Signage, dredging, conservation projects, dams,locks, canoe/kayak access paths (and parking).... these things are not free to build and maintain.
In Ohio, you are only required to have a registration if you use public waterways. Most counties require the same on their lakes (mostly for liability reasons, I believe). You are free to boat on private property unregistered to your heart's content.
Do you argue principal with toll booth operators?
Just like roads, waterways require maint. projects that are funded by Federal, State and local dollars. The Fed. does not foot the entire bill. River flow/hight meters aren't cheap or free. I imagine you've benefited from them at some point in time.
Phreon
Thanks…but a question Thanks for the heads up on the kayak registration situation in Louisiana. My Dad just bought some property near the Amite River outside of Baton Rouge and I would have fallen out of my boat in surprise if I got stopped by Fisheries&Wildlife Officer or the Marine Police and asked for a registration! Does anyone know what a Louisiana registration cost or who you contact to get one there?
Of two minds… On one hand, the fees are or could be used for services that kayakers want (such as the maintanance or patrolling of wild areas).
On the other hand, it’s nice to have activities available that don’t require paying for. Once you establish a fee for something, it’s easy to raise the fee (to pay for unrelated stuff, for example).
Where to draw the line? If a state like Ohio is going to require all sizes of kayaks to be registered, then why stop there? They should include surfboards, skimboards…Heck, even noodles and innertubes. Or even that bathtub bar of Ivory soap! It dang floats, don’t it? Freakin’ thieves…
but I have witnessed the same thing rroberts is talking about. He and I often paddle the same lake (sometimes even together!) so I can attest to what he's saying.
My main complaint is that (I'm told) most of the money goes to northern Ohio near Lake Erie, and very little of it benefits us here in SW Ohio.
Donna
Hmm So what would happen if an OUT of State person wanted to take there unregistered Boat paddling in a State that requires registration? are other states exempt?
Well, if in PA for instance and you step on the wrong boat ramp I believe it is a $200 dollar fine. They are very active about giving out tickets and do not care for your excuses or rationalizations!
Pennsylvania…from my understanding, the local Fish and Boat Commission boys are quite active on certain lakes here in PA. I just registered my canoe. As noted above, you don’t need to register it but you do need to have a mooring permit, or launch permit on State Owned lakes. You don’t need anything on rivers or private lakes. Being registered, all other states “mostly”, will acknowledge your registration and you won’t need to pay any extra fees traveling to other paddling spots. The price for a 2 year registration = a 2 year launch permit.
I ask again, why do you see it as reasonable to have to register each boat, rather than paying for a paddling license, the equivalent of a hunting license or fishing license?
By the way, no one believes the boat registration law helps much with boat theft. Most kayak thefts involve taking the boat quickly out of state.
You pay $5 a year. Or maybe a one time fee of $20 if you want the spiffy sticker instead of 3 inch numbers. That barely covers the teller's wage you purchased the sticker from for the time it took to buy it.
If you've ever paddled on a state park lake and put in at the (artificial) beach, you benefited. Yes, most of those lakes are ACoE projects, but the state cares for the services that make said lake accessable to you and I. Those lakes are for flood control first and foremost. Recreational facilities are secondary benefits that cost real dollars to maintain.
I’m surprised that a state would warn about bridges, dams, etc. on streams water bodies that only can be paddled. Here in Texas, you only see that around the big lakes near the dams and then, its usually an area cabled and/or buoyed off. I’ve seen few canoe launch facilities and those that exist are only signed. That’s in several states…Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Northwest SC. As for state lakes, especially those in parks, you pay an entrance fee, maybe a use fee, taxes, licenses if you fish, and on and on, why pay to license you kayak? Motor boats are a bit different, like cars, they can cause a lot of mischief and grief if misused and need closer regulation. Registering paddling craft remains an asinine idea.
HIN I’m told you can just make up a number if your boat doesn’t have one. As long as it has the correct format (correct number of letters and numbers in the proper order) the ODNR won’t know or care. The first three letters are to designate the manufacturer and the last two numbers are the year manufactured (if built in 2005 it should end in “05” etc.) Other than that, it’s pretty much whatever you want it to be.
Didn’t see canoe-specific improvements on the Little Miami, but if you say they are there, and swear they resulted from taxing canoes and kayaks, I will take your word for it.
Using the launch area in Texas is a convenience, not a requirement. I just launch wherever I feel I can safely leave my truck and safely get to the water, though safely as far as a vehicle is not a sure thing. Have had my truck broken into at a boat ramp on a state lake.