Rights
 

What are my rights when a neighbor ties a boat up to my
dock without permission ?

Bill

Perhaps you need to post a Private Dock/No Trespassing /Posted sign to let him know he should not use your dock.

Would you expect to have to post a sign at your dock.

Bill

I would say the first thing to do is speak to the neighbor. Why is he/she parking there?

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Maybe it was "too long a day" on the lake and he pulled into the wrong dock:D

Says he couldn't find a transient slip for his boat.

What are my rights ? In my mind he is trespassing.

Unfortunately, disrespect towards others is becoming a common occurrence. I suppose you could have untied the boat and send it off adrift. Opps...;)

Unfortunately, disrespect towards others is becoming a common occurrence.

How long was it docked at your slip? If it was a short time (couple hours or overnight and it was gone in the morning) I would probably not make a big deal about it. However if it persisted or was an extended period I would call the Marine Patrol and take lots of pictures.


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WHAT????? They have no right docking at YOUR dock.

Marine Patrol
 

Contact Marine Patrol. If your dock is owned or leased by you, he is trespassing.

How does someone launch a boat that will be on the lake and not have already secured docking for the boat?:eek:

Dave

Parking meters. Might as well make some money at it.

Holy mackerel...that thing would have been gone in a NY minute if it was my dock...with or without him on it.

If He Has One...
 

What's the problem with your neighbor's dock? :confused:

Tied up overnight. Neighbor doesn't have a dock. Just went over and reminded him that he said it would be gone in the morning. It is now 8:30 am.

Desperate Boater?
 

Seems like a very profitable rental is in the air.
:)

I would inform him that he has 15 minutes to move the boat and if he doesn’t you are going to untie it. Also any subsequent instance will result in immediate untying of the boat.


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I don’t think you can legally untie it but, if it isn’t gone I’d call both the MP & the local police. On the other hand, if his tying up isn’t interfering with your use you could offer to rent him space. Based on his understanding of lack of availability it might be lucrative.


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Rights
 

As wrong as it sounds, just remember, you ARE living next to him and in the big, big picture, you probably want to get along. Rather than start with a full salvo of retribution, maybe a calm conversation is in order. Not knowing any more than you posted, it is hard to offer a solution, but I would try to keep some sort of cordial relationship in place.

State statute says you cannot maliciously cast a boat adrift. Seems to me that if you cast this boat adrift (since it’s violating private property) then this would not be malicious. If it was on my dock they would never see it again....

Words to live by. .............


Thanks for presenting a more reasonable approach.

We have had issues with his parents who actually own the property nextdoor. We own the water front. Went to court and established a court order which denies their right to tie up to our dock. Property has not been used in years. The son came up yesterday with numerous friends and 2 boats. They came in late last evening. They tied 1 boat to my dock. Trying to be hospitable I allowed them to keep the boat overnight but it needed to be removed in the morning. 8:00 am arrived and no activity next door. Took pictures then woke up my neighbor and reminded him of our conversation. He said he would move boat soon. Waited an hour and went back over and said the boat needs to be moved immediately. He has finally moved the boat.
I have given him a copy of the court order.

Bill

It seems you have done all you could to peacefully resolve the situation.

An old thread on this subject
 

A boat cast adrift is clearly a hazard to navigation. If you untied it you would be responsible. If someone was injured you could be prosecuted.

A boat adrift could cause damage to another boat or dock, possibly yours.

Hard to believe people would recommend setting it adrift, totally irresponsible!

So tying up to your dock without permission is responsible?
People, especially the “me generation” which this sounds like it was, push their limits because they usually face no consequences.

Of course tying up under these circumstances is irresponsible. But that's a separate issue from whether it is legal or otherwise appropriate to untie the boat. A loose boat could be a VERY bad situation, and nobody's going to have much sympathy for the guy who untied it simply because he was angry with his neighbor's rudeness

The "Me" Generation?
 

The "Me" Generation is most closely tied to the Baby Boomers, less so to the Millenials. Assuming you meant the Millenials.... In any event, I wouldn't tie this to a generation, but rather to someone who feels entitled, shows a lack of judgment, is willing to openly trespass on their neighbor. We can find that type of person in any generation.

We have been discussing "rights", which can become litigious. Might also want to approach this asking what's "fair." The two are often at odds with each other, but, I think, it forces a more considered - not necessarily easier - approach.

There should be no delay in calling the authorities after the first refusal to remove the boat from your dock. You showed weakness and they took advantage of it.


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Won't happen a 2nd time !

Bill

Tell 'em next time the entire forum will park their boats at his place. Oh, and we'll have our cars shipped over. They'll go in the backyard.

Renting
 

For those who suggested "renting" :eek::eek::eek:, if you think the abuse of your rights is bad now, wait until you "rent" to someone. Their sense of entitlement to abuse your property will soar. You want to engage in a business transaction with people who start out by disrespecting your property rights? You will wake up to six boats of his friends tied up to your dock and garbage strewn all over the shore. After all they are renting it, right?

WaterCamper..... Your dock your rules! It was beyond gracious of you to let them tie up overnight. You at least made an attempt to be a a good neighbor to an obviously crappy one! Cheers!

Next time (if there is a next time) call the MP and let them resolve the situation....

Woodsy

News to Me...
 

I was just advised that renting NH dock space isn't permitted.:confused:

Who told you that? A lot of slips at MVYC are rented, as are ones in other marina's, condo associations and private residences. Pretty sure that if it wasn't permitted MYYC et al wouldn't be doing it.

Only time I can imagine that is in an association where it's part of the bylaws.

Post a sign on your dock; "One 25 foot docking space for rent for $100 per hour". Chances are real good they won't bite, but if they do you have a nice profitable reward.......

They also will recognize the legal financial penalties if they do use your space.

Haha, great idea !!

I think the best thing the OP has is that court order, present that to any police officer, and they would have a hard time telling the court why they wouldn't enforce it.

Why on earth are you discussing this in an open forum?

You have a court order.... Hospitality did not work...

Your Right is to contact the courts and let them know the neighbor is in violation.

I get what you are trying to do (keep the peace), but from what you are writing here, Enough already is what I would do.

I disagree. A police officer or marine patrol officer would not consider this criminal behavior, but instead a civil dispute. The only recourse the OP has is to go back to court with evidence showing a violation of the court order. This isn't necessarily as simple as it appears. Contempt violations are very difficult to prove.

The issue here is respect and a violation of boundaries. When I wrote my original post, I did not know that there was a history between the OP and the neighbor. Had I known that there was already a court order in place, I most definitely would have untied his boat. The OP is dealing with a bully, and as my mother taught me at a young age, you punch a bully in the nose. He doesn't respect the OP nor any of his rights. The neighbor (and his son) aren't interested in discussing the issue. I realize the boat may cause damage if untied, but the risk is probably pretty low and one that I would be willing to take. It may seem irresponsible to some, but I am not going to let anyone violate my personal property and space. As someone noted above, bullies take advantage of people trying to be nice and act reasonable. With this neighbor, the next thing you know he's on your property and treating it as his own.

That said, no one enjoys confrontation, but sometimes a stand needs to be made. I am sorry the OP had to deal with this. To go through the effort of obtaining a court order shows what he's been through. Unfortunately, there are no easy solutions.

Why wouldn't the criminal trespass laws apply if the dock and the land to which it is attached were marked with private property/no trespassing/posted signs?