{"id":242,"date":"2013-08-24T21:41:35","date_gmt":"2013-08-25T01:41:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/?p=242"},"modified":"2021-10-17T15:42:04","modified_gmt":"2021-10-17T19:42:04","slug":"maine-boating-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/?p=242","title":{"rendered":"Maine Boating Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"<p style=\"text-align: left;\" align=\"center\"><i>by Susan Trask, June 2005<\/i><\/p>\n<p>Several times each summer, it seems, the Taylor Pond Association receives complaints of folks violating boating laws. Somebody is wake-jumping with a jet-ski; someone is going too fast near a shoreline. Every year at the Annual Meeting, someone suggests that we consider putting some restrictions on boating. I was amazed when I went on the State Inland Fisheries and Wildlife Website and saw just how many lakes and ponds in Maine <i>have <\/i>instituted boating restrictions! So far, we have not gone that route at Taylor Pond. However, the TPA does hope and expect that local boaters will adhere to the State safety regulations. These reg\u2019s not only protect personal safety, but also help to preserve the health and viability of the resource we all treasure.<\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s an outline of some of the most useful safety regulations:<\/p>\n<p><b>Personal water craft:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Anyone operating or riding a PWC must wear a personal flotation device (<i>i.e.<\/i> life jacket).<\/li>\n<li>PWCs may not be operated during the hours between sunset and sunrise.<\/li>\n<li>A person is guilty of \u201cimprudent operation\u201d if one \u201cengages in prolonged circling, informal racing, wake jumping, or other types of continued and repeated activities that harass another person.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Waterskiing<\/b>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A watercraft towing a skier, surfboard, or aquaplane, shall not operate within the water safety zone (<i>i.e.<\/i> 200 feet of the shoreline), unless taking off or depositing the skier back to shore.<\/li>\n<li>A watercraft towing a skier, etc., must have a person aboard (in addition to the operator) who is at least 12 years old and can continually observe the person being towed.<\/li>\n<li>You may not tow someone on water skis, etc. between the hours of \u00bd hour after sunset and \u00bd hour before sunrise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Speed:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Watercraft may not be operated at a speed greater than \u201cheadway speed\u201d (the <i>minimum<\/i> speed necessary to maintain steerage and control while the craft is moving) within the water safety zone (200 feet of the shoreline). \u201cThe operator must consider the effect of the wash or wave created by their watercraft to waterfront piers, floats or other property or shorelines.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>General safety:<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>For craft under 16 feet, you must have one wearable PFD for each person aboard. For craft 16\u2019 and over, you must also have a throwable (Type IV) device on board.<\/li>\n<li>Children under 10 years of age must wear a Type I, II, or III PFD while one board all watercraft.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For a complete reading of Maine\u2019s boating regulations, go online to the State website, or pick up a booklet at Auburn Hall. A stack of these booklets sit right on the counter where you go to register your boat or car.<\/p>\n<p>As you take to the water this summer, please respect the health and safety of your fellow boaters and swimmers, as well as the health of Taylor Pond itself. Try to really pay attention to amount of \u201cwash\u201d your boat creates on the shoreline. Think of it in terms of the extra phosphorous-laden soil that dumps directly back into the lake with each wave! Cultivate those good habits that will help to maintain the high quality of the beautiful lake we all enjoy and share!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>by Susan Trask, June 2005 Several times each summer, it seems, the Taylor Pond Association receives complaints of folks violating boating laws. Somebody is wake-jumping with a jet-ski; someone is going too fast near a shoreline. Every year at the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/?p=242\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-242","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-wildlife"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=242"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":243,"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/242\/revisions\/243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=242"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=242"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/taylorpond.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=242"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}