We said goodbye to a lovely spot to anchor in 2017.

Michael Davis · Oct 18, 2017

Up here to have a legal mooring ball you must:
1) get permission from Fisheries and Oceans (Feds) or their designate ( province, municipal, city )
2) have contact info. on it ( name, phone etc )
3) realize it's in the public domain and open to first come, first serve if you are not using it. However I would be required to move if you came home in the night and needed it for your boat.
I've never seen standards for a mooring so I'm guessing that something to hold my Snipe may not hold your Alden 38. Not sure about liability!?

Michael Davis · Oct 18, 2017

Who does the maintenance on moorings? B.C. Parks has been removing moorings in hard to service areas, I think, for liability issues. Did I mention I love my anchor?

dehler25 · Oct 19, 2017

It seems that someone can just show up and kick an engine block over the side and they now not only claim the spot but the total swing arc intersections around it. I can see where tempers would start to rise. It would seem that creating a use policy would reduce altercation potential. As RoyS stated the biggest difficulty is when you leave the boat, would it be vandalized, cut loose?

Parsons · Oct 19, 2017

Just out of curiosity, the "owner" of a mooring shows up and shouts at you - then what? How does anyone know if the person in the boat installed the mooring or is just some crank with a bad attitude? When some bum accosts me on the street to claim that he owns the sidewalk or park bench, I'd say "call a cop and have him tell me that I'm legally obligated to pay you." Lobstermen and other trap fishermen form associations and register traps / floats with numbers to allow them to make legal claims for their property. Just claiming some foam ball attached to a old engine block proves no legal rights.

Michael Davis · Oct 19, 2017

TomY said:
That's interesting, thanks. That is some regulation but in fact it gives the owners the legal right to put a destination mooring anywhere? If not, what are the restrictions on locations?

It's good to allow the public to use it but if you - the owner - have the ultimate right to that space(you have the legal right to ask someone to move), in the end, you own that space to anchor, permanently.

I wonder if the rights of destination moorings in Maine, have been legally tested? If you are on a destination mooring (not in a regulated mooring field or permitted at your shoreside access), in the middle of the night, because you didn't have room to anchor in the public waters, and the owner shows up; you refuse to leave, what then?

If in fact there are no legal rights to place 'destination moorings' (but policing is not enforced-which may be the situation in Maine), then the owner may not have the right to ask somebody to leave, because they are in public waters. Then destination moorings would hold no value to the owner.

Perhaps in not doing anything, we enable somebody to place a destination mooring in a public anchorage?

I'm not sure if you are allowed more than one mooring. I'll see if I can find out. I've never seen a destination mooring here but I believe they should only be allowed where many boats anchoring would damage the habitat.( ie. Eel Grass beds etc.) The problem may be coming here but we only have 3 times the pop. of Maine with nearly 100 times the coast line.

jdhohmann · Oct 19, 2017

Down here on the Canadian east coast, specifically, on the saint john river system, there would be hundreds if not a thousand or so moorings. The only requirement from the federal government is that you cannot put any permanent structure( like a cement wharf) in the water unless it is removable. Saying that, a lot of boaters have moorings any and everywhere on our beautiful river system. My rule of thumb is if there is one available, then I use it at my own discretion, knowing full well that if the owner comes along and wants it, then I will remove myself immediatly with NO hesitation.
Assuming the other boat owner is telling the truth. Unfortunately, I know of situations where the other boat owner LIED just to get what he wanted. Now that pissed me off.. But it takes all kinds to run the world!!!!

jwing · Oct 19, 2017

This destination mooring thing is exactly the kind of azz-holish behavior that necessitates regulations and laws. Most Americans are convinced that we are already over-regulated; politicians get voted in for having no more to say than "We need less government intrusion." And here we have another example of a tiny minority ruining a good thing for everybody else. The best solution in this case is citizen action, not additional bureaucracy.

chrischesley · Oct 19, 2017

1) Put a few 'destination moorings' down with a 10# mushroom anchor.
2) Wait for a thunder squall or front to pass thru
3) Offer a tow..... for a 'small' fee

Seriously, to Michael D's point... Exactly HOW does one know whether they can safely lie on a mooring of unknown condition, size, etc???

mayday · Oct 19, 2017

Michael Davis said:
Up here to have a legal mooring ball you must:
1) get permission from Fisheries and Oceans (Feds) or their designate ( province, municipal, city )
2) have contact info. on it ( name, phone etc )
3) realize it's in the public domain and open to first come, first serve if you are not using it. However I would be required to move if you came home in the night and needed it for your boat.
I've never seen standards for a mooring so I'm guessing that something to hold my Snipe may not hold your Alden 38. Not sure about liability!?

Not to do too much of a thread drift (as this only applies to tidal waters in Canukistan) - but you are only partially correct on this one. We just bought a waterfront house and I plan to put one out front, so I've studied this issue in detail.
As long as the proposed mooring meets several conditions i.e not in a navigation channel, not within a set distance from another mooring etc, you don't need approval (Feds).
You are correct it needs to meet the specified type of mooring (name, number in correct size) but nowhere does it say anything about being in the "public domain" - in fact the opposite is the standard interpretation.
BUT BUT BUT (and it's the important one) - the thing to keep in mind is that while you are legally allowed to have this mooring - THATS IT - you don't get any legal rights to the water - i.e first come first served still applies - if I'm anchored there first, and if by you placing a boat on that mooring will create a conflict, too bad so sad you would have to move. No difference to anchoring.

Rick486 · Oct 20, 2017

Canukistan. Lol