I was right the first time.
NOW, as of January 1, the law has changed and liveaboards is legal.
I'm too far past to talk to the fellow you suggested but I turned up the following with Google and learned some interesting things:
http://savannahnow.com/news/2011-08...-live-their-boats-savannah-state#.TwwkeoHnunI
http://jacksonville.com/news/georgia/2011-08-18/story/georgia-may-ease-rules-living-your-boat-0
http://southernboating.com/blog/category/southeast-report/
According to these articles, and contrary to the consensus in the above posts, my original interpretation of the sign was correct and it is directed at boaters. It is illegal to stay aboard your boat more than 30 days a year in the marshlands
or tidal waters of Georgia. If I cruise around the Sea Islands until the first week of February, as I might at this point, I'll be in violation of the law. A GA resident who takes a two week cruising vacation and goes out most weekends will have broken the law.
It's clearly not enforced but I don't like laws that make violators of large segments of the population giving law enforcement the ability to cherry pick, often for reasons having nothing to do with the technical violation. If I spend this week, a week on the return, and the two weeks next December, I'll also be a lawbreaker. Maybe I am strange but I don't like to feel that I am breaking a law, especially in a place where I am a visitor.
The changes to the law that took effect January 1 won't change a thing as far as I am concerned. You will be able to file an application that needs to be renewed annually and receive approval to stay in a marina that has also gone through an approval process (only about five at this point). If you use that as a base for cruising that takes you away from the marina so that you spend more than 30 days aboard your boat away from that dock in GA, you will still be in violation. Cruisers like me that might want to spend a month cruising around and spending money in GA will still be breaking the law.
The primary reason for changing the law appears to be that a lot of boaters who needed to get their boats out of FL during hurricane season and a lot of cruisers were avoiding GA due to the reputation this law was giving the state. It evidently got so mangled up with compromises that it isn't going to change anything for those folks. People who want to use their boat as a floating apartment to reside and have jobs in one spot now have an option but long term cruisers are still going to be law breakers if they spend more than 30 days in this state.
All they needed to do to fix this law was add the words, "in one location", after the 30 days. Laws passed since this one address the other problems, such as sewage and garbage disposal, the led to its passing in the 70's. What is it that make legislatures universally stupid?