Re: Abandoned boat
Yeaaaah, about the pole, I'd say even if it's bright orange you're setting your self up for a lawsuit. What if it's an emergency or dark? I'd say you could be charged with malicious injury at the least.
Does your dock have a sign stating it's private property? If not, I'm going to take and educated guess and say you don't have a leg to stand on. It could easily be presumed to be a public dock. If it's that important to you that others don't use it, post a sign and call the authorities when unauthorized folks use it.
Not that I don't emphathize with Eedward, too. Suppose someone tied up to his dock and left there boat there and something on his dock rubbed a hole in the pontoon and it sunk. A lot of folks would come back and try to say it was his fault and he should cover their loss. There again, I think his best protection is a "Private Property, unathorized users will be reported to the authorities and your boat may be confiscated." sign.
But, really the bottom line here should be courtesy. Had she left a note giving the circumstances, etc. It probably would have been no big deal. But, surely she wasn't blocking the whole dock, either.
Just my .02 worth.
