Dock access dispute

[Pontooner01]

We have deeded access to the lake and i let a niegbor use the other side of my dock .The guy next door from the deeded land says the boat is on his property because my dock is on the edge of the property line by 6 inches and the boat is over that line when in the lake we called the sheriff and now he does not care its still on his land so what do you do when he still makes you move this guy is  real irrate

[derbier122x]

If the boat is on the water past his land property line, is it impeding the use of his land at all? Sometimes it is better to just take the higher road and just move the darn dock over I guess.

[Rick]

I would move the dock so it is completely on my deeded access and doesn't impede his access or usage of the shoreline on his property. It's always best to be on good terms with your neighbor.

[IronDioPriest]

Moving the dock seems to be the polite thing to do. People pay lots of money to live on the water, and being territorial isn't out of line. People want full use of their shoreline, don't want views obstructed, etc.

I'd move the dock so that it's well away from the property line, just to show him that you're a good neighbor. From the sound of what you describe, he's a home/cabin-owner, and you just have access. In other words, (if I understand correctly) he lives there and you don't. I'd defer to his wishes.

[Tom7227]

This problem has been the subject of lawsuits on White Bear lake that have become contentious enough that there were stories in the newspaper.  Depending on how serious the complaining party is things could end up getting very costly.  The other issue is the problem of living near/next to a person that you don't get along with.  Consider the value of not having to put up with the emotional stress of bickering over things and such that can result.  I am a retired lawyer and I can tell you for sure that no one comes out ahead if this problem isn't resolved between the two of you.  Invite the guy over for some ice tea, a beer or whatever and talk it out.

[nofishfisherman]

I agree with everyone that its up to you to solve the problem.  I would either move the dock to allow enough space for the 2nd boat or tell the neighbor you invited to use the other half of your dock that its just not going to work out given the tension with the other neighbor.

Sometimes you just have to be the bigger man and take it on yourself to solve the problem and move on with life.  Like Tom said above maybe invite him over for a beer and let him know what action you intend to take to remedy the situation.  In the end having a good relationship with the neighbors is worth that little extra effort.

While your upset neighbor may be wrong about you being on his property by the 2nd boat crossing imaginary property line I can still see why he might be upset.  If the 2nd boat at your dock blocks access to part of his shoreline property then it has a similar effect as actually being on his property.  Its still limits his use of his property.  He's probably wrong about how he went about it but I can get where he's coming from.