Navigation Lights Removed/ New Aqua-therm Law
 

As of today's date, all navigation lights have been removed from Lake Winnipesaukee.

While recreational boating seems to extend further into the season every year, mother nature remains unpredictable. Marine Patrol must consider a variety of circumstances including weather forecasts, staffing, lake draw- downs and ramp access when planning this large scale, statewide, task.

We would also like to remind those of you who use aqua-therms around your docks during the winter months of a new state law. In addition to having to get a permit at your local town hall, effective this year, it is now illegal for anyone to create a condition which inhibits or prevents the natural freezing of water, or forming of ice, and thereby impedes either the ingress or egress to or from the ice from any property other than that of the owner of the device. The person or persons responsible for the placement of the device shall ensure that warning signs are posted to warn of its location. Said signs shall read DANGER, THIN ICE and shall be of sufficient size to be readable at a distance of not less than 150 feet, and shall be visible from all directions and shall be equipped with reflectors and color-coded in a pattern unique for this purpose only. If you have any questions, please contact Marine Patrol at 603-293-2037.

We wish everyone a safe "hard water" season!

Safe Boating!!

This should be interesting this year. I wonder how many people are aware of this new Aqua-Therm regulation. No one around me really uses them......

why is this in place if bubblers/ripple makers are ok? - seems to me this would violate the same rule listed above?

not trying to be combative here, its a need to know for obvious reasons

how to control the 'too big splish-splash' water area problem?
 

The big problem with the 1/2-hp and 3/4-hp aqua-therms or ice eaters is they really shake up the water depending on the water depth, and how close they are to the water surface. Typically they get controlled by a timer/temperature control that turns it on and off.

About ten years ago, or sometime like that, I couldn't afford the 110volt-1/2-hp ice eater with the small blue propeller, so I went with three 1/6-hp utility pumps, cost about $65-each, and they actually worked out pretty good on my 5' x 30' dock. My installation had them staggered along the length of the dock at each leg support area, using three pumps, so they make three smaller circles of water splish-splash, as opposed to one large circle of water splish-splash.

It was pretty simple installation with each pump hung vertically by a single line to a depth of two feet, down. As you know three 1/6-hp pumps and one 1/2-hp pump both have the same total power of 1/2-hp so they have the same energy but the dynamics for the splish-splash water shaking is different.

The 1/6-hp pump weighs about 8-lbs, has a screen on the bottom, an impeller inside, and a garden hose 3/4" fitting on top, so the water gets sucked up from below, and streamed straight up, and splish-splashes the water surface enough to keep ice from forming, but in a smaller circle of splish-splash than the 1/2-hp ice eater, and with less power and less noise.

Using three 1/6-hp pumps distributes the splish-splash water shaking more evenly with different control on the open water area. It changes the energy dynamics when compared to the 1/2-hp ice eater and could be a solution to not be opening the ice in front of your neighbor's property.

Another side benefit to this revised NH state statute for 2019 is how it should reduce and lower the amount of splish-splash noise created by the ice eater. Three 1/6-hp pumps with impellers will make a lot less splish-splash noise than the one 1/2-hp ice eater with the small blue propeller which should have many waterfront residents pleased with the new winter quiet, along the shoreline, thanks to this new rule for using the aqua-therm or ice-eater to protect their dock.

Along with the three 1/6-hp utility pumps, you want to have a heavy, long handled ice chopper, and a 2-lb hammer so's you can define the perimeter of the long rectangle of open water that surrounds your dock. Once about 2-3" of ice has been created by the cold, say in the last week of December, or first week in January, you no longer have to be chopping and defining the open water area, but it definitely needs to get done at the start of the ice-in, when using these 1/6-hp impeller utility pumps that do not have the power of the 1/2-hp or 3/4-hp ice eater propeller.

The way I understand it is your bubbler can't deny a neighbor safe passage onto or off the ice from his/her property. Many instances of this can be found as the shoreline in open in many areas beyond ones dock.

.... using a drone?
 

How's this for a suggestion? How's 'bout the Marine Patrol uses a photo drone to go take a 'look see' at aqua-therm, open water ice-eater complaints as a way to check out what can be a remote, waterfront, Quasimodo location.

Besides using a regular car or suv, ski-doo, hovercraft, helicopter, or a dry suit with ice grippers, ski poles and pfd for walking across shallow open water and ice...... maybe a drone is the better way to go for getting around the lake's irregular icy shoreline in the lakes region during the ice-in months..... including Lakes Winnipesaukee, Squam, Winnisquam, Newfound, Wentworth, Ossipee, and others.

Trying to determine what is open water, and what is ice, as seen from an altitude of 300' may actually be a very good 'bird's eye view' for looking at ice, open water and the splish-splash, that's going on.

"Hey there, Marine Patrol ......my neighbor down here just has too much splish-splash going on, and I was wondering if you all could come on by, and check it all out."

....... send in the drone ...... to investigate that too much splish-splash ....... a-yuh!!!

Drone photography
 

Here's an example of a drone picture of an over-aggressive bubbler. Great way to get the point across.

Town of Wolfeboro was not aware, but are now putting together a registration form and will charge $0.50 to register.

Although the term Auqatherm was used in the orginal post, my guess is you find that the law covers any device used to keep ice from forming on the lake in front of private property.....

so we now need this permit for the bubblers?

If you look at the attachment above from BoatHouse, it has a copy of the final version of the Bill, and the answer to your question would appear to be yes.....

Some snipets from the bill:

" An Act Relative to heating, agitating or other devices in public waters."

" No person shall put, place, operate, or cause to be put, placed, or operated in the waters of this state any so-called heating, agitating, or other device which inhibits or prevents the natural freezing of water, or forming of ice, and thereby impedes either the ingress or egress to or from the ice from any property other then that of the owner of the device "

...... the splish-splash police!
 

Probably, an ice-eater or aqua-therm permit and fee would be issued by the town, so it's a state statute, and the town can choose whether or not to issue permits.

Most likely, people know when they have too much splish-splash going on, and will adjust it on their own, without having their neighbors 'dime-ing' them out by calling in the splish-splash police.

"Look-ee here neighbor ...... you all just got too much splish-splash going on ..... you all want to be down-sizing your splish-splash ..... or, I will notify the splish-splash police ...... you get the message!" ... :laugh: