Doesn't anyone know what 150' means on the lake?

[Lakewinn1]

Originally Posted by Rattlesnake Guy

Tourism is the 2nd largest industry in New Hampshire. I really really appreciate all the fine people who come here to enjoy our State and spend money at our many businesses. If they bring a few unfamiliar or under appreciated driving habits along with the millions and millions of dollars, I think we can live and let live just a little bit. My family has never been in danger from the visiting boat that might come too close for our laws which we don't bother to post at our public boat ramps.

The worst thing we could do is make New Hampshire a place that people don't want to come to anymore. That would have a dramatic impact on the balance of our state economy and make it so that many of us may no longer be able to join in on the enjoyment of the lakes region. It is naive to think that visitors to our fine State don't have a huge positive impact on our to small town and school economies. I kind of like having no State income tax.

Sometimes your intolerance can be something you keep to yourself.

I believe most people who read the forum and are active menbers of this publication would agree with you, however the laws are the laws and should be followed.

Your comments are well founded but should be targeted at the legislature in Concord!

[NoRegrets]

Originally Posted by Lakewinn1

I believe most people who read the forum and are active menbers of this publication would agree with you, however the laws are the laws and should be followed.

Your comments are well founded but should be targeted at the legislature in Concord!

The forum is a place where ideas are shared and if enough "ground swell" is achieved then we can start the escalation process. If only one goes to Concord nothing would be achieved.

I agree with Rattlesnake Guy's perspective and will add that there are some among us that feel they are responsible to infringe on others freedoms with their perception or interpretation of laws. Just think if they really enacted the "blue laws" or actually removed some laws from the books. We would all be in jail!

[outlawfun]

I remember when Hotels were booked solid, resteraunts were busy, marinas had a waiting list and fast boats were selling like crazy. Then implement a speed limit, harass the performance boaters and 3 years later, open rooms, slow resteraunts, slips available and selling for 50% off, marinas and boat sellers just hanging on with bow riders and pontoon sales, and some with boat rentals (the worst offenders of the rules by far). You push people with money to other areas and they take thier freinds with them (it's that simple). I'm always reading the performance boat boards and here the same thing all the time ( stay away from winni, they don't like performance boats) that's alot of money being sent else were weather you thinks so or not. Every boater in some fashion will spend money on a room, food, gas, boat repairs, slip, cloths or the other attractions while here. Some will say it's the economy but remember people with money don't mind spending it if they feel appreciated. I wrote an article a while back and said this would happen but the chosen few won the battle and now we should rethink things to help the local economy ( every dollar adds up ).

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by outlawfun

I remember when Hotels were booked solid, resteraunts were busy, marinas had a waiting list and fast boats were selling like crazy. Then implement a speed limit, harass the performance boaters and 3 years later, open rooms, slow resteraunts, slips available and selling for 50% off, marinas and boat sellers just hanging on with bow riders and pontoon sales, and some with boat rentals (the worst offenders of the rules by far). You push people with money to other areas and they take thier freinds with them (it's that simple). I'm always reading the performance boat boards and here the same thing all the time ( stay away from winni, they don't like performance boats) that's alot of money being sent else were weather you thinks so or not. Every boater in some fashion will spend money on a room, food, gas, boat repairs, slip, cloths or the other attractions while here. Some will say it's the economy but remember people with money don't mind spending it if they feel appreciated. I wrote an article a while back and said this would happen but the chosen few won the battle and now we should rethink things to help the local economy ( every dollar adds up ).

Please give me some data from the local businesses that support your comments. The only way I know of to prove what you have said is to get the actual receipts for a three year period from the businesses that you talk about.
It's not fair to speak for any business unless you have the actual data.

[BroadHopper]

Why don't you come to one of the LR Chamber of Commerce network meetings and ask the businessmen?

Also Plymouth State University does extensive yearly research on this stuff. Check out the plymouth.edu

I can recall when Bike Week and NASCAR weekends when you can't find any vacancy. Now you see them everywhere. In the past you had to buy tickets almost a year in advance to attend a NASCAR race. Today you can buy tickets during the race.

