IANAL, but my limited understanding of the law is that if you are
boarded illegally and a ticket results, any lawyer can defeat it in
court by simply proving the search was illegal and that the officer
lacked probable cause to board you in the first place. If there's a
lawyer around, perhaps he can confirm that.

If itt costs you time in court and a lawyer's fee instead of a fine,
is that an improvement?

I hate to tell you this but Maritime Law/Admiralty Law/Law of the sea etc is
TOTALLY different than land based laws in the US. Most striking is that here
in the US you are innocent until proven guilty, In maritime law, in most
instances, you are considered guilty unless proven innocent!
Another difference that many have seen is the illegality of gambling casinos
on land, but legal on the water (not just offshore, but on navigable rivers
and lakes).
Ever wonder why the coast guard can do things that state law enforcement
can't? Two reasons, A) they are federal and B) they operate under Maritime
law instead of land law.

For all sorts of interesting (but very boring) information, check
http://www.admiraltylawguide.com/