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Flags on kayaks, new NH bill


Paul Sylvester

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Here we go again:

   House bill -1593-fn sponsored by Ken Vincent of Somersworth NH is a bill that would require vertical flag poles on kayaks in NH. Don't know much else but have contacted him and awaiting his call back. Co sponsor of the bill says if flags don't work then maybe lights or strobes at the bow and stern for daytime use....What are they thinking??

  I guess some of the plastic piss pots sold at Walmart and piloted by people who think they have a "right " to go anywhere at anytime have got the attention of bumbling bureaucrats with little knowledge of the issues on the water.

    The WW community has a good argument against and we need to get ours ready and reach out to them. 

   Ken Vincent 603-396-4120 

  Co sponsor Casey Conley, Dover NH 207-232-1992  

Copied below,

 

 

HOUSE BILL 1593-FN

 

AN ACT requiring visible flags on kayaks.

 

SPONSORS: Rep. Vincent, Straf. 17; Rep. Conley, Straf. 13

 

COMMITTEE: Resources, Recreation and Development

 

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ANALYSIS

 

This bill requires that kayaks display visible reflective flags while on public waters.

 

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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.

Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]

Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.

20-2311

11/10

 

STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE

 

In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty

 

AN ACT requiring visible flags on kayaks.

 

Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:

 

1  New Section; Boating and Water Safety on New Hampshire Public Waters; Kayaks; Reflective Flag Required.  Amend RSA 270-D by inserting after section 7-a the following new section:

270-D:7-b  Kayaks; Reflective Flag Required.  No person shall operate a kayak without attaching to such kayak a flag pole that extends at least 4 feet in height from the deck of the kayak and affixing to such pole a reflective flag.  Any person who violates this section shall be given a warning for a first offense, and shall be guilty of a violation and fined $50 for any subsequent offense.

2  Boating and Water Safety on New Hampshire Public Waters; Penalties.  Amend RSA 270-D:9 to read as follows:

270-D:9  Penalties.  Any person who violates any provisions of this chapter or any rule adopted under RSA 270-D:8 shall be guilty of a violation, except that any person who violates RSA 270-D:7-b shall be subject to the penalties in that section.

3  Effective Date.  This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.

 

LBAO

20-2311

12/3/19

 

HB 1593-FN- FISCAL NOTE

AS INTRODUCED

 

AN ACT requiring visible flags on kayaks.

 

FISCAL IMPACT:

The Legislative Budget Assistant has determined that this legislation, as introduced, has a total fiscal impact of less than $10,000 in each of the fiscal years 2020 through 2023.

 

AGENCIES CONTACTED:

Department of Safety and New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

 

Edited by Paul Sylvester
added copy of house bill
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I had a nice talk with representative Conley. He says they've been getting a lot of input on this, mostly negative. He said the bill was a response to a constituent concern about kayaks creating safety concerns on the Piscataqua. He incidentally doesn;t think the bill has a chance of passing in it's current form. Just in case though I might mount a four foot pirate flag on my boat and see if I can roll it in the pool. ;)

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Pool roll  might work but try it on the edges of the river where it can get snagged on the bottom, mooring lines or pot lines. Yes this probably is doa but better to kill it now then to have to reverse it. 

Below is my mail to Rep Vincent. Probably too long and direct but my filters are faltering as I age.

There is a problem with education and teaching people that kayaks have NO RIGHT to occupy a channel or thoroughfare. We have a right to cross safely and as a cohesive group in a safe place when needed.  Us “real kayakers” who know and teach safety cringe when we see the small plastic boats getting in the way of larger boats and we often will speak to them.

 

Fact:             A flag on my kayak would be a danger because if I flip over I roll my kayak back up with out exiting the kayak. Anything sticking up on either deck poses

                      a hazard to my ability to sweep roll my kayak. Rolling is the experienced kayakers first means of self rescue. If my paddle didn’t hit the pole it could snag

                     on the  bottom or get caught in a lobster pot buoy line. Pretty scary thought for me.

                       What about when I surf waves with my kayak and rolling is a regular part of the experience?

 

Fact:       The real problem is people with no understanding of on the water etiquette getting in the way of powerboaters. Powerboaters are only supposed to make

              headway speed within so many feet of another watercraft. The big boats don’t want to get slowed down in their channels and thoroughfares and I don’t

             blame them.

Fact:     Small cheap plastic kayaks are inherently dangerous because they often have no floatation of any kind and are often paddled by absolute beginners with no

               concept of cold water hypothermia, self -rescue or rules of the road.

 

Fact:    Many colleagues in the business have wanted to see safety manuals sold with all kayaks that detail the rules of the road and kayaking do’s and don’ts.

 

Fact:  We would welcome more active intervention and enforcement by the marine patrols of existing laws and to help with education.

 

Fact: I am part of several paddling groups that paddle lakes, rivers and the ocean. When we go out we all carry an array of safety gear that includes handheld VHF radios in our PFD pockets. When we cross a busy channel like the Portsmouth Harbor entrance we will get on the VHF channel 16 and announce that we are a group of (x? ) number of kayakers crossing at a specific location. Then we get back on the radio and let them know we are out of the channel.  

 

Please contact me for further information and I will be glad to talk.  It is an education problem and flags are a real danger for us. How about warnings for idiots that think it is ok to get in the way of powerboaters needlessly?

Thanks and I await your response,

 

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Paul, first let me thank you for always being on top of these legislative idiocies in New Hampshire.

Second, I was only kidding about pool practice with a flag. In the unlikely event this bill passes, I expect to proudly practice civil disobedience, and incidentally it won't be my first time.

Third, for those of you who want to be prepared just in case, I found this:

https://www.austinkayak.com/YakAttack-VisiCarbon-Pro-Light-CPM/ACK7483P.html

Who doesn't like carbon fiber? It says it can be removed in seconds! What about a practice roll where you go over, remove the flag and tuck it in along side your paddle, then roll up and reinstall it???

flag.jpg.c421738017c862e9d6d2b278a090075f.jpg

Edited by Jim Snyder
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They should also mandate protective goggles when traveling in pods of 2 or more so we don’t poke our eyes out during rescues. Or better the total face and neck masks the air soft gun crowd uses when they play war. BCU could create a new teaching segment specifically for masks.

 

Pisspots.....right on, Paul!

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So, the same stupidity has been introduced again? How many times in years past has this gone down in flames? This shows how lazy our politicians are that they don't even look into the history of this kind of nonsense before reintroducing it. Moreover, who introduces a bill based on "a constituent concern"? How many people complained about this, just one? More than likely, it was a wealthy donor or friend he was trying to appease. If he's getting mostly negative feedback and doesn't think it has any chance of passing, why doesn't he do the right thing and withdraw it? Moron!

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Brian I agree it is doa but I have a slight distrust of the state to do the right thing. 

Andy,   Sadly.........The term pisspots comes from when I worked in a high end yacht yard summers as a teen. It catered to wood boats and the term was referring to fiberglass boats.  I have just borrowed it for my own amusement.

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