Bassdreamer I think you have posted the most intelligent post on this topic. I can not beleave that you guys are supporting drinking and boating. If you people new of someone that go RAN OVER by a speed boat and then they found the boat two days later full of beer cans I think that you would change your minds. Now do not get me wrong I like to enjoy a beer to but there is a time and place for everything and that is not either.

It's called liability. If I were a Tournament Director (which I am not), I would not want to be held responsible for any accident anyone who was drinking would have.

Now after the Tournament and when I get home, I'll cool off with a beer or two (or 3 or 4, or maybe a sixpack, depending on my weigh-in).

Heres a good Idea.......If you are going to drink, stay home. I can't stand people who insist on driving a car or boat while there is alcohol in their system. I may be alone on this one, but I don't think you have to drink to have a good time, especially put other people in harms way just because you feel the need to drink on the water. Not a good mix. What if you fell out of the boat while being intox? Not just looking out for me and my family, but others too.
Just my opinion.

This is the way loss of freedom always starts. A few people abuse it, then another group wants to impose their solution (in the name of safety). The next thing you know, I can't responsible enjoy a few cold beers on the lake. No one is advocating drunkenness on the lake or anywhere else. The question was, "Can I drink a couple of beers without worrying..." and it appears the answer is yes.......at least for now!

mmmmm, beer

....which is just about as silly as saying if your not gonna drink, stay home .

I'm not advocating driving a boat while drunk, but as far as I'm concerned this is political correctness once again running wild.

There is a huge difference between driving a car and driving a boat. For one thing, most lakes are a mile wide or more...so you're not driving your boat a few feet from "oncoming" boats, or passing other boats as you are on the highway.

Drinking and doing anything has become a lucrative political football for lawmakers and everyone else. Proposing new, restrictive legislation regulating drinking is good PR for politicians, and it is "safe." After all, who is AGAINST laws against drinking and driving...be it an automobile, a boat, or a horse?

I think we already have plenty of laws. Injuring or killing someone with a boat is already illegal, just as killing someone with a gun is illegal. We don't need more restrictive laws to criminalize people who are consuming a legal product (beer) on the lake without harming anyone else any more than we need more laws punishing people for owning guns.

Stupid people who don't control their boats are a danger, too. Are we going to give IQ tests on the lake, too?

I wish I had a dime for every time I've been told "I've only had two beers." I don't think that the law, let alone the officers, want to stop anyone from drinking legally and safely. The people that do not drink responsibly are the ones that cause the most problems. That is when their freedom and rights are taken away.
Do a "ride-along" with your local police/sheriff department some weekend. It may surprise you how stupid and beligerent intoxicated people get when an officer shows up. Everyone's seen the "reality cop shows," but it's different in real, unedited life. Those shows don't show you what its like to tell a mother of 4 that her husband and all of her children were just killed by a drunk driver.
Not trying to get on soap box, but something to think about

If I want to go out and have a couple of beers while I am anchored, I am going to do so. I am not putting anyone in danger except for myself, and that is only if I fall off the boat. I am sick of hearing all of the goody goodies here tell me to do it at home. It is a whole different story if you are getting sauced and go cruising around the lake. You put other people in harms way when you do that.

I actually found what the law states on the Texas Parks and Wildlife's site. And here is what they say about it.

Does the "Open Container" law apply when I'm in my boat?

No. This law, effective 9/1/2001, prohibits the possession of an open container of an alcoholic beverage in the passenger area of a motor vehicle. It does not apply to watercraft.

Can my driver's license be suspended if I'm arrested for operating a boat while intoxicated

Yes. Effective 9/1/2001, a person's drivers license will be automatically suspended if the arrested person:

• Is operating a watercraft powered with an engine having a manufacturer's rating of 50 horsepower or above; and
• The person refuses to provide a specimen (breath or blood) to determine intoxication.
  The period of suspension for 1st time offenders is 180 days.

It's gonna be night, Im gonna be anchored, and I WILL have a bear and a pole in my hands. If anyone tells me that is wrong, well they are just too anal.

What are you going to be doing with a "bear" in your hands??

Oops. That typo sounds dangerous!

Now there should be a law against having a bear in your hands while on the water. That could get dangerous!! :p

� 49.06. BOATING WHILE INTOXICATED. (a) A person
commits an offense if the person is intoxicated while operating a
watercraft.
(b) Except as provided by Section 49.09, an offense under
this section is a Class B misdemeanor, with a minimum term of
confinement of 72 hours.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, � 1.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1994.

By what I can tell an open container is ok as long as you are not legaly intoxicated , but really that doesn't take all that much beer to be considered legaly intoxicated .On the other hand you can get a PI, I really think it depends on the cops/ game wardens judgement in most cases.

� 49.02. PUBLIC INTOXICATION. (a) A person commits an
offense if the person appears in a public place while intoxicated to
the degree that the person may endanger the person or another.
(b) It is a defense to prosecution under this section that
the alcohol or other substance was administered for therapeutic
purposes and as a part of the person's professional medical
treatment by a licensed physician.
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), an offense under
this section is a Class C misdemeanor.
(d) An offense under this section is not a lesser included
offense under Section 49.04.
(e) An offense under this section committed by a person
younger than 21 years of age is punishable in the same manner as if
the minor committed an offense to which Section 106.071, Alcoholic
Beverage Code, applies.

Added by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, � 1.01, eff. Sept. 1,
1994. Amended by Acts 1997, 75th Leg., ch. 1013, � 12, eff.
Sept. 1, 1997.

Wonder if you could get your doctor to prescribe a six pack while on the lake ....LOL

Where did you pull this from? I would like to look at it in its entirety.

I haven't seen anyone mention the new law that took affect this year. When you are caught driving a boat while intoxicated the penalty goes against your driver's license. You can actually lose your driver's license due to a BWI. And that's not even mentioning what any WI will do to your insurance rates.

When I go out I only take 3 Miller Lites with me. And one of those is saved for watching the sunset (or sunrise during the summer) at the marina. That works out to less then 1 beer per hour, usually less then 1 beer per 2 hours.

Kevin

(And don't worry about my signature. I do not drink Miller Lite at home. I drink REAL beer at home: Afligem, Paulaner, Samuel Smith, Old Peculiar, stuff like that. Big difference between 4% Miller Lite and 12% Afligem.)