Lake Barcroft Boating Rules

Safety for All

Lake Barcroft is used by party barges, kayaks, sailboats, canoes, stand-up paddle boards, rowboats, long distance swimmers, and more. Ensuring safety with such a diverse group of users requires that every boater and every swimmer be alert and vigilant at all times. It also requires the use of common sense. Even when they have the right of way, swimmers and manually propelled boats should avoid areas with a large amount of party barge or sailboat traffic.
Distance swimmers should use bright colored swim buoys or colored swim caps to boost visibility when they swim in areas frequented by power boats.
Failure to comply with these rules may result in action to suspend or revoke resident’s privileges to use the lake.

LBA Stickers

Except as noted below, all boats used on the lake, including windsurﬁng boards and rubber boats with oars, must display a current registration sticker plus the resident’s Lot Number on the left front of the vessel. (Lot numbers of prior owners should be removed)
Residents may sponsor the kayak or canoe of a guest visiting Lake Barcroft under the following conditions: 1) The resident must obtain advance authorization from the LBA Manager; 2) The resident must accompany the guest boat at all times when it is on the water and must have a current beach tag in their possession; 3) The boat hull must be thoroughly washed before entering the lake to prevent against invasive species; and 4) The resident may not sponsor a guest boat more than 4 days in any year.

Slow, Caution and No Anchor Zones

Slow Zones. Slow Zones are established in areas of greatest danger to swimmers. When transiting Slow Zones, all boats, including pontoons, sailboats, kayaks and rowboats, must transit slow enough to ensure complete visibility of any potential swimmers in their vicinity. These Slow Zones include the cove extending out from Beach One; the area between Beaches Two and Three; the area between Beach Four and the two points of land across from that beach; the Ridgeway Narrows; and within twenty feet of all shorelines, docks, demarcated beach swimming areas and other structures. The existence of these slow zones in no way relieves scullers of their special responsibility for the safety of other watercraft and swimmers.
Caution Zones. Tripps Run from the Finley Bridge through the point near Mansfield Road and Holmes Run from the Women’s Garden to the Ridgeway Narrows are designated as Caution Zones due to the likelihood of submerged debris and other obstructions in these areas. While in Caution zones, power boats must operate at moderate to slow speeds in order to avoid damaging their boats, or disturbing and dislodging debris in shallow areas and, thus, creating hazards to other boats. These are also areas with higher erosion potential that may be harmed by higher speed boats.
No Anchor Zones. The area between Beach Four and the dam is designated a No Anchor Zone. The Water Improvement District maintains aeration and other equipment on the lake bottom between Beach Four and the dam. This equipment is essential to the health of the lake, but may be damaged by boat anchors. No anchoring is permitted in this area.
These areas are illustrated in the attached Slow, Caution and No Anchor Zone Map.

Limitations on the Size and Power of Watercraft with Motors

Water vehicles with internal combustion power are not permitted on the Lake, except for work and rescue boats authorized by LBA.
In order to preserve the quality of the Lake, and to ensure that excessive size and speed of watercraft do not jeopardize other legitimate uses of the Lake, watercraft with electric propulsion systems generating more than a maximum forward thrust of 195 pounds, or which have a manufacturers maximum rating greater than 4.0, are not allowed on the Lake.
Pontoon boats and all other watercraft shall not exceed a maximum length of 28 feet and a maximum width of 8.5 feet. (Pontoon boats and motors exceeding these standards owned by Lake Barcroft residents and moored on the lake on or before October 1, 1995, are exempted from this rule.)
The use of any motor, including electric outboard motors intended for powering pontoon boats, on any watercraft with design capacity for speed or racing (such as hydroplanes, for example) is prohibited. No motors, other than trolling motors speciﬁcally designed for ﬁshing, are to be used on rowboats, canoes, sail boats or other small craft.
To minimize damage to shorelines and provide for a safe Lake environment, electric powered watercraft may not exceed a no-wake speed and must remain at a reasonable distance from the shoreline when underway (except when mooring).

Age and Educational Qualiﬁcations and Certiﬁcations and Certiﬁcation for the Operation of Watercraft

No person under the age of 12 years old may operate a mechanically powered watercraft, other than a canoe or rowboat powered by a trolling motor, unless he or she is accompanied by a parent or an adult speciﬁcally authorized to stand in place of his or her parent for that purpose.
Unless he or she has attained an approved level of proﬁciency in watercraft operation or is accompanied by a parent or an adult speciﬁcally authorized to stand in place of his or her parent for that purpose, no person between the ages of 12 years old and 16 years old may operate a mechanically powered watercraft, other than a canoe or rowboat powered by an electric trolling motor.
All operators are strongly encouraged to comply with Virginia boating safety education requirements and complete a boating safety education course, even though it is not legally required on private lakes like Lake Barcroft. Many are offered for free. Virginia state information can be found at the Deportment of Wildlife Resources website, https://dwr.virginia.gov/boating/education/requirement/. The Boat U.S. Foundation offers a free course at https://www.boatus.org/virginia/.
Although not a state certified course, the LBA website contains a water safety course tailored to Lake Barcroft. It is highly recommended that every operator review the LBA water safety webpage at https://lakebarcroft.org/residents/water-safety.

Boating Safety Standards and Rules

Although Lake Barcroft is a privately owned lake, and state registration of boats and compliance with boating safety education requirements are not required by law, persons operating watercraft on Lake Barcroft shall conform to the Required Equipment and Safe Boating provisions in the Boating Safety Guidelines published by the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. These provisions shall be in force at all times. Boaters are speciﬁcally referred to the rules against operating a boat under the inﬂuence of alcohol, to the rules against operating without a continuous unobstructed forward view, and to the rules of right-of-way. Mechanically-powered craft must yield to sail-powered craft, sail-powered craft must yield to craft powered by oars or paddles, and all watercraft must yield to swimmers or persons who are in the water for any other reason. Two power boats meeting should keep to their right, just as they would in automobiles. In a crossing situation, the power boat on the other’s right hand has the right-of-way. The Boating Safety Guidelines can be found in the Freshwater Fishing and Boating Guides at https://dwr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/media/2024-fishing-regulations.pdf.
No boat in motion may be closer to a swimmer (excluding swimmers from the boat) than 30 feet, other than to provide assistance in a bona ﬁde rescue situation.
In no case may watercraft enter guarded and demarcated swimming areas other than to provide assistance in a bona ﬁde rescue situation.
Powered boats shall not operate within 50 feet of a demarcated swimming area unless necessary to launch, dock or beach the boat.
Jet skiing, water skiing, and other water sports depending on mechanical assistance for propulsion are speciﬁcally prohibited. (The intent of this rule is not to prohibit towing of inﬂatables at a reasonable distance behind party barges provided that there is a person other than the barge operator observing the towed inﬂatable at all times.)
All motorized watercraft, except rowboats and canoes propelled by trolling motors, must display red and green running lights when operating at night. Party barges should carry an all-around white light visible from front and back, a red light on the left side, and a green light to the right. Docking lights, i.e., white headlights, may only be used when a boat is actively approaching a dock or an object in the water. Use of docking lights at other times is prohibited as use of these lights impairs the night vision of other boaters and makes it more difficult for them to determine the direction of the boat.
At night any boat out on the water should have at least a ﬂashlight with which to signal its presence when approached by another boat.
All boats should carry Coast Guard approved life preservers appropriate to the number of boat occupants.
In view of the dangers inherent in operating any watercraft in a situation when clear forward vision is not possible, all boaters facing backwards, and especially scullers, because they attain high speeds, are uniquely responsible for the safety of others in the water. In keeping with the commonly accepted rules of right-of-way on the water, occupants facing backwards in any boat, including scullers, are reminded that they never have the right-of-way over persons in the water. It is recommended that rear facing boaters use mirrors to assist, but not replace, forward vision.
Any boat that has been in another body of water must be power washed and thoroughly scrubbed before it is used in the lake (to prevent the introduction of invasives).

Boat Storage

Residents having valid boat registration stickers may, at their own risk, store small sailboats, rowboats, canoes, paddle boats and kayaks on the racks adjacent to the beaches. Boats not displaying a current sticker and Lot Number are not allowed on the boat racks and will be removed and sold without individual notice to the owner. Chaining boats to trees or to the racks in a manner that impedes others’ access to boats is not allowed.
LBA racks are intended for active use. Boats stored on them must be maintained in usable condition. Dilapidated or unseaworthy boats must be removed.
All boats stored on LBA racks must be locked. Unlocked boats tend to attract trespassers and create a liability risk. The LBA may place an LBA lock on any inadequately locked boat found in or near LBA racks and may require payment to remove the lock to discourage repeat offenses.
Boats should not be moored in launching areas. Where available, piers should be used to embark and disembark from pontoon boats. Permanent or unattended docking of boats on or near the beaches is prohibited. Rafts, ﬂoats or boats may not be permanently anchored in the Lake.
Boat rack spaces that are permanently vacant may be taken by registered boats as they become available on a “ﬁrst come, ﬁrst serve” basis.
Residents should be mindful that temporarily vacant boat rack spaces (i.e., vacant space on racks where boats have been vacated for active use) should not be taken up by other boats.
To conﬁrm that a space is occupied but the boat is in current use residents should leave their chains attached to the vacant space on the rack.
If a boat is "in use" but a chain is locked on the rack space (to indicate that the space is temporarily vacated because a boat is being used) and another boat is improperly placed in the temporarily vacated space it will be removed upon request to the LBA Manager or the Water Safety/Beach Maintenance Chair.
No boat shall be placed on top of another boat, or any part of another boat, without the permission of the owner of the boat already on the rack. Boats that are improperly placed on the racks (i.e., chained to another owner’s boat, stacking of boats on another owner’s boat, etc.) will be removed as necessary.
Resident complaints regarding improperly placed boats should be directed to the LBA Manager or the Water Safety Chair.

Fishing Rules

Fishing by residents or their guests is permitted from boats or from the shore of the common properties in all Lake areas other than the swimming areas. Guest ﬁshers must be accompanied by a resident who has a current beach tag. Fishing from private residences is at the discretion of the property owner.
Anchoring areas are restricted as shown on the Fishing/Anchoring map (see website at www.lakebarcroft.org) to protect WID equipment.
There are no catch restrictions except for largemouth bass, which must be over 12 inches and limited to two (2) per day. In order to avoid ecological contamination, use of live bait is prohibited, except for worms from area yards.

Attachment: Safe, Caution and No Anchor Zone Map

Revisions approved June 2024