Jetski Lift Permits
 

This form - Wetlands Permit by Notification (PBN) (Project 12) Installation of a Seasonal Personal Watercraft Lift - says "The seasonal personal watercraft lift shall be:

1.Installed immediately adjacent to a dock, and in a legally-existing boat slip, or, if there are no other personal watercraft lifts on the frontage, a maximum of 2 lifts installed immediately adjacent to one another and along the owners shoreline;"

However this web page - NH Department of Environmental Services FAQ says "a wetlands permit is required to install all boat lifts and jet ski lifts, including all seasonal boat and jet ski lifts. One boat lift or jet ski lift is equivalent to a single boat slip."

So if a property has a permit for 3 slips, can 2 jetski lifts be added in addition or would they then limit the docking to 2 slips only?

Not a lawyer, I read this to say if you have a permit for 3 slips and you install 2 lifts you then have one remaining boat slip. However, in 35 years of dealing w/government regulations I have learned if I read something and it makes sense I am probably interpreting it wrong.


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

I agree and see how you read it that way! So with 2 jetski lifts (away from the docks), it may leave 1, 2, or 3 slips... clear as mud! :)

Better source?
 

Cal DES and ask for the really definitive answer. Free call.

Do it anonymously. If you get an answer you don’t like hang up and call back. It’s a state agency so, if you get different people chances are you’ll get different answers. Actually worked for me when calling EPA. Called several times until I got the interpretation I wanted.


Sent from my iPhone using Winnipesaukee Forum mobile app

Rosemary at DES tells me that the ski lifts would be in addition to the slips.

Interestingly I asked her if dock edge mooring whips attached to a retaining wall would be allowed and she said she thinks yes, under the same restrictions as lifts which could work out much better for us!

Rosemary's answers are correct but perhaps still don't provide a complete picture of what the NH Department of Environmental Services will issue a permit for when it comes to PWC lifts. Yes, each lift can be considered to provide a slip. However if a property has enough frontage for 2 slips and a standard 6 foot x 40 seasonal dock is installed on the frontage the Department recognizes that there is likely room to tie off a PWC (or two) along the docking structure in the area between the recognized boat slip and the shore. Permitting the placement of a lift or lifts in these areas where you could tie the craft anyway doesn't affect the number of watercraft that are going to be using the frontage. As such the Department routinely permits lifts immediately adjacent to existing docking structures without counting them as additional slips provided. The Department's position on PWC lifts changes when one proposes to install lifts along the frontage away from the existing docking facility because now the installation of the lifts does directly increase the number of watercraft that can be secured on the frontage. Understand that Rule Env-Wt 402.13, Frontage Over 75', begins by stating that the purpose of the rule on slip density is "To lessen congestion, improve public safety and navigation, protect neighboring property values, provide sufficient area for construction of facilities, provide adequate area for boat maneuvering, and protect health, safety, and general welfare." Because installing PWC lifts along the shore, in areas where a watercraft could not otherwise be secured, will increase congestion, and may negatively impact public safety and navigation, property values and so forth, the Department will only permit such lifts where there is sufficient frontage to allow for additional boat slips beyond what any existing docks provide in keeping with the intent and purpose of Rule Env-Wt 402.13.

Respectfully,
D. Forst
Shoreland Section Supervisor
NHDES Land Resource Management Programs

Hi,

I appreciate you taking the time to answer, but your response does not match with what I was told on the phone. At the end of the call I asked directly if a property with over 150ft of frontage could have 3 slips with 3 boats plus 2 PWC lifts (not adjacent to the dock) and was told yes, based on this regulation:

Env-Wt 303.04

(ad) Installation of a seasonal personal watercraft lift, provided the personal watercraft lift is:
(1) Installed immediately adjacent to a dock, and in a legally-existing boat slip, or, if there are no
other personal watercraft lifts on the frontage, a maximum of 2 lifts installed immediately
adjacent to one another and along the owner’s shoreline;
(2) Removed during the non-boating season;
(3) Located at least 20 feet from an abutting property line or the imaginary extension of the
property line over the water;
(4) Installed in a manner that creates no impacts that would require further permit action; and
(5) Located on a parcel of land that has 75 feet or more of shoreline frontage;

Could you, in the absence of an alternative, squish those lifts in adjacent to the existing docking structure? Several years ago the Department accepted that for most property owners the answer to this would be, yes. Rather than continue to pursue property owners whose legally approved lifts slowly migrated away from the dock to have them put back the Department accepted the practicality of the situation and adopted this rule, which very specifically limits the number of lifts to 2. It should be noted that rule quoted is not an approval standard or a design criteria but rather specifies how the project is classified; as a minimum impact project. The specified 2 lifts are the theoretical ones that the Department accepted every landowner could fit in adjacent to their dock. The Department accepts that those 2 lifts can be moved a distance from the dock and not undermine the intent and purpose of Rule Env-Wt 402.13. That said, if there are any PWC lifts adjacent to the dock, then these lifts off to the side are not approvable unless you have the frontage to support the number of slips requested. Sorry for leaving this out the first time.

Thanks for the clarification. My questions are in relation to a property we are purchasing. The property has a 30' u-shape dock with 3 slips. With the definition of a slip as being 20' long, I think the answer is yes - In theory a boat and a jetski lift could fit.

So it sounds like we are at the same final answer from Rosemary: With 3 approved slips, the property could have 3 boats plus 2 jetski lifts (placed together, away from the dock, not closer than 20' from the edge of the property).

Thanks for your help!

Do you mind if I ask another question? In place of 2 x jetski lifts, would it be permissable to use mooring whips, installed on a retaining wall at the lake edge (away from the dock, not closer than 20' from the edge of the property)?

Yes, the same answer just more of the backstory on how to get there. Yes, unless there is some very specific condition in the permits issued for the existing structures, you can use the whips instead. Such a condition would be highly unusual but you should always check. The biggest advantage of the whips is that no permit is required for the whips while a permit would be required for the lifts.

I don't know if you have a rocky shoreline or sand....but I tether my jet skis right on the beach with no problems.Only downside is a bottom wash in the fall.Probably won't work if you have big boat wakes but good for us in a NWZ

My neighbor used to have a drydock for his jetskis. 2 x 4's covered with carpet and a trailer winch to pull the machine out of the water. With a little more effort, you could build a small cradle with wheels on a track. Either way, not a "structure", and not in the water.