It works this way
A couple of years ago I had several friends on my boat and they were all drinking as we came from Pagus Bay and through the channel by the Weirs. Marine Patrol noticed this and fell in behind me as I throttled up and headed toward the no wake zone between Eagle Island and Governor's Island. I dropped down to no wake speed and proceeded properly between the markers. In the middle of the channel the lights came on and Marine Patrol pulled me over. The reason for the stop was one of my buddies sat on the gunwale as I moved between Governors and Eagle islands. The officer had clearly seen my friends drinking and he began paying attention to my boat until he spotted an infraction.
After stopping me he asked if I had been drinking. I hadn't and told him so. He then ran be through the safety check, which I passed. He then let me proceed but not before telling my buddy that he could write him (not me) up for the infraction of sitting on the gunwale while a boat is underway!
The bottom line is folks can drink on a boat, but they will draw attention and place the operator at a higher risk of being stopped. I had no problem with the stop. If I was in the officer's shoes I would have done the same thing.
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