Trespassers on dock, how to fix?

[forgeblast]

Private property tresspassers will be towed....get to know a guy at a towing company and have him throw you a couple bucks for each tow
as far as boats load them up on a boat trailer and drop them off someplace far enought away that they have to drag them back to the water.
i was thinking the chain link fence route but its your property, why should you have to go through all that work to have peace of mind.
I think many calls to the cops will help fix that, and if it is a "community" accross the water using your dock they should have some type of covenant or governing body that you can contact.
Good luck.
Forgeblast

 

[Birdhunter1]

Just pull the drain plug on the transom of their boat instead, preferably when they are no where in sight.

 

[RobertN]

Not true.

You will have the registration numbers on the boat and can press charges for them tresspassing on your dock. They don't need to be there all day for you to press charges against them. You can take pictures and document it, or you can rely on your word against the tresspassers.

It's never useless to let the law do there jobs.

You can solve the problem or not.

Eddie

Add to that digital camera's... Get registration numbers, and a picture of the boat and/or people. Use the date and time function on the picture too. Get a little notebook, so you can document date, time, details, if you were in contact with the person etc.

Then, let the law do thier job.

 

[hitekcountry]

Instead of trying to drive people off, it’s better if they decide on their own that they don’t really want to come around. Of course you can help them make that rational decision.

Example ---put a sign on your dock COTTONMOUTH COVE


And another WATCH FOR SNAKES

 

[Dargo]

My "fix" was sort of a combination of the last two; I hid a high quality game camera to take pictures and then posted a sign that said "No Trespassing, and Smile, You're On Candied Camera! I then spent $15 on a dummy game camera and placed it where it would be relatively easy to find. I placed a note on it saying "Congratulations! You just found 1 of 6 cameras. I now have pictures of you from many angles"

As silly as it sounds, I'd say it has cut down on trespassers by about 90% or more. I do have pictures of some people trespassing, but since they did no damage and left no mess, I have not pursued the issue. Maybe something like that would work for you.

 

[forgeblast]

The game came works great, we are planning to do that in a place where there is a lot of dumping going on.
others have said it works for them too.
Forgeblast

 

[MLinOleMiss]

You will only have to have one person arrested for trespassing, word will travel like wildfire and should put an end to your problems. Just make sure that you have LOTS of documentation of the incident, because if you have a trespasser arrested and lose in court word will travel just as fast that someone used your dock and won the court case.

 

[SELKIRK]

Around my place we have this special type of week long dead fish that can and will jump into boats. You just might have them also, I find them sleeping in a 5gal bucket in the sun.

Selkirk

 

[dmccarty]

Richard,

You are going to have to find out the law in your area. See if YOU can swear out a warrant in your state for someones arrest. In some states you can if it is a non felony crime. I would ask the Sheriff what to do. Would a game camera help identify the person who tresspassed to the point of getting a warrant? How would you know the person's name. It would help I'm sure but its still work on your part.

I think you should call the Sheriff if he does have jurisdiction otherwise I assume its Federal property and it would be the TVA? In any case call. That at a minimum leaves a record. It seems like you big problem is liability. What if someone fell off the dock and drowned? Would this be considered an attrative nuisence?

At least with the painted no tresspass signs and recorded phone calls to law enfocement you have shown an effort to keep people off the dock. I would HOPE that would help.

I put up a trail tracker on our road before I could build a gate. I knew people where tresspassing but I did not know when. They where walking up the road at the same time every day and it turned out to be some neighbors going for a walk. I did not worry about them and once I got the gate up that solved the problem I was having with someone else.

Is there a place you could hide such a device or the game camera so that it won't get stolen and you can see if their is a pattern. That would make catching them a bit easier. Though it sounds like this will be a problem every holiday and weekend.

Sure it s a PITA that is for sure. Good Luck.

Dan

 

[1bush2hog]

Sounds like the "dock" is more of a beach area, or maybe I am misreading something here.

Is there a problem if you bring in a load of the larger chunks of granite to shore up this area? People probably would not want the hulls of their boats banging up against this type of material. They would also have to then anchor offshore far enough to avoid and maybe the water would then be too deep for them to easily come ashore?

 

[Richard]

Just for fun & kicks, I'll try to post a couple pics of the dock area over next couple days.

The dock is not visible from my house but is from my wifes uncles and fathers houses. Unfortunately, at 80+ for each of them, they don't take much effort to go down there and "visit" with people.

The trespassers we're getting are 95% of the time, simply passers by as contrasted with a crowd of several people who are repeat offenders. At least, that is my take given my chats with them and I think that's a fair conclusion.

The dock is right at the entrance point for one of the walking trails so it does seem to be just a natural visitation spot.

I bought some private property signs other day and plan on putting five of them on the dock. Two on each of the long sides and one on the end of it. I will also put a nice brass plate that we'll paint 'private' on and I'll then screw it up on the post near the ramp to dock.

I know there will still be SOME idiots who will claim to have never seen the signs, but maybe the 'honest' ones will respect it.

I like the camera idea... maybe I can put a camera in a semi-visible location that happens to be RIGHT NEXT to a fire ant mound?? !!

 

[dmccarty]

I like the camera idea... maybe I can put a camera in a semi-visible location that happens to be RIGHT NEXT to a fire ant mound?? !!

