Quote:
Originally Posted by Airwaves
You boys think what you want and go ahead and operate at 6 MPH through a NWZ with a NHMP boat sitting there and smile. Just keep in mind that beginning 1 Jan 2009 a misinterpretation of this law on your part will mean a moving violation on your drivers license record.
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Airwaves...
I have absolutely no problem going by an NHMP boat at 6MPH in any NWZ...
A little back story... Earlier this season right around Bike Week I was travelling thru the Weirs Channel from Paugus Bay to Weirs. I was following a HUGE SeaRay cruiser and there was one of the NHMP RIB's 2 boats behind me. The SeaRay was going up the channel at approximately 1-1.5 MPH (GPS) essentially the DEAD SLOW speed for this particular SeaRay (there was no boat in front of him for at least 600') This monster SeaRay was causing a backup of boating traffic, neccessitating myself and others to needlessly shift in and out of gear and reducing my ability to maintain steerage against the current. (Just for the record, DEAD SLOW on my boat is 3.5-3.9 MPH on the GPS) Needless to say I was rather agitated, so upon clearing the exit of the Channel I flagged over the NHMP boat and ASKED specifically what their interpretaion of the NWZ rule was....
I was told and I quote "NO WAKE DOES NOT MEAN DEAD SLOW" They completely understood why I was somewhat agitated... during the course of the 5 minute conversation, the NHMP officer explained the rules to me the same way Skip described it above. The No Wake Rule was a 6MPH guideline, as some boats do in fact need to travel faster than 6 MPH to maintain steerage. The NHMP officer nicely explained to me that "If you need to travel faster than 6MPH in a NWZ you better have a darn good explanation!"
All boats create a wake regardless of speed, a wake is created by water being displaced by the hull, a larger heavier boat under most circumstances will create a larger more powerful wake than a smaller lighter boat traveling at the same speed. 6 MPH or 5 Knots is the compromise made in order to keep boat traffic flowing safely and smoothly...
Woodsy