BWI in a non-motorized boat....
Interestingly, this very topic was raised in the NH Boater safety course I recently completed.
The marine patrol instructor for the course indeed said that operating a kayak, canoe, rowboat, sailboat etc under the influence is cause for arrest. The keyword was "operating".
He then relayed a story of a call he got one summer morning on Winnie (like 2:00AM) to investigate some rowdy boaters who were partying and being obnoxiously loud. When he arrived, he found three people on an inflatable raft (the huge one with the palm tree!) with a cooler full and tons of empties. The occupants readily admitted to being hammered but since they were adrift and not "operating" a craft, the officer simply told them to go home. The had the necessary life vests *and* a white 360 degree viewable light required for being out at night. Made up story??? Who knows.
I can confirm that there was a question on my safety exam that asked
what could a person legally "operate" while intoxicated... the correct answer was an inflatable PFD.
Gusman
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