Does the US Coast Guard have the authority to stop, search or do a "routine"
safety check on a vessel of US registry or US state registration fully
within US waters and obviously not suited for long offshore travel without
cause?

I am not asking because of anything that has happened. I have never been
stopped or checked by the US Coast Guard in freshwater or sal****er. I am
just curious about their legal authority.

The vehicle in question would currently be being operated in a safe and
legal manner following navigation guides, traveling at legal speeds, and
being operated in a courteous manner to other craft. All registration
numbers being current and properly displayed and lights being in full
correct operation or not required if during daylight hours.

The reason I ask is because I have a small craft I was thinking of using to
do some bay fishing. I bought it as a shell and rigged it out as a bass
boat. I wired it, installed the outboard, and otherwise rigged the boat
myself. I am confident that the basic stuff is all done correctly, but I
would hate to get hassled and cited because I used an automotive fuel line
(which I didn't) or something like that.

I am very careful to try and meet the appropriate safety regulations, and I
have only ever had a safety check done on one of my boats once in the past.
An Imperial County Sheriff's Deputy stopped me for violating a speed reg on
the Colorado River. I argued the reg was not properly posted and
un-enforcable. He decided to do a complete safety check and not cite me
for the speed violation. Obviously he felt I had a case, but he wasn't
going to let me go without citing me for something.

I have had my fishing license checked many times while fishing, but I have
never had game officials do this. I have heard the Coast Guard can be anal
rententive about things. I hope to avoid that type of experience. I do
have all required safety gear, and my craft is rigged correctly to the best
of my knowledge. I have read several more recent publications on safe boat
operation, and I took a small craft certification course with the Coast
Guard Auxilary about 25 years ago.

Anyway, I take all appropriate steps with my craft to avoid violations, but
I am curious about the legal authority and circumstances I may run into.


--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com

Yes, they can board you at any time.

And for any reason, probable cause NOT required.

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 08:40:17 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
said:

Does the US Coast Guard have the authority to stop, search or do a
"routine"
safety check on a vessel of US registry or US state registration fully
within US waters and obviously not suited for long offshore travel
without
cause?

http://www.jcrobbins.com/documents/boarding.htm


Interesting read. Also, interesting that one paragraph seems to indicate
that their are limits while others say their aren't. Also, interesting that
all limits are ambiguous.

Of course the biggest arguement about the value of their warrantless
searches and lack of need for cause it is also valid for private homes on
dry land. Not legal, but valid.

Amazing that with the various changes in our country in many ways we are
becoming worse and more oppressive in than the country we fought so hard to
make ourselves independent of over 200 years ago.

--
Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com

They kind of edited my comments in that article. The Coasties were young
and nervous but they were courteous and professional. When they found that
one of the crew was from the same home town as one of the boarding party
they got down right friendly. That didn't stop them from making a detailed
inspection of our log and charts, checking the whole boat from chain locker
to lazerette and using a chemical wipe on all the surfaces. The cutter
tagged along for another half hour while they ran tests on the wipe.

Evidently the USCG has an enforcement agreement with Haiti and at the time
the South coast of Hispanola was a major drug route. Had the French owner
been on board he might have objected when we were hailed but I was not going
to get on the VHF and claim French sovernety with my South Georgia accent in
the face of that big cannon on the cutter's foredeck.

--
Glenn Ashmore

I'm building a 45' cutter in strip/composite. Watch my progress (or lack
there of) at: http://www.rutuonline.com
Shameless Commercial Division: http://www.spade-anchor-us.com

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
news:1119634116.4bda1948b3517220db2fffefd0dfa380@t eranews...
"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 08:40:17 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
said:

Does the US Coast Guard have the authority to stop, search or do a
"routine"
safety check on a vessel of US registry or US state registration fully
within US waters and obviously not suited for long offshore travel
without
cause?

http://www.jcrobbins.com/documents/boarding.htm


Interesting read. Also, interesting that one paragraph seems to indicate
that their are limits while others say their aren't. Also, interesting
that
all limits are ambiguous.

Of course the biggest arguement about the value of their warrantless
searches and lack of need for cause it is also valid for private homes on
dry land. Not legal, but valid.

Amazing that with the various changes in our country in many ways we are
becoming worse and more oppressive in than the country we fought so hard
to
make ourselves independent of over 200 years ago.

--
Bob La Londe
www.YumaBassMan.com

Ahoy The
Interesting read, true. All I can say is that twice in coastal waters,
and once in international waters have been stopped by US gov't
ships.(Wouldn't identify themselves at 3am offshore, but warship
silhouette hard to disguiseG)

Rule #1)They out-gun you=be polite
Rule #2)Be excrutiatingly polite, they're nervous about being
blown-away by someone popping out of forward hatch. Always keep BOTH
your hands in plain view.
Result=no problems, in fact the officer nonchalantly over-looked clear
violation of holding tank sin.

