D.U.I. in Kayak?

What would mr. ranger say if he cruises up on you and you have A coldy present? I know it sounds stupid but you can get A DUI on A bike.

I know the same rules apply to a Bike,

 I once left a Toga party, Still in Full Dress... Riding a bike, open container and hauling the rest of the 6 pack heading to the next spot.

 Cop pulls up and asked if I'm having a Good Time and informs me that I can be arrested for

 Open container

 Obvious intoxication

 and operating a moving vehicle while being intoxicated...

 He let me go with a warning and as he left I crash into a parked vehicle,

 Losing the rest of my Beer

 I'll bet Dollars to Doughnuts same applies to Kayaks


 Minus crashing into parked Vehicles.....

Yep.
 Never paddle out to your fishing spot wearing a toga and holding an open beer. It's a total giveaway that you might pose a threat to other, less intoxicated paddlers...especially if you are wearing a helmet too.

 

any cop that would give a paddler a dui in his kayak, is a cold dude.

Yep.
 Never paddle out to your fishing spot wearing a toga and holding an open beer. It's a total giveaway that you might pose a threat to other, less intoxicated paddlers...especially if you are wearing a helmet too.

       

I think it is like the laws are in Texas with a car - you can have an open container while driving, you just can't be intoxicated. 

Yeah, I think you would have to be drawing attention to the fact that you were plastered & operating watercraft to warrant any law enforcement intervention. Even then (after seeing some of the returning wet wednesday racers coming into the SC harbor) there doesn't seem to be much attention paid to boaters with beer.

"obvious intoxication" would be the key phrase here I guess.

I did a lot of research on this subject after I got my kayak... hehe.

I never found anything conclusive, but one DUI lawyer website stated DUI/BUI laws do not apply to kayaks and canoes that are human powered.

They could always get you for public intoxication.

A Ranger giving a DUI in a kayak implies that Rangers are Law Enforcement Officers...I think we are all safe from this boys I know how they operate...and besides I'll go straight up prusuit on em and take foot bail on the beach...

As long as you're kayak fishing w/a beer and not kayak drinking w/ a rod, I think you'll be ok.

Z

in a kayak you have to worry about shutting the car door and catching the top of the 12 pack in the door as you drive away.  Trolling for cops.  I wonder wath the limit is on a Cop?

Not certain, but on the radio I heard a CHP officer talking about Critical Mass in SF, and how bicycles are supposed to adhere to the vehicle code, same as motorcycles, and cars.  He stated that the term 'vehicle' applies to just about anything that a person can use to transport people or things while on the street.  Possibly the fact that the your not driving a kayak in the street will negate the use of the vehicle code as a enforcement for on the water intoxication?

However the definition online I found online seems to apply to both.
ve·hi·cle  (v-kl)
n.1.
a. A device or structure for transporting persons or things; a conveyance: a space vehicle.
b. A self-propelled conveyance that runs on tires; a motor vehicle.

Yet from the California vehicle code it states: (http://www.dmv.ca.gov/pubs/vctop/d01/vc670.htm)

Vehicle

670.  A "vehicle" is a device by which any person or property may be propelled, moved, or drawn upon a highway, excepting a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

Amended Ch. 987, Stats. 1975. Effective January 1, 1976.

Ok, but now I have searched further, and there is an entire section devoted to "Vessels" in the CVC:

9840.  As used in this division, unless the context clearly requires a different meaning:

(a) "Vessel" includes every description of watercraft used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on water, except the following...


So a few more searches, and came up with the following link:  http://www.dui.com/dui-library/california/related/vehicle

Which says:

The Vehicle Code defines a vehicle (VC670) as:

    A device by which any or property may be propelled, or drawn upon a highway, except a device moved exclusively by human power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks.

It is clear that a bicycle or a boat does not fit the definition of a vehicle as it is defined in the code. But there are other sections in the code, and there are other codes!

It is unlawful to ride a bike under the influence (VC21200). For boaters in the Harbor and Navigation Code it is unlawful to ride a boat under the influence. The levels for boating are the same (0.08) as they are for an automobile.

So, sounds like you can still get in trouble...

Just glad I've never been checked...those warm fall Mendo evenings go GREAT with a Fosters oil can!

FWIW, here's the snippet from the Kavinsky Law Firms web site:

Boating under the influence (BUI) in California is a serious offense, one that can be as serious as Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Boating under the influence (BUI) is precisely what it sounds like. It is operating a watercraft when you are under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. In a boating under the influence (BUI) case, watercrafts are considered anything that carries or transports people on water, including water skis. But things that are propelled by water alone, such as kayaks, are immune from boating under the influence (BUI) laws in California.

And I'd much rather have a bottle in front of me than a frontal lobotomy, even if I do live in Santra Cruz county......