Dominic Mazoch posted:But there is another side to this.
The law was written when there was any recreational boaters......
And do boaters, of ANY size, have to pay any fees or taxes a year to help offset the federal costs to keep the watetway up.
Lastly, maybe it is time to define what "interstate commerce" actually is. I do not think a rec. sailboat counts.
But in this case NS does have an option. Maybe moving to the NKP does make some sense.
Are you kidding? Both the Coast Guard (who regulate waterways,maintain markers and buoys) and the Army Corps of Engineers (who are responsible for maintaining them with things like dredging or in some cases changing the course of a river), are paid for out of federal tax dollars we all pay, so every one of those boaters is helping pay for the upkeep of the river, to be honest probably paying a lot more than the Norfolk Southern does. This doesn't fall under interstate commerce, this falls under aspects of maritime law (the same law, that for example, says that on a beach the section below the high tide line is public property, even on a private beach), access to navigable waterways is a right. People also pay things like marine gas taxes, licensing fees as do the businesses that support them (marinas, chandleries, riverfront/lakefront restaurants, B and B's, Hotels, etc). As far as the law being written when there weren't any recreational boaters, the laws in question were written before there were railroads *shrug*..and for example, a dinner cruise boat, a tour boat, a rented boat or jet ski, is commercial shipping, and based on your argument of time, they have more right to the river than the railroad does.
