Florida Anchor Ban Still Unsigned by governor

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by SURV69

On the issue of boats ...

Many ... many of these boats are complete enough that taken to the local playground(after being "cleaned") and embedded as a "plaything", for kids ... what kid wouldn't want something looking like the "SS Minnow" to play in.

Restaurants down there serve Crab, Flounder and Lobster at pristinely clean tables, sometimes in booths, sometimes in the middle of a big room...

Imagine these restaurants getting some of these "clean" derelicts, and with the help of loosened legislation(if needed). Imagine the matronee(sp), walking you and your wife and kids to a "BOAT", to eat your dinner in? How about the same for a small group of 3-5 at a bar sitting in a "repurposed", sailboat.

A little use of imagination, might help in resolving this problem.

I remember reading about a guy in Chicago, I think, who runs a non-profit boat restoration business. His business model is simple - he gets unwanted boats for free or at nominal hauling charge or hauls them himself when possible, restores them lightly, i.e. nothing approaching major rehab but enough for the engine to work or slapping an outboard if the inboard is beyond repair, may be some basic wood spruce up, and sells them either to newbies as their first boat or to non-profit/community sailing programs for $2,000 to $5,000 or thereabouts. Obviously he has not become a millionaire from this but it was not his goal to begin with. He did describe the good feeling he gets each time a boat is passed on to its next owner instead of going into a landfill/cruncher machine.

I'm pretty sure that with all the under-employed people in Florida, there is plenty of room for this type of an operation, including hauling such reasonably spruced up boats up the East and Gulf Coasts for the numerous sailing programs to use. But as usual the authorities and the legislators are too concerned with their few wealthy donors complaints to be bothered to be actually coming up with workable solutions to the problems, solutions which in the long run will benefit the majority of the population such as extending the use of non-degradable plastics and allowing the less financially fortunate to get into sailing/boating. No wonder the sailing industry as a whole is a dying breed in the States as the next generation of sailors is just not groomed anymore, mostly due to the artificially inflated prohibitive costs of getting into the sport/lifestyle.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by tomfl

Probably a hard sell to the taxpayers.

Bet the taxpayers would be happier keeping boats out in the first place.

Sorta like what this bill does.

There must be some value to them being gone, how much do you think someone paid for this law?

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

There must be some value to them being gone, how much do you think someone paid for this law?

Not someone the Florida taxpayers . I would be willing to bet it cost as much as actually disposing of many of the boats it is trying to regulate .

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Not someone the Florida taxpayers . I would be willing to bet it cost as much as actually disposing of many of the boats it is trying to regulate .

I wonder how much it will cost for the signage and where will those signs be posted. There's not a lot of public shoreline in these areas to put signs on. Are they going to post the signs on private property? If they post the signs in the water won't they pose a hazard to water skiers, especially at night? Will they be lit so all those night water skiers will be able to see them?

[Robin3]

We have a sunken one in front of our condo in Daytona. I called USCG about it 10th December, when it first started to sink but they didn't seem to care. Maybe they were the wrong outfit to contact but they could have passed the message on. It is a motor cruiser about 25 ft and looked like itwould have been saleable, somebody appeared to be living on it and it had been 'resident' several months, unchallenged as far as I know. It is blocking a spot in the ICW anchorage but is out of the channel itself. There are two others still afloat, one ( motor cruiser about 35ft) occasionally gets a looksee from someone the other a 30ft or so sailboat anchored fore/aft does not and swings across the channel in some wind directions, sagging between the two hooks. Theere was another one a year back found to be used as a Meth factory, it was taken off by LE and never returned but might be anchored half a mile away now, looks similar.


YES I would like to see these boat moved on, but not at the expense of an anchoring ban as I like to anchor and I like to see the snowbird migrations up/down that stopover in front of us.

[newhaul]

Originally Posted by Captain Bill

I wonder how much it will cost for the signage and where will those signs be posted. There's not a lot of public shoreline in these areas to put signs on. Are they going to post the signs on private property? If they post the signs in the water won't they pose a hazard to water skiers, especially at night? Will they be lit so all those night water skiers will be able to see them?

Didn't think of that part. Woops there goes the money to dispose of another 75 to 100 boats a year. ( have to replace/maintain those signs and pay property owners to allow it to be posted on private tidelands.)

