Hes wrong about what you have to have for a thowable. What you had was fine. Hes right about the flares. Those are basic USCG rules that almost every state follows.


Florida law says he right about you having to have the registration on board.

http://myfwc.com/RULESANDREGS/Rules_Boat.htm

You were carrying your 5 by 8 U.S Coast Guard license on you but not your boat registration, Was it in the frame too ?

i know you have to have the reg on the boat, but i was 100 feet from my trailer and 10 feet from the pier, i could have grabbed it real fast for him.

i had my MMC in my pocket with my passport, i just got a FL driver license yesterday and still had it in my pocket, they dont issue the paper license anymore, there is a book.

That is a hell of a petty fine. I think that it sucks. You could probably beat it by showing up with the papers. Be very humble if he shows up. You can win the battle with this guy but it will be hard to win the war.

A friend of mine just got clipped for a similar offense right in front of the dock. He went to court and the officer showed up. The judge ended up throwing it out but stuck him with $175 in court costs. He saved a cool $50 and will now have a target on his head. He felt better for getting to tell his side though. Worth it? No, and he knows it too. He was so pissed that he had to do it.

That's harassment, the judge won't be to happy about that.

It's all cop was on a power trip and must be a big time dik as a person.
Unfortunately and as painful as it will be, you will have to be on your best behavior at court and very humble.

good point about the fees involved when going the cc to fight a ticket, Ian got stopped on his motorcyle, he went to court and they reduced the speeding ticket to reckless driving but that cost $75.00 more than the speeding ticket, but no points went on his license. I think the township has scam going, no one wants points so the cop encourages you to go to court and then you are surprised when you pay about $75.00 but more money for the township.

Typing this I just remembered that last week I was in upstate NY for bs and got a ticket for driving while on a cell phone (unlike MI in NY you have to talk hands free) The odd things is the cop said there is no set $$ amount, I have to mail the ticket in, then they send me back a bill and the price varies. I am not sure if I can ignore it since I really don't drive in NY much, but I will have to find out if they are connected into the MI system.

Neg.

Flares are ONLY required offshore. Not that its a bad idea to carry them on board reguardless.

Court costs have gone way up. My bro got a seat belt ticket ($120? I think). Ticket clinic said it's cheaper to just pay and move on because the court costs are higher than that ticket. Remember, every municipality is hurting for money so they stick it to us every way possible. No more free rides.

sixmassive - you just gotta suck this one up and pay it because it's not worth the effort. Make a copy of the reg and keep it on the boat at all times.

What Handful says...I try to stay away from the law man..but sometimes the bear eats you.

I get a lot of looks cause my rig looks like it is really moving when going just 5 or so in no wakes cause it is so azz heavy, I get the slow the f' down wave, I hit neutral and the bow doesn't settle as they expect and they just go,,,,,?huh? Coming up on my rig from the front when I'm anchored and you'd swear it was heading for a date with davy jones.