New to larger displacement boats..

[Stumble]

Originally Posted by ashedd

I've got some good ones for you..

What if I hoist a sheet up on a pvc mast.. am I then a sailboat? if the motor is off then yesIs a motorsailor a sailboat or motor boat? If the motor is on it's a motorboat, if the motor is off it's a sailboat. She must also fly the proper dayshape and lights for whichever catagories she is at the momentWhat if my engine is permanently disabled, am I then a sailboat?do you have a sail up? Thenyou are a sailboat And how about no sail, no motor, but I pick up my oar... am I row boat at that point? discussed above, but the USCG around here will treat you like a sailboat What's a paddle boat? Is it a row boat or powered boat? again, read up thread, but the USCG here will treat you like a sailboat

This is my favorite what if...
What if I motor my way to the middle of the lake, shutdown, have too many drinks and become too drunk to legally operate a boat(keeping in mind that drinking on a boat is legal here). Am I now a vessel "not under command"? If you were anchored then you are not under command, Andy can be as drunk a step you want. If you were not anchored then you were always underway and are guilty of boating while intoxicated.

Sounds to me that all this is subject to interpretation, like most laws. It isn't, the rules are very clearIt's probably likely that no marine law enforcement entity would even care enough to enforce any of these rules and laws unless push came to shove. They actually do, particularly the rules about boating under the influence. I'm fairly certain that the cop in the boat on the water doesn't know these laws/rules, he's only concerned about drunks and naked girls.

How would you ever take someone to court for a wake related mishap? The same way you would sue a hit and run driver. You hire me sue them, I hire a private eye to try and identify the vessel. Unless the boat is a transient that is on their way somewhere else I be there I have a 99% chance to find them for a vessel over 20'You'd need to chase after them to get their info, then find the police to report it to. But then you would need proof that would hold up in court, and anything other than a police officer observing the offense would likely not get very far. This is just flatly untrue. There is a lot of evidence I could bring to beer on a case like this. It would be like turning someone in for speeding by giving their plate number to the traffic court. more like turning them in for a hit and runIf the police didn't witness it then it didn't happen as far the court would be concerned.

I guess we're back to just a wave and the middle finger to out fellow boaters. Could you imagine if the roadways operated in a similar fashion lol

You are just wrong, give me the name and hailing port of a vessel and a rough description and I can have the owners name, home address, phone number, and normally place of work in minutes. It's amazing what computers can do these days.