Or ticks or chiggers. The chiggers are a gift that keeps on giving. Something got through my clothing/chemical defensive barrier last weekend and bit my foot. Its chigger like but its still earlier for chiggers. If I could catch them I would gladly send them to you. For FREE!

I forgot to mention in my last post, that in NC, posting your land does limit your liability since the tresspasser is comitting a crime.

Later,
Dan

 

[honeycutt]

While you are at it, don't forget to put up "NO WAKE ZONE" signs. And of course the "Beware of Owner" & "Protected by Glock" signs.

 

[MossRoad]

Brass plate? That will be gone fast for scrap metal.

 

[wickedinhere]

You untie a boat, it drifts into the lake, some other boat hits it. You go to jail.

You untie someone's boat that doesn't know it is illegally docked and you would probably be guilty of vandalism, too.

They would have to prove you untied it. If there so dumb as no not see his sign
then they probably cant properly tie a boat up to the dock. If some one runs into a boat that is drifting maybe they should pay more attention! Down here calling the law enforcement will get you no where they dont want to be bothered with petty things.

 

[MossRoad]

Richard, many folks are suggesting that you stoop to vandalism and illegal things that could endager property and people, like pulling the drain plug, setting boats adrift, etc... What they are suggesting could cause serious bodily injury or death, all because someone ties up their boat at your dock and goes for a walk, a "crime" which does not warrant inflicting injury to property or body for revenge.

Hopefully, you will not resort to such actions and will procede with your plans to post the dock with more signs and get the authorities involved more.

I lived on a lake for the first 24 years of my life. We often had trespassers. It is a problem common to all waterfront property owners. You can never stop it. You can make it inconvenient for them to trespass, like putting a locked gate on your dock so that people cannot get on or off of it without a key. And you can make it uncomfortable for them by taking pictures, keeping good documentation, and calling the cops as often as needed. That's about all you can do. Best of luck in solving your problem.

 

[sawdust_maker]

Richard, many folks are suggesting that you stoop to vandalism and illegal things that could endager property and people, like pulling the drain plug, setting boats adrift, etc... What they are suggesting could cause serious bodily injury or death, all because someone ties up their boat at your dock and goes for a walk, a "crime" which does not warrant inflicting injury to property or body for revenge.

Hopefully, you will not resort to such actions and will procede with your plans to post the dock with more signs and get the authorities involved more.

I lived on a lake for the first 24 years of my life. We often had trespassers. It is a problem common to all waterfront property owners. You can never stop it. You can make it inconvenient for them to trespass, like putting a locked gate on your dock so that people cannot get on or off of it without a key. And you can make it uncomfortable for them by taking pictures, keeping good documentation, and calling the cops as often as needed. That's about all you can do. Best of luck in solving your problem.

Yes, it is quite frustrating when I find people peeing on my lawn, vomiting on my dock, drinking sixpacks of beer and leaving the empties behind, or screaming at the top of their lungs at their dog at 6 AM to go after a duck they just shot from the duck blind they built on my shoreline.

However, MR is quite correct, and I hope that you will follow his advice. Use signs liberally, PAINTED ON so they cannot be removed. Use a gate if reasonable. Use cameras, and use the police when necessary. Don't overuse the police, else they will learn to ignore you.

Do not resort to vandalism of your own, as this may subject you to serious problems. For example, suppose you were to sink a $100,000 boat that just happened to dock at your dock, but unknown to you, the owner was in the trees taking a picture of the scenery. He sees what you are doing, and takes your picture in the act. Oops. Or, suppose you do as one person suggested, let it float away from shore, then shoot it full of holes. Sadly, there is a person sleeping inside at the time, and they die. I'll bet the authorities figure out who did it. Prison time simply does not seem worth protecting your precious dock.

Be rational in your actions.

John

 

[deere_x475guy]

I would untie the boat kick it out in the lake and not be concerned any furthur with it. As far as I am concerned if you don't know who owns it and it isn't public land than you don't belong on it....period!!!. One shouldn't have to spread no tresspassing signs all over. **** do you have to place don't steal signs on you car???

 

[hunterridgefarm]

You could try this. Get a "professional looking sign" that states;

Private Dock
No Trespassing
BOATS WILL BE TOWED AT OWNERS EXPENSE


Kind of like no parking signs. It would be great if you could tow a couple and get the message across. Or if you have a boat landing at your dock, drive down with a boat trailer and tow it away.

Check the local laws to see if you can do this. If you can and you tow a couple of boats I think the message would get out. And I would check to see if you have a lake patrol, (wildlife or local law enforcment) and see if they could assist in towing.

Just a thought.

 

[1bush2hog]

I would untie the boat kick it out in the lake and not be concerned any furthur with it. As far as I am concerned if you don't know who owns it and it isn't public land than you don't belong on it....period!!!. One shouldn't have to spread no tresspassing signs all over. **** do you have to place don't steal signs on you car???

Would you do the same thing to someone whose car accidentally broke down and they pulled in your driveway to get off the street?

I agree with your position on trespassing, but not the action. It's not worth taking a chance on injuring other innocent persons who may be just driving up the lake and slam into a wandering boat, or the wandering boat drifts into another boat on the lake that is docked at a proper place and causes damage