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by newhaul

Didn't think of that part. Woops there goes the money to dispose of another 75 to 100 boats a year. ( have to replace/maintain those signs and pay property owners to allow it to be posted on private tidelands.)

Hey, those waterfront owners did not become wealthy by passing up a good opportunity to make another buck. Donations to their favorite legislator are probably looked at as another money making investment.

Warning! Below point may be construed as a political rant but IMO it is part and parcel in understanding this thread's topic.

At some point we have to realize that as a nation our political structure, i.e. representative democracy/republic with one vote per one person, is being subverted by special interests, political contributions, tacit (and not so tacit) quid pro quos, etc. It should be enough if the wealthy company owner has a whole company workforce to vote his interests in the elections, or waterfront property owner has enough staff, laborers etc, to vote for his interests (if he/she can talk them into it and if, a big if, they are even legal here). It should never be that such people, groups or organizations be given another shot at the ballot box IN ADDITION to their right to vote for whoever they think will represent their interests best. We are quickly becoming an oligarchy dominated by those who have the $$ and clout to push the average voter and his vote into utter irrelevance.

Yes, I am talking about total and complete ban on the political contributions by corps, non voting persons, and limiting such individual contributions from voting citizen to say $50 or $100 per such voter.

End of rant.

Back to the topic.

It would be interesting to know how is this anchoring ban being perceived by the average Florida voter. And that view should dominate the legislators' votes, not what this or that special group is pushing.

[newhaul]

IMO most Floridians will see it as a non issue if they even know about it. My opinion on political funding is they all should be self funded .

[cruisersfarm]

Originally Posted by Island Time O25

Hey,

It would be interesting to know how is this anchoring ban being perceived by the average Florida voter. .

I'm sure they haven't heard a word about it and wouldn't care if they did.

It's 2 tiny groups at odds.

No one cares.

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by cruisersfarm

I'm sure they haven't heard a word about it and wouldn't care if they did.

It's 2 tiny groups at odds.

No one cares.

Precisely the point. And if no one cares it should not be on the agenda of the legislators. Especially considering the opiate epidemic, poverty, crime and myriad of other more pressing issues in the state.

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Island Time O25

I remember reading about a guy in Chicago, I think, who runs a non-profit boat restoration business. His business model is simple - he gets unwanted boats for free or at nominal hauling charge or hauls them himself when possible, restores them lightly, i.e. nothing approaching major rehab but enough for the engine to work or slapping an outboard if the inboard is beyond repair, may be some basic wood spruce up, and sells them either to newbies as their first boat or to non-profit/community sailing programs for $2,000 to $5,000 or thereabouts. Obviously he has not become a millionaire from this but it was not his goal to begin with. He did describe the good feeling he gets each time a boat is passed on to its next owner instead of going into a landfill/cruncher machine.

I'm pretty sure that with all the under-employed people in Florida, there is plenty of room for this type of an operation, including hauling such reasonably spruced up boats up the East and Gulf Coasts for the numerous sailing programs to use. But as usual the authorities and the legislators are too concerned with their few wealthy donors complaints to be bothered to be actually coming up with workable solutions to the problems, solutions which in the long run will benefit the majority of the population such as extending the use of non-degradable plastics and allowing the less financially fortunate to get into sailing/boating. No wonder the sailing industry as a whole is a dying breed in the States as the next generation of sailors is just not groomed anymore, mostly due to the artificially inflated prohibitive costs of getting into the sport/lifestyle.

IS this one?

[markpierce]

The signs and regulations say one must not come closer than 300 feet of the reserve fleet, regardless, the patrol boat won't let one anchor between shore and the fleet even if one is farther away than 300 feet.

"You are illegally anchored."

[Polux]

Originally Posted by newhaul

IMO most Floridians will see it as a non issue if they even know about it. My opinion on political funding is they all should be self funded .

Well, people should care:

Not a real photo, but I guess the situation in Florida is at least as bad as on some protected anchorages in Greece and Turkey, with lots of boats sunk. Two years ago I fished out with my anchor two masts and I had to move my boat several times on anchorages due to wrecks inside the swinging circle of my boat.

[SURV69]

"Time Warp"(?) ... by Monet?

[Island Time O25]

Originally Posted by Nicholson58

IS this one?

Ha-ha, I watched a show on this one a week or two ago. The owner, a wealthy local car dealer, spent some serious $$ refurbishing that boat house thinking to turn it into a high end airbnb but the town turned him down.