Operation Dry Water - Law Enforcement

[lilmule]

Well anyone who drinks in public is creating an offence,driving under the influence another,boat inspections can be done and are all the time without boarding.
Same with breathalizer tests any refusal same as a car issue a ticket take it to the dock then tow.Boarding is maritime law dating back to americans being pressed into english service,thus the second war with them,both of which we won.
If you really want checked take your 12 ft john boat next to a bridge piling and anchor then toss out a line or jug,nowdays they suspect you of being a terrorist.
Only something like a felony in progress would enable an officer to board,then he best be able to prove it.
As for a littering ticket for a cigarette pays to be nice answer all questions nicely,and hope he hasnt had a bad day.Worse would be a TVA cop.
And while fishing a T have had them check me,showed them what they wanted held my tongue and went on to have a nice day.They often do not check T boats as most T orgs do that prior to blastoff or you dont fish,and carry a couple beers in the boat its a dq,even if not opened.
You as a recreational boater arnt required to hook that kill switch up,or for that matter had anyone check the hp ratings or recommended ratings,T are recommended generally meaning less hp.
So if your in a 17 ft boat sporting a 300 hp blown motor popping boat wheelies ,taping it for youtube,and dropping a couple of beers,with no kill sw hooked up,no throwable or fire ext,horn,etc your being picked on.
The law is there for a reason.
Just my noisy 2 cents

[Bass Jr. Executive]

Well anyone who drinks in public is creating an offence,driving under the influence another,boat inspections can be done and are all the time without boarding.
Same with breathalizer tests any refusal same as a car issue a ticket take it to the dock then tow.Boarding is maritime law dating back to americans being pressed into english service,thus the second war with them,both of which we won.
If you really want checked take your 12 ft john boat next to a bridge piling and anchor then toss out a line or jug,nowdays they suspect you of being a terrorist.
Only something like a felony in progress would enable an officer to board,then he best be able to prove it.
As for a littering ticket for a cigarette pays to be nice answer all questions nicely,and hope he hasnt had a bad day.Worse would be a TVA cop.
And while fishing a T have had them check me,showed them what they wanted held my tongue and went on to have a nice day.They often do not check T boats as most T orgs do that prior to blastoff or you dont fish,and carry a couple beers in the boat its a dq,even if not opened.
You as a recreational boater arnt required to hook that kill switch up,or for that matter had anyone check the hp ratings or recommended ratings,T are recommended generally meaning less hp.
So if your in a 17 ft boat sporting a 300 hp blown motor popping boat wheelies ,taping it for youtube,and dropping a couple of beers,with no kill sw hooked up,no throwable or fire ext,horn,etc your being picked on.
The law is there for a reason.
Just my noisy 2 cents

My point to Art is that his buddy may or may not have been right. Depends on under what pretense the officer boarded. State wildlife officials in KY may board any vessel upon its waters for "inspections". Regardless of whether the boat has a "federal registration" identification number. By virtue of the fourth amendment's protection against illegal searches and seizures, the officer may not board for other reasons unless there is probable cause to believe there is a crime occuring on the vessel.

If the state officer wanted to board Art's buddy's boat for a boating inspection, he could legally do so. He could also board if he saw Art attempting to hide a bong as the officer approached, probable cause then exists that a crime is underway.

On the other hand, my understanding is that the Coast Guard may board any vessel on waterways within its jurisdiction for any reason with or without probable cause.

[Tom523]

I agree with that! Seems like the cops just turn a blind eye to the rich pukes that rent the fancy floating houses. And then concentrate on the guys in the small boats. For crap sake, what has more room to carry more booze, a 80 foot 2 deck houseboat or a 14 foot jon boat? And which one cause the most damage with a drunk driving it?

Apologize for the rant, but just lit me up. I've seen the houseboat people throw wild crazy parites with lud jams going to the wee hours of the morning. Yet let "bubba" and his 14 foot Tracker crank up the jams at 3 am, and the bubble lights show up.

Law enforcement out be applied equally. And I am sure there are many fine officers who do so.

I was stopped and checked 10 years ago on the CR. Their breathylyzer didn't work, I passed all field sobriety checks and still spent thenight in jail in Columbia. They took me to jail in Burkesville and blew under the legal limit and still took me to jail in Columbia.There were many comments on the ticket about how courteous and cooperative I was too. The F&W guys just needed some time off the water to run errands.

[Drew07]

I say that if your anchored and stay anchored, drink all you want, have fun! Just dont dare to operate the vessel afterwards. I also say it should be fine to have a dd on the water as long as no one is acting a fool and drawing attention.

[DJD]

I was stopped and checked 10 years ago on the CR. Their breathylyzer didn't work, I passed all field sobriety checks and still spent thenight in jail in Columbia. They took me to jail in Burkesville and blew under the legal limit and still took me to jail in Columbia.There were many comments on the ticket about how courteous and cooperative I was too. The F&W guys just needed some time off the water to run errands.

