MN speed Limit?

[bASS_BLASTER]

Ok, I know there are lakes with posted m.p.h. and no wake zones is a no brainer.

The St. Croix River has no speed limit that I know of so if you're capable of doing 90mph or 150mph, it shouldn't be a problem right?

Reason I asked is because I was on the river doing about 45mph-ish only. Then I hear some yelling from a pontoon, "Slow down, there are kids in the here!" I would understand if I passed them within a hazardous distance but I passed at least 100'. Just wondering if C/O can give you a ticket for excessive speeding when there's no speed limit?

[paceman]

Wow you have pretty good hearing! When I go that fast I can't hear anything but the wind Don't know about speed limits on the water but that is pretty fast with pontoons, other boats around. If you give them a wide berth, no problem. I really dislike the high speeders that race by at 30 yards. Nothing but bad can happen then. I once saw a boat loose control and smash into an anchored boat. People flying through the air is an image I will never forget. Lucky that no one was hurt seriously.

[slipperybob]

100' is too close at that speed. Was there other boat traffic in the immediate area?

Personally, I'd go with minumum 100 yards.

[bobbymalone]

if you were going 45 and you could hear them yell, you were too close

[bASS_BLASTER]

Every morning my wife and kids have the television loud as heck. I tell them to turn it down b/c its too loud, they say they can't hear?????? Loud enough for them to hear is way too loud for me. Also, sound travels quite well in the water especially on cooler days/nights. Surprisingly, I don't have Ben Stiller ears.

Should of clarified. I passed a pontoon. Me 45mph-ish. The pontoon I passed, probably under 20mph.

[bASS_BLASTER]

if you were going 45 and you could hear them yell, you were too close

LOL. I figured someone would say that but sound does travel quite well when the air is thin over the surface of the water. Not to mention both sides of the river were bluffs. And to be honest, I probably wasn't even going that fast. Pontoon 20-ish, me 40-ish so basically i was only passing it going 20mph. That's like riding a speed bike, its easy to hear anyone yell.

Slipperybob. There were no other boats. Just the pontoon I passed. It was hogging the whole river by driving right in the middle. I had to pass it on the side towards the left. To get an idea of how I passed, I never even touch its wakes. That's how far i passed it.

[brian6715]

If you are passing someone that close you should be going just fast enough to keep your boat on plane, or just fast enough to pass them. Better yet, just give them more room, and then you don't have to worry. You were going too fast for being that close, but that's just my

[bASS_BLASTER]

If you are passing someone that close you should be going just fast enough to keep your boat on plane, or just fast enough to pass them. Better yet, just give them more room, and then you don't have to worry. You were going too fast for being that close, but that's just my

Is this common sense or law? Just wondering because I don't want to dual rods with someone, some day. I know croix has a 100' law when passing other boaters, no wakes 100' from Wisconsin side (shoreline) and keep away 100' from swimmers but it says nothing about how to fast one can pass a boat. I figured if I keep my distance of 100', I can pass other boaters as fast as my boat will allow me.

Just trying to clarify.

[ozzie]

I am not sure but I have never had to look into as I have never had a boat that is able to do more than 40 mph....but there are boating regulations books available that would be able to answer your questions. Good Luck

[mojogunter]

I believe the speed limit in MN is 50 mph.

[goblueM]

bass_blaster, I have to say... if you are looking to distinguish law from common sense in a case like this, it might be a hint that you are erring with your actions.

Just because something is legal doesn't mean we should do it. The Croix is a zoo as is, I have witnessed plenty of unsafe boating out there. I'm sure you were being safe, but no harm in taking the extra couple seconds and little bit of effort to give people a wide berth!

[fisherman-andy]

20+mph is pretty fast for a large pontoon, wonder if the guy and his kids was in a faster boat would he have shared the same courtesy to you in a slower or more fragile boat?

Whenever we were in pontoons on the river we always utilize slower speeds and boated closer to sure to leave the middle open for them faster boaters. Now that's common sense.

It may be nice of you to slow down a bit but again I have never really seen anyone slow down for a pontoon or any other boater if they think their far enough. Just my 2 cents.

So were you in the wrong? I doubt it if that's what your looking for unless somewhere stated in the law books. Should you show common courtesy? Of yeah of course. But who does? Isnt that the reason whe have such threads.

[herefish101]

What it comes down to is you did everything correctly, you never pass another boat any closer than 75 feet, which is the length of a long ski rope.

To those that said you should have slowed down..... the slower a boat goes even on plane, the bigger the wake, so passing at a slower speed is actually worse as your wake will rock the pontoon even worse.

You did everything right. Some people just think speed is what might hurt them, in this case you did everythin correctly in overtaking another craft, theyy were in the wrong for not paying enough attention to give you a wider channel by moving over. Pontoons are the SUV's of the lake, the people driving them never seem to know what their doing. and I know alot of my fellow HSO'ers have pontoons, and maybe you know how to drive them, but in my time on the water the most unsafe boaters are in pontoons.