[outlawfun]

My data comes from being on the lake every week, when you see exactly what's going on and not some fake bs presented at a meeting from sl supporters. Thurston marine lost their boat manufacturer along with channel not having a couple of thiers, silver sands gave up fountain and lakeport lost formula. These were all big ticket boats and brought in alot of money, with out profit these places find it hard to stay in business ( now they have to sell way more boats to stay open).Every resteraunt i go in now has no waite and i can get a room in any hotel. This is great for me but eventually it will kill small businesses. All the sl supporters only thought of themselves and not the big picture. Every dollar counts and negative posts keeping people away only hurt more. I'm a performance boat owner and treat everyone with respect and stay far away from others on the water. I see renters speeding through no wake zones and breaking the 150 rule all the time along with bumping off everyone elses boat while trying to dock ( things need to change for renters)

[ApS]

Originally Posted by outlawfun

My data comes from being on the lake every week, when you see exactly what's going on and not some fake bs presented at a meeting from sl supporters. Thurston marine lost their boat manufacturer along with channel not having a couple of thiers, silver sands gave up fountain and lakeport lost formula. These were all big ticket boats and brought in alot of money, with out profit these places find it hard to stay in business ( now they have to sell way more boats to stay open).Every resteraunt i go in now has no waite and i can get a room in any hotel. This is great for me but eventually it will kill small businesses. All the sl supporters only thought of themselves and not the big picture. Every dollar counts and negative posts keeping people away only hurt more. I'm a performance boat owner and treat everyone with respect and stay far away from others on the water. I see renters speeding through no wake zones and breaking the 150 rule all the time along with bumping off everyone elses boat while trying to dock ( things need to change for renters)

Oops...this got "moved" this morning—while I was looking for a picture...now my reply goes into the "dust-bin".

Your data is called "anecdotal"—not that it should be dismissed—here's more "anecdotal" evidence:

From my boating on the lake every day, the lake has many moods. The picture below was taken on The Broads last week—at the height of Winnipesaukee's boating season. The 150-foot rule is meaningless out here. The Broads is virtually empty every week-day morning—all season long. It's been this way for years—perhaps decades.

Turn off the late-night shows—get up early, catch a new day dawning—and the Big Lake presents a whole-new vista.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by outlawfun

My data comes from being on the lake every week, when you see exactly what's going on and not some fake bs presented at a meeting from sl supporters. Thurston marine lost their boat manufacturer along with channel not having a couple of thiers, silver sands gave up fountain and lakeport lost formula. These were all big ticket boats and brought in alot of money, with out profit these places find it hard to stay in business ( now they have to sell way more boats to stay open).Every resteraunt i go in now has no waite and i can get a room in any hotel. This is great for me but eventually it will kill small businesses. All the sl supporters only thought of themselves and not the big picture. Every dollar counts and negative posts keeping people away only hurt more. I'm a performance boat owner and treat everyone with respect and stay far away from others on the water. I see renters speeding through no wake zones and breaking the 150 rule all the time along with bumping off everyone elses boat while trying to dock ( things need to change for renters)

I appreciate you sharing your observations and opinions on this topic. They are different then mine but everyone is entitled to their opinion.

Stay safe and enjoy your time on the water.

[outlawfun]

Thanks Rusty,
If I remember correctly you own a couple of businesses on the lake of which i'm suppose to stay away from but I don't think thats a good idea as i'm a business owner as well. I wish things could be better for everyone and not just a couple. As for the above picture that goes to show you that the lake is empty during the week and the performance boat users should be able to run them out as long as no one is near them, I do think that safety should come first in busy areas.

Have a good summer.

[jrc]

He's not "that" Rusty.

