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[quote Flyfishinglover]ya i know how you feel boat insurance is a pain in the but. I gota pay for my small 12-15ft float pontoon that has a electric motor. Its electric motor come on and still gota pay for it.[/quote]
I like the Gebhardt idea....
Now FFL - um, pontoon's don't have 50+ HP unless you're really driving a pontoon - you DO have to register your rig if you have a motor - period - but not insurance.
I stepped the bounds - when jumping from my 12 foot flatbottom to a 14 ft 65horse fiberglass. I don't know if I even had the placard that tells me body limits!
Irony of it - I got nabbed - first trip out - EVER with this new boat at Mantua. Was halfway across the lake with a motor that was NOT happy with bad gas. So we puttered. i get a boat come up and 'ask us' to go talk to the guy in the 'yellow shirt' - turns out it's Barney from Mantua - and he wants to write me up for "proximity" in the wakeless area.
Some how my little fishing boat that couldn't make a wake if it WANTED to - gets a citation to protect the "$40K Wakeboard Boats".
So is it ok for a local cop to send a civilian out to ask a boat to return to launch? And by chasing halfway across a lake to notify?
Gist I got was - the FEE was a given. I could "fight" but judge sides with prosecutor, so a "plee in abeyance" they still get their fee ($240!) and I get a free "record".
I think in your situation - there's no matter of "opinion" on what accounts for "wake" or "whitewater" - so it's horse hockey. You should have full grounds to fight it. But for what a lawyer costs - reclaiming your gas/time - sorry probably shafted there. Ah - the " system ".
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I'm not a lawyer.
This sounds like a ticket I got many years ago for failure to signal after I pulled over to fish a stream and the idiot behind me who was not looking at the road slammed on his brakes and the tailgater behind him hit him.
They tried to make it my fault and I was charged.
Took me 3 trips to Coalville to get the charges dropped. The first two times, just like you they didn't want to listen to what I had to say.
I would talk the county district attorney, not the judge. They have say over which charges go to court, not the officer or judge.
If I am correct this is a misdemeanor and that gives you the right to a jury trial. This is the way to go if possible. No way the DA will not drop when presented with the law as written and the cost of having to prepare for a jury trial.
AGAIN,
I AM NOT A LAWYER, just a trouble maker that should have been.
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That bites, sorry for your bad experience. So far I haven't run into any badge-heavy DWR officers here in UT. All but one or two I've come across have been super friendly, very kind and some have even shared inside info on water bodies and tactics. One could have written me a ticket (had a fire on the shore at Willard, not realizing you have to have fires in actual improved fire pits) but I think he could tell that it was ignorance, not deliberate disregard for the law...he didn't cite us. He was professional, even if not overly friendly. Had one other guy at Deer Creek inform me that even though both of us (daughter and I) have a second pole permit, I had to limit myself to my own poles. (She was working a lure, so when her bobber got too close to shore I chucked it back out for her a few times.) He was professional too, but again not overly friendly. Certainly not rude or a horse's backside or anything. Overall I've been very impressed with the professionalism and friendly attitude of our Utah DWR officers.
Your story sucks though, and honestly the officer should definitely be educated. Not cool to have to go through what you're going through, for a mistake that the officer--not you!--made. Hope you get it dismissed in a hurry!
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Well it was my intent to be very clear that I AM NOT A LAWYER and that I was NOT giving legal advise.
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Troll is right the first time that you go to court over a ticket the only thing that they want to know is how you plea. On the second trip you will have a chance to meet with the prosecutor and talk about the charges and see if you two can come to a solution. Then you will go into court and it will either be settled then or you will move forward for a trial date to continue fighting it.
Chances are that it will get dropped when they see the you were within the boundries of the law and that you should have never been issued a ticket.
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Live to hunt----- Hunt to live.
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[#000050]Creative profanity is still profanity.[/#000050]
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Sorry I couldn't think of a diffrent word that rymes with picnic
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So which is it??? Every time someone states the rule it is worded slightly different.
Liability insurance is required on boats with motors:
- 50hp and larger?
- larger than 50hp?
It makes a difference, since my boat has a 50hp. Is exactly 50hp is included in the definition or not?
Thanks [  ].
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Boats 50HP and larger need insurance. If yours is 50HP you do need insurance.
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Thanks for the clarification.
The Utah DMV does not require insurance to register the boat. But apparently the State Parks & Rec requires it to operate on the water.
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If you need Insurance get it, its not that hard to do..[crazy]
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No, not hard to get. I was just trying to figure out if my boat truly needed it or not [crazy].
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Both my boats are on my homeowners policy and did not raise premiums one thin dime. $300,000 each libel and allows me to fish all FLW and BASS tournaments. Even covers the kids when they fish with UVU.
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and the insurance from the boat and the trailer are diffrent each,insured on the policy but covered sepreatly.for what u pay a year great thing to have,hit something at willard once and knocked the lowere unit out of my outdrive insurance payed for it all.was pulling coming back from the gorge and boat flipped on the trailer on the sisters,punched a hole in the boat,and screwed the trailer up,pulling 73 foot way to much,needless to say the amount the insurance cost a year,is nothing tocover u and the other guy,u might run into.like a good neighbor they have always been there for me on my boats.
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Every one needs it, if not the boat owner then anyone that may ride in the boat...
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[quote Flyfishinglover]ya i know how you feel boat insurance is a pain in the but. I gota pay for my small 12-15ft float pontoon that has a electric motor. Its electric motor come on and still gota pay for it.[/quote]
your talking about registration not insurance, two seperate things... opps, i see that was already mentioned above
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after reading through this thread i figured id better figure my situation out. I recently upgraded from a 15hp to a 50hp so i am now required to get insurance. I called my insurance company and was informed that the boat was already covered in my home owners policy for liability up to 100k. Added full coverage for 40$ for the year. Was very Simple and now I will be at ease when the power hungry dnr officer pops out from the bush and rushes me.
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[quote Goldster]
2) He knows the law and is hoping that most people will just pay the fine rather than fight it like me.
G[/quote]
I read this entire thread. I feel for G -- it sounds as if he should not have gotten a citation. I hope that it gets resolved.
I do have issues with the quote above. To what benefit would the officer issuing the citation gain? Why would he issue a citation blatantly in error "hoping that most people will just pay the fine..."? I honestly do not understand why this would be the case. Could you please fill me in on why an officer would do this? What does he gain by giving out false citation in hopes of people paying them? Does he get a bonus at the end of the month based off of fines collected from citations he issued?
thanks in advance.
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If it is a misdeamenor and carries the possibility of jail time you are entitled to a jury trial. The Utah justice court system is not a court of record and judgements made by them are not enforceable unless you submit to the judgement. Sometimes you will get the short end of the stick with a justice court judge who generally has very limited legal training and is employed by the county that stands to benefit from you fine money. So if you convicted in the justice court you can file a trial de novo with the district court and get your case heard by a real judge in a court where they actual make a record of the proceedings. If you ask for a jury trial rest assured they will reduce the charge to an infraction and then you arent entitled to a jury. I would suspect that if you in fact prove to the prosecutor that your motor was under the horsepower requirements the case will get dismissed and the officer will get talked to about wasting the time of the attorneys office.
[url "http://le.utah.gov/...htm/78A07_011800.htm"]http://le.utah.gov/...htm/78A07_011800.htm[/url]
Keep in mind my advice is worth what you paid for it.
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one more interesting tidbit is that under allocation rules 85% of boating fine money is allocated to state parks so state park rangers have some incentive to write tickets because lack of funding means a chance of reduction in force (lay offs)
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