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Originally Posted by NightWing
Many officers, whether on land or on the water, may already know the answers to the questions before they ask you. Your response may agree or conflict with what the officer knows to be true. The street cop might ask you if you knew why he stopped you, or he may ask you if you knew how fast you were going. Playing dumb here can work against you. If you didn't know how fast you were going, then you weren't paying attention to your instruments. If you weren't watching the dash, you might not have been watching the road and the speed limit signs. Your responsibility on both counts.
Not knowing the length of your boat can be a clue that you don't know the required safety equipment, some of which changes as the boat length increases. It is in your best interest to know your equipment and what the legal requirements are for both the operator and the vessel.
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Well of course they already know.
All I'm saying is that simply asking you if you broke the law is not a violation of your rights. Specifically, your rights against self-incrimination, mentioned in the Fifth amendment, does not prevent an officer from asking you to self-incriminate. It prevents them from forcing you to.
When approached by police, I try to be polite and honest. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.