Fines on the Water?

[oldrenken79]

Re: Fines on the Water?

Wow.. All you guys getting boarded and pulled over and I can't even get their attention!

I had been away from the water for a few years and was getting back into the swing of things. Fire extinguisher, check. Jackets, check. Throwable, yup. Hmmm, what am I forgetting?

So, here I go, right up to a Fish and Boat commission cop watching some jetskiers and reading a magazine, and ask him to check my boat out to see if I need anything else.

The cop looks me right in the eye and told me to go bother somebody else, that he was busy.

 

[asm_]

Re: Fines on the Water?

Hmmm....

I shouldn't have to tell you this, but how would you react if you walk into a retail store and get the same respond when ask for assistance? You look for the manager and file a complaint.

Same goes with any LEO. I know most LEO may not agree with my notion of we are the customer and they are the employee, but nevertheless, while they are on clock, we are the one paying their paycheck.

I would discretely note his name and file a complaint with his boss and CC the country supervisor.

 

[DarrinT]

Re: Fines on the Water?

In Ontario you are allowed to drink adult beverages on your boat only if you meet these four requirements: Permanent washroom facilities, permanent cooking facilities, permanent sleeping berths and be at anchor or docked.

If you are at anchor the person in control of the boat must be sober = not more than .05 per cent blood alcohol(recently lowered from .08). If you are under weigh the alcohol must be stowed out of reach of the capt and the passengers cannot drink.

The Ontario Provincial Police is the second largest police force on the planet, only CHPs is bigger, and they field hundreds of police boats province wide.

Last time I was at Honey Harbour , which is a tiny town , I saw four different Police boats. They have to field that many as Ontario has more lakes than the rest of the world combined - 263,000 in Ontario, 240,000 in the rest of the world. We live in a tightly controlled responsible boaters paradise. Only place better than the 30,000 islands of Georgian Bay is the Bahamas.

 

[hubbard53]

Re: Fines on the Water?

If you are under weigh the alcohol must be stowed out of reach of the capt [/QUOTE
dunno why but that strikes me as funny - as if it would be a problem IF it were within reach. As if the cpt. simply couldnt control himself and would lunge toward the devil brew for a quick swig...

 

[Tig]

Re: Fines on the Water?

If you are under weigh the alcohol must be stowed out of reach of the capt

When it come to boats the rules are not quite so restrictive.
From section 32 of the Liquor Licence Act, Conveying liquor in boat

(3)**No person shall operate or have the care or control of a boat that is underway while there is contained in the boat any liquor, except under the authority of a licence or permit. R.S.O. 1990, c.*L.19, s.*32*(3).
Exception
(4)**Subsection (3) does not apply if the liquor in the boat,
(a) is in a container that is unopened and the seal unbroken; or
(b) is stored in a closed compartment. R.S.O. 1990, c.*L.19, s.*32*(4).


So it would seem that I can have a sealed can of beer kicking around at my feet. Or an open one stored in a "closed compartment"
I would expect to be asked for a breath sample in either case but I would not expect to be liable for a fine based on my possession of alcohol.
Last summer a cooler within reach of the helm was accepted as a closed compartment. I was not aware of the unsealed container (full resealed bottle of wine) at the time. The new "policy" is to keep this sort of cargo (and any empties) in the anchor locker in the future since it fits my interpretation of a suitable closed compartment.
In case any of you are rolling your eyes, understand that I live on the water and travel to social occasions via boat. Our blood alcohol limit is .05 when a motorized vehicle is under your care and control.

 

[DarrinT]

Re: Fines on the Water?

Rockin - a closed compartment is acceptable as a cooler

Didn't know that one

Is moot because I only carry Becks Deacoholized Beer - actually offered some of them the the OPP once which raised a eyebrow and needed further explanation - TEE HEE

 

[Tig]

Re: Fines on the Water?

Rockin - a closed compartment is acceptable as a cooler

Personally, I saw that as a judgment call by the Officer. I think I was in the wrong and I would not put myself in that situation again.

 

[Rumley]

Re: Fines on the Water?

I am also in Ontario and emailed a police officer to give me the exact requirements so i will post it below.

and will answer your questionsrelative to alcohol and boating. Alcohol can only be consumed aboard a pleasure craft that has; permanent sleeping accommodations and permanentcooking and sanitary facilities, and only while the boat is at anchor or is secured to the dock or land. The province of Ontario's LiquorLicence Act forbids the operation of a boat with liquor on board unless it is unopened and sealed, or stored in a closed compartment. Now to answer your question of attaching a bbq and having a porta potty.Firstly the cooking has to be a permanent fixture on the vessel and not a bbq. Secondly Portable toilets are illegal on Ontario waters. The owner of a pleasure craft in which a toilet or toilets and storage equipment are installed shall ensure that each toilet and the storage equipment are installed so that,
a) the toilet and equipment are conneted in such a manner that the equipment receives all toilet waste from the toilet
b) equipment designed for the storage of human excrement is provided with a deck fitting and such connecting piping as is necessary for the removal of toilet waste by shore-based equipment.
c) no means of removal of toilet waste is provided other than the means mentioned in clause (b)
d) all parts of the system for removal of toilet waste are congruent with one another and the boat. Hope this helps and if there is anything else please feel free to contact me.

So this is straight from an officer, hope this helps clarifying anything to do with alcohol in a boat in Ontario

 

[acabtp]

Re: Fines on the Water?

I always figured the throwable cushion is not for me, it's for me to throw to someone else. eg: Someone I come across who is freaking out and may drag me in or upset my boat or perhaps they are just too big or tired to climb in my boat.

+1