[Belmont Resident]

The speed limit did absolutely nothing to curb the problems on the lake.
If anything the timing of it coupled with the economic down fall made it seem as though it may have helped.
The purpose of the SL was to and did cause a lot of the performance boats to leave.
Having talked with someone who was a supporter of the SL I found out that it wasn't really about speed as much as noise and the real drive was to rid the lake of the weekend noise.
As far as the real issues which were always about safe operation and following the rules, not one thing has changed. You still have the same problems with safe operation failure to give way, violating the 150ft rule and they are still being done by the same boaters as before. Mainly vacation goers and those who simply do not care.
Personally I hope it continues to get worse out there until it reaches the level that proceeded the speed limit. Why because then it will become evident that none of the real issues regarding safety were fixed just because the lake became quieter and some of the performance boaters left it.
outlawfun I'm not sure if you were involved or not but those opposed to the speed limit shot themselves in the foot with their own stand on the issue.
We were involved from the beginning and when it became apparent that the opponents did not want to talk about options when it did become apparent that the SL could very well happen, that is when we decided not to be involved any longer. The, my way or the highway mentality with no room for discussion on the issue is what in our opinion helped seal the deal along with the timing of the boating accident.
Also the Formula dealer changing hands had nothing to do with speed limits.
Formula chose to pull out of Lakeport and look for a new dealer and it had nothing at all to do with the speed limit debate or speed limits on the lake.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

BR, many of your comments are on the mark especially those about the noise. Why weren't the GFBL clowns smart enough to realize that the noise part was far more of a problem than the speed. There are still too many boats not going that fast but are making an incredible amount of noise.

Like you say, there are still the same old safety problems which have not been corrected with the passing of the SL.

[Rusty]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

BR, many of your comments are on the mark especially those about the noise. Why weren't the GFBL clowns smart enough to realize that the noise part was far more of a problem than the speed. There are still too many boats not going that fast but are making an incredible amount of noise.

Like you say, there are still the same old safety problems which have not been corrected with the passing of the SL.

GFBL Boaters are "clowns". I never thought of them that way...interesting comment though.

[Sue Doe-Nym]

It's not fair to say that all GFBL are clowns, simply that there were/are enough of them to screw it up for the rest of us.

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by Sue Doe-Nym

BR, many of your comments are on the mark especially those about the noise. Why weren't the GFBL clowns smart enough to realize that the noise part was far more of a problem than the speed. There are still too many boats not going that fast but are making an incredible amount of noise.

Like you say, there are still the same old safety problems which have not been corrected with the passing of the SL.

The state has a set limit for noise and it is their job to police it. If someone is running too loud they should be ticketed and made to comply. If MP is not keeping up on it, or ignoring it, there lies the problem.

When I got my Sonic last year and went for my first ride I was one of those offenders. I immediately pulled it out and took it in for mufflers so that I complied. I was not stopped on my first ride, nor after modifying it to comply.

The morons are out in full force. My wife has a nasty habit of "saluting" other boaters that are within 50' of us on plane. Her hand was rather tired a week ago after going in and out of Paugus bay...One idiot in a Chris Craft blew by at 50', smiling and waving. Boy did he get a surprise when she "waved" back. He had no idea what he had done wrong!

I will say, as much as I hate to point out one type of boater, or brand of boat, but I am seeing an abundance of Formula owners that are obnoxious this year. Not the performance boats either, mainly sports and cruisers.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by codeman671

I am seeing an abundance of Formula owners that are obnoxious this year. Not the performance boats either, mainly sports and cruisers.

I have to agree 100% at least this year... I have had no problems with bow riders and the like, performance boats, bass boats, etc, etc, this year but the big cruisers are killing me! I have given up on fishing between the hours of 10:00 A.M. and 4:00 P.M. It just is not worth the aggravation to constantly have one large cruiser after another come within 50' at full throttle and have their wake toss me around to the point where I am hanging on and stuff is flying on the floor! And yes these boats cause large wakes even when on plane!

It's not like I am fishing in coves or channel areas either...I am in the dam broads and they have two miles of open water on either side to stay away!! The ones that really piss me off are the ones that wave as they go by!!!

[codeman671]

Originally Posted by ishoot308

It's not like I am fishing in coves or channel areas either...I am in the dam broads and they have two miles of open water on either side to stay away!! The ones that really piss me off are the ones that wave as they go by!!!

I waved to you on the way by Saturday night, but I was 150' out

[lawn psycho]

Originally Posted by codeman671

The state has a set limit for noise and it is their job to police it. If someone is running too loud they should be ticketed and made to comply. If MP is not keeping up on it, or ignoring it, there lies the problem.

