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jrc · 06-17-2009, 03:17 PM

There are two reasons for the 150 foot headway rule. One is wake damage, a sailboat at hull speed is not going to make wake big enough to be an issue.

But the second reason is control. If you are that close to other boats, or the shore, you have to slow because you have to be in control. Another boat can turn into your path, someone may be swimming near shore, a boat could leave a dock.

So the real question goes back to Lakegeezer, when you were hugging the shore at 6.2 MPH, did you have complete control of your vessel? could you stop in time if something unforseen happened? If yes, then you probably met the intent of the law, even if you exceeded the letter of the law by 3%.

06-17-2009, 03:17 PM	#6
jrc Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: NH Posts: 2,689 Thanks: 33 Thanked 439 Times in 249 Posts	There are two reasons for the 150 foot headway rule. One is wake damage, a sailboat at hull speed is not going to make wake big enough to be an issue. But the second reason is control. If you are that close to other boats, or the shore, you have to slow because you have to be in control. Another boat can turn into your path, someone may be swimming near shore, a boat could leave a dock. So the real question goes back to Lakegeezer, when you were hugging the shore at 6.2 MPH, did you have complete control of your vessel? could you stop in time if something unforseen happened? If yes, then you probably met the intent of the law, even if you exceeded the letter of the law by 3%.