Dropping mooring in south Florida

[Kfay]

Hey Everyone,
I am not from Florida so I do not know any of the laws here regarding dropping my own mooring setup. Where can I do it? Who approves it? Are permits necessary? If permits are necessary how much does it cost? I am interested in south Florida primarily from Pompano to South Miami maybe the Keys... I 've seen mooring fields here before that are NOT state-owned so I know it has to be possible but I cannot find out any info about harbormasters or more specifically dropping my own mooring setup.

[john61ct]

Seems like only yesterday

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2870600

https://www.google.com/search?q=site...permit+florida

[Kfay]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Seems like only yesterday

http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ml#post2870600

https://www.google.com/search?q=site...permit+florida

Thanks for refering me to that! That had a lot of good information. Please correct me if I am wrong but it seems as though you only need permission if you are building a "permanent structure" which is kinda loosly defined. To get more specific if I want to drop a 2000 lb mushroom with a big ball and chain I can do that? It 'could' be removed although I would not plan on it. So that is legal and I need no permission from anyone? I mean up north some people take their mooring anchors out every year (dont ask me why)...

[john61ct]

In theory it seems so.

In reality maybe someone complains to LE, so pick your spot carefully and be prepared to move if necessary.

[a64pilot]

I’ve only followed the threads loosely.
However the State of Fl owns all the submerged lands, legally you need to lease it from them, the Fl EPA to be exact. That’s how Marina’s etc are done, they lease the land from the State, there may be other ways that I’m unaware of.

However it seems that no one seems to care. Personally I hope that changes soon, and abandoned boats on moorings is one of the biggest problems for us Cruisers as we are grouped into those abandoned boats, some have people residing on them in a sort of Hooverville type of existence, but most seem simply abandoned.
It seems a great many of the better anchorages are full of “private” moorings.
Lake Worth for instance, anchorages are full of balls, many unoccupied as I guess boats go to the Bahamas but their moorings still take space you could be anchored in, but can’t for all the balls.

I don’t know where all these abandoned boats come from, majority of them are junk. I guess that’s a way of disposing of them, toss an engine block in the water with a 1/2 nylon line tied or it, and wait for the next storm to wash the boat onto someone’s back yard, who then of course raises Cain to the local Government demanding something to be done with all those boats, cause they had to spend $$$ to get the junk removed. I’d assume as it’s likely considered someone’s property it’s likely not as simple as hiring someone with a dump truck and chain saws.
Once would be enough for me to want all those junk boats gone.

So, may take is private moorings are mostly illegal, just not policed, local water cops may not distinguish a mooring from an anchor for all I know.

But make me King for a day, and I’d start cleaning all those junkyards out so cruisers could once again cruise.

[Traumagas]

I love to hear more info
I personally own 2 acres of submerged property in the keys
It was to be a subdivision however never came to be so
I bought a house and later found out I own a large area of water in front of it on a lagoon 12 feet controlled water depth and protected.
I am hopefully thinking of getting a powercat one day
A often thought putting her on a mooring in front of house
So maybe since I own the bottom I should be legal for me to do it ?

B

[mvmojo]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

I’ve only followed the threads loosely.
However the State of Fl owns all the submerged lands, legally you need to lease it from them, the Fl EPA to be exact. That’s how Marina’s etc are done, they lease the land from the State, there may be other ways that I’m unaware of.

Maybe a nitpicking technicality, but Florida doesn't own all submerged lands, they own all "naturally" submerged land. They do not own the bottom on man-made submerged lands such as canals, etc. The bug-a-boo is that the US Corps of Engineers does have authority over canals, etc. that connect to oceans, rivers, etc. Not sure how this impacts moorings, but it definitely impacts docks, decks, etc. when built over the water.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Kfay

Hey Everyone,
I am not from Florida so I do not know any of the laws here regarding dropping my own mooring setup. Where can I do it? Who approves it? Are permits necessary? If permits are necessary how much does it cost? I am interested in south Florida primarily from Pompano to South Miami maybe the Keys... I 've seen mooring fields here before that are NOT state-owned so I know it has to be possible but I cannot find out any info about harbormasters or more specifically dropping my own mooring setup.

You may be looking at local municipalities. County or city. Try Fla. Wild life they may head you in the right direction.

[zstine]

I don't have any 1st hand knowledge, but I was reading the old CF discussion John61ct put up. I was dumbfounded by people repeating that 'no permit is required and 'it is legal to drop a private mooring when clearly the cut n past statute states otherwise "327.4109(4) The owner...of a vessel ... may not anchor, moor, or allow the vessel .. to remain anchored, moored, . . to an permitted, unauthorized, or otherwise unlawful object that is on or affixed to the bottom of the waters of this state. This subsection does not apply to a private mooring owned by the owner of privately owned submerged lands."


Captain Bill then goes on to state who you need permits from and a bit of the process, at least as it was some years ago.



So, the OP's questions are more less answered. yes permits are required unless you own the bottom, which he doesn't. Contact FWC and DEP, Army Corp of Eng. Don't know the costs though... OR find a marina that owns a mooring field and lease/buy a mooring from them. IMO, Much easier and less $$ in the short term compared to buying all the gear and the permits and regulatory costs.

[Kfay]

Originally Posted by zstine

I don't have any 1st hand knowledge, but I was reading the old CF discussion John61ct put up. I was dumbfounded by people repeating that 'no permit is required and 'it is legal to drop a private mooring when clearly the cut n past statute states otherwise "327.4109(4) The owner...of a vessel ... may not anchor, moor, or allow the vessel .. to remain anchored, moored, . . to an permitted, unauthorized, or otherwise unlawful object that is on or affixed to the bottom of the waters of this state. This subsection does not apply to a private mooring owned by the owner of privately owned submerged lands."


Captain Bill then goes on to state who you need permits from and a bit of the process, at least as it was some years ago.



So, the OP's questions are more less answered. yes permits are required unless you own the bottom, which he doesn't. Contact FWC and DEP, Army Corp of Eng. Don't know the costs though... OR find a marina that owns a mooring field and lease/buy a mooring from them. IMO, Much easier and less $$ in the short term compared to buying all the gear and the permits and regulatory costs.

I have read the statute, most of it seems to be regulations of where you can't moore/anchor... Now here is the beef of it:

"The owner or operator of a vessel or floating structure may not anchor, moor, tie, or otherwise affix or allow the vessel or floating structure to remain anchored, moored, tied, or otherwise affixed to an unpermitted, unauthorized, or otherwise unlawful object that is on or affixed to the bottom of the waters of this state. This subsection does not apply to a private mooring owned by the owner of privately owned submerged lands."

Do we have any lawyers here who can properly interpret this law? I have some questions about it because it seems broad.

-What is an "unpermitted, unauthorized, or otherwise unlawful object"?
(Is a big a$$ mushroom anchor that happens to stay in the water an unlawful object? If so what makes an anchor/anchoring legal vs illegal.

-Doesn't this define anchoring anywhere on state submerged land illegal unless your anchor is a "permitted object"???

[john61ct]

If you want to be in full theoretical compliance with a law that is in practice unenforced, that LEO, bureacrats DAs and judges just don't care about, you're in for a world of hurt.

How the law is actually implemented is what shapes the actual law in practice.

Theoretical speculation about the meaning of abstract words on the page without a robust body of real-life precedent is pretty much a waste of time.

Don't try to ensure you are in compliance. Just try to avoid getting punished too much. Which it seems you'd actually have to try pretty hard anyway, to get more than a casual request to move, or a small fine at most.