Crime & Safety

Enforcement of Large Boat Ban on Candlewood Lake Begins Saturday

Existing boats can be grandfathered in until the end of the year.

The six-month grace period for enforcement of a new law restricting “oversized” boats on Candlewood Lake ends Sept. 7.

Starting this weekend, operators of vessels over 26 feet that do not have an official decal will get a $75 ticket from Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) Environmental Conservation (EnCon) Police and other law enforcement agencies. Enforcement agents might also force the operators to bring the boat ashore.


The purpose of the regulation is to halt the general escalation of vessel size on the lake, both a cause and a consequence of user conflict, according to the DEEP.

The new regulation, which came into effect in March, requires all vessels on Candlewood Lake over 26 feet bare an official DEEP decal. Once issued, the free sticker is valid for the life of the vessel.

The decals are available to oversized vessels with a specific documented history on the lake and to boat retailers that had oversized boats in inventory prior to the effective date of the regulation.

“Based on a prior boat count, we believe most boaters with oversized vessels have received the required authorization decal,” DEEP Boating Division Director Eleanor Mariani said. “However, we encourage those boaters that can document time on the lake, as required, to come forward now as the grandfather period for oversized boats will come to an end.”

More than 140 have been issued as of the beginning of September. They are available through the end of 2014.

Applications for decals authorizing the use of an oversized vessel on Candlewood Lake are available on the DEEP website, through the DEEP Boating page. Additional information regarding the regulation is also available on the DEEP Boating page or by calling Tim Delgado in the Boating Division at 860-447-4354 or by email at timothy.delgado@ct.gov.


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