Allan

Ahoy The
Interesting read, true. All I can say is that twice in coastal waters,
and once in international waters have been stopped by US gov't
ships.(Wouldn't identify themselves at 3am offshore, but warship
silhouette hard to disguiseG)

Rule #1)They out-gun you=be polite
Rule #2)Be excrutiatingly polite, they're nervous about being
blown-away by someone popping out of forward hatch. Always keep BOTH
your hands in plain view.
Result=no problems, in fact the officer nonchalantly over-looked clear
violation of holding tank sin.

Allan

The last time the Canadian Coast Guard came on board my sailboat they were
polite.
We were in peas soup fog and a few miles offshore from the US boarder. I
asked them for ID and radioed my position with the name of their vessel and
time to their HQ. They were wearing heavy duty leather boots and I kindly
asked them to wipe their feet before coming on board. They had no problem
with my request.
Last year the RCMP ask for permission to come aboard my boat while in
motion. I went to the same routine and contacted their detachment. They
inspected my safety equipment. The heaving attached to my life buoy was
found not secured to the boat. They checked the rest of the boat and gave
me a safety sticker. Other boaters I know got fined for not having the
proper safety gears or sailing while under the influence of alcohol or
recreational substances. In this area when using a cell phone we can press
*16 and contact the Coast Guard.

"LEnfantduVent" wrote in message
oups.com...
Ahoy The
Interesting read, true. All I can say is that twice in coastal waters,
and once in international waters have been stopped by US gov't
ships.(Wouldn't identify themselves at 3am offshore, but warship
silhouette hard to disguiseG)

Rule #1)They out-gun you=be polite
Rule #2)Be excrutiatingly polite, they're nervous about being
blown-away by someone popping out of forward hatch. Always keep BOTH
your hands in plain view.
Result=no problems, in fact the officer nonchalantly over-looked clear
violation of holding tank sin.

Allan

"Dave" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 24 Jun 2005 10:24:34 -0700, "Bob La Londe"
said:

Of course the biggest arguement about the value of their warrantless
searches and lack of need for cause it is also valid for private homes on
dry land.

Most homes are considerably less mobile than a vessel. That's why, for
example, the rules are different for searches of a car as against searches
of a home.

In theory a warrant or sufficient PC is required to search a car or other
motor vehicle in the US. A basic moving violation is not considered PC for
a search. Practice and legality don't always go hand in hand.

--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com

1. Authority? Yes, they call it a "Safety Inspection". Actually those High
School grads have Federal powers of arrest, same as a FBI Agent.
2. Technical knowledge to determine the manufacturers intended use for your
fuel line? Not! The ones I've had contact wouldn't notice if your outboard
was mounted upside down and on the wrong end of the boat.
3. Anal retentive? A friend was boarded while cruising the Carib and had to
wait topside while his boat was trashed, when he went to survey the damage
and restow just about everything he found the Coasties had emptied all but
one round from his revolver and hid the rounds. Didn't make much sense to
him either.
During the "Inspection" the Coasties found unpainted fiberglass on the
inside of the hull in the bilge and wanted to drill a hole to see if he was
stashing something. My friend asked that if they wanted to drill holes in
his boat, please do it above the waterline (should be under 2. I suppose).

"Bob La Londe" wrote in message
...
Does the US Coast Guard have the authority to stop, search or do a
"routine" safety check on a vessel of US registry or US state registration
fully within US waters and obviously not suited for long offshore travel
without cause?

I am not asking because of anything that has happened. I have never been
stopped or checked by the US Coast Guard in freshwater or sal****er. I am
just curious about their legal authority.

The vehicle in question would currently be being operated in a safe and
legal manner following navigation guides, traveling at legal speeds, and
being operated in a courteous manner to other craft. All registration
numbers being current and properly displayed and lights being in full
correct operation or not required if during daylight hours.

The reason I ask is because I have a small craft I was thinking of using
to do some bay fishing. I bought it as a shell and rigged it out as a
bass boat. I wired it, installed the outboard, and otherwise rigged the
boat myself. I am confident that the basic stuff is all done correctly,
but I would hate to get hassled and cited because I used an automotive
fuel line (which I didn't) or something like that.

I am very careful to try and meet the appropriate safety regulations, and
I have only ever had a safety check done on one of my boats once in the
past. An Imperial County Sheriff's Deputy stopped me for violating a speed
reg on the Colorado River. I argued the reg was not properly posted and
un-enforcable. He decided to do a complete safety check and not cite me
for the speed violation. Obviously he felt I had a case, but he wasn't
going to let me go without citing me for something.

I have had my fishing license checked many times while fishing, but I have
never had game officials do this. I have heard the Coast Guard can be
anal rententive about things. I hope to avoid that type of experience. I
do have all required safety gear, and my craft is rigged correctly to the
best of my knowledge. I have read several more recent publications on
safe boat operation, and I took a small craft certification course with
the Coast Guard Auxilary about 25 years ago.

Anyway, I take all appropriate steps with my craft to avoid violations,
but I am curious about the legal authority and circumstances I may run
into.


--
Bob La Londe
http://www.YumaBassMan.com