Drinkin On Board

so as Im sitting here slurping down a pint Im thinking of that blessed day I first walk onto my retirement build beer in hand only to have some fool coast guard kid slide up along side and hand me a drunk driving ticket for something alcohol related

so my question is
what are the rules

round these parts if your within a hundred feet of your car with a beer in hand thats drunk driving according to the Orificer

so whats the deal with boats
cause I plan on hoisting a few on board
maybe

 

as far as i know....
there is no regulation at all... international sea right do not prohibit alcohol if we are talking recreational boating now - it is different for the profesional or commercial skippers...
and there might be some national regulations but internationaly not a thing is reglemented...

of course your insurance company will refuse any payment if you are found running your boat on a rock - or even worse: over some guy - while being under the influence of alcohol...

here in my country you need to plug in the key to the ingnition of your car for getting busted... you don't have to start it - just prepare to start it...
if you just sit in the car with the key in your pants - even if completely whacked - no offence done...

 

not here
you can get busted answering your front door if a cop knocks on it and your plastered and your within a hundred feet of your car
keys or not

lets say your having a party
and folks are drinking
anyone within that 100 foot limit is guilty of drunk driving
they dont often use this law but they can and they do if you piss them off or if the guy is just a jerk

 

Obviously, no one has ever spent any time or money fighting that law, or it wouldn't stand. Otherwise, anyone in the state who has a drink in his own home is drinking and driving, because his car's in the garage or the driveway.

In Oklahoma one time, one of my brothers left a bar and decided he was in no shape to drive. So he pulled into a Kmart parking lot, and went to sleep. He wound up getting arrested for drunk driving, maybe because his key was in the ignition. Or knowing Oklahoma policemen, maybe just because the officer felt like it.

Lesson learned. From then on he kept driving, no matter how drunk he was or what a menace he was to other people. When I was working there it seemed to me that a lot of the day-to-day law enforcement in Oklahoma was like that: counterproductive, and liable to make people's behavior worse instead of better. For example, if you gave the keys to your girlfriend because you'd been drinking and she got stopped, you could still be arrested for being drunk in public. So what the hell: you might as well drive yourself...

 

besides
how else are you going to get the car home ?

 

sooo whats the drinking and boating law

my friends have a few boats and whenever we go out they always tell us to hide the beer whenever the parks guy comes buy

 

In Alaska, the standard is reasonable access and proclivity, or some such wording. What it boils down to is if you are out and have the keys to your car in your pocket. Let's say you are attending la Fête and have a bit of a scuffle. If your car keys are in your pocket and you, say, take a swing at a cop or a minister, expect to have "DUI" tacked onto your charges.
We've got some bright ones here, Bos. Just the other day, some folks took their snow machines up the steepest hill climb imagineable (they call it "highmarking" to see how high up a snowy cliff they can get) and found their way onto a snowy lip. turns out that they were on a cornice in the middle of nowhere, with sure death awaiting them if they attempted to turn around. They called a helicopter service, which retreived them and their machines, and DUIs were waiting for them at the bottom. I guess that the answer is yes, they will bust your butt for drinking and driving a motorized vehicle. Oh...'nother story - Willie Flyum got a DUI here and before it was law that you spend jail time, the cops just took him home and had his wife pick up the car. He got so mad that he got on his tractor and started to work - and got a second DUI for that! In Alaska, at least, any motorized vehicle.

 

ya thats what it is here

I can just see minding my own biz in the wheel house some morning sucking down a Bloody Mary and eating some breakfast only to have some cop come marching up with his ticket book out

sooooo
given that the Ketchikan to seatle area is were I want to start out in what your saying is up in Ketch I cant enjoy a cold on while aboard ?

 

In Ketchikan I don't know. I do know the law in California: there's no 'open container' law, and no specific law against drinking while operating a boat (that will probably change someday). There is a law against operating a boat under the influence, though. And you can be 'requested' to take a blood or breath test, with enhanced penalties if you refuse and get convicted anyway. So it probably isn't a good idea to wave a bottle around in view of any sort of law enforcement folks, if you've had a few.

A blood alcohol content of .08% nails you automatically. A blood alcohol content of .05% can nail you if combined with other factors, such as negligent or reckless boat handling, slurred speech, poor coordination, etc.

If you're convicted of operating a boat under the influence in California, you can have your driver's license suspended. But I don't think it's mandatory that they yank it.

 

i took my pleasure boat operators license here in canada just after i walked out of an all afternoon beer lunch....i was pretty drunk...
I passed with flying colours...i only got 1 question wrong...
So i would assume now that i can operate a boat while drunk...
Cheers
Tug

 

Canada:
Driving a Boat Under the Influence of Alcohol
Boating while impaired is an offence under the Criminal Code of Canada.
Operators with more than 80 milligrams of alcohol per 100 milliliters of blood are liable to the following fines :

1st offence: at least $600 fine
2nd offence: at least 14 days of imprisonment
3rd offence: at least 90 days of imprisonment
The maximum sentence may vary depending on provincial statutes.

Consumption of Alcohol on Boats
Alcohol may be consumed on board the pleasure craft if it meets all of the following conditions:

The vessel has permanent sleeping facilities
The vessel has permanent cooking facilities
The vessel has a permanent toilet
The vessel is anchored or secured alongside a dock

So there you go ... no drinking underway.

R

 

Never, ever drive a boat while drinking.......










You might spill it!

Itchy

 

Except outside territorial borders, then pissed as a newt?

As far as I know, in Australia, if the keys are not in it, and the sails are not up and trimmed, and the anchor is down (not necessarily fast? as "broken adrift" would lead to 'not proven beyond reasonable doubt'), - then you are not in control of a vehicle and therefore not DUI ... (ask the policeman to help and reset the anchor as it should be "parked" and one, "may not be fit") - I am not a lawyer but, 'may be a plausible relief'...

"Within 100 ft of a vehicle with the keys in your pocket" - is like being charged with attempted **** if you had a condom in your pocket? or attempted murder for legally carrying a handgun - - - I would be inclined to leave that country quicker than Manie et al are exiting saffa land... NUCKIN FUTS????

 

Ummm, not the 'country.' The State of Colorado, if Boston has explained the law properly.

I know that isn't California law--no way, no how. As a matter of fact, I've lived and worked in quite a few states, including Colorado, and never even heard of anyone getting arrested simply for being in the vicinity of a vehicle (not in it) with keys in his pocket. It seems to me they would need some sort of indication you had just been driving it, at least.

 

Colorado's territorial waters are rather limited.