Is a Paddle Boat a "Boat" in Legal terms?

[coolpool]

Maybe a dumb question, but is it illegal to enjoy a alcoholic beverage in a paddle boat as it is in a powered boat? I guess the same question could be applied to a canoe.
The way I read it it is just as illegal to drink in a non powered craft?

[58thecat]

There is NO difference between drunk driving and drunk boating. In Alberta, if your boat is equipped with a permanent toilet, cooking facilities, sleeping facilities you may consume alcohol. However, the boat must be anchored or docked.....you must have a big paddle boat.

[JB_AOL]

Originally Posted by coolpool

Maybe a dumb question, but is it illegal to enjoy a alcoholic beverage in a paddle boat as it is in a powered boat? I guess the same question could be applied to a canoe.
The way I read it it is just as illegal to drink in a non powered craft?

Yes, there's two things, technically it's drinking in public and open alcohol. Also the .05 and .08 bac laws apply, and it can be considered dui.

http://www.boatinglicensealberta.com...eir%20alcohol.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by JB_AOL

Yes, there's two things, technically it's drinking in public and open alcohol. Also the .05 and .08 bac laws apply, and it can be considered dui.

http://www.boatinglicensealberta.com...eir%20alcohol.

I'm pretty sure they can pinch you for drinking in public if you are out there having a beer (either a 0.5% or regular one at 5%) BUT I wonder if a DUI would stick in court if they were not able to prove you were over the legal limit?

After all, if you blow under the 0.08% BAL they can't charge you for driving impaired can they? I am assuming the law says somewhere that that level,0.08%, is the threshold for impairment.

Not arguing - but it made me think about it - just curious.

[pikergolf]

Originally Posted by EZM

I'm pretty sure they can pinch you for drinking in public if you are out there having a beer (either a 0.5% or regular one at 5%) BUT I wonder if a DUI would stick in court if they were not able to prove you were over the legal limit?

After all, if you blow under the 0.08% BAL they can't charge you for driving impaired can they? I am assuming the law says somewhere that that level,0.08%, is the threshold for impairment.

Not arguing - but it made me think about it - just curious.

Huh, I take those with me all the time. I believe they are called alcohol free.

[tri777]

Originally Posted by coolpool

".. is it illegal to enjoy a alcoholic beverage in a paddle boat as it is ... in a non powered craft?

I would apply the same as:
"is it illegal to enjoy a beer while sitting in front seat of my non powered
up car with the keys in the ignition"

[jesse34567]

God forbid a guy enjoys a beverage in his blow up raft on a lake. Government overreach at it's finest.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by jesse34567

God forbid a guy enjoys a beverage in his blow up raft on a lake. Government overreach at it's finest.

Many laws are made because of stupid people who exercise poor judgement and do silly things.

It's like the episode on some cops show where I saw of some dude on a jet ski, drunker than a sailor, gets pulled over on the lake by the fish cops, then he's arguing with the fish cops that he would only be hurting himself if he wiped out ............. after having almost clipped some swimmers (kids) at high speed which precipitated the call in to the cops in the first place.

That means people who know how to have a responsible beer and act like adults get punished because of people like this guy.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by EZM

I'm pretty sure they can pinch you for drinking in public if you are out there having a beer (either a 0.5% or regular one at 5%) BUT I wonder if a DUI would stick in court if they were not able to prove you were over the legal limit?

After all, if you blow under the 0.08% BAL they can't charge you for driving impaired can they? I am assuming the law says somewhere that that level,0.08%, is the threshold for impairment.

Not arguing - but it made me think about it - just curious.

Heineken 0.0 taste real good on a hot day....or on a cold day in a warm hut....

[Sledhead71]

Currently a paddle boat or canoe is considered a "vessel" by law, last June a man from Ontario was charged with an impaired from 2017 where he was in a canoe. The definition of a "vessel" in regards to impaired operation is currently being reviewed and is expected to be like operation of a bicycle while under the influence.

[Grizzly Adams]

Originally Posted by Sledhead71

Currently a paddle boat or canoe is considered a "vessel" by law, last June a man from Ontario was charged with an impaired from 2017 where he was in a canoe. The definition of a "vessel" in regards to impaired operation is currently being reviewed and is expected to be like operation of a bicycle while under the influence.

I remember some guy in a motorized wheel chair being charged with impaired driving.

Grizz

[fishtank]

Originally Posted by EZM

Many laws are made because of stupid people who exercise poor judgement and do silly things.

It's like the episode on some cops show where I saw of some dude on a jet ski, drunker than a sailor, gets pulled over on the lake by the fish cops, then he's arguing with the fish cops that he would only be hurting himself if he wiped out ............. after having almost clipped some swimmers (kids) at high speed which precipitated the call in to the cops in the first place.

That means people who know how to have a responsible beer and act like adults get punished because of people like this guy.

Evolution cycle disruption

[Bigwoodsman]

Originally Posted by Sledhead71

Currently a paddle boat or canoe is considered a "vessel" by law, last June a man from Ontario was charged with an impaired from 2017 where he was in a canoe. The definition of a "vessel" in regards to impaired operation is currently being reviewed and is expected to be like operation of a bicycle while under the influence.

My dad always said “if it looks like a duck, quacks like a duck, walks like a duck, it’s probably a duck! You’re paddle boat is a boat and you can be charged.

BW

[coolpool]

I thank everyone for their responses but I don't like the resounding answer, lol. If I'm THE most dangerous thing on the water in a paddleboat while having a beer then the world has really gotten messed up. It is a fun way to catch some pickerel as the trolling speed is perfect!

Cheers!

[Mulehahn]

Originally Posted by tri777

I would apply the same as:
"is it illegal to enjoy a beer while sitting in front seat of my non powered
up car with the keys in the ignition"

This isn't a fair analogy. It would be more like can you enjoy a beer while sitting in s car with no enginev while sitting on top of a hill. All you gotta do is push.

But i digress. it is illegal to drink and operate a boat. Powered or not. Now will a fish cop actually enforce it? Most won't unless you are falling down drunk. It is mostly a safety concern. No one one wants to drag bodies out of the lake and falling over board happens a lot more.

[bat119]

Drinking beer is the reason lot of bodies are recovered with their zippers down

[sewerrat]

And I would think you need a boating license for it as well.

[58thecat]

Originally Posted by coolpool

I thank everyone for their responses but I don't like the resounding answer, lol. If I'm THE most dangerous thing on the water in a paddleboat while having a beer then the world has really gotten messed up. It is a fun way to catch some pickerel as the trolling speed is perfect!

Cheers!

like everything else it only took a few idiots out there to wreck it for the rest....

save the booze for the bbq/fire....enjoying a few eyes!

[buckbrush]

Originally Posted by Grizzly Adams

I remember some guy in a motorized wheel chair being charged with impaired driving.

Grizz

Did they impound the chair? I never thought of that. People who are stuck in an electric wheelchair cant drink?