On Tue, 03 Feb 2004 00:38:48 GMT, jchaplain wrote:

regulations, etc. Also be aware that the DEP HQ is right on the River
in Old Lyme and they just LOVE to write tickets, so make sure you have
all the life jackets, registration and that your safety equipment is
up to snuff. They hit me up last year for an expired fire
extinguisher which was original equipment on the boat and located IN
the Center Console. It didn't matter that I had two other good
bottles and a supression system for the outboards - one bad bottle and
I got fined. ~~ mutter ~~

Is this standard for the DEP to be able to issue fines for safety
reasons? I never heard of that. I thought their job was to protect the
environment and it was up to the coast guard to enforce boating safety
regulations. Does the DEP have a right to board you without cause? and
in doing so they have a right to examine your boat?

Yes.


Later,

Tom
S. Woodstock, CT
----------
"...the tyrannical fascination which angling
holds for all those who have been once initiated
into its mysteries." Rafael Sabatini (1925)