When I got my Sonic last year and went for my first ride I was one of those offenders. I immediately pulled it out and took it in for mufflers so that I complied. I was not stopped on my first ride, nor after modifying it to comply.

The morons are out in full force. My wife has a nasty habit of "saluting" other boaters that are within 50' of us on plane. Her hand was rather tired a week ago after going in and out of Paugus bay...One idiot in a Chris Craft blew by at 50', smiling and waving. Boy did he get a surprise when she "waved" back. He had no idea what he had done wrong!

I will say, as much as I hate to point out one type of boater, or brand of boat, but I am seeing an abundance of Formula owners that are obnoxious this year. Not the performance boats either, mainly sports and cruisers.

My advice is to have the wife be a little smarter before giving the single finger salute. You may end up with more problems than a boat coming closer than 150 ft. Just not worth it.

As for the 150 ft rule, NH is the only state with such a rule. IMO, it leads to more confusion and unrealistic expectations than what it tries to solve.

[Belmont Resident]

Originally Posted by codeman671

The state has a set limit for noise and it is their job to police it. If someone is running too loud they should be ticketed and made to comply. If MP is not keeping up on it, or ignoring it, there lies the problem.

When I got my Sonic last year and went for my first ride I was one of those offenders. I immediately pulled it out and took it in for mufflers so that I complied. I was not stopped on my first ride, nor after modifying it to comply.

The morons are out in full force. My wife has a nasty habit of "saluting" other boaters that are within 50' of us on plane. Her hand was rather tired a week ago after going in and out of Paugus bay...One idiot in a Chris Craft blew by at 50', smiling and waving. Boy did he get a surprise when she "waved" back. He had no idea what he had done wrong!

I will say, as much as I hate to point out one type of boater, or brand of boat, but I am seeing an abundance of Formula owners that are obnoxious this year. Not the performance boats either, mainly sports and cruisers.

Weather legal or not the lake sound level is on it's way up. Now that the restrictions on switchable exhaust have been lifted I see and hear more pleasure boats with switchable exhaust, boats that dealers were unable to stock in this state because it wasn't legal are now being sold.
Several times this weekend and while working at the lake I've heard that unmistakable bark of a through hull exhaust and expected to see a Fountain only to have looked out and see a Regal or Formula cruiser tooling along.
And now that the safety complaints seem to be stacking up it looks like those who thought a speed limit was the fix all for the lake will have to go back to the drawing board.
Maybe more emphasis this time might be placed on the real safety issues on the lake like there should have been to begin with.
Funny thing, now that a lake is again getting crowded and all those problems that some said went away with the speed limit are all the sudden back to haunt us, I do not see the pro speed limit people defending their stand on the speed limit having done more then just make the lake a quieter place for a few years.

[ishoot308]

Originally Posted by Belmont Resident

Weather legal or not the lake sound level is on it's way up. Now that the restrictions on switchable exhaust have been lifted I see and hear more pleasure boats with switchable exhaust, boats that dealers were unable to stock in this state because it wasn't legal are now being sold.

I don't see how that is possible since switchable exhaust must not exceed the noise limit law when OPEN in it's loudest position, therefore the lake can only become quieter which it has considerably in my opinion thanks to this law!

Being on Welch Island all summer, I am in the middle of it all and it has been noticeably quieter this year than in years past. I have also noticed it's much quieter at every town dock I have been to. Switchable exhaust allow the captain to switch to quiet mode when entering or leaving port which sure has been nice especially when performance boats are coming or going from the docks or just starting up. In my opinion the switchable exhaust law is one of the few laws passed that has made a huge difference.

Dan

[BroadHopper]

are not done yet BR. Many have expressed passing a boat length limit to rid the lake of 'ocean cruisers' because of wake erosion on the shore lines. They have also talked about horsepower limits if the speed and noise is not curtailed. The reason they think this can be done is that Lake Winnipesaukee is technically a water reservoir like Lake Massebisic and Quabbin. Both resevoir limit the size of boats and horsepower.

I guess thay will have to ship the Mt Washington back to Lake Champlain.