That sucks man. The CG are cool here and the Sheriffs are as nice or nicer. Most know you by boat or name. That is the one thing keeping me from spending $$$ on that side of the state. You have a very nice side but it is not worth the bs.

Seriously, I would call each and every law enforcement agency that patrols your area and ask them.

In the San Jacinto river the police are normally cool, however the river is a navigable waterway that can be reached from the Gulf.

The USCG can and will board any vessel at any time if they so choose.

I watched and photographed them as they ordered a boat to back off a beach so they could board it.

I would not rely on this forum for your specific location as you may be affected by local ordinances.

we will stay at blarneys island if we get too drunk,,same for petite lake..ancor down and ancor light on so they can see you of coarse..

Had a guy get busted on his live aboard while in his slip, under his covered moorage for BUI since he COULD untie and get underway.

I couple summers ago I was boating in south haven a bit. Watching the sheriffs from the public marina, all they did was cruise up and down the river, stopping people all day long. I was stopped twice i think in 2 weekends. It becomes annoying, and was a big turnoff for me. I can see if your driving like a jerk, or doing something wrong, but the random ''I wanna ruin your day'' checks are BS.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife/Game Wardens here are who you need to watch out for. It's kind of a built in "pissed off" mode for them from what I have gathered. They go to college for wildlife managment, and get stuck on a boat for the summer, watching drunk teenagers. Dreams of catching poachers and looking out across Big Bend=killed.
I've had Sherriff departments, Police departments, and constables (yes, the have constables on the lakes in TX), tie up to me to do safety checks. Very respectful, gregarious, and get on their way because I didn't have the droids they were looking for <force hand wipe>. The game wardens I have had board my boat have made me feel like I was absolutely incapable of driving a boat, nor operating a fire extinguisher, or throwing a float. BEFORE I had a few beers. Plus, no one at party cove is fishing for Bass out of season, so they are already pissed off. <rant over>

A Texas Game Warden popped a buddy of mine in his 31 American Offshore with a pair of 900's cuffed him and put him in the patrol boat, then uncuffed him and had him drive his boat to the coast guard station. Need to say he won the case .....

local laws can definitely be more stringent and it will vary state to state. Even lake to lake here. the lake my house is on has a "zero tolerance" for alcohol period, simply because all counties touching the shores are "dry" counties. Meaning they do not allow the sell of alcohol in the county. Certain cities can but not the counties. However the lake just south of here follows laws more like the ones explained in the posts earlier. When you get to the coast it's a totally different ball of wax.

I would just encourage you to know the law before you go. Playing dumb will not help.

i don't care how drunk you are on a boat or not, they can always pull the "public intox" if they really want to get you.

also remember if you are piss ass drunk on someones boat who is sober you become a liability as well.

and yes this comes from someone who has been burned before and has been quite the liability.

They will ALWAYS find a reason to take you in if they want.

ie Bloodshot eyes and Slurred speachi( is all the report has to say) = Public Intox = Can not win period!

Just depends if his Wife pizzed him off that morning

28 Responses and not one "holier than thou, I don't drink anything while boating - anchored or underway" reply - I am shocked.