Can a Neighbor Dock a Boat Across Your Property Line? Littoral Rights in New Hampshire Explained

Background

 This waterfront property dispute arose between adjoining lakefront owners in New Hampshire. One party owned a boathouse (“Boathouse Owners”), and the neighboring party owned a dock (“Dock Owner”). The boundary between the properties extended into the lake between the boathouse and the dock, apparently closer to the boathouse. There was enough open water between the structures to accommodate one boat.

In May 2022, the Dock Owner installed a jet ski lift next to the dock. The lift extended into the narrow space between the properties and blocked the Boathouse Owners from docking a boat along the side of their boathouse. The Boathouse Owners then filed suit in superior court seeking removal of the jet ski lift and the jet ski.

The dispute required the court to interpret the interaction between New Hampshire’s common law of littoral rights and a state statute regulating boat placement relative to property lines.

Littoral Rights and New Hampshire Law

Littoral rights are the water-use rights held by owners of land bordering large, non-flowing bodies of water such as lakes. In New Hampshire, these rights are governed by the rule of reason. Each shorefront owner may use the water in front of their property, but only to the extent that the use does not unreasonably interfere with the correlative rights of neighboring littoral owners.

RSA 482-A:3, XIII(b) provides that any boat secured to a dock shall not extend beyond the extension of the dock owner’s property line. The central question in this case was whether the Boathouse Owners could lawfully dock a boat in a manner that crossed the extended property line of the Dock Owner.

Superior Court Decision

After a bench trial, the superior court ruled against the Boathouse Owners. The court found that any boat docked along the side of the boathouse would extend past the projected boundary line separating the properties and into the Dock Owner’s littoral area. The court concluded that RSA 482-A:3, XIII(b) barred docking in that location and ordered the Boathouse Owners to cease that use.

Supreme Court Review

The Boathouse Owners appealed. They argued that they and their predecessors had docked boats along the side of the boathouse for more than forty-six years and that this long-standing practice reflected a reasonable exercise of littoral rights under the common law. They asserted that the statute narrowed those common law rights and that applying the statute to prohibit their historic use violated the prohibition on retrospective laws under Part I, Article 23 of the New Hampshire Constitution.

They also argued that they had acquired a prescriptive right to continue using the disputed area and challenged the injunction as inequitable and unsupported by the evidence.

The Dock Owner argued the statute controlled and any boat extending beyond the extended property line violated the plain language of the law. He also argued the Boathouse Owners did not have any vested right to intrude into his littoral area and emphasized the safety risks created by simultaneous use of the narrow space between the structures.

The Supreme Court’s Ruling

The Supreme Court agreed with the Boathouse Owners on one key legal principle. The Court held that RSA 482-A:3, XIII(b) narrowed the common law rule of reasonable use rather than merely codifying it. The Court also affirmed that prior New Hampshire court decisions rejected rigid boundary-line extensions as the sole method for determining littoral rights.

However, the Boathouse Owners failed to establish any vested right that the statute impaired. The Court explained that a vested right requires more than an expectation of continuing prior law. It requires a fixed legal entitlement. The Court concluded that the Boathouse Owners demonstrated only a desire for the continuation of the prior common law rule, not a vested legal right. The Court therefore rejected the retrospective-law argument.

The Court also upheld the injunction. The evidence showed that any boat docked along the side of the boathouse would intrude into the Dock Owner’s littoral area. The limited space between the dock and boathouse created a genuine risk of damage if both parties attempted to use the area at the same time.

Case Reference

Sklader v. Callahan, No. 2024-0031 (N.H. June 13, 2025). Because the Court issued an order rather than a full opinion, the decision has no precedential authority, but it provides important guidance on how New Hampshire courts may analyze similar waterfront and dock-placement disputes.

Legal Help With Dock Disputes, Easements, and Waterfront Property Rights

If you have questions about dock placement, waterfront property boundaries, easements, littoral rights or civil litigation in New Hampshire, contact Alfano Law at (603) 856-8411 or through the Contact Form on our website. The firm offers free or low-cost initial consultations for most real estate and civil litigation matters.