[Superduty]

herefish101 hit the nail on the head. You were fine. 35-45 mph in a bass boat is about as slow as you are going to go on plane. A boat plowing water at half throttle causes way more trouble and you can't see over the bow besides. Get used to it, you are going to get dirty looks and get yelled at in a bassboat no matter what you do...

[headcheese]

20+mph is pretty fast for a large pontoon, wonder if the guy and his kids was in a faster boat would he have shared the same courtesy to you in a slower or more fragile boat?

Whenever we were in pontoons on the river we always utilize slower speeds and boated closer to sure to leave the middle open for them faster boaters. Now that's common sense.

It may be nice of you to slow down a bit but again I have never really seen anyone slow down for a pontoon or any other boater if they think their far enough. Just my 2 cents.

So were you in the wrong? I doubt it if that's what your looking for unless somewhere stated in the law books. Should you show common courtesy? Of yeah of course. But who does? Isnt that the reason whe have such threads.

i agree. now if the OP was in a big cabin cruiser thats another story. i have been buzzed by lots of big boats doing 40 at less than 100'.

sure you could have/should have moved over more but whatever. no reason for a guy to yell or get mad. i see worse than what OP described any weekend on the croix.

[wayne123]

I don't know about speed limits. I don't like to go fast.

I know when a boat is passing the slower boat it to maintain course and speed. See http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/education_safety/safety/boatwater/boat-and-water-book.pdf page 44

[lutzy]

I believe the speed limit in MN is 50 mph.

can't be true. i do 55 and better every weekend. there are boats with bigger engines than mine that do better than that. only speed limit i know of is after dusk it is 30.

[LoonState]

^+1 if the speed limit is 50 in mn. How do bass boats get away with doing 70+ during tournaments? I think certain lakes might have posted speed limits but other than that I think it is whatever you feel comfortable doing unless posted otherwise.

[hovermn]

There is not a blanket speed limit in MN. Some lakes and rivers have posted limits, but boats don't fall under the same speed limit as Snowmobiles, though plenty of folk tend to believe that. I believe the snowmobile limit is what started the belief of a max limit. I've spoken to the DNR about this in the past and they say no.

If there was a state wide speed limit, it would be in the regs. If there was a max speed in the state, and it wasn't in the regs, it would be like getting a ticket for speeding on the freeway with no limits posted anywhere.

I haven't read that tehre's a night time speed limit. Again, that may be body of water specific. As far as state wide, it is not. However, Jetski have their own set of rules regarding operations and times.

[Grum]

86B.205 WATER SURFACE USE ORDINANCE.

Subdivision 1.Assistance. The commissioner shall develop and publish guidelines to assist counties adopting water surface use ordinances for waters within their jurisdiction.

Subd. 2.Surface use ordinances. (a) A county board may, by ordinance, regulate the surface use of bodies of water located entirely or partially within the county and not located entirely within the boundary of a single city or lake conservation district established by law.

( If a body of water is located within more than one county, a surface use ordinance is not effective until adopted by the county boards of all the counties where the body of water lies under section 471.59 or placed into effect by order of the commissioner under subdivision 9.

© With the authorization of an affected city or lake conservation district, a county board may assume and exercise the powers in subdivisions 2 to 5 with respect to bodies of water lying entirely within that city or lake conservation district. The regulation by the county of the surface use of a portion of a body of water located within the boundary of a city must be consistent with any city regulation existing on May 25, 1973, of the surface use of that portion of the body of water. After January 1, 1975, the ordinance must be consistent with the provisions of this chapter and rules of the commissioner under this chapter.

Subd. 3.Prior ordinances invalid without approval. A surface use zoning ordinance adopted under subdivisions 2 to 5 by a local governmental unit after May 25, 1973, is invalid unless it is approved by the commissioner.

Subd. 4.Approval of ordinances. A proposed surface use zoning ordinance must be submitted to the commissioner for review and approval before adoption. The commissioner must approve or disapprove the proposed ordinance within 120 days after receiving it. If the commissioner disapproves the proposed ordinance, the commissioner must return it to the local governmental unit with a written statement of the reasons for disapproval.

Subd. 5.County regulatory authority. A county board may:

(1) regulate and police public beaches, public docks, and other public facilities for access to a body of water, except:

(i) regulations are subject to subdivision 6;

(ii) a county board may not regulate state accesses; and

(iii) a municipality may by ordinance preempt the county from exercising power under this subdivision within its jurisdiction;

(2) regulate the construction, configuration, size, location, and maintenance of commercial marinas and their related facilities including parking areas and sanitary facilities in a manner consistent with other state law and the rules of the commissioner of natural resources, the Pollution Control Agency, and the commissioner of health, and with the applicable municipal building codes and zoning ordinances where the marinas are located;

(3) regulate the construction, installation, and maintenance of permanent and temporary docks and moorings in a manner consistent with state and federal law, permits required under chapter 103G, and sections 86B.111 and 86B.115;

(4) except as provided in subdivision 6, regulate the type and size of watercraft allowed to use the body of water and set access fees;

(5) subject to subdivision 6, limit the types and horsepower of motors used on the body of water;

(6) limit the use of the body of water at various times and the use of various parts of the body of water;

(7) regulate the speed of watercraft on the body of water and the conduct of other activities on the body of water to secure the safety of the public and the most general public use; and

(8) contract with other law enforcement agencies to police the body of water and its shore.

Subd. 6.Public access restrictions. The county board must allow the same types and sizes of watercraft and horsepower of motors to access and enter the lake or water body as are generally allowed to be operated on the lake or water body. Special use exceptions that are not dependent on lakeshore or property ownership may be granted by permit.

Subd. 7.County acquisition of public access. A county board may acquire by purchase, gift, or devise land for public access to a lake or stream and may improve the land as a park or playground if the land is less than ten acres and is contiguous to the meander line of a navigable lake or stream wholly or partly within the county and not entirely within the corporate limits of a city.

Subd. 8.Advisory assistance. The county board may invite any municipal council or town board or the soil and water conservation district board of supervisors or watershed district board of managers to designate a representative to advise and consult with the county board on water use regulation and improvement.

Subd. 9.Watercraft use rules for local waters. (a) On request of a county, city, or town, the commissioner may, after determining it to be in the public interest, establish rules relating to the use of watercraft on waters of this state that border upon or are within, in whole or in part, the territorial boundaries of the governmental unit.

( The rules shall be established in the manner provided by sections 14.02 to 14.62, but may not be submitted to the attorney general nor filed with the secretary of state until first approved by resolutions of the county boards of a majority of the counties affected by the proposed rules.

© The rules may restrict:

(1) the type and size of watercraft and size of motor that may use the waters affected by the rule;

(2) the areas of water that may be used by watercraft;

(3) the speed of watercraft;

(4) the times permitted for use of watercraft; or

(5) the minimum distance between watercraft.

(d) When establishing rules, the commissioner shall consider the physical characteristics of the waters affected, their historical uses, shoreland uses and classification, and other features unique to the waters affected by the rules.

(e) The commissioner shall inform the users of the waters of the rules affecting them at least two weeks before the effective date of the rules by distributing copies of the rules and by posting of the public accesses of the waters. The failure of the commissioner to comply with this paragraph does not affect the validity of the rules or a conviction for violation of the rules.

(f) The cost of publishing rules and of marking and posting waters under this subdivision shall be paid by the counties affected by the rules, as apportioned by the commissioner.

(g) Regulations or ordinances relating to the use of waters of this state enacted by a local governmental unit before January 1, 1972, shall continue in effect until repealed by the local governmental unit or superseded by a rule of the commissioner adopted under this subdivision

__________________

[bASS_BLASTER]

Thanks for chiming in all. I talked with the DNR yesterday. They told me I was fine as long as I didn't put any other boaters in danger and well 100' of other boaters.

They said there is no speed limit unless posted and I could go as fast as my boat permits me. Just be sure to keep safety in mind, life jacket, kill switch and as long as I'm not endangering other boaters.

For example if it was a busy weekend with boats are all over and I'm flying 80mph dodging boats, then I will be ticketed.

So now back to my story, I was perfectly fine.

btw, 20mph is slow for a pontoon. They have what's called "Fast Toons" which are capable of 100mph with 2 or 3 300hp motors. I was on the St. Croix this past Sunday and saw a Fast Toon but this one only had one 300hp Evinrude, it was doing about 45-50mph. PDQ!

[DTro]

The Croix has a long history of being the Autobahn of the rivers it seems, not to mention some recent deadly accidents out there too. I don’t think you broke any laws and just because the guy yelled at you doesn’t make him right either.

I think the size of the boat has a lot to do with it too. A low to the water aerodynamic bass boat doing 70 seems much less obnoxious and life threatening than a 40ft yacht doing the same speed.

I can tell you this from first hand experience. There are a LOT of boaters out there who either are very inexperienced or just really don’t care. I have had large boats come literally within a boats length of us (while anchored) and yes we yelled. It’s pretty easy hear us too as there is usually a bullhorn in the boat.

Keep it over 100ft though and I think you are legal.

[TruthWalleyes]

30 yards from my kids doing 45mph and i'd be yelling as well. Keep it to 100yds if you truely want to be safe...Afterall, kids might be swimming underwater.

Rules have been posted above, but i'd slow down or move further away if possible.

[bASS_BLASTER]

Thanks D'tro!

Don't know how this became a passing within 30yards thread and kids possibly swimming underwater. As stated, pontoon was moving/traveling about 20mph, me 45-ish when I passed it about 100'.

30yds and 100' is almost about the same distance, less by 10'. That's almost two semi's joint together. So that's plenty of room for the nervous people.

Next time, I'm going to fly by at 90mph, keeping my distance of 100' for the complainers.

Happy fishing!

[Raider4ever]

I'll bet that 'tooner doesn't follow the 100' rule when ol' Edgar and Martha are cruising around the shoreline running you over when you are fishing a point or weed edge then yell at you for being in their way. Someone above was absolutely correct, 'tooners are the most dangerous boaters on the water.