To the Editor:
Last week’s letter by Sue Kiesel was right on! Yes, there is a noise ordinance for boats. Section 44 of the NY State Navigation Law states, quite clearly, that the noise limit for stationary boats is 90 dB(A) and for boats in motion is 75 dB(A).
For the Fulton Chain, somehow that was changed to 82-86 dB—somewhere between a food blender and a garbage disposal for a noise reference—which is significantly higher than the State law.
Even so, there would seem to be several boats within range of our camp that must violate this limit.
One in particular, that goes up and down Fourth Lake once a day, prevents any conversation on my porch when he is within a mile of my dock. But he is still on the lake after several years.
Speaking of violations, what about enforcement of the 5 mph speed limit within 200 feet of any dock. Ever see anyone stopped for that? Does some swimmer need to be hit before action is taken??
And how about the reckless boater that nearly killed the Foleys. Why wasn’t that boat stopped for dangerous actions before the accident occurred??
Clearly there needs to be much more rigorous enforcement of the boating laws on the Fulton Chain. I think we all pay enough in property taxes to demand that.
Peter Rankin,
Fourth Lake
