On The Water
Penal Code 49.06 — intoxicated while operating a watercraft, and 72 hours
In Texas, boating while intoxicated sits in the same chapter as the driving offense and uses the same definition of intoxicated. A watercraft is a vessel, water skis, an aquaplane, or another device for carrying a person on water, other than one propelled only by the current.
Intoxicated means 0.08, or without normal use. A person commits an offense by being intoxicated while operating a watercraft, which means not having the normal use of mental or physical faculties from alcohol, a drug or another substance, or having an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more. It is a Class B misdemeanor with a minimum term of confinement of 72 hours.
Under 13, on a motorboat under 26 feet. The operator of a motorboat less than 26 feet in length, while underway, requires every passenger under 13 years of age to wear a wearable personal flotation device of the sort the coast guard prescribes. A life belt or ring buoy does not satisfy the requirement.
What is aboard. A motorboat carries at least one wearable device for each person on board, readily accessible, and a recreational vessel 16 feet or more in length also carries a throwable one.
| The assumption | What the law actually does |
|---|---|
| The assumptionA ring buoy counts as a child's jacket | What the law actually doesA life belt or ring buoy does not satisfy the requirement |
| The assumptionOnly a motorboat counts | What the law actually doesWater skis, an aquaplane, or any device carrying a person on water, other than one moved only by the current, is a watercraft |
Registration and numbering, boating education, the rest of the equipment rules and the higher penalties for repeat offenses are not all on this page. What a particular citation carries is a question for a licensed Texas attorney.
Sources for this section (3)
- Penal Code 49.06 — Boating while intoxicated
- Penal Code 49.01 — Definitions for intoxication offenses, including intoxicated
- Parks & Wild. Code 31.066 — Life preserving devices
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Texas attorney.