Aldeer.com Forums Alabama Deer Talk AL Fishing Talk Legal or not

ALEA State Troopers/Marine Police gave talk to us at work yesterday. FYI, if your in your boat and pull into someone’s boat house or slip you are perfectly legal and there is nothing anyone can do to you without them breaking the law. I know I’ve spent many hours out of storms in boat houses and so far never had anyone give me any grief over it. Key words here are you must stay in your boat or your trespassing. I always wondered if the owner of boat house had any legal say about anyone sitting in their boat house.

They are partially right and wrong.

If you are on any APCO controlled waterway, they will tell you right fast that they are giving you the privilege ($500 permit now) to have a boathouse and it is on their property AND they have a 15 foot easement on land where water comes up to. IE, 15 foot up from bank. They also used to say that the boathouse is public property. But, most people respected other people's things and did not bother them. The ONLY place on the Coosa River chain (I know of) that this is an exception is at Little Bridge Marina (old Rainbow Marina). All those boat slips were man made before the water was backed up and you own your slip. It is considered private property and you can get someone for trespassing. Not that anyone down there would say anything for a boat waiting out a thunderstorm, we would not at our place (we own 3 of the slips).

This topic was brought up several years ago when the structure was built on the end of the road. APCO told the owners that they could not build anything out there only make improvements to the boat slips. Well, they showed them the original copies of the deeds and where ownership was conveyed. APCO had no leg to stand on. They built a two-story tiny home.

I was thankful to get in an open slip this past weekend on lay. It was difficult to find one without the lift partially out of the water.

We were upriver on Lay a couple years ago and one hell of a thunderstorm came up quick. All the boat houses were full or lift was in the way. Were frantically trying to find an open one to duck in and a guy comes running out of his house and lowered his lift so we could pull in. Some good people still exist. Whitecaps and tons of torrential rain and lightning. Was gonna leave the dude a $20 bill but it was a multimillion $ house so figured a nice note would be better and $20 don't mean nothing to him.

Need a like button for posts like this

For real

Imagine if you were to race back to your boathouse for shelter from bad weather and you can't get in it because somebody is already in it for shelter. Just sayin.

If so, you tell them to leave, or you squeeze in as much as possible, tie off and get in their boat or on your dock. Or go in your house.

For anyone who doesn't want people fishing around or getting into "their" boat house-slips, put up a screen or door over it that goes to the water. Put up a sign that politely says, "Please don't fish around here because we have children who swim and play here" or something like that.

Marketing isn't just about products. PUtting up a sign that says KEEP AWAY, PRIVATE will just cause people to ignore it. One that mentions children playing around there might be enough for an angler to troll on past.

Throwing some old box springs under the dock and boathouse slips also can discourage them, of course.

Is that true for tva waters