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Post by Deleted on Apr 22, 2016 3:50:15 GMT
I have been reading lately about how marine police and the uscg has declared that waters marked as navigable are navigable all the way up to the high-water mark in the sand. This means if you park in that one foot of water and tied to a tree, you may be declared a hazard to navigation and forced to move, this is actually happening in Oregon. The means in the 10 miles between some islands and the mainland, where it's ICW, you cannot park your 12ft wide unpowered seastead up against the island or the mainland. Some powered boat may want to beach there, and you'll be in the way. Obviously this applies in open water also, where commercial traffic can go almost anywhere.
This is terribly depressing, because it means the seastead must have an attached means of (pricey) propulsion, at a bare minimum. It also means if a ship out of control issues a collision warning, and you are asleep or onshore in town (leaving the stead with no lookout, the lookout required per the regulations), you are at fault for the collision, you were a hazard to navigation. Boats with propulsion are given some leeway if tied to shore, as overnight or emergency situation, but cannot make a permanent berth for itself along any navigable waterway. In other words, if your rowboat can reach that spot, you cannot park there. From what i can tell, "navigable" is any possible path from pointA to pointB, so a cove with no commercial interest is suitable for anchoring, unless there's some other problem.
I think they are treating the navigable waters like the state patrol would treat the highways: you cannot pull over and set up a camper on the shoulder. It's all regulated as traffic lanes from fence to fence. If you are moving too slowly, you can be ticketed, same as going too fast, both are a hazard to highway navigation. Ditto improper signalling.
Engine requirements are going to slow me waaaaaaaaay down for getting into the water. And fuel tanks.
I realise some commercial interests, and Jeff, will be asking for a fixed place to be on the water. I do not know where i will be 100% of the time. I was hoping to take advantage of areas marked on charts as designated temporary anchorages. But for class 5 hurricanes, i might want to duck behind an island for a week, and not get arrested for doing so. I likely will want to relocate seasonally, i might find a reason to be 50 miles out, or 100, or 2 miles out. Or drift in circles in a gyre. Or park between islands in the Mississippi River delta. That i am forced to have an engine does not mean i will use it every day.
But the word "navigable" is currently putting a severe dent in my plans.
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Post by jeff on Apr 22, 2016 16:29:24 GMT
A declared anchorage has to be respected. The problem is Oregon, as I understand it, is houseboats trying to permanently anchor in front of other peoples private property, restricting their access to the water, or even blocking the views. Some of the USACE regulations: media.swf.usace.army.mil/pubdata/environ/regulatory/permitting/nwp/2012/2012_NWPs_LA/NWP10%20LA.pdf www.nap.usace.army.mil/Portals/39/docs/regulatory/regs/33cfr322.pdf(aimed primarily at Naval vessels, the UFC does combine the info for all moorings) UNIFIED FACILITIES CRITERIA (UFC) DESIGN: MOORINGS www.wbdg.org/ccb/DOD/UFC/ufc_4_159_03.pdfPrivate Aids to Navigation What is a Private Aid to Navigation? The Aids to Navigation (ATON) System is a consistent way to mark the waters of the United States and its territories to assist boaters in navigation, and alert them to obstructions and hazards. This system serves the same function as the safety signals and signs used in driving on streets and highways. Private Aids to Navigation (PATON) are a category of aids to navigation maintained by any individual or organization other than the Coast Guard. Located in many areas of the navigable waters subject to Federal jurisdiction, these aids are maintained by, and at the expense of, the responsible party. These parties include the States, other Armed Forces, private corporations, and private individuals. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regulates all structures, moorings, buoys, markers, etc. in the water. The marking authority rests with the U.S. Coast Guard and is contingent on approval by the Army Corps of Engineers. Once an aid is established, the owner is legally obligated to maintain it. If in violation, owners are subject to Title 14, United States Code, Part 83 (14USC83), which may include fines and revocation of their permit. www.uscg.mil/d14/cmd/dp/dpw/docs/d14handout.pdf
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2016 1:18:37 GMT
Section 322.2 - Definitions. For the purpose of this regulation, the following terms are defined: (a) The term "navigable waters of the United States" and all other terms relating to the geographic scope of jurisdiction are defined at 33 CFR Part 329. Generally, they are those waters of the United States that are subject to the ebb and flow of the tide shoreward to the mean high water mark, and/or are presently used, or have been used in the past, or may be susceptible to use to transport interstate or foreign commerce. (b) The term "structure" shall include, without limitation, any pier, boat dock, boat ramp, wharf, dolphin, weir, boom, breakwater, bulkhead, revetment, riprap, jetty, artificial island, artificial reef, permanent mooring structure, power transmission line, permanently moored floating vessel,.....
Section 322.3 - Activities requiring permits. (a) General. DA permits are required under section 10 for structures and/or work in or affecting navigable waters of the United States except as otherwise provided in 322.4
So yeas, it's saying: no permit, no parking.
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Post by jeff on Apr 23, 2016 1:43:33 GMT
However, there are also separate rules regarding a vessel at anchor, and even designated anchorage areas. It may be a giant surface, but at least there are parking lots and ways to park almost anywhere. Many solo adventures have been logged, and none expected anyone to be awake and alert 24/7/365. Merely a matter of steering through the BS, and being sure you're well lit, and noticable, so you don't get run over, but...
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Post by Deleted on Apr 23, 2016 2:44:10 GMT
Let me put it this way: i bought property, i owe nothing on it, i have the title in my name only, but i have a 90% finished house on it that i cannot finish because my land is now under the jurisdiction of any dog the neighbors happen to have, any of their dogs which disagree with my right to do whatever on my property. I have that property title. It's supposed to mean what it says on it. But that permission means nothing. I cannot have a garden. I cannot finish the house, so i cannot get insurance, i cannot get a reverse mortgage. I cannot take the trash out, i cannot fix the leaks in the roof. But i have the title, which gives me permission to be here. But if the dog barks at me on my way up to get the mail, i turn around, go back inside, and lock the door. Because disregarding all the laws written on paper, like the USACE urls you gave, the local legal system has different unwritten laws: if the dog barks, i go to jail. I have been told that repeatedly.
If i cannot get onto the water, i will be one of those people who quietly disappear via suicide. If i do get onto the water, i will be repeatedly told i cannot be whereever i am, until i am out in the middle of the ocean, and unable to get back to renew boat registration, eventually be boarded as unflagged, and again, disappear.
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