There is no simple answer to that. In many cases it will be permissible, and in other cases it won't be. It will depend on the body of water, where you try to anchor it, and a lot of other factors. If you plan on leaving it over night, then there are a lot more issues to consider. What might be "legal" during the daylight might become illegal at sunset, unless you afix proper lighting. Anything that could be considered a "permanent" (even if it is floating and could be moved) will fall under a different classification than something in transit. For example, in many bodies of water you can anchor a boat or a barge, but you can't set up a dock. I have an inflatable slider that I set up when I take the houseboat out and anchor out for the weekend. I normally anchor the slider close to the houseboat in an area that is well out of the way of normal traffic. I have never been hassled about it at all. This is on the California Delta. If you set up a slider in a public area and leave it unattended, even for a minute, don't be surprised if someone helps themselves! You should also be a bit concerned about liability if someone should hurt themselves on it. If you anchored it in such a place that it became a hazard to navigation, i.e., if someone runs into it, then there could be additional liability issues. If you are thinking of setting this up in any sort of city, county state or federal park type body of water then I would expect the answer to be NO! If you set it up, use it then take it down right away you will probably get away with it, however.
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