Is it legal to consume an alcoholic beverage in a kayak on the water?

CatDaddy3000

Guest
I am having trouble finding a direct answer to this question. I have read what the regulations say, but I want someone to explain. I am not talking about getting blasted, just in general, if I wanted to have a beer or 12, if I am stopped by the gw, what happens. Thanks for your input.
 
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koszman

Ten Pointer
Contributor
Not illegal to possess or consume but if you get stopped and at or over the .08 you will be charged and get a ride in their boat. Just like being arrested for dwi on a bike.
 

D1RICH1

Ten Pointer
Not illegal to possess or consume but if you get stopped and at or over the .08 you will be charged and get a ride in their boat. Just like being arrested for dwi on a bike.

Would the game warden actually test for this? Or would he just call the police if he saw a drunk kayaker?
 

Scalf

Eight Pointer
I try not to get too buzzed up while on any kind of water.. I usually bring 2-3 beers with me on my yak
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Does the great state of NC consider a kayak a "vessel"? I don't know.

<>< Fish
Probably about the same as they consider a tractor or lawnmower, if you get on a highway and operate it while consuming alcohol they gonna jerk a knot in ur :donk:donk:donk. LOL
 

FishHunt

Old Mossy Horns
Probably about the same as they consider a tractor or lawnmower, if you get on a highway and operate it while consuming alcohol they gonna jerk a knot in ur :donk:donk:donk. LOL

Most likely so...but the courts, lawyers and legal systems are sticklers about details and verbage. I wonder if the state has defined a kayak as a vessel?

And by the way, I'm all for don't drink & drive, not drinking & boating and looking both ways before jaywalking. Every single year I see folks who have had way too many floating down NC rivers & creeks who have had a beer too many. See them in canoes, john boats, kayaks and inflatables. The state is missing out on a ton of DUI money by not setting up a check point on the New River anywhere along the Piney Creek to Crumpler stretch of river. Is an inflatable a "vessel"? Still don't know.

<>< Fish
 

nccatfisher

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I honestly can't give you a definitive answer. Much of that has changed since I was there. Stuff that used to not to have to be registered now does and I know they really have changed alcohol consumption rules. I don't indulge so I haven't bothered to keep up. I am pretty sure if you are operating any type of watercraft you better not be consuming alcohol. But could be wrong.
 

GSOHunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
You have to register a kayak as a vessel when you put a trolling motor on it. I'm not sure what the legalities of drinking and kayaking are. If on a busy lake I am usually trying not to get killed by wake boarders and bass boaters...I would never mix in any alcohol.
 

Crappie_Hunter

Twelve Pointer
Contributor
^ It's hard enough to avoid all the idiots on the water while sober... I don't want to try to do that intoxicated
 

CatDaddy3000

Guest
I don't drink normally. Just thought having a couple beers out on the kayak would be nice. I had already read the part about being .08 being the limit, but didn't know how much it enforced. I don't plan to drink many beers and paddle like hell on a lake or river. I'd probably get sick. It is nice to have a ice cold beer that's been sitting in a cooler all night, when you have been out in the hot sun all day. Very refreshing. Thanks for your input.
 

wncdeerhunter

Old Mossy Horns
Most likely so...but the courts, lawyers and legal systems are sticklers about details and verbage. I wonder if the state has defined a kayak as a vessel?

And by the way, I'm all for don't drink & drive, not drinking & boating and looking both ways before jaywalking. Every single year I see folks who have had way too many floating down NC rivers & creeks who have had a beer too many. See them in canoes, john boats, kayaks and inflatables. The state is missing out on a ton of DUI money by not setting up a check point on the New River anywhere along the Piney Creek to Crumpler stretch of river. Is an inflatable a "vessel"? Still don't know.

<>< Fish

Yes, it is a vessel.


http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2015/05/06/answer-man-drinking-tubing-legal-hotel-misnamed/70887006/
 

koszman

Ten Pointer
Contributor
They probably wouldn't be out looking for a kayak but if you were toast and staggering at the ramp or doing something stupid to attract attention to yourself. Also if they would do a safety check and noticed the smell of beer or something to make them believe your intoxicated.
 

shadycove

Twelve Pointer
I have floated/paddled many rivers/lakes on 2 continents in all sorts of floating vessels with alcohol either in the vessel or towed behind it.
As posted above, even today you should be fine as long as you are not showing your Donkey.
That said, every put in/take out spot on every body of water is the number one place to find a LEO during the summer. So be careful, have fun and don't drink too much while paddling [easy way to do this is to only take a couple of beers with you].
 

Larry R

Old Mossy Horns
Fishhunt: The area you pointed out (Piney Creel/Crumpler area) definitely isn't by it's self. Just about anywhere along the New River from Castle Ford Bridge down river is basically a floating bar during the summer. Worst part of all is that the scum don't take their trash with them, just dump empties into the river or chunk them up on the bank. I'd love to see as much or more control and fines levied out for littering as I would for drunken tubers on the New. If they wanna drown themselves that's their privilege, just don't trash it up for everyone else.
 
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