"RH" wrote in message
k.net...
Yeah I am going to give it a shot and see what happens. I figure they will
just give me a ticket,i dont think they can take the boat away.




Although the chances of "getting caught" are low IMO, I wouldn't assume
boating law enforcement is similar to automobile operation law enforcement
where a ticket and fine are usually all that happens. Marine and Admiralty
Law are strange animals compared to typical auto rules.

I recall reading a story in one of the boating mags a couple of years ago.
Some guy had a boat in Florida (I think) who ran it across a protected reef,
causing environmental damage to it. I've forgotten the details, but he
initially did not get caught and ended up selling the boat. A couple of
years later the new owner, completely oblivious to the reef incident got a
letter requiring him to pay a huge fine for the damage done to the reef.
The owner obviously claimed it wasn't him as he did not own the boat at the
time of the incident, however he was still found to be financially
responsible because, according to Admiralty Law, the claim for damages goes
to and is assigned to the boat, with the current owner being the financially
responsible party. This poor guy fought in court but finally settled for a
fine of 20 grand which was a fraction of the imposed fine.

RCE