Hi Guys
I'm new to the forum and recently bought a half cab boat. I am curious to find out what the rules are about drinking on boats while at anchor. I know that you need to be under .05 while in control of the vessel and that in control means unless the boat is moored on swing mooring, tied to jetty/pontoon or at marina. I can understand the logic as anchors could come loose and you may need to navigate your boat anytime if this happens, my question is can you be over the .05 limit if you are tied to land, e.g. a tree or a post etc? this in my eyes is the same as being moored to a jetty or mooring as there is no real difference. Anyone had any experiences with this sort of situation?
Cheers
Tim
The laws vary from state to state. If your in WA it's fairly loose
www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/General-Discussion/Chat/Blood-alcohol-content-and-boats/
Hi LB and welcome to the forum.
To answer your question more accurately ( on a legal point of view rather then a responsible common sense point of view ) we would need to know what state you're in.
It's been covered in the sailing forum. QLD at anchor you need an under 0.05 skipper. Mooring or berthed is OK drink. Could you imagine the income generated by the gin palaces if this was actually enforced!
I have one simple rule No Booze on board my boat as I am the skipper and are responseable for everybody on board .Also I have to be sober to tow the boat back home and I cannot see why if I have to be sober and wait till I am back on land so can my mates .
Select to expand quotebounty said..
I have one simple rule No Booze on board my boat as I am the skipper and are responseable for everybody on board .Also I have to be sober to tow the boat back home and I cannot see why if I have to be sober and wait till I am back on land so can my mates .
wont go on your boat then . I allow people to drink and smoke when on my boat . I also encourage acts of nudity from the wives . Get a pen and that way you can drink and skipper and then when you get to the pen simply call a taxi or sleep on the boat . works for me
Select to expand quotebounty said..
I have one simple rule No Booze on board my boat as I am the skipper and are responseable for everybody on board .Also I have to be sober to tow the boat back home and I cannot see why if I have to be sober and wait till I am back on land so can my mates .
dusta said..bounty said..
I have one simple rule No Booze on board my boat as I am the skipper and are responseable for everybody on board .Also I have to be sober to tow the boat back home and I cannot see why if I have to be sober and wait till I am back on land so can my mates .
wont go on your boat then . I allow people to drink and smoke when on my boat . I also encourage acts of nudity from the wives . Get a pen and that way you can drink and skipper and then when you get to the pen simply call a taxi or sleep on the boat . works for me
Bounty it sounds like you should be more worried about getting picked up by the fun police
Well yeah, there is no need to be a complete stick-in-the-mud. The joy of being a boat owner / skipper is to be the responsible one, but you can still have a few beers while being so. But it is bounty's boat, so it is bounty's rules I suppose.
That all said, Liberty has bought a trailer boat. He is not likely to go to the expense of pen fees just so he can get blotto on his boat. His original question of whether tying off to a tree will suffice is an interesting one. And I would imagine it would depend on whether the fining officer got a bit that morning or not.
As mentioned above - check your local regs although I would expect that if you were not 'docked', then the .05 limit stands.
An example is if you go fishing up a river and tie up to a tree/bank...pin ears back and start drinking. Within a short period something happens to one of your mates, or yourself (cut with knife...gaff through hand etc.) and they need urgent medical attention, and the only way to hospital is by your boat. This then would be breaking the law. This is why I don't drink (any more) when in control of my boat regardless of mooring/anchored. As for my guests - they can enjoy as many drinks as they wish...but that is my decision - not theirs. So if I call a dry-show, then that's what it will be.
It amazes me that drinking is allowed in some states when moored. Regardless of whether the boat is moving our not - if someone is injured or worse whilst on your boat, you are responsible. Alcohol won't be your friend if a legal battle ensues.
Select to expand quoteToph said..
...we would need to know what state you're in.
QLD and drunk! 
Sorry to hit a nerve with some of you guys but I go deep sea fishing in WA and its a long way back sometimes and when the seabreeze (no pun) comes in it can get a bit rough . I have spots on my GPS marked '' The coffins '' (boat went down) , ''Colins spot'' he was hit by a freak wave and lots more . I prefer to be alert and come back and enjoy more days out on the boat .
Select to expand quotebounty said..
Sorry to hit a nerve with some of you guys but I go deep sea fishing in WA and its a long way back sometimes and when the seabreeze (no pun) comes in it can get a bit rough . I have spots on my GPS marked '' The coffins '' (boat went down) , ''Colins spot'' he was hit by a freak wave and lots more . I prefer to be alert and come back and enjoy more days out on the boat .
fark me bounty . you obviously have no sense of humour . I too go out to the FADS and beyond but i still allow my passengers to drink if they want to as the people i let on my boat i trust and wouldn't get off their tits anyway .
Select to expand quoteGreenPat said..
QLD and drunk!
But only if he has found a tree to tie off to 
One scenario I read there was someone saying that the water popo said to someone drinking while anchored "what if you need to move your boat" well that's just a stupid statment , what if I'm moored and I need to move and I'm drunk, I simply can't well legally . with that logic you can't drink anytime or anywhere but this is not the case. Being tied to say a tree is no different than a jetty or mooring, your not going to come adrift and if you somehow do well the same thing "could" happen when tied to a say "jetty".
Ba argument here Liberty. But there is often a difference between common sense and legal requirements. You asked your original question based on the latter.
You can't really say that dragging an anchor or having somebody drag onto yours is exactly the same as being tied of to a secure object and coming adrift.
Had plenty of drunken F#@$wits drag onto me during their party. One New Years we had 3 gin palaces drag onto us with their foul mouthed Admiral Bit#% complaing "You're the _______ smaller boat you should _______ move!"
Never had anyone come adrift from a wharf or tree.
Don't get me started....
Select to expand quoteLibertyBell said...
One scenario I read there was someone saying that the water popo said to someone drinking while anchored "what if you need to move your boat" well that's just a stupid statment , what if I'm moored and I need to move and I'm drunk, I simply can't well legally . with that logic you can't drink anytime or anywhere but this is not the case. Being tied to say a tree is no different than a jetty or mooring, your not going to come adrift and if you somehow do well the same thing "could" happen when tied to a say "jetty".
its all about common sense. Plenty of people get on the gas at anchor. Common sense dictates the situation. Often there is little chance of something going wrong. The police have discresion. If you are jolly in a safe anchorage im sure they wont mind. If you were on the shelf in a storm maggot perhaps they might change their tune. they have to catch you first. I guess if you live near brisbane/ GC might be an issue but you dont see them in regional Qld and if you did they wouldnt care so long as u werent being stupid.
Select to expand quoteLibertyBell said..
Hi Guys
I'm new to the forum and recently bought a half cab boat. I am curious to find out what the rules are about drinking on boats while at anchor. I know that you need to be under .05 while in control of the vessel and that in control means unless the boat is moored on swing mooring, tied to jetty/pontoon or at marina. I can understand the logic as anchors could come loose and you may need to navigate your boat anytime if this happens, my question is can you be over the .05 limit if you are tied to land, e.g. a tree or a post etc? this in my eyes is the same as being moored to a jetty or mooring as there is no real difference. Anyone had any experiences with this sort of situation?
Cheers
Tim
If you beach your boat at highest tide of the tide cycle (might work for powerboats with retracting leg or cats with stub keels) you have got 24 hr till next "pickup tide". Plenty time for enjoiment and sobering after, you cannot go any were for any reasons before time comes. My gues, no ofence, for beeng over.
Send a txt to your mates whilst your fishing and they are working, inc a picture with beer in hand, much more effective in pissing them off
Personaly ,I don't drink on my boat when going out wide , mates can and do , they are old enough to do so responsibly, and never have more than 3 or 4.
But when we go squiding , the stereo is on and the beer flows, usually in the gulf, no more than 200 meters off shore in under 3 mtrs deep . Dragging in squid in the shallows after a few beers is easy, getting 10kg plus up from 120 mtrs while drinking isn't fun, especialy when the men in grey suits are lurking hungrily around, don't need to fall in
. Besides if I have too much the handbrake would come down and drive us home, (boat ramp is only 3 mins away)
Select to expand quoteCassa said..
Personaly ,I don't drink on my boat when going out wide , mates can and do , they are old enough to do so responsibly, and never have more than 3 or 4.
But when we go squiding , the stereo is on and the beer flows, usually in the gulf, no more than 200 meters off shore in under 3 mtrs deep . Dragging in squid in the shallows after a few beers is easy, getting 10kg plus up from 120 mtrs while drinking isn't fun, especialy when the men in grey suits are lurking hungrily around, don't need to fall in. Besides if I have too much the handbrake would come down and drive us home, (boat ramp is only 3 mins away)
Cassa your "handbrake" seems as though it's not very effective.... nice one.
Do the commercial fishermen still drink on their boats ? I rarely saw my skipper without a VB can in his hand when working on a boat 20 years ago.
