h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This sailor was very unlucky choosing a neighborhood. I think he needs to find a lower rent district to park his houseboat in. Rich people are NASTY.

http://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article98320042.html

Living on a boat is a fantastic thing. I used to like to tell people who had water front property, when they said 'I live on the water' - 'No, you live next to the water. I live on the water.'

There has been a long standing argument about the taxation of people who live on boats in Florida. By the state constitution anything that requires a state registration, Boat, Mobile home or RV .is exempt from property tax. When I first moved onto my sail boat in 1979 the state legislator voted to tax us as real property. The experts advised us to pay the tax, but to note in the memo line 'Paid Under Protest' which I did. The law was thrown out the next year by the state Supreme Court as it was unconstitutional, but they retained 70% of our payments as 'legal fees'. I thought these were supposed to be paid by the losing side

To get to your link the ownership of submerged lands in Florida is a complex thing that I do not fully understand. On one hand underwater land that is occupied by marinas and commercial docks are obviously privately owned. On the other hand there is also a law that says all land below the high water mark is public land. When I was in high school we would regularly take our dates for romantic walk on the beach behind the expensive houses in a gated community. The security guards would regularly come down to harass us, but we knew, and they knew, that they had no authority over us.

There are several canoe rental places that will drive you to a place upriver either in their rental boat or your own for a fee. If you wish to camp overnight on your paddle they provide maps with certain areas marked with the areas where some land owners will object to your camping next to their land. Although it is legal it is better to avoid a hassle.

To get back to your link. There is no excuse for anyone vandalizing somebody else's property. I hope they find everyone responsible and send them to prison for a very long time.

That is part of why we moved ashore back in 1991.

F S