Mooring/vs anchor

[John A. Birdsall]

We have had my boat at a mooring which we have registered. But now the question has come up about mooring lights on boats. And the guide says that all boats moored or anchored are required to have an anchor light on between the hours of dusk and dawn. I can see one that is anchored, but one on a permnent mooring does not make sense, well it does but it would seem to me to kill the batteries real quickly.

We got information from the guide you can get at marina's that is suppose to help boaters understand the laws of NH waterways.

[GWC...]

We have had my boat at a mooring which we have registered. But now the question has come up about mooring lights on boats. And the guide says that all boats moored or anchored are required to have an anchor light on between the hours of dusk and dawn.

John, its this website that has entered its teen years (http://www.winnipesaukee.com/photopost/showfull.php?photo=13507). :D :laugh: :laugh:

The type of mooring you reference is the same as being tied to a dock.

Do you leave your anchor light on when tied to a dock during the night?

No and neither do boats secured to a registered mooring, be it a private mooring or one in a mooring feild.

You might have noticed a light on some buoys in a mooring feild; but not on the boats secured within.

This is going to be a long winter... :D

[jrc]

Here is law:

Saf-C 403.19 Lights on Boats or Rafts at Anchor. All vessels, log rafts and rafts as defined in RSA 270:42, IV, when at anchor in the normally traveled portion of the public waters, between sunset and sunrise shall display a white light high enough to show all around the horizon.

I highlighted what I think is the key. If your mooring is not in a normally traveled area, you don't need an anchor light. When I moored, it was in a mooring field, the field had flashing strobes, the boats had no lights. If your boat is near shore, my guess is that you don't need a light.

But if someone runs into your unlit boat and they claim it was a traveled area, you may be stuck proving it wasn't.

[AC2717]

Here is law:

Saf-C 403.19 Lights on Boats or Rafts at Anchor. All vessels, log rafts and rafts as defined in RSA 270:42, IV, when at anchor in the normally traveled portion of the public waters, between sunset and sunrise shall display a white light high enough to show all around the horizon.

I highlighted what I think is the key. If your mooring is not in a normally traveled area, you don't need an anchor light. When I moored, it was in a mooring field, the field had flashing strobes, the boats had no lights. If your boat is near shore, my guess is that you don't need a light.

But if someone runs into your unlit boat and they claim it was a traveled area, you may be stuck proving it wasn't.

Our association puts four solar power low lying slow binking yellow bouy lights out on the corners of our mooring feild and for the open water between it to the docks. They are orange during the day, we have never had a problem, they are an extremlky good idea, especially when coming in at night, almost like a runway

[MAXUM]

"But if someone runs into your unlit boat and they claim it was a traveled area, you may be stuck proving it wasn't."

Isn't that why you need to get a mooring permit? The rules pertaining to getting a mooring approved include a whole slew of details including where it's being located, my assumption would be that the state would then review that permit application to ensure that nobody is attempting to put in a mooring where it would be a navigation hazard. See below specifically section 15:



Saf-C 408.06 Individual Mooring Permit Application.



(a) If the person desiring the mooring is not the owner of the shorefront property, the owner of the shorefront property allowing access to the mooring shall file the application, form DSSS 18 on behalf of that person.



(b) An applicant applying for an individual mooring permit shall provide the following on or with form DSSS 18:



(1) The name of the applicant or owner for the mooring along with shorefront and mailing address and , telephone numbers(s), and applicant's signature;



(2) The name, address and telephone number of a contact person, if one is designated by the applicant;



(3) The body of water on which the proposed mooring will be located;



(4) Adequate directions for locating the mooring by both water and land;



(5) Town or city tax map and lot number of the shorefront property adjacent to which the mooring shall be placed;



(6) The water depth where the mooring is located;



(7) If the mooring will be used by another person, the applicant shall include his/her name, address, and telephone number, along with an explanation of the request;



(8) Current processed copy of the boat registration for all boats used at the shorefront property;



(9) If the boat does not require registration, the applicant shall state who owns the boat and provide a full description of the boat, including length, color, make and model;



(10) Names and address of all abutters;



(11) Date application was filled out;



(12) Statement that no other viable and safe alternative exists for securing the boat;



(13) Statement whether docking facilities, over which the applicant has control, exist;



(14) Statement that the mooring shall not be transferred, leased or sold;



(15) A diagram or plan which portrays the following information:



a. The applicant’s shore frontage in feet;



b. Names of each abutter within 300 feet of the applicant and their shore frontage in feet;



c. The location and distance from shore of each mooring applied for; and



d. The location of all structures in the water in front of the applicant’s or abutter’s shore frontage, such as but not limited to:



1. Docks;



2. Personal watercraft or boat lifts;



3. Other moorings;



4. Swim rafts;



5. Swim lines; and



6. Navigational markers; and



(16) An executed copy of a deed or lease of the shorefront property.



Source. #4145, eff 10-6-86; ss by #4384, eff 3-10-88; ss by #4562, eff 1-3-89; amd by #4750, eff 1-29-90; amd by #5936, INTERIM, eff 1-3-95, EXPIRES, 5-3-95 (formerly Saf-C 408.05); ss by #6005, eff 3-24-95, EXPIRED: 3-24-03



New. #7904, INTERIM, eff 6-24-03, EXPIRED: 12-21-03



New. #8172, eff 9-21-04

[jrc]

...Isn't that why you need to get a mooring permit? The rules pertaining to getting a mooring approved include a whole slew of details including where it's being located, my assumption would be that the state would then review that permit application to ensure that nobody is attempting to put in a mooring where it would be a navigation hazard. ...

I don't think the mooring permit people can guaranty that no one will ever think your mooring is in a normally traveled area. I've seen a few moorings well out into the lake, probably to get sufficient depth.

I think the vast majority of the time, you will be perfectly safe with no lights on a moored boat, but there is a small risk.