We got stopped last summer for not having a current decal on our boat (North Idaho). The Sheriff and his deputy were scanning boats with binocs and spotted our out-of-date decal. My wife had paid the registration, but, when the decal came in the mail, the boat was in winter storage. She forgot to slap it on when we put the boat in the water for the summer. The sheriff and deputy were real nice and gave us a personalized safety class right there on the water. We found out our horn is anemic (they wear out) and we discovered where our fire extinguisher was hidden. They were good natured about it and didn’t write us up for any of the problems. They did call in and get confirmation we were current on our payments.
We didn’t get boarded.
That story only works when said wife is currently in the said boat. Great hand off to the Sherriff and standing there quietly waiting for the wife to explain everything. That was a true piece of work!
Much prefered outcome.
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Probable Cause is not required. Much depends upon the ranking officer of a patrol boat.
Goofballs misbehaving - waterskiing close to an ore carrier or river barge, is sufficient cause to stop a boat.
“We didn’t get boarded.”
I have had three compliance checks. Never boarded.
I had a friend that had his sailboat boarded by the CG with rifles at the ready.
The CG was just “practicing”!