LOL man with a mugshot like that you had to be hammered!! You resemble someone infamous

Seriously, the law enforcement people have good, bad and ugly in their ranks just like every other profession. I was stopped in Cape Canaveral Port and found out we were being filmed for an info spot (training vid? News spot?) I can't remember....but he was putting on a show. Speaking to us as kids and here we were both older than he was. No biggie since we were not drunk and passed his test on questions and balance but it was funny how his demeanor changed once the cameras were on.

He shook our hand and said be careful and was never out of line. I guess my point is we could have been the film spot for how someone gets sent to jail for breaking the law instead of a spot on getting a warning.

If I'm breaking the law and get a ticket or whatever then I blame myself for putting myself in that position. If I get a break I consider myself lucky. If I get taken advantage of then I get pissed. I would be upset if I was in that situation you were in for sure.

[Marine Assist]

Sorry folks, but the KDFWR is THE law enforcement body on the KY waterways. In the case of Lake Cumberland, the KDFWR has the jusrisdiction to carry out Federal law enforcement. This is handed to them by the Coast Guard every year and the KDFWR does recieve ~1.4 mil in Federal grant money to act in the Coast Guard's absence here on the lake for law enforcement, education and safety.

The KDFWR officers have every right, the same as the Coast Guard does, to board A N Y vessel on the water at A N Y time for the purpose of inspection. They can write State and Federal citations, depending on the severity of the issues found. It makes no difference whatsoever if the boat is registered in a state or if it is Federally documented. The only real reason to even document a boat is because the ownership record and any ship's mortgage is considered more secure than a state title or UCC filing. The documented vessel is still subject to KY property tax every year, but does not have to bear a KY state registration number or decal according to KY law.

The Coast Guard visits Lake Cumberland at least one week per year, sometimes more, per their guidelines for their AOR of a Federal waterway. The group from Sector Ohio Valley, Louisville Sector was here 2 weeks ago for one of their yearly visits. They will be here again in July sometime to do inspections on all of my towboats. I have not heard the date yet.

FYI, if you are a licensed Captain, you are "over the limit" at .04 BAC. The average Joe boat operator is over at .08 BAC.

[olgreenboat]

There going to use every one as Guiana pigs this week end for the new way of testing people thats all nothing more. They want to get in some practice time before the 4th of july week end.

With the 2011 Operation Dry Water comes a battery of tests that, after a three-year study, the Southern California Research Institute has validated for marine use. The new battery of testing standards will for the first time, allow marine patrol officers to tests boaters in a seated position and apply a percentage of probability that the subject is impaired at .08 blood alcohol concentration (BAC) or higher.

Now i can say that all the KDFW people I have ever run into have all been nice people and they have a job to do but if you think that because your not doing anything there not going to ride up on you and make you do these test I think you have another thing coming.. Remember this is testing (Practice) time and you are the Guiana pigs this week end. Just to ride up on me and make me do some test for no reason is BULL CHZIT and harasment in my eye's.

[first2fish]

Drunk or not--most major lakes are in dry counties. They can lock u up for just having it or at least issue a ticket. And the lakes in wet counties you are allowed to have it aboard but i would say if they see alcohol in the boat you will be tested.

[Duayne]

There is no law against having it. It's against the law only to SELL it in dry counties.

[Lowerider]

Thanks for clearing that up Marine Assist. Funny how false information is routinely spread across the net...

[Tim_T]

Drunk or not--most major lakes are in dry counties. They can lock u up for just having it or at least issue a ticket. And the lakes in wet counties you are allowed to have it aboard but i would say if they see alcohol in the boat you will be tested.

It is perfectly legal to posses alcohol in a dry county, it is just illegal to sell it there. Heck Taylorsville went wet because they saw how much money they were losing to Bullitt and Jefferson counties.

[Marine Assist]

OK, as for the "dry county" thing...

Dry counties are not allowed to sell alcoholic beverages.

It IS legal to have alcoholic beverages for your personal consumption in a dry county.

It is NOT legal to consume alcohol in public view anywhere in KY, dry or wet. You cannot stand on a street corner drinking a can of beer anywhere in KY..... same with yout boat. Those places are considered "in public view". There is just simply no drinking in public allowed in the state, period... wet or dry county.

Staduims, private clubs, golf courses, wineries, are all considered "out of public view".

If you are inside your houseboat or cruiser cabin, out of public view, it is the same as if you were in your house. You can drink alcohol, but because it is a boat you can still not be over .08 BAC if you are the operator because it is considered a "vehicle" and has to potential to move again at any point.

The other thing is you should have a designated boat driver, capable of driving the boat safely who is not drinking. If all aboard are considered
"publicly drunk", the officer who is checking may decide no one is capable of safely driving the boat back to dock and he has the right to have it towed and impounded.