New York Laws
Part 1 - Vessels, General
45-AAAAAA*2 - Special Provisions Relating to Reckless Operation, Noise and Speed on the Fulton Chain of Lakes.

* § 45-aaaaaa. Special provisions relating to reckless operation,
noise and speed on the Fulton Chain of Lakes. 1. Notwithstanding any
other provisions of this chapter or any inconsistent local laws (a)
every pleasure vessel operated on the Fulton Chain of Lakes, consisting
of Old Forge Pond and First through Eighth Lakes, shall be operated in a
careful and prudent manner, in such a way as not to unreasonably
interfere with or endanger any vessel or person; a violation of this
paragraph shall be a misdemeanor punishable as set forth in section
seventy-three-b of this article; and (b) no vessel shall be operated on
such lake at a speed exceeding forty-five miles per hour nor shall any
pleasure vessel be operated at a speed exceeding twenty-five miles per
hour between one-half hour after sunset and one-half hour before
sunrise; a violation of this paragraph shall be a violation punishable
as set forth in section seventy-three-c of this article.

2. Except for Sixth and Seventh Lakes, no vessel shall be operated on
the Fulton Chain of Lakes within two hundred feet of the shore, a dock,
pier, raft or float or an anchored or moored vessel in a manner or at
such a speed that causes a wake that unreasonably interferes with or
endangers such dock, pier, raft or float or an anchored or moored vessel
but in no event at a speed exceeding five miles per hour, unless for the
purpose of enabling a person engaged in water skiing to take off or land
or such vessel is required to run at full throttle through an
established course to measure the vessel's decibel level pursuant to the
directions of a law enforcement officer. A violation of this subdivision
shall be a violation punishable as set forth in section seventy-three-c
of this article.

3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter or any
inconsistent local laws, no person shall operate any pleasure vessel,
upon the waters of the Fulton Chain of Lakes that exceeds the following
noise levels: (a) for engines manufactured before September first,
nineteen hundred eighty-nine, a noise level of eighty-six dbl.; (b) for
engines manufactured on or after September first, nineteen hundred
eighty-nine and before September first, nineteen hundred ninety-one, a
noise level of eighty-four dbl.; (c) and for engines manufactured after
September first, nineteen hundred ninety-one, a noise level of
eighty-two dbl. All decibel levels are to be measured on a decibel meter
gauged to an A-weighted scale. A violation of this subdivision shall be
a violation punishable as set forth in section seventy-three-c of this
article.

4. Any law enforcement officer from the state of New York, Herkimer or
Hamilton county, or any political subdivision of those counties, may
direct the operator of any pleasure vessel reasonably believed to be
exceeding the allowable noise levels on the Fulton Chain of Lakes to an
area established by the officer for measuring vessel noise levels. At
that area the vessel shall be operated at full throttle through a
straight course not to exceed one hundred yards. Decibel measurements
shall be measured at a distance of at least fifty feet from the pleasure
vessel being tested while such vessel is at full throttle.

5. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any vessel
competing in or practicing for a regatta or boat race over a specified
course held by a bona fide club or racing association, provided that due
written notice of the date of the race has been given to the appropriate
law enforcement agencies at least fifteen days prior to such race,
pursuant to the provisions of section thirty-four of this chapter, and
all provisions of such section have been complied with. The provisions
of this section shall not apply to any Federal Aviation Agency licensed
aircraft.

* NB There are 2 § 45-aaaaaa's