of a dive boat in use so are they anchored legally or moored illegally? Or, as BI indicated, at a sand bar as the boaters are in the water or on a public beach or out for a ride with a friend on a SeaDoo? Hmmm another law that we need a law firm to figure out .
Good point Skipper, andf it brings up an element of the offense the many laypeople don't understand....intent.

The State must show what your intention was in committing the offense. That is why no time frame needs to be specified for this particular offense, and why the blanket definition " a boat anchored with no one in it is an illegal mooring" is not a correct definition.

It also explains why you can see, on any given wekend, dozens if not hundreds of anchored unattended boats scattered about Winni or Ossipee with full marine patrol presence, and no summonses being issued.

Here's an example:

You anchor your boat and all head off for a swim, or a walk ashore, or what have you. Your actions are temporary in nature and you have no intent of making that particular anchoring point a permanent or semi-permanent point to return to on a regular basis. Your intent is to anchor...not create a mooring. You therefore have not created an offense, and you see this happening virtually anytime you boat on Winni.

Second case. You decide that you are going to control a particular sectiuon of your lake by anchoring a kayak or other vessel out in the navigable portion of the waterway to force the 150 foot rule, or to circumvent the swim line requirements. Here your intentions are completely different and you will run afoul of the NHMP if they are made aware of ther situation and derive the same intent.

A whole world of difference according to my friends at the NHMP.

I apologize to Don and the readers for being baited in to this thread hijacking. As always, anyone is welcome to PM me offline for addtional information or resources to opursue to find correct interpretations of New Hamposhire's boating regulations....

Anchors away!

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