Fisher's Ford and Boater's rights

[unicorn]

Bob,

What rules am I not following? I'm just trying to use a natural resource for recreation. I paddle down the stream bed and hike back up it. I don't trespass and I don't cause trouble. I'm just saying that at this point, I'm going to continue to go out there and utilize the feature.

[jermdog]

If you come in from the north side you can just knock on his door and he'll usually let you drive through his field. Don't get an attorney or any other foolishness, just knock on his door and ask politely if you can go down and play in the river.
He told us the reason he was upset was that someone tried to sue him when they got hurt playing down there, not to mention the fact that he found needles as well as other paraphanalia. Seriously, he hasn't bothered us for a long time and as long as we're polite and either ask permission or wade back up the river, there have never been any issues.
I'm going to keep going down there as well.

[painterbob]

you knock on his door.. you ask him with a smile on your face "can we use the play spot!" he will say( YES) and let you drive through( his )back yard and drive under( his )close line along (his) garden through( his) field down to (his) river access and enjoy the day! we would pick all the trash left by others and leave no trace!! and on the way out we would stop by and say thank you for letting us play.................... but it seems outsiders come in from the other side of the bridge and slip down stream and set up all over the gravel bar as if they own it!! not cool, and this is the problem! and has been, so don't .... ask victor ,to take you out there and show you how easy it is to play by the rules ...

[unicorn]

Bob,

I come in through the south side because it's a good 20 minutes shorter of a commute. And I take a public road, and use public river access. I'll be happy to walk up to the house and talk to the landowner about getting his/her permission to use the playspot, but my concern is the attitude shown towards boaters in general, especially if there is a commercial outfitter operating on that stretch of the river now. I don't want anyone getting hurt and I don't want any damage to be done to this resource.

[painterbob]

I see you are not getting it... sorry, you would have to drive 20 minutes farther. here is the question TO YOU, YOU WANT TO USE THIS PLAY SPOT? OR WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE THE PERSON THAT WRECKED IT FOR THE REST OF US?..... PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

[Sir Kayakalot]

Bob, I understand that it will appease the landowner
by asking his permission first before going down
there, but if a person is using the public access and
walking his or her boat down the river, wouldn't they
be well within their legal rights? How can Unicorn,
or anyone else for that matter, wreck it for all
just by parking legally and going down to the wave
and playing in the water? I'm not trying to start a big
controversy here, I just want help understanding the
situation.


Tommy

[unicorn]

so here's the thing about being

THE PERSON THAT WRECKED IT FOR THE REST OF US?

- yesterday, when we were out there I saw no less than 10 rental rafts, a whole flotilla of rental canoes and some rental sit-on-tops float by. Some of them stopped in the general area, some of them did not. Regardless of whether I personally go out to the landowner's house and seek permission to use "their" playspot, we have an issue - as a boating community - with a potentially hostile landowner. I'd like to get it resolved without too much fuss.

Would you like to me go out there every time I paddle at the ford (3-4x a week)? What about folks who utilize the feature that aren't frequent users of this message board? How do we go about protecting unsuspecting renters who are being put into the river on the southside public access by the outfitter?

I'd hate to see this turn into a pissing match between the two of us, Bob. My original intention was to find out about the legality of folks being in the water and see whether or not boaters were covered by tnavigable waterways legislation. It would appear, although I'm no lawyer, that boaters have every right to be out there. Now obviously, we'd like to have an amenable relationship with the locals, and I'll do everything I can to personally have a decent-ish relationship with the folks out there, but that doesn't do much for others, or really help us resolve the issue.

[painterbob]

it's just the way that it is.. i understand all about the rights of both sides. I'm just giving you the heads-up. you can not win.. I'm saying don't push the guys" HOT BUTTON" ....back in the day he would just shoot buck shot over head and the pellets would rain down on the water.. then he would display his side arm ... and i thought this all had passed. but it looks like someone has awaken the sleeping dragon!! PLEASE, TAKE THIS IN A GOOD WAY. AND PLEASE JUST GO WITH THE FLOW..... this is not something to be messed with and you will just add fuel to the fire.. (this has taken decades to calm him down) DON'T ROCK THE BOAT!! IF YOU CAN NOT RESPECT THAT DON'T GO OUT THERE... THIS IS NOT ROCKPORT! this is someones back yard. please again trust me! i hate it too but you will not change anything and only make a bigger problem..we all want for the good of the commen paddler don't we? it won't take much more to push him over the edge and he will haul in rocks and fill that whole just to put an end to this and then what would you?

[painterbob]

again i'm on your side! 1000% but, if you want to play thats how it's done

[DMG]

Perhaps Memorial Day weekend, when the river and riverbanks are jammed with every kind of paddler that has ever blown up an inner tube, when people are pulling trees from the bank and riding them through the rapid, when people are standing in the middle of the surfing wave with open beer cans and no PFD, when there are bicycles parked on the gravel bar which could only have gotten there by being ridden through the landowners field, is not the time to try to fix this very slight injustice. Go back after work on a Thursday and I bet you won't have any problem, provided you don't stir up any [shinola] today. Bring a trash bag!

~Dave

[Sir Kayakalot]

Very good point Bob, I never thought about it
that way. He does have some big tractors and
he could easily mess up that feature. I'm not
saying I'll drive 20 miles out of my way to go
knock on his door to 'ask permission' but it does
bring up a good point. It's a touchy subject for
sure. I just have mixed feelings about asking
permission to do something that is my legal
right because the adjoining landowner is some-
what of a bully.


Tommy

[unicorn]

went out to the house and knocked on the door today. No answer.

Surfed anyway and had no issues.

[DMG]

good kayaker-citizen!

[jermdog]

I'm pretty sure you only have to ask if you want to walk across his land. Sorry I wasn't clear in my other post. If you're not on his land, then it doesn't matter if you ask him or not. The act of asking him if you can use the river sets a nasty precedent that could backfire in a big way. Like the cops said, "if your not in his field, then you can hang out on the river all you want."

[Mike_P]

I think that was the point of his orginal frustration with the landowner...he WAS being respectful of his land & was never on it.