Boat in a Wilderness?

[Scott@Rockstomper]

Yeah, time again to make fun of me.

Went through my garage attic today, and discovered that I have an inflatable rowboat. No, I never bought said boat; it's been in my attic for a long time (I've owned the house for seven years), and I'm not exactly a boating enthusiast, but hey, I have a boat, of sorts. It holds air, at least long enough for me to put it in the yard, hose it off, and conclude that my dog wants nothing whatsoever to do with my boat, so I figure, cool.

The first place that came to mind where I might want a boat, happens to be about a half-mile or a mile, inside a Wilderness boundary, near one of my favorite 'wheeling trails, and one of my wife's favorite places to go too.

I know anything with wheels, motorboats, hang gliders, and a handful of other things, are forbidden in Wilderness, but this thing, deflated, would fit in a big backpack, so it doesn't need even a cart to transport it on land, to the lake where I'd like to paddle around. It doesn't have, and can't accept, a motor of any kind (that I can figure out) and I don't own one anyway.

So... does anybody know if I can pack in a boat to a lake within a Wilderness, and legally paddle around, fish, or whatever, from said unpowered boat?

[tortuga]

usually the restriction is on motors, not the boat. I have used boats in Kings Canyon national park and a few designated wilderness areas, it is OK by the AHJ for those areas. Check your local regs.

Most wilderness areas are somewhat self policing for motorized boats, as you won't find launch ramps or any kind of access that lends itself to that kind of use.

[kodiak1232003]

up in glacier national park, some of which is a wilderness area, my in-laws went kayaking for some extended nights away, with no issues from the rangers.

as tortuga said, its the motor not the boat...

[NVScouter]

I'd check for dryrot first.

[Scott@Rockstomper]

Originally Posted by NVScouter

I'd check for dryrot first.

This is why I inflated it up in my front yard and hosed it off... both to hose off seven-plus years of dust and grime, and to kinda-sorta leak-check it. Confusing the dog (and maybe solidifying the neighbors' opinions that I'm insane) was just an extra bonus.

Colorado state law requires that pretty much anybody doing anything on water, have a PFD; I've heard that hardass LEO's will actually ticket people tubing, in one-person-size-tubes, if they don't have a life jacket. Not that life jackets save one from dryrot, but they do hopefully save one from the aftermath of a dryrotted rubber boat, sinking.

Oh, and for the boat guys... I've already discovered that the boat itself, is the cheap part of boating. Paddles or oars, life jackets, supposedly, state law requires me to have lighting, registration, etc... my free boat isn't quite the deal that it looked like on initial inspection. But, on the other hand, there's no way my wife'd let me *buy* an inflatable boat (even for just $60ish, which would get me a much smaller one than I have now), but now that I *have* an inflatable boat, it's perfectly reasonable to spend $200 on boat accessories (like paddles and life jackets), and possibly hundreds more on fishing gear to make proper use of the boat.

[White Shark]

Originally Posted by Scott@Rockstomper

Oh, and for the boat guys... I've already discovered that the boat itself, is the cheap part of boating. Paddles or oars, life jackets, supposedly, state law requires me to have lighting, registration, etc... my free boat isn't quite the deal that it looked like on initial inspection. But, on the other hand, there's no way my wife'd let me *buy* an inflatable boat (even for just $60ish, which would get me a much smaller one than I have now), but now that I *have* an inflatable boat, it's perfectly reasonable to spend $200 on boat accessories (like paddles and life jackets), and possibly hundreds more on fishing gear to make proper use of the boat.

Look at the regs closer. I know that in Kalifornia, they have regs based on size. For a pump up dink, you could probably get away with a life jacket, a throwable life support device (cushion with webbing handles), and a flashlight. Colorado may be different, but they tend to go easy on stuff under 10-12'. I run a long canoe, and I've never had any issues with the stuff